Applecare Warranty Question

[casw1000]

Hi all. I am trying to understand what information is right / wrong. My MD's rMBP started having wifi issues, I called AppleCare after not seeming to get any Genius booking for over a week (In London, UK). AppleCare tech was great and quickly escalated my troubleshooting once they realised I had done most of the network troubleshooting for them.

After doing some testing in the recovery partition, the senior tech agreed it was a hardware fault and that Apple will fix if I take into a service partner or retail store. I explained that this was a business machine and that my MD couldn't do without it for 6-7 working days.

So, now that you have a little background. After checking the warranty information it appears that the warranty you get with the computers (and devices) is a global warranty. So if my laptop broke and I was in New York as long as it was not accidental damage and still under warranty, I could walk into an Apple Retail store and get a repair / replacement. (maybe a little waiting time, fair enough).

But Apple staff are insistent that I have to go through this 1 week waiting list. Now I currently don't have a mac laptop and I am hoping to buy an updated 15" rmbp post 22nd Oct. However this will be my main and only company laptop, so if that goes wrong, I cannot wait 1 week for a repair, surely spending any hefty amount of money on such a device should also receive just as premium service?

My MD was really not happy that he would have to wait. Thanks for taking the time to share your real world experience.

Cheers.

 

[Jedi Master]

Production machine?

Hi all. I am trying to understand what information is right / wrong. My MD's rMBP started having wifi issues, I called AppleCare after not seeming to get any Genius booking for over a week (In London, UK). AppleCare tech was great and quickly escalated my troubleshooting once they realised I had done most of the network troubleshooting for them.

After doing some testing in the recovery partition, the senior tech agreed it was a hardware fault and that Apple will fix if I take into a service partner or retail store. I explained that this was a business machine and that my MD couldn't do without it for 6-7 working days.

So, now that you have a little background. After checking the warranty information it appears that the warranty you get with the computers (and devices) is a global warranty. So if my laptop broke and I was in New York as long as it was not accidental damage and still under warranty, I could walk into an Apple Retail store and get a repair / replacement. (maybe a little waiting time, fair enough).

But Apple staff are insistent that I have to go through this 1 week waiting list. Now I currently don't have a mac laptop and I am hoping to buy an updated 15" rmbp post 22nd Oct. However this will be my main and only company laptop, so if that goes wrong, I cannot wait 1 week for a repair, surely spending any hefty amount of money on such a device should also receive just as premium service?

My MD was really not happy that he would have to wait. Thanks for taking the time to share your real world experience.

Cheers.

Well thing break or get broken.
What the wait time for a Dr's appointment?

If it is mission critical, one must have a plan.
Premium service yes, waiting is a whole different thing.

 

[casw1000]

Jedi Master. I have waited a few days thinking over a reply. I guess the only thing I would say is that if I am prepared to wait then the (UK) national health service would fit me in at some point, whereas the premium service (private) is a cost option.

So when I am spending a serious amount of money on a premium device even adding the extra 3 year warranty option doesn't buy you any premium level of service. Why is it that Apple doesn't take into account their business customers.

I know a few mac publishing houses, whilst they tend to have a few thousand spare £££, they to acknowledge my point about the lack of urgency or premium service for such business customers. Oh well, going by the single reply, I guess most people think its fine to wait. Thanks for your views.

 

[palmharbor]

See the manager

Hi all. I am trying to understand what information is right / wrong. My MD's rMBP started having wifi issues, I called AppleCare after not seeming to get any Genius booking for over a week (In London, UK). AppleCare tech was great and quickly escalated my troubleshooting once they realised I had done most of the network troubleshooting for them.

After doing some testing in the recovery partition, the senior tech agreed it was a hardware fault and that Apple will fix if I take into a service partner or retail store. I explained that this was a business machine and that my MD couldn't do without it for 6-7 working days.

So, now that you have a little background. After checking the warranty information it appears that the warranty you get with the computers (and devices) is a global warranty. So if my laptop broke and I was in New York as long as it was not accidental damage and still under warranty, I could walk into an Apple Retail store and get a repair / replacement. (maybe a little waiting time, fair enough).

