AppleCare+ to End Informal Free Replacement Policy for Damaged iPhones

[ks-man]

That, I don't know, I purchased AppleCare for my IP4

This is the AppleCare Page:

http://store.apple.com/us_epp_151906/product/MC253LL/B?mco=MTY3ODQ5OTY

From that Page:
"The AppleCare Protection Plan does not provide coverage for accidental damage from handling. See AppleCare Protection Plan Terms and Conditions for complete product details."

So if AppleCare Standard didn't cover it, why would they do it for $199 without it??

I think the $199 is for Problems with parts and function, not Accidental Damage.

So you are interpreting this to mean that it is free for standard problems with AppleCare and $199 for standard problems without AppleCare. That is possible but all this talk about accidental damage leads me to believe that the old AppleCare didn't cover accidental damage and thus would be the same price with or without AppleCare ($199). Now AppleCare+ does cover it so it is cheaper with it ($49) vs. same as old ($199) without AC+.

It just doesn't sound to me that people who go to the Apple Store with an accidentally damaged phone (usually screen cracked) are expected to buy a brand new unsubsidized phone. I think there is a standard cost to replacing the most common accidentally damaged phones and that cost is $199.

Hopefully one way or the other more info will come out from Apple about the official policies (but somehow I doubt it).

 

[tftp]

Worked great!

Thanks - this worked perfectly! Apple emailed back to me within an hour and said that AC+ was added to my order. Much better than my experience on the phone with Apple.

I purchased my 4S directly from Apple and did not buy the AC+ because I thought I could buy it within the first year. Per the advice of another macrumors member, I sent an email to applestoreinfo@apple.com with my order number asking them to add AC+ to my order and charge my original CC. I never received a reply but checked my order status online and AC+ was added.

 

[yrsued]

NO, actually, AFAIK, It's $199 with AC and NOTHING without it and you buy a new Phone at Full Pop Retail!!

But....


I don't really know.

So you are interpreting this to mean that it is free for standard problems with AppleCare and $199 for standard problems without AppleCare. That is possible but all this talk about accidental damage leads me to believe that the old AppleCare didn't cover accidental damage and thus would be the same price with or without AppleCare ($199). Now AppleCare+ does cover it so it is cheaper with it ($49) vs. same as old ($199) without AC+.

It just doesn't sound to me that people who go to the Apple Store with an accidentally damaged phone (usually screen cracked) are expected to buy a brand new unsubsidized phone. I think there is a standard cost to replacing the most common accidentally damaged phones and that cost is $199.

Hopefully one way or the other more info will come out from Apple about the official policies (but somehow I doubt it).

 

[warxy]

bit confused, so applecare+ is US only at the moment right?

 

[blackhand1001]

This is good for Apple. It will help them from losing money on this. Hopefully it will add to the quarterly profits. I don't mind paying more as long as it helps Apple.

are you kidding me. Apple is not your friend they don't need your help!!!!

 

[KingCrimson]

are you kidding me. Apple is not your friend they don't need your help!!!!

You've been had.

 

[emon878]

Depends on the issue. If it is a cosmetic issue like the white Mac books had. They would replace the KB free of charge if you were nice. Bring an out of warranty Mac Pro with a dead logic board in and let me know how far smiling gets you.

I took my macbook pro with a dead logic board a month after my warranty ended they fixed it for free

 

[Big Dawg 23]

Apple Care appears to be a waste for me on my iPhone 4. I have a phone that has a bad radio chip in that because no service to frequent edge happens. AT&T has done what they can. I have gone to the "Genius" bar twice about the issue. Both times I have done it with a smile and been very friendly. They say nothing is wrong with the phone despite all the screen shots to prove it reception issue.

Also it does no good to tell them how much you like Apple products or how many you own because having a iPod Touch 2Gen, iPod Touch 4thGen, iPad 1 and iPhone 4 doesn't get you anywhere.

 

[sweetbrat]

Or, you can just buy the SquareTrade warranty for $99 that covers 2 years for accidental damage (with $50 deductibles) - same as Apple Care+, but did I mention that it is for 2 years? Oh and I should also mention that it also covers water damage, including water immersion. Ha!

And also, if you're like me and had the iPhone 4 covered through them and you're upgrading to iPhone 4s, you can cancel the protection of the iPhone 4 once you've upgraded, and they'll prorate the difference. In my case, I bought my iPhone 4 in October 20. With my upgrade to 4s, I can cancel my SquareTrade warranty and get $50 back, which I can use toward my new 2 years warranty of my iPhone 4. Double Ha!

Applecare+ covers water immersion, same as Squaretrade. They cost the same. The difference comes in when you look at coverage. Squaretrade gives you coverage equal to the cost of the phone, so for instance, around $600 for a 16GB iPhone. Once you've used $600 worth of coverage, your contract is complete, even if you still have 1.5 years of your original 2 year term left. They'll cover any number of accidental damage incidents, but only up to the cost of the phone. Applecare+ limits you to 2 accidental damage claims, but you don't have to worry about the overall cost and if you have enough left to cover it.

And by the way, you can also cancel Applecare+ and get a prorated refund.

 

[eme jota ce]

The squaretrade deal is exactly the same price. 99 dollars and a 49 dollar replacement fee... Also read the article, applecare+ now has accident protection with a 49 dollar deductible. You aren't saving any money getting that squaretrade deal.

http://www.squaretrade.com/pages/iphone-landing24

Right. Very similar plans and price points. A few differences appear to be:

• Square trade isn't limited to two incidents but is limited to $600 in coverage for an iPhone. So, if they pay $200 (and you pay $50 deductible) to repair broken screen from drop, there's $400 left on the Squaretrade warranty. I'm guessing about the cost, but if it's a good guess, there's maybe three big incidents covered by Squaretrade.
• If Squaretrade covers 2 accidental damage claims that cost, e.g. $250 each, and a 3rd accdient of the same value happens, they'll just give you the $100 remaining on the warranty coverage.
• Since Apple Stores are sprouting all over the place, for many of us, it will be easier to just walk into the Genius bar and get a replacement than dealing with Squartrade's system (whatever it is).
• Apple's coverage of accidents is separate from the warranty on the quality of the device; Squartrade's is not
• But, Apple's 90 product quality warranty would still apply for failures in that time, without reducing the Squaretrade warranty value.

Because of the last two points, combined with my experience that if an apple product has a manufacturing or quality problem it will be evident in the first 90 days, I'll probably go with Squaretrade but go into Apple if anything happens in the first 90 days.

 

[kclark]

I just got off the phone with both Applecare and Sprint, since that is who I actually preordered thru. They both told me that when I do get both my iphones, I can either call Applecare to purchase Applecare+ or when I call Sprint to actually activate the phone, I can tell them that I would like to add Applecare+ to my phones. I feel better now. I thought I would have more time to purchase Applecare+ or I would have purchased it when I preordered.

 

[ZipZap]

Right. Very similar plans and price points. A few differences appear to be:

• Square trade isn't limited to two incidents but is limited to $600 in coverage for an iPhone. So, if they pay $200 (and you pay $50 deductible) to repair broken screen from drop, there's $400 left on the Squaretrade warranty. I'm guessing about the cost, but if it's a good guess, there's maybe three big incidents covered by Squaretrade.
• If Squaretrade covers 2 accidental damage claims that cost, e.g. $250 each, and a 3rd accdient of the same value happens, they'll just give you the $100 remaining on the warranty coverage.
• Since Apple Stores are sprouting all over the place, for many of us, it will be easier to just walk into the Genius bar and get a replacement than dealing with Squartrade's system (whatever it is).
• Apple's coverage of accidents is separate from the warranty on the quality of the device; Squartrade's is not
• But, Apple's 90 product quality warranty would still apply for failures in that time, without reducing the Squaretrade warranty value.

Because of the last two points, combined with my experience that if an apple product has a manufacturing or quality problem it will be evident in the first 90 days, I'll probably go with Squaretrade but go into Apple if anything happens in the first 90 days.

So is it safe then to say that no repair of an apple iphone will ever exceed $199?

Accident #1 Occurs:

$99 warranty
$50 deductible (accident)

Apple repair is $199

Squaretrade pays: $199 and deducts it from coverage

Resulting in:

$400 of remaining coverage
$149 out of my pocket
$50 out of Squaretrades pocket


Then Accident #2:

$99 warranty
$50 deductible (accident)
$50 deductible (accident)

Apple repair is $199

Squaretrade pays: $199 and deducts it from coverage

Resulting in:

$201 of remaining coverage
$199 out of my pocket
$249 out of Squaretrades pocket

Then Accident #3:

$99 warranty
$50 deductible (accident)
$50 deductible (accident)
$50 deductible (accident)

Apple repair is $199

Squaretrade pays: $199 and deducts it from coverage

Resulting in:

$2 of remaining coverage
$249 out of my pocket
$448 out of Squaretrades pocket


With the Applecare+
The accident breakdown is essentially the same.
You do, however, get unlimited mechanical/defect coverage for 2 years

 

[mannyfresh984]

Ha

Customer service is the only reason I bought an iPhone over one of the competitors and the only reason I paid around 40% more for my macbook that a similar spec'd competitor.

