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Apple Care+ or SquareTrade?

A

AutomaticHaze

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 4, 2008
223
1
Texas
Preordered my "New iPad" yesterday and did not buy Apple Care+. Now I'm second guessing myself, as I have seen and heard many stories of busted iPad screens.

Which warranty do you suggest, AppleCare+ or SquareTrade? Does AppleCare+ cover liquid damage as well?

I know both have a $49.99 payment for a fix/replacement. I do not live near an Apple store so I would have a wait time on both is a problem did arise.

Opinions are welcome, Thank you!
 
I would defiantly reccomend going with square trade!
Have used them in the past with my laptop and plan to with the new iPad as well
Also im not sure about the deductible with the iPad.
On one page on square trade it says "Deductible: There is no deductible for any claim.." and on another it says "A $49 deductible applies to all claims." so you might want to contact them about that. either way its a good deal.
Also they almost always have a coupon code somewhere and its only $59 for one year and $89 for two years!!

http://www.squaretrade.com/pages/ipad-landing
 
Think my girlfriend has already talked me me into going with AppleCare+ haha. Only live two hours away, so I could drive to Dallas and get a new iPad the same day. Plus is covers two incidents of ADH, with liquid damage (just looked at the Terms and Conditions.)

Only thing I'm trying to find now, is how to add it!
 
Square trade is good.

2 months ago I sent in my ipad 2 for repair, I dropped and it had a small dent in the corner. Unit functioned fine but I wanted this repaired to get ready to sell for the new one. They sent it back and it was not right.they had put the dam thing in a clamp to, if you can believe it push out the dent instead of just replacing the back and had scratched and screwed up the casing by the antenna.

I called and complained and they sent me a check for the entire $829 after they received the damaged one back. So I guess it was one of those things.
 
Squaretrade has the option that you take it to the apple store and you have them fix it then you sent the receipt to square trade and they refund you. And they cover more than two depending on the price. So say you break the screen and it costs ~$200 to replace. and the iPad cost $600. Then you have $400 worth of repairs left. Not to mention the plan is cheaper too.

"Same-Day Option: If you prefer the convenience of your local Genius Bar, you can take it there and we will reimburse your repair costs."

but if you have your heart set on AppleCare+ here is the page. It just says "coming soon"
http://www.apple.com/support/products/ipad.html
 
Squaretrade: I bought SquareTrade for my wifes iPad 2 and when I sold it they gave an option to refund a prorated amount so I got back $60 from $90.

AppleCare+: Someone pointed out earlier that if you own a Time Capsule or Airport device then that is covered also. Thats a feature that doesn't work with the iPhone AppleCare+ so its pretty good if you use those products too.

Personally, Im going with neither since I intend on selling next Feb for The next iPad.
 
I ordered yesterday as well, i spoke to customer service and they informed me that if i were to add AC+ i only have 14 days after receiving it and not 30 days to do like I was able to do with the 4s.

so keep in mind if you want to do it, do it soon!
 
Thanks for all the replies. Just got off the phone with Apple customer care, they informed me I will be able to purchase it on the 16th. Kind of odd that I can't add it now, but it's not like I'll have the iPad until then anyway. I also clarified that I can purchase it over the phone and not have to have a Genius look at it, since it wasn't purchased with the iPad, because I live away from any Apple stores. Sounds good to me :cool:
 
that's strange. i was able to add it to my preorder.. actually thinking about returning that at the apple store and then getting the squaretrade one.

i couldn't see -any- area where the apple care+ is better than squaretrade? if someone does.. could ya enlighten me?

HardCoreMuffin said:
Thanks for all the replies. Just got off the phone with Apple customer care, they informed me I will be able to purchase it on the 16th. Kind of odd that I can't add it now, but it's not like I'll have the iPad until then anyway. I also clarified that I can purchase it over the phone and not have to have a Genius look at it, since it wasn't purchased with the iPad, because I live away from any Apple stores. Sounds good to me :cool:
Click to expand...
 
I just looked on the Square Trade web site, and the 2Yr warranty is $89, which is a $10 savings over Applecare+. However, the following should be taken into consideration.

ST: $49 deductibile for "all claims".

AC+: $49 deductible for damage claims.
complementary is also extended for the full 2 years.

I'm seeing that AC+ has the advantage, especially if you live near an Apple store.
 
HardCoreMuffin said:
Thanks for all the replies. Just got off the phone with Apple customer care, they informed me I will be able to purchase it on the 16th. Kind of odd that I can't add it now, but it's not like I'll have the iPad until then anyway. I also clarified that I can purchase it over the phone and not have to have a Genius look at it, since it wasn't purchased with the iPad, because I live away from any Apple stores. Sounds good to me :cool:
Click to expand...

I did a similar thing for my 4s since I purchased through Verizon and they only offered their own warranty/insurance solution. I actually wanted to purchase through the retail store but FL has a law not permitting the sale of Applecare (seen as insurance fraud wtf?) unless purchased WITH the product, so I had to call in and use my brother's CC that lives in KS after a 2nd failed attempt of purchasing AC+ with my FL based CC. To add to this, the rep added the $69 plan non + without accidental coverage so I had to get that refunded and AGAIN purchase the correct AC+ at $99.

