Apple Lowers Prices of AppleCare+ Plans for M1 MacBook Air and MacBook Pro [Updated]

[adamjackson]

Can I get a price adjustment? Lol

Oh my God. I literally just purchased it yesterday for $249 for my air

Well that is nice - I just bought it on May 3, I'll see what I can do!

If you're within 14 days, call up Apple and they'll refund you $249 and charge you $199. That's what I just did.

 

[nezr]

AppleCare on my previous Macbook Pro probably saved me over $1000 in repairs for two keyboard repair and a battery.

 

[ian87w]

Any reduction in price is good news.
Guessing no butterfly keyboard and no hot intel chips, are helpful for reliability.

 

[Dms14]

Got mine for $269 last week (8 days ago) on my M1 MBP. Just got off the phone with apple Support and was told it's for new purchases starting today, nothing can be done. So guess they got an extra $20 out of me but will try and call again later and see if I can get anywhere with a different person. Maybe it's just the luck of the draw or there really is nothing they can do.

No! Contact Apple care support and they will refund you then you can purchase at new price. You’re within 30 days…

 

[SantaFeNM]

AppleCare on my previous Macbook Pro probably saved me over $1000 in repairs for two keyboard repair and a battery.

Exactly the same with me.

 

[sneeks]

Thankfully in the UK i don't need this for my Mac Mini as it would only cover accidental damage, everything else has to be covered for longer than 1 year anyway. 6 years in England and Wales, 5 years in Scotland. To be fair on Apple they do point this out if you look to buy AppleCare+

 

[tubular]

Apple today lowered the prices of AppleCare+ plans for MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro models equipped with the M1 chip. Coverage offered by the plans, as well as accidental damage fees, appear to remain unchanged.

They finally noticed the butterfly keyboard is gone?

 

[cmaier]

i wish the united states had better warranty laws for the customers. in some countries, providing 3 or even 5 years of warranty is mandatory. the 1 year warranty in the US is horrible. people who have their macbooks malfunction due to reasons beyond physical damage are getting ripped off.

Do you though? Those extended warranties aren’t free. They are part of the reasons that macs cost more in other countries - it’s not all about VAT and exchange rates.

 

[joefrat]

I purchased AppleCare for my M1 MacBook Air earlier this month. I contacted AppleCare and they said the price has not changed. Perhaps the pricing noted in the article was referring to an educational price.

 

[Rodney Dangerfield]

Never have, never will. Except for the normal wear and tear, Apple devices I have are just as good as when I bought them.

Disagree...Gimme extra warranty...Coffee spills happen once in a while!

 

[smitster]

Usually they are reliable enough so that I've never bought it.
Just sold my 2011 MacBook pro and it was working fine.
I have 2 2014, macbook pros a 2018 mac mini and the M1 MacBook air they are all working fine.
Never had problems with macs in 30 years of using them.

This wasn't my experience with the MBP. My 2011MBP had the dual GPU config and was a lemon from the start. All told it had three MBs replaced under AppleCare and "lasted" until 2015 at which point it just wasn't reliable (freezes lock ups). I now have two 2015MBPs--one of each GPU config--and they've both been fine except for the screen coating issue--totally missed the boat on getting that fixed under warranty. Guess 2011 was the "test" model to get the dual GPU config figured out.

 

[SergCab]

On the phone now to get my $49 back (Education was $249 and is now $199)

1. EDIT: apple is also giving me free AirPods since I qualify for the promotion announced today.
2. EDIT2: 15 minutes talking to 2 different people I was transferred to a 3rd person who has no idea who I am so now I have to repeat myself again. I thought Apple was better at this.
3. EDIT3: 28 minutes now, I'm now being told I can't get a return difference.
4. EDIT4: AirPods for free are now added but they can't do AppleCare at the store level..38 minutes in so far and transferring to the 5th person.
5. EDIT5: 43 minutes in. I'm now talking to the 6th person. "Can I get your first and last name?"
6. EDIT6: 51 Minutes in. "Sorry we see this as $249 on our side so we can't give you a lower price" I provided them the new AppleCare+ for MacBook Pro SKU which is S9733LL/A/ which is $199 https://www.apple.com/us-hed/shop/product/S9733LL/A/applecare-for-13-inch-macbook-pro-m1
7. EDIT7: I'm being transferred again. "I've never seen $199 before. can we screen share?" FFS
8. EDIT8: 1 hour and 10 minutes in, "we'll refund the $49 difference and you'll receive an email receipt"

Well..that was more than painful.