But Apple staff are insistent that I have to go through this 1 week waiting list. Now I currently don't have a mac laptop and I am hoping to buy an updated 15" rmbp post 22nd Oct. However this will be my main and only company laptop, so if that goes wrong, I cannot wait 1 week for a repair, surely spending any hefty amount of money on such a device should also receive just as premium service?

My MD was really not happy that he would have to wait. Thanks for taking the time to share your real world experience.

Cheers.

You should have asked for the manager and then told him of your crisis. I did this at the apple store in Tampa and he went over the head who told me it would take time. Always go to the manager in a C.S. unresolved case...I am surprised that did not occur to you. I have had multiple problems with my mac mini and its been replaced twice. I bought the extended Apple Care and I think its the best bargain out there!

 

[keysofanxiety]

Jedi Master. I have waited a few days thinking over a reply. I guess the only thing I would say is that if I am prepared to wait then the (UK) national health service would fit me in at some point, whereas the premium service (private) is a cost option.

So when I am spending a serious amount of money on a premium device even adding the extra 3 year warranty option doesn't buy you any premium level of service. Why is it that Apple doesn't take into account their business customers.

I know a few mac publishing houses, whilst they tend to have a few thousand spare £££, they to acknowledge my point about the lack of urgency or premium service for such business customers. Oh well, going by the single reply, I guess most people think its fine to wait. Thanks for your views.

May I ask: although this is a machine used for business, was it bought through the Apple Business Store? From what I understand they have much quicker services than the consumer warranties, including but not limited to, onsite support.

Might be worth registering your company through Apple Business and buying that way in future (if you haven't already). I also know from experience that London Apple Stores are nightmares to get bookings at, wait times are horrific.

That's all I can suggest I'm afraid.

 

[casw1000]

I wanted to update this thread as I have found something useful. The following applies to the UK market as so the service offerings in your local country may vary.

I took my Boss's MBP into the store after waiting 7 days, all good they agreed the repair etc, however whilst I was there, I explained my frustration that as a business machine I was happy to pay for a premium service. I spoke to one of the Business Managers who explained that they have a joint venture service whereby for an annual fee, I could walk into any store in the world and be seen at a genius bar within a 10 minute wait. Further more, if my laptop could not be fixed within 24hrs, the store would loan me a laptop until my device was repaired.

Furthermore, this service covers up to 5 mac's, around 5 iphones, inclused 2hrs worth of staff training for 8 people. I was waiting for the thud of a big bill for this service, however in respect I was again surprised. £379+vat per year.

I am going to discuss the exact terms and conditions more carefully to understand what happens in year 2 & 3. So if an iphone was broke, would they replace it in year 3 etc.

So there you have it, there is an upgraded business service plan and the price seems reasonable. As I could not find this information anywhere other than asking in Regent Street store, I hope anyone reading this find it useful.

Regards, Colin.

 

[BaggieBoy]

What is the WiFi issue? My rMBP has recently started to have a issue where WiFi seems to connect but thinks there is no internet conection (get a "!" symbol overlaying the task bar icon). After a minute or so it seems to work OK. This only happens after booting, if I wake after sleep it is fine.

 

[casw1000]

BaggieBoy - So the issue our rMBP had was this. You could connect to the access point / gateway, you would get a valid address from the dhcp router, but not get past the gateway.

So the wireless card would looks like its working but simply not able to reach any websites that I browse. This is not a DNS fault as I could not reach websites via an ip address. This would happen on more than one wifi network, so it wasn't an infrastructure problem either.

I spoke to the Apple Genius and he checked all the tests I had done and added there was nothing he could test futher. So they agreed to replace the wifi card and see what happens.

If you get a ! mark on your wireless connection, this could mean a few things, however if you open a terminal session, check the ip address I am sure you would get a self assigned address, something like, 169.254.x.x address.

In which case, it could be a problem with your dhcp on the router, maybe restart your router. If you post further information, I will see if I can assist further.
Regards,
Colin.

