Apple "3 strikes" hardware replacement policy

[Jethryn Freyman]

I hear that Apple will replace a computer with a brand new model after sustaining 3 major hardware failures (or is it 3 major failures in 1 year?). Can someone verify this for me? Applecare seemed to verify it.

Also, would a hard drive failure count as "major"? I have my doubts, I'd just like to know. Thanks!

 

[Bill Gates]

It's three major failures of the same component on three separate occasions, or a failure to identify the cause of a hardware failure, necessitating a complete replacement of the computer IIRC. To me a hard drive failure is a minor repair, but perhaps it's been ruled otherwise in the past. I don't think that this policy is written in stone either, so Apple may be more or less lenient depending on the circumstances and the representative involved.