Applecare worldwide coverage

[SaltyPiratePony]

...Otherwise, choose a Descriptive Title: Hope I didn't blow this one already, don't shoot me if I did.

I've been a forum-lurker for quite some time and finally decided to sign up because I still have some questions:

1) I'm currently typing this on a 2006 core duo 1.83Ghz macbook and am looking to upgrade to a mbp 13", bought in the U.S..

2) I guess I'm not allowed to discuss illegal matters in this forum so I'll make up a short story, which is totally not-illegal:

I've got -say- a Grandma living in the States that can buy tax-free in NYC, so she buys herself a mbp + applecare and comes to visit Europe. All of a sudden her mbp dies and she needs her laptop repaired. Applecare and mbp are both registered on her name and adress in NYC. Will she/a family member be able to get her mbp repaired in europe without it being shipped back to the States? (I've searched for this answer on google and the MROOGLE (wtf) option in ppl's sig but haven't found a definitive answer)

-> I guess you guys get the clue: would it be necessary to buy applecare in europe to get coverage for her mbp in EU? Or just buy it in the US with the mbp...

3) Does anyone here use vmware fusion on their old macbook core duo? I upgraded the memory to 2 Gbs last year but my 60GB HDD is constantly full and I cba to upgrade the HDD and discover that I can't run any apps decently in a windows environment (Let's say MS Visual Studio, Percobol -don't blame me, it's for college- and some other development tools, e.g. I tried using Borland Together 2007 natively last week in OS X 10.5 but the UML part didn't show up so...) I reckon the mbp 13" should suffice to run Windows XP/Vista/7 decently, no?

P.S. My epic grandma would upgrade the RAM (and possibly the HDD) herself

 

[The SpinDoctor]

I have the same question

My grandma is also awesome

 

[TheBritishBloke]

If my memory serves me correctly, the coverage is worldwide on their notebook range.

So lets say it did fail when your 'grandma' just happened to visit europe, so long as you take it to a store to be fixed, you should be ok with the whole shipping stuff too!

P.S. My Grandma isn't awesome

 

[aristobrat]

If my memory serves me correctly, the coverage is worldwide on their notebook range.

Yup. The last time I read the AppleCare Terms (which are online, if anyone wants to lurk through them), AppleCare was worldwide on notebooks and Minis.

 

[Mal]

Just so you know, that doesn't fall into the sort of category you'd have trouble with on the forums, so no need for an elaborate story. AppleCare coverage for laptops (because they are designed to be portable) is worldwide, anywhere you can find a service center (there are some countries you can't). AppleCare on desktops is not, although IIRC, the Mac Mini is inexplicably categorized with the laptops and is eligible.

jW

 

[J&JPolangin]

...so the iMac I bought on the US Navy base in Japan with applecare wouldn't be covered by apple Japan if it needed repair...... the apple rep on base said they just ship them out to apple Japan (not all the way back to the states).

It must be some agreement with the base then...

 

[Macky-Mac]

...so the iMac I bought on the US Navy base in Japan with applecare wouldn't be covered by apple Japan if it needed repair...... the apple rep on base said they just ship them out to apple Japan (not all the way back to the states).

It must be some agreement with the base then...

It's my understanding that desktops also have had the worldwide coverage for several years now.....it used to be limited to portables, but I'm under the impression that's no longer true

 

[aristobrat]

It's my understanding that desktops also have had the worldwide coverage for several years now.....it used to be limited to portables, but I'm under the impression that's no longer true

I worked at Apple Retail until not-too-long-ago, and I never could get a straight answer from the Geniuses, or even AppleCare agents. I mean, everyone had an opinion (which was notebooks/minis are international, iMacs and Mac Pros aren't), but when I asked them if they could please show me where it says that "in writing", nobody could.

The link to the AppleCare Protection Plan terms and services is here:
http://images.apple.com/legal/applecare/docs/AppleCare_Protect_Plan_NA_en.pdf

I don't really see anything in it that breaks down coverage by notebooks/minis and iMacs/Mac Pros.

All it really says about "international" is:

Service will be limited to the options available in the country where service is requested. Service options, parts availability and response times may vary according to country. You may be responsible for shipping and handling charges if the Covered Equipment cannot be serviced in the country it is in. If you seek service in a country that is not the country of purchase, you will comply with all applicable export laws and regulations and be responsible for all custom duties, V.A.T. and other associated taxes and charges. For international service, Apple may repair or exchange defective products and parts with comparable products and parts that comply with local standards.

The only time I see it mentioning the products by name is when it says that it also covers Cinema Displays if bought at the same time as a notebook or mini.

So who knows... It probably did change years ago (like you said), and the people at my store just didn't get that memo.

 

[tongteh]

i didn't read thru everything, but here's my experiences. I bought by apple care protection plan from HongKong(way cheaper than australia). when something wrong happened to my macbook, the service people here in perth are happily taking it in for repair.. hope it helps..

 

[SaltyPiratePony]

Thanks for all your answers!

I've already read the Applecare licenses (U.S. one and the license for my country) several times and I don't know really... It says you can get your notebook etc repaired in other countries but all the way at the bottom there is this part where it states "the apple care plan is only valid (?don't know the exact words) in country x, country y, ..." so I'm not really sure what that means...

About the part where I made up the grandma story: I didn't want to violate forum rules or offend people so I thought I'd take the diplomatic route (but thx anyway jW).

Anyway, I never signed up for Applecare when I bought this macbook thus don't know how it works. Do you need to register your laptop and Applecare plan on your own name? (I guess so and that probably explains the bottom part of the Applecare license, where there are some eligible countries summed up)

But from what I read here it'll probably be no big deal buying the applecare in the states and using it Europe.

 

[aristobrat]

Anyway, I never signed up for Applecare when I bought this macbook thus don't know how it works. Do you need to register your laptop and Applecare plan on your own name?

Right. You'll go to a website where you type in your MacBook serial number, your AppleCare registration number, and then your name/address/etc.

Remember that you can only register AppleCare within the first year that you own a Mac. After day number 365, you can't register it on that Mac.

 

[Mal]

Right. You'll go to a website where you type in your MacBook serial number, your AppleCare registration number, and then your name/address/etc.

Remember that you can only register AppleCare within the first year that you own a Mac. After day number 365, you can't register it on that Mac.

Right, and here is the one place where it matters where you buy the AppleCare (and possibly, though not likely, where you bought the computer). When you register online, it will only accept an address in the format of the country for which the AppleCare is being registered, and the paperwork will be shipped to that address (unless you can get it paperless now). It's a minor thing, but just know that if you buy UK AppleCare, you'll need a UK address to register it, but if you buy a US AppleCare, you'll need a US address to register it (and so on).

I don't think there's any reason for it to affect your coverage once you get it registered, but just plan accordingly to avoid any registration hassles. Minor point, really, though.

jW