Apple Providing Free Data Migration With a Mac Purchase or Repair

[MacRumors]

Apple is now offering data migration services for free when customers purchase a new Mac or need to have a Mac replaced for repair reasons. Prior to this month, data migration was priced at $99.

TidBITS heard about the policy change from a reader and was able to confirm it with an Apple Store Operations Specialist.

Beginning April 2, there will be no cost for Data Migrations with the purchase of a new Mac or Data Transfers with a repair.

As 9to5Mac points out, data migration was included as a feature in Apple's One to One program, which was shut down in 2015. One to One allowed customers to pay $99 when purchasing a new Mac to get a year's worth of instruction and help. When Apple ended One to One, data migration was still available as a one-time $99 service.

Going forward, Apple store employees will be able to help new Mac buyers move information from their old machine to their new machine. Apple also offers do-it-yourself migration software in the form of the Migration Assistant offered when setting up a new Mac.

Article Link: Apple Providing Free Data Migration With a Mac Purchase or Repair

 

[dstud208]

Probably because now the computers are built like phones, everything soldered together and if one thing does the whole unit gets replaced. It makes for small attractive chassis but will inevitably lead to more people getting replacement units, and since it’s apples fault that this is happening (the need for unit swaps) they probably want to avoid the crap storm of angry customers that were charged $99 to migrate to a new unit when a key on their keyboard got stuck or something similarly trivial.

 

[dannyyankou]

Sure this is good, but you’ll eventually pay them $125 anyway when your butterfly keyboard stops working.

 

[martyjmclean]

A TB3 cable would cost me $65, a TB3 to TB2 adapter $69... so this is quite “generous” for Apple.

 

[nutmac]

Sure this is good, but you’ll eventually pay them $125 anyway when your butterfly keyboard stops working.

Funny you say this because when my kid's 2018 MBA had to be sent in for repair for 3rd time in a row (for a stuck key), I bought another Mac as a "loaner".

Using Migration Assistant via Time Machine backup was not successful. It doesn't let me select the backup citing "you must restore from the same computer model" -- even though both Macs are running the same version of macOS.

Once I get MBA back, I will be using Carbon Copy Cloner instead.

 

[0924487]

It’s very helpful for new Mac users. If you are Mac-native, it’s not necessary at all.

 

[Mr_Brightside_@]

I charge clients $15-30 for this and they complain...$99??!?!?!?!?

 

[Bill Poulos]

When Apple finally fixes the screwed up butterfly keyboard on the MacBook Pro, I will buy a fully loaded one with all the trimming.
A MacBook Pro without a functional keyboard is not very useful and it's too expense to use for a door stop.
I am stuck with my MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Late 2013) until the butterfly keyboards get fixed.

Suggestion: There is nothing wrong with the old keyboards sold on older Macs. No charge for the problem solving suggestion.

 

[GeneralChang]

Funny you say this because when my kid's 2018 MBA had to be sent in for repair for 3rd time in a row (for a stuck key), I bought another Mac as a "loaner".

Using Migration Assistant via Time Machine backup was not successful. It doesn't let me select the backup citing "you must restore from the same computer model" -- even though both Macs are running the same version of macOS.

Once I get MBA back, I will be using Carbon Copy Cloner instead.

If what you're after is just moving all the data from the MBA to whatever your other Mac is, you should be able to use Migration Assistant to just go straight from the one machine to the other once you've got them both present. I did that just a few months back and didn't have any issues. Though I've also used it to restore from backup when moving from an iMac to a Mac Mini in the past and didn't see is complaining about the computer model, so... *shrugs*

 

[Doctor Q]

I must have used Migration Assistant at least half a dozen times over the years, each time to a new model using the previous Time Machine data. It can be slow, but it's always worked smoothly.

 

[code-m]

When Apple finally fixes the screwed up butterfly keyboard on the MacBook Pro, I will buy a fully loaded one with all the trimming.
A MacBook Pro without a functional keyboard is not very useful and it's too expense to use for a door stop.
I am stuck with my MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Late 2013) until the butterfly keyboards get fixed.

Suggestion: There is nothing wrong with the old keyboards sold on older Macs. No charge for the problem solving suggestion.

What happened to the days when Mac hardware just worked. Now you have to go through this entire process for Apple’s mess up over a keyboard. It seems people prefer to just spend more money on that new butterfly laptop and have it taken to the Store for repairs on poor design choices.

Apple compared itself to BMW once when it concerned cost of their hardware, well now it’s in for repairs just as often. How ironic, it seems Apple has finally fulfilled the auto industry business model.

 

[charlituna]

Probably because now the computers are built like phones, everything soldered together and if one thing does the whole unit gets replaced.

Everything isn’t soldered together in an iPhone much less a computer. To the point that they would rather give you a **** iPhone 6 ‘loaner phone’ to send your phone off for a logic board replacement than hand you a new one. Same with the computers but only their precious business subscription customers get loaner machines.

This is all for those newbies that don’t want to switch over from PC cause they are morons who can’t figure out how to backup their stuff etc. and the idiots that only get an new computer every 12 years who are also too stupid to do a backup and by some miracle never lost anything they care about. But hey if they are cool not having a computer for up to five days, more power to them.
[doublepost=1555084436][/doublepost]

What happened to the days when Mac hardware just worked.

“Just worked” from apple never meant ‘has zero failures’. That campaign was a response to the 3 days of BS folks using windows computers had to do to get up and running. All the having to install windows yourself, then check for updates, then install all the basic apps yourself etc etc.

 

[code-m]

“Just worked” from apple never meant ‘has zero failures’. That campaign was a response to the 3 days of BS folks using windows computers had to do to get up and running. All the having to install windows yourself, then check for updates, then install all the basic apps yourself etc etc.

Yep, but that on a poster or marketing campaign. To the people that Apple is trying to welcome as future customers and keep them happy/productive, I am sure their will care about the 3 days of BS from the years of Windows previous.

People purchase a Mac believing that “it just works”, having to migrate all your data to another computer for that keyboard to be constantly fixed or the likely hood it will be required to in the future for an expensive machine does not board well when compared to more cost effective competitions.

Considering the quality of the OS has narrowed between macOS and Windows 10, that previous argument is moot. This is coming from a 25+ years Apple/Mac platform user.