 

[casw1000]

May I ask: although this is a machine used for business, was it bought through the Apple Business Store? From what I understand they have much quicker services than the consumer warranties, including but not limited to, onsite support.

Might be worth registering your company through Apple Business and buying that way in future (if you haven't already). I also know from experience that London Apple Stores are nightmares to get bookings at, wait times are horrific.

That's all I can suggest I'm afraid.

I wanted to acknowledge your point here. I didn't see this in time and so to answer your question. No all our apple phones / products are purchased through retail. I was not aware that they had a business offering as I have never really seen this advertised. Maybe that's just my error. Thanks for your feedback, as you would have seen, I now understand about the business services and was exactly what I was asking / hoping they did offer. So thank you Sir.

 

[Jedi Master]

Jedi Master. I have waited a few days thinking over a reply. I guess the only thing I would say is that if I am prepared to wait then the (UK) national health service would fit me in at some point, whereas the premium service (private) is a cost option.

So when I am spending a serious amount of money on a premium device even adding the extra 3 year warranty option doesn't buy you any premium level of service. Why is it that Apple doesn't take into account their business customers.

I know a few mac publishing houses, whilst they tend to have a few thousand spare £££, they to acknowledge my point about the lack of urgency or premium service for such business customers. Oh well, going by the single reply, I guess most people think its fine to wait. Thanks for your views.

How to Buy for Business
If you are a business or professional user, visit the Apple Store for Business or call 0800 058 2222. Lines are open Monday-Friday 09:00-18:00. The Apple Store for Business offers a host of business services and financing solutions, as well as trade-in and developer sales. Open an account today.

 

[ecrispy]

I would expect after paying for extra warranty on a premium device, you'd get much better service, esp for a company like Apple.

I can tell you I've paid for extra warranty with Dell, just as consumer not business, and they send you a replacement machine with free shipping to send yours back for repairs, if needed.

Go into Apple store and escalate, this is not acceptable since it's a defect.

 

[theanalogkid77]

I wanted to update this thread as I have found something useful. The following applies to the UK market as so the service offerings in your local country may vary.

I took my Boss's MBP into the store after waiting 7 days, all good they agreed the repair etc, however whilst I was there, I explained my frustration that as a business machine I was happy to pay for a premium service. I spoke to one of the Business Managers who explained that they have a joint venture service whereby for an annual fee, I could walk into any store in the world and be seen at a genius bar within a 10 minute wait. Further more, if my laptop could not be fixed within 24hrs, the store would loan me a laptop until my device was repaired.

Furthermore, this service covers up to 5 mac's, around 5 iphones, inclused 2hrs worth of staff training for 8 people. I was waiting for the thud of a big bill for this service, however in respect I was again surprised. £379+vat per year.

I am going to discuss the exact terms and conditions more carefully to understand what happens in year 2 & 3. So if an iphone was broke, would they replace it in year 3 etc.

So there you have it, there is an upgraded business service plan and the price seems reasonable. As I could not find this information anywhere other than asking in Regent Street store, I hope anyone reading this find it useful.

Regards, Colin.

Joint Venture isn't AppleCare, so it's not an extension to any warranty. JV simply gets you priority support, loaner machines if needed, some specialized training, and remote Genius (if in the States. Not sure if that's available everywhere). If in year 3 you need to have iPhone serviced, you'll be able to get priority support, but they won't be able to repair/replace under warranty. If it was year 2 and the iPhone had AppleCare, then there'd be some options there. (This is how it is in the States, I'm thinking it's the same in the UK.)

Apple will fix a machine that has an issue for sure, but sometimes there's a wait involved, especially if the store you're going to is particularly busy. In the States, if you go to a store, many times a repair like an AirPort card can be serviced within an hour or so, again if the store isn't too busy and the part is available. If not, most of the time it's a 24 hour turn around. AirPort cards in rMBP, as far as I know, are a very easy repair.

 

[casw1000]

Thanks theanalogkid77. Thats good information appreciate you taking the time to share experience and knowledge.

Regards, Colin.