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Earlier this week, Apple began requiring that customers taking advantage of educational discounts in the United States verify their status as a teacher, student, or school staff member through UNiDAYS.

apple-college-discounts.jpg

The requirement was a major change as Apple had never asked customers to go through a verification process in the United States before, and now, just three days after verification was added, Apple has removed it.

As of today, discounted iPads, Macs, and other products can be purchased from Apple's education website in the U.S., and Apple is not asking for any proof that a customer is a student or teacher.

After the UNiDAYS requirement rolled out, there were complaints from some MacRumors readers that suggested the UNiDAYS site was broken for staff member verification, as it was asking customers to upload a student ID with an expiration date. Staff members were prevented from obtaining discounted products, which could be why Apple has nixed the requirement.

It is not clear if Apple will reimplement an institution verification process after working out kinks to make it available for students, teachers, and school staff, but for now, there is no requirement to make a discounted purchase.

Apple has long required UNiDAYS verification in countries like the United Kingdom, so it would not be too much of a surprise to see it added again as a requirement in the United States at some point in the future.

Article Link: Apple Walks Back UNiDAYS Verification Requirement for U.S. Education Store
 
Wait...there is no verification process for the EDU pricing??
Not exactly. I couldn't just sign up online so I went to an Apple Store and one of the staff members asked for a simple verification. As staff, I didn't have a student ID so I showed them my user profile post login to my school and they were satisfied with that. Since then, my Apple ID is flagged and EDU discount so I now can use it online.
 
I’m so happy Apple has decided to remove it. It was a total waste of time in the first place. Maybe Apple VP saw the sales have started to decline.

Honestly, A 3 trillion-dollar company is relying on some third-party website for verification? That’s wrong! 😨😭
I think that problem is more around privacy. Educational institutions would need to provide student/staff information to verify identities and/or active status (some institutions allow users to hang on to their emails as well post grad, or if they are taking time off).
 
I think that problem is more around privacy. Educational institutions would need to provide student/staff information to verify identities and/or active status (some institutions allow users to hang on to their emails as well post grad, or if they are taking time off).
I mean, they do such with countless services already. Everything from student discounts to student loan applications. This isn't something uncommon.
 
Not sure why they can't just require the purchaser to have a university E-mail address from an approved list. That's how other sites have been verifying university affiliation for years.

Some schools like my alma mater let you keep your university email for life. And I’ve been out of school for nearly 15 years. ??‍♂️

Guess I should buy up some apple products before they reinstate the verification ?
 
Why would a school put an expiration date on an ID? They don't know when the student will leave, and most aren't equipped to ask every student to replace their ID every year.
 
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FYI all you need to get verified on unidays is a .edu email...
Wait...there is no verification process for the EDU pricing??
I never knew that Apple did not ask for verification. So now that they announced it many people who never tried to cheat the system will begin to.
All this reminds me of this movie. If you guys haven't seen it. Y'all should check it out. The verification process does not seem reliable at all. Sadly!
 

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