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ASUgrad1999

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 13, 2012
180
152
Gilbert, AZ
I did something really stupid - I left my iPhone 7+ on the roof of my car and it fell off in the middle of the road right before getting on the freeway. By the time I realized it was my phone that fell and got back to where it happened, my phone had been run over multiple times and was completely destroyed (showed up as 'inactive' on Find My iPhone). I had an Apple Leather case on it and it was a goner too.

The phone was really hot (almost too hot to hold) for about an hour so I let it cool down before going to the Apple Store by me. No appointment and they took care of me right away. $99 to replace under AppleCare and they even replaced my case too (free of charge). I was in/out in less than 30 minutes with a brand new phone. Customer service like that keeps me a happy Apple customer!
 

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Freakonomics101

macrumors 68030
Nov 6, 2014
2,739
1,797
And some people say insurance and AC+ isn't needed and is a scam..... HA! Some needed it for assurance they won't be without a phone if something happens.
 

foxconn

Suspended
Sep 6, 2016
421
506
www
And some people say insurance and AC+ isn't needed and is a scam..... HA! Some needed it for assurance they won't be without a phone if something happens.

I'm not dumb enough to break my phone. It's for clumsy people. I've owned every iPhone since the first gen and haven't even cracked a screen.
 

44267547

Cancelled
Jul 12, 2016
37,643
42,516
I'm not dumb enough to break my phone. It's for clumsy people. I've owned every iPhone since the first gen and haven't even cracked a screen.

I think your statement is rather far fetched. Everyone makes inadvertent mistakes. Including you. Breaking an iPhone by mistake doesn't make someone "Dumb." You can't say you never have dropped your iPhone or hit it on something on by mistake, even if it means you didn't suffer any damage.

If anything, the OP was smart enough to have AppleCare to ensure he was covered for accidents like these. That debunks your post for breaking his iPhone with making a conscious decision to purchase AppleCare.
 

LoliS

macrumors regular
Mar 8, 2017
172
71
the Apple Store by me. No appointment and they took care of me right away. $99 to replace under AppleCare and they even replaced my case too (free of charge). I was in/out in less than 30 minutes with a brand new phone. Customer service like that keeps me a happy Apple customer!
AppleCare+ to the rescue!!!!
 

timeconsumer

macrumors 68000
Aug 1, 2008
1,982
1,883
Portland
I think your statement is rather far fetched. Everyone makes inadvertent mistakes. Including you. Breaking an iPhone by mistake doesn't make someone "Dumb." You can't say you never have dropped your iPhone or hit it on something on by mistake, even if it means you didn't suffer any damage.

If anything, the OP was smart enough to have AppleCare to ensure he was covered for accidents like these. That debunks your post for breaking his iPhone with making a conscious decision to purchase AppleCare.
I think it comes down to, how many times have you bought AppleCare and how many times have you needed to use it. If you've bought every iPhone on a yearly basis (which a lot on this forum have) and you've never had to use AppleCare, then you would've wasted that money.

Personally, I am happy that Apple offers "out of warranty" repair options. For instance in the OP's scenario, he saved money by having AppleCare. An out of warranty replacement would have been $349 but the OP only paid $129 AppleCare + $99 deductible, so obviously AppleCare paid for itself in this scenario.

However, if it had only been the screen that needed to be replaced, it would have been cheaper not to buy AppleCare and just pay for the screen replacement. iPhone 7+ screen replacement is $29 if you have AppleCare, or $149 if you don't.

So, it really depends on the type of repair needed and how often. I'll personally continue to not buy AppleCare and then utilize Apple's "Out of Warranty" repair options if I need those.

Links for where I'm getting pricing information from
Screen repair: https://support.apple.com/iphone/repair/screen-damage
Other iPhone repairs: https://support.apple.com/iphone/repair
 

44267547

Cancelled
Jul 12, 2016
37,643
42,516
I think it comes down to, how many times have you bought AppleCare and how many times have you needed to use it. If you've bought every iPhone on a yearly basis (which a lot on this forum have) and you've never had to use AppleCare, then you would've wasted that money.

Personally, I am happy that Apple offers "out of warranty" repair options. For instance in the OP's scenario, he saved money by having AppleCare. An out of warranty replacement would have been $349 but the OP only paid $129 AppleCare + $99 deductible, so obviously AppleCare paid for itself in this scenario.

However, if it had only been the screen that needed to be replaced, it would have been cheaper not to buy AppleCare and just pay for the screen replacement. iPhone 7+ screen replacement is $29 if you have AppleCare, or $149 if you don't.

So, it really depends on the type of repair needed and how often. I'll personally continue to not buy AppleCare and then utilize Apple's "Out of Warranty" repair options if I need those.