If the customer service goes so will my future money.
No wonder Steve apparently made a plan for the future as this lot seem more bothered about pandering to the shareholders than the customers.

Customer Service for Apple does not go away...but replacing your product for free because you dropped it or got liquid on it is definitely not Apples responsibility you as the owner have the responsibility for that and thus you should pay for the repair hands down. Go buy a product any product and break it right after you get it and take it back and tell them to swap it out for free and watch how they laugh in your face. Customers need to be a bit more realistic about that.

 

[ixodes]

I do look forward to having Apple enforce this change. Giving out free phones as goodwill is lunacy. Someone's got to pay for those & no matter what the romantics think, it's not Apple.

 

[Zxxv]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A406 Safari/7534.48.3)

^ So the prices of iPhones will come down now.

Eh not. Sounds like DSG just moved into apple head quarters.

 

[hafr]

I do look forward to having Apple enforce this change. Giving out free phones as goodwill is lunacy. Someone's got to pay for those & no matter what the romantics think, it's not Apple.

Of course it is, otherwise they wouldn't have made this change. Or do you believe that the prices of Apple products would've been lower than today if they'd made this change several years ago?

 

[ixodes]

Of course it is, otherwise they wouldn't have made this change. Or do you believe that the prices of Apple products would've been lower than today if they'd made this change several years ago?

I've been using Apple products a long time. Primarily computers.

The "era" of giving away new phones or exchanging other products just to satisfy a customer, even it not defective or the fault of Apple, is a recent practice since the advent of the iPhone.

Don't get me wrong, I have always received exemplary customer and warranty service from Apple. But indeed it was based on the product having a true warranty fault, not on the fact that I was being picky.

While I'd like to think that if Apple had never begun this practice it would have helped keep prices down, I really have no idea. Apple has no problem commanding top dollar for everything and only recently have they begun to bring products to market (Like The MBA) that are reasonably priced.

 

[hafr]

I've been using Apple products a long time. Primarily computers.

The "era" of giving away new phones or exchanging other products just to satisfy a customer, even it not defective or the fault of Apple, is a recent practice since the advent of the iPhone.

I know, and my honest belief is that it has been in order to facilitate their advance in this, for them, new market.

While I'd like to think that if Apple had never begun this practice it would have helped keep prices down, I really have no idea. Apple has no problem commanding top dollar for everything and only recently have they begun to bring products to market (Like The MBA) that are reasonably priced.

It's a nice thought, but looking at their profit margins it's just not very likely...

 

[chatin]

No such thing as a free iPad for abusers.

Good news. Everyone pays for that one device abuser we all know could be a lot more careful if they tried.

 

[hafr]

Good news. Everyone pays for that one device abuser we all know could be a lot more careful if they tried.

Do you honestly think you're paying more for your iPhone than you would have if they hadn't had that "informal goodwill policy"?

 

[ixodes]

Do you honestly think you're paying more for your iPhone than you would have if they hadn't had that "informal goodwill policy"?

Apple charges for everything. Period.

The ones that pay are the customers.

That's no different than any other company.

 

[hafr]

Apple charges for everything. Period.

The ones that pay are the customers.

That's no different than any other company.

Let's, for arguments sake, say that you're absolutely correct. Apple does charge extra for their products due to the fact that there's been an unofficial goodwill policy.

How much extra do you think you're paying because of that? What do you think the price of a base 13" MBP would be had they not had that policy?

No different than any other company, except that their profit margin is through the roof and they basically have their own market whilst the other companies are competing with each other...

 

[fatratmat]

help?

can i put the sim tray from a new iphone4 in an old faulty one and have it replaced for free from apple under warrenty allowing both phone to function?? would they block the new one in some way as it has been replaced? or would my carrier block it? or does the replaced one have a new imei? any help would be grateful....

 

[Kalvin00]

.

 

[birdhouse1575]

Greedy, greedy Apple...
Between contemplating discontinuing the Mac Pro lineup & the 17" MacBook Pros, and now this, it's all a measure to save money (of which I imagine they have a lot).
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