Question for you, @adamjackson. Did you buy your MacBook through Apple with the education discount?

I bought my wife’s through Amazon less than 30 days ago and I was able to talk with Apple support to refund me the Apple Care+ payment of $269 plus tax and repurchase for $199 as my wife is a student.

I am wondering if I can contact Apple support again and get the airpods for free since she is a student And we got her Apple care+ under the student discount.

 

[Johnny907]

On the phone now to get my $49 back (Education was $249 and is now $199)

1. EDIT: apple is also giving me free AirPods since I qualify for the promotion announced today.
2. EDIT2: 15 minutes talking to 2 different people I was transferred to a 3rd person who has no idea who I am so now I have to repeat myself again. I thought Apple was better at this.
3. EDIT3: 28 minutes now, I'm now being told I can't get a return difference.
4. EDIT4: AirPods for free are now added but they can't do AppleCare at the store level..38 minutes in so far and transferring to the 5th person.
5. EDIT5: 43 minutes in. I'm now talking to the 6th person. "Can I get your first and last name?"
6. EDIT6: 51 Minutes in. "Sorry we see this as $249 on our side so we can't give you a lower price" I provided them the new AppleCare+ for MacBook Pro SKU which is S9733LL/A/ which is $199 https://www.apple.com/us-hed/shop/product/S9733LL/A/applecare-for-13-inch-macbook-pro-m1
7. EDIT7: I'm being transferred again. "I've never seen $199 before. can we screen share?" FFS
8. EDIT8: 1 hour and 10 minutes in, "we'll refund the $49 difference and you'll receive an email receipt"

Well..that was more than painful.

That’s been my experience the last three times I’ve had to deal with Apple over the phone. I just go in store now because it’s clear their call center and chat training has gone seriously downhill in the last couple of years.

 

[ZZ9pluralZalpha]

On the other hand, not getting AppleCare means any hardware issue provides a great excuse to get the new shiny!

 

[tgwaste]

AppleCare+ should be free for all products as a way of giving back to the customers who made them a 2 trillion dollar company.

I know.. lol.

 

[tgwaste]

That’s been my experience the last three times I’ve had to deal with Apple over the phone. I just go in store now because it’s clear their call center and chat training has gone seriously downhill in the last couple of years.

Ya, Apple phone support is utterly pathetic now.

 

[applesque]

Anyone know how long the free AirPods student offer usually lasts?

 

[jonnysods]

I contacted Apple support in Canada and they said they hadn't received any info about this yet. I'll try in a couple of weeks...

 

[adamjackson]

Question for you, @adamjackson. Did you buy your MacBook through Apple with the education discount?

I bought my wife’s through Amazon less than 30 days ago and I was able to talk with Apple support to refund me the Apple Care+ payment of $269 plus tax and repurchase for $199 as my wife is a student.

I am wondering if I can contact Apple support again and get the airpods for free since she is a student And we got her Apple care+ under the student discount.

Yes, the Apple HED store (higher education) online. You are, if you're within 14 days, eligible for a free AirPods as a teacher but that's just based on my conversation with them over the phone.

That’s been my experience the last three times I’ve had to deal with Apple over the phone. I just go in store now because it’s clear their call center and chat training has gone seriously downhill in the last couple of years.

Pretty shameful. I've been a customer since 1999 and I've called Apple maybe once a year during that time and the past 3 years feel like it's gone downhill. I had an Express Service Replacement Apple Watch 2 years ago and it went very poorly for me when FedEx delivered the replacement to the wrong address at the other side of town and Apple took Horus of my time away from me trying to get it resolved. The address was correct, the driver screwed up. I shouldn't have to have been on hold so long on an issue with their contracted carrier. Basically until they re-climaed the replacement watch, they wouldn't mail me a new one and I was on the verge of being charged the full amount even though I never received the replacement or return label.