After I placed my order I was thinking I probably should have added the AC+ at the same time. Going to have to go through this semi-hassle again =( I guess I wasn't sure of getting AC+ until I started looking at how expensive some cases were, so I decided I'll pay $99 for AC and just go with a cheap smart cover. If I drop it, I'll just pay $50 for a new one.. Beats bulky cases I guess hahah
 
3goldens said:
Square trade is good.

2 months ago I sent in my ipad 2 for repair, I dropped and it had a small dent in the corner. Unit functioned fine but I wanted this repaired to get ready to sell for the new one. They sent it back and it was not right.they had put the dam thing in a clamp to, if you can believe it push out the dent instead of just replacing the back and had scratched and screwed up the casing by the antenna.

I called and complained and they sent me a check for the entire $829 after they received the damaged one back. So I guess it was one of those things.
Click to expand...

I do not call that good that they tried to fix rather than replace the part or whole unit. I have seen many ST nightmares. Stick to Apple's plan.
 
I'm having a hard time choosing between the two as I live an hour from the nearest Apple store.
 
Yeah, kind of odd that Apple can't add it on until it receive the iPad itself :confused: I don't see what the difference would be. The Apple rep I spoke with sounded kind of unsure. Think I'll call again, after I get off work today and see how my luck turns out.

----------
PhoenixMac said:
I'm having a hard time choosing between the two as I live an hour from the nearest Apple store.
Click to expand...

I was trying to decide this as well, I finally figured a two hour drive in my case, is better than a few days wait. I know ST will reimburse you if you go to an Apple store, but that seems like more of a hassle. Not to mention, ST trying to "fix" products. Best of luck deciding!
 
HardCoreMuffin said:
Yeah, kind of odd that Apple can't add it on until it receive the iPad itself :confused: I don't see what the difference would be. The Apple rep I spoke with sounded kind of unsure. Think I'll call again, after I get off work today and see how my luck turns out.

----------



I was trying to decide this as well, I finally figured a two hour drive in my case, is better than a few days wait. I know ST will reimburse you if you go to an Apple store, but that seems like more of a hassle. Not to mention, ST trying to "fix" products. Best of luck deciding!
Click to expand...

For me they needed a serial number of the 4s. Do we have confirmed serial number yet? I don't see that info anywhere on apple, so I guess we do have to wait.
 
Seeing as how I live in North Dakota and the nearest Apple Store is about six hours away, I think Squaretrade is the way to go for me. The only thing stopping me is the fact that I might sell it in a year.
 
HardCoreMuffin said:
Yeah, kind of odd that Apple can't add it on until it receive the iPad itself :confused: I don't see what the difference would be. The Apple rep I spoke with sounded kind of unsure. Think I'll call again, after I get off work today and see how my luck turns out.

----------



I was trying to decide this as well, I finally figured a two hour drive in my case, is better than a few days wait. I know ST will reimburse you if you go to an Apple store, but that seems like more of a hassle. Not to mention, ST trying to "fix" products. Best of luck deciding!
Click to expand...

Your right seeing as it is only an hour away I think I am going with Applecare+, my reasoning being that it is two years of warranty from Apple with no limit on the amount of warranty work being done, whereas the ST only does warranty work up til the price of the iPad so if you have a faulty unit after the first year and them trying to do the repairs themselves it just seems like it would be easier to just drive the distance.
 
Hmmm... I live near a few Apple stores, but SquareTrade seems to still offer better benefits. I'm going to look closer into this.
 
ValentinoV said:
I ordered yesterday as well, i spoke to customer service and they informed me that if i were to add AC+ i only have 14 days after receiving it and not 30 days to do like I was able to do with the 4s.

so keep in mind if you want to do it, do it soon!
Click to expand...

30 days. The customer service guy was wrong
 

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marc55 said:
I just looked on the Square Trade web site, and the 2Yr warranty is $89, which is a $10 savings over Applecare+. However, the following should be taken into consideration.

ST: $49 deductibile for "all claims".

AC+: $49 deductible for damage claims.
complementary is also extended for the full 2 years.

I'm seeing that AC+ has the advantage, especially if you live near an Apple store.
Click to expand...

Wow. I could have sworn SquareTrade didn't have deductibles on their iPad accidental warranties just a few days ago! I was going to go with them, but now I might just go with AppleCare instead.

Though I just did some research and on their Facebook page, they told someone they would waive the deductible if you got service done at an Apple Store or other local repair shop instead of sending the device to them. Trying to find this in their actual terms...
 
Jason S. said:
Wow. I could have sworn SquareTrade didn't have deductibles on their iPad accidental warranties just a few days ago! I was going to go with them, but now I might just go with AppleCare instead.

Though I just did some research and on their Facebook page, they told someone they would waive the deductible if you got service done at an Apple Store or other local repair shop instead of sending the device to them. Trying to find this in their actual terms...
Click to expand...
Good luck trying to find their terms or a copy of their full contract. If you find a link to the actual info please post. That bugs me to no end.
 
Definitely AC+ unless you don't have an Apple Store near you. With SquareTrade, all they do is have you go to an Apple Store, get an estimate, and then they will pay for the bill. If you don't have an Apple Store near you, I think they do let you ship it to them to handle, but I am not sure. They also might charge you a deductible depending on your warranty terms, so you definitely gotta check the fine print.

Either way, AC+ is awesome, you can walk in with your broken iPad and walk out with a brand new one in no time at all. Though that $50 fee is kind of annoying, a small price to pay for on-demand replacements. No fine print to read, no forms to fill out, just all around excellent service.
 
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