Links for where I'm getting pricing information from
Screen repair: https://support.apple.com/iphone/repair/screen-damage
Other iPhone repairs: https://support.apple.com/iphone/repair

I can relate. I never needed AppleCare for anything and none of my iPhones/Apple devices have suffered damage over the years.. However, for some, it's a clear decision based on how accident proned they are. And ultimately, AppleCare pays for itself. But I agree with the points you made. I just don't agree people are "Dumb" for inadvertent mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes. It happens. Some fail to recognize that.
 
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foxconn

Suspended
Sep 6, 2016
421
506
www
I think your statement is rather far fetched. Everyone makes inadvertent mistakes. Including you. Breaking an iPhone by mistake doesn't make someone "Dumb." You can't say you never have dropped your iPhone or hit it on something on by mistake, even if it means you didn't suffer any damage.

If anything, the OP was smart enough to have AppleCare to ensure he was covered for accidents like these. That debunks your post for breaking his iPhone with making a conscious decision to purchase AppleCare.

Obviously mistakes happen but if you take precautions then you won't break your phone.
 

LoliS

macrumors regular
Mar 8, 2017
172
71
I think it comes down to, how many times have you bought AppleCare and how many times have you needed to use it. If you've bought every iPhone on a yearly basis (which a lot on this forum have) and you've never had to use AppleCare, then you would've wasted that money.
I have wasted a lot of money on health insurance then. And home owners insurance too. And car insurance too.
[doublepost=1489446060][/doublepost]
Obviously mistakes happen but if you take precautions then you won't break your phone.
But AC+ also extends the warranty another year. You can't take any precautions to prevent device defects that don't show up until the second year.
 
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LoliS

macrumors regular
Mar 8, 2017
172
71
The difference is those are required to have, AppleCare is not required to have.
Home owner's insurance is not required. As for health insurance, you don't have to have it either. The penalties for not carrying it are a tiny fraction of what health insurance costs.

As for car insurance, only liability is required. Not collision and not uninsured motorist.
 

timeconsumer

macrumors 68000
Aug 1, 2008
1,982
1,883
Portland
Home owner's insurance is not required. As for health insurance, you don't have to have it either. The penalties for not carrying it are a tiny fraction of what health insurance costs.

As for car insurance, only liability is required. Not collision and not uninsured motorist.
Some mortgages require home owner's insurance as per the agreement with the lender. I suppose if you don't have a mortgage then sure, it's your choice not to have it.
Technically health insurance is required; but yes you can pay a penalty to get around this "requirement".
Car insurance is still required; even if it is only liability.
 
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C DM

macrumors Sandy Bridge
Oct 17, 2011
51,388
19,456
Home owner's insurance is not required. As for health insurance, you don't have to have it either. The penalties for not carrying it are a tiny fraction of what health insurance costs.

As for car insurance, only liability is required. Not collision and not uninsured motorist.
Different levels of importance, impact, scale, etc. Basically an apples vs. oranges type of thing.
 
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DeepIn2U

macrumors G5
May 30, 2002
12,110
6,315
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
I did something really stupid - I left my iPhone 7+ on the roof of my car and it fell off in the middle of the road right before getting on the freeway. By the time I realized it was my phone that fell and got back to where it happened, my phone had been run over multiple times and was completely destroyed (showed up as 'inactive' on Find My iPhone). I had an Apple Leather case on it and it was a goner too.

The phone was really hot (almost too hot to hold) for about an hour so I let it cool down before going to the Apple Store by me. No appointment and they took care of me right away. $99 to replace under AppleCare and they even replaced my case too (free of charge). I was in/out in less than 30 minutes with a brand new phone. Customer service like that keeps me a happy Apple customer!

nice! I had the same issue a few short months back ... dropped while running across the road (J-Walking) and a car stopped right over it dragging it across - EEEK.
would not charge, power on . nothing. the only thing that came out unscathed was teh Touch ID Crystal which you've managed to kill. I feel for you man!
 

mk313

macrumors 68000
Feb 6, 2012
1,762
905
The other thing about AppleCare is that it covers the headphones and charging cables as well. For some reason my Apple branded lightning cable seem to fail somewhat regularly. It's always the same pin that turns black and stops working. I run with my iPhone and sometimes the headphones go bad, although that seemed to happen more often with the older round style than with the newer EarPods. I've replaced quite a few of those under app,e care as well. I think the lightning cables run about $20, so if I replace two of them over the course of the two year warranty, the effective cost of the warranty is only $50. It's definitely not for everyone, but I find the peace of mind I get from having apple care to be well worth the cost.
 
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