Also in 2016, I was black listed for water damage on a watch with AppleCare and my coverage was cancelled and they kept my watch I sent in for repairs. I detailed the saga here - https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/apple-has-cancelled-my-watchs-applecare.1992482/

 

[thekev]

not in my experience. i've had MacBooks die after a couple years. i remember having to pay £300-400 to fix a MacBook (which died 6 months later). if i had got AppleCare that would've been much better. if i had applecare i'd have got it fixed again but i refused to pay another £100-400.

all apple products i buy now i take the price of applecare+ into account now. the prices out of warranty are ridiculous and macbooks (again in my experience) are severely prone to break down. iphones/ipads not so much but i like to get applecare anyway incase of accidents.

They did a ****** job of fixing certain generations, where refurbished parts tended to have short lives. You may have fallen victim to that.

 

[jdb8167]

I kind of got reamed on this, myself. I bought a 2020 Air last year when it came out and now I want to upgrade to an M1 Air. They're offering about $600 trade-in, which is ok -- but I'd paid for AppleCare and there's no provision for moving that from Mac to Mac, unfortunately. I really wish there was, even if I lost the "used" portion of it that went toward covering my current MacBook.

You can ask for a pro-rated refund on the remaining time on the 3 years in the US. Not sure about other regions. From the US AppleCare agreement:https://www.apple.com/legal/sales-support/applecare/docs/AppleCare_ara_NA_en_v3.0.pdf

9. Cancellation
You may cancel this Plan at any time for any reason. If you decide to cancel either call Apple at the telephone number below, or send or fax written notice with your Plan Agreement Number to AppleCare Administration, P.O. Box 149125, Austin, TX 78714-9125, U.S. (fax number 916-405-3973). A copy of the Plan’s original proof of purchase must accompany your notice. Unless local law provides otherwise, if you cancel within thirty (30) days of your Plan’s purchase, or receipt of these Terms and Conditions, whichever occurs later, you will receive a full refund less the value of any service provided under the Plan. If you cancel more than thirty (30) days after your receipt of this Plan, you will receive a pro rata refund of the original purchase price, based on the percentage of unexpired Coverage Period from the Plan’s date of purchase, less (a) a cancellation fee of twenty-five ($25) dollars or ten percent (10%) of the pro-rata amount, whichever is less, and (b) the value of any service provided to you under the Plan. Unless applicable local law provides otherwise, Apple may cancel this Plan for fraud or material misrepresentation. Unless applicable local law provides otherwise, Apple may also cancel this plan if service parts for the Covered Equipment become unavailable, upon thirty (30) days’ prior written notice. If Apple cancels this Plan for the unavailability of service parts, you will receive a pro-rata refund for the Plan’s unexpired term.

 

[anshuvorty]

And… lowering prices on AppleCare would… do what now?

Govt: We are working to pass a bill that would…
Apple: We decreased the cost of AppleCare.
Govt: OH… oh… nevermind that bill then.

I mean, PURE GENIUS if it works, but still...

I would argue that this to fight back against the right to repair movement...by lowering the price, Apple can argue that it is now cheaper to repair Apple devices by professionals and there shouldn't be a need to repair laptops by end-users themselves and risk the security of these locked-down devices.

Just my thoughts.

 

[Archmage]

I recently got a MacBook Air. I have 4 days left to add AppleCare+ according to  > About This Mac > Service. I clicked Add and my only purchase option is $89.99/year. I don't see the $199 option. If I go with this, in a year, do I get the option to add another year for an additional $89.99?

I guess it works like phones and stuff now? I can just keep paying yearly

 

[bn-7bc]

Doesn't look like it. I just added a base model M1 MBP and only AC+ came up as an option, $279 Canadian dollars, which is $26 more if you convert $199 USD to CAD.

Apple never uses the current exchange when pricing stuff. We always get the shaft, nor do they ever periodically update the prices as exchange rate fluctuates.

That is called narhågin,apple just wands to make shore they don•t lose due to cirrency fonversion, and I have no idea of difference in return polecy, vompolsary warentee etc between canada and the us

 

[kjvmartin]

Just bought 2 Macs in the last 2 weeks, it's only allowing me to pay the old price for Apple Care+. The new price is not available. I would buy for the lower price. Also trying to get them to price match add on some AirPods. Lots of "please hold."