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studying001

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 16, 2018
32
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I have a 2018 MacBook Pro. And T2 chip crashing issue did happen before. Do you think it's a good idea to buy an applecare+?
 
I also have a 2018 MBP 15' and haven't had an issue yet. Even with three peripherals hooked up. But it's still a good idea to get Applecare+.
 
For the 2018 I would 100% get AppleCare, for the first time on any Apple product.
AppleCare+ I wouldn’t.
 
why applecare+ you wouldn't? They are around the same price~

Actually I’m wrong, I don’t think you can buy regular AppleCare any longer. Or I can’t find it. I don’t buy accidental damage coverage. If I’m a dumbass that’s on me, but I try to be careful. But since there’s no AppleCare option without + then I would take AppleCare+ vs no AppleCare.
 
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Actually I’m wrong, I don’t think you can buy regular AppleCare any longer. Or I can’t find it. I don’t buy accidental damage coverage. If I’m a dumbass that’s on me, but I try to be careful. But since there’s no AppleCare option without + then I would take AppleCare+ vs no AppleCare.

Some people have said you can get the old Apple care for $249 on an 15" if you call the 800 number. If you wait more than 60 days after purchase I think that may be your only option. On the web site it say AppleCare+ must be purchased within 60 days, which make sense since it includes accidental damage.
 
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Actually I’m wrong, I don’t think you can buy regular AppleCare any longer. Or I can’t find it. I don’t buy accidental damage coverage. If I’m a dumbass that’s on me, but I try to be careful. But since there’s no AppleCare option without + then I would take AppleCare+ vs no AppleCare.

Sometimes it is protecting you from someone else being a dumbass as well. Stuff happens :)
 
Actually I’m wrong, I don’t think you can buy regular AppleCare any longer. Or I can’t find it. I don’t buy accidental damage coverage. If I’m a dumbass that’s on me, but I try to be careful. But since there’s no AppleCare option without + then I would take AppleCare+ vs no AppleCare.
I don‘t know if that is the case in every country, but where I live (Germany), you can still buy the regular AppleCare from plenty of third-party retailers (oftentimes even at discounted prices compared to what they used to cost). You‘ll get a code that you then need to activate with Apple‘s hotline for your product. It‘s what I did with my MacBook Pro.

For people for who accidental damage isn‘t that big of a worry but who are just looking for an extended warranty (because of T2 chip, reliability or other concerns), going with AppleCare (non-plus) is IMO the far more advisable option as it‘s much cheaper and gets you the same warranty extension. Of course if you‘re worried of damaging it then AC+ might be the better option.
 
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Some people have said you can get the old Apple care for $249 on an 15" if you call the 800 number. If you wait more than 60 days after purchase I think that may be your only option. On the web site it say AppleCare+ must be purchased within 60 days, which make sense since it includes accidental damage.
Yes, and you also can buy apple care protection plan (old apple care) in other country where applecare+ is not implemented yet.
 
Some people have said you can get the old Apple care for $249 on an 15" if you call the 800 number. If you wait more than 60 days after purchase I think that may be your only option. On the web site it say AppleCare+ must be purchased within 60 days, which make sense since it includes accidental damage.

I'd be curious if anyone was successful with this. I asked online chat about regular AC and they told me no dice, it's AC+ for a ridiculous $379 + tax, or nothing. Another shameless money grab from Apple. Phone? Ok, but computer that leaves the house FAR less than a phone? Shameless money grab from Apple.

Sorry, but not spending a quarter of the computer's price for AC+.
 
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I have a 2018 MacBook Pro. And T2 chip crashing issue did happen before. Do you think it's a good idea to buy an applecare+?

I just picked up a 2018 Macbook Pro 13" Touch Bar...what exactly happens when the T2 crashes, is it recoverable. How would Apple Care help with this issue? Thank you kindly.
 
Sorry, but not spending a quarter of the computer's price for AC+.

Totally not disagreeing with the sentiment, but AC+ is not a quarter of the price of the computer unless you got a hell of a deal!

I cannot see why anyone would not buy AppleCare+ or AppleCare (if it is available). These machines have shown themselves to be unreliable since the redesign, and at this point I think you just have to factor in the cost of the warranty into the price. Otherwise you are taking a gamble that nothing breaks and if it does that Apple will have already instituted an extended warranty for that break. In all honesty, Apple computers have never really been as reliable as their reputation and I have always considered AppleCare a requirement. It is more necessary now that reliability has gotten worse and repair costs have skyrocketed.

I don't like it. I think Apple needs to rethink their design philosophy. Until they do, this is the cost of owning a Mac. This is why so many are beginning to question sticking with Apple in the future.
 
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I psyched myself out by reading too much MR and got the Ac+. I feel a little silly since the computer has been absolutely fine.
 
Totally not disagreeing with the sentiment, but AC+ is not a quarter of the price of the computer unless you got a hell of a deal!

I cannot see why anyone would not buy AppleCare+ or AppleCare (if it is available). These machines have shown themselves to be unreliable since the redesign, and at this point I think you just have to factor in the cost of the warranty into the price. Otherwise you are taking a gamble that nothing breaks and if it does that Apple will have already instituted an extended warranty for that break. In all honesty, Apple computers have never really been as reliable as their reputation and I have always considered AppleCare a requirement. It is more necessary now that reliability has gotten worse and repair costs have skyrocketed.

I don't like it. I think Apple needs to rethink their design philosophy. Until they do, this is the cost of owning a Mac. This is why so many are beginning to question sticking with Apple in the future.

I paid $1750 for my mid-2015 model (new) in November. Also, I purchased it with a credit card that doubles the warranty, so really I'd be talking about $400+ including tax for a one year extension over what I already have.

In the past, I've bought regular AC and it was a smart choice, but it was also on computers that were $3k+ and regular AC was sub-$300, meaning less than 10% of the price. Back then there also wasn't credit card purchase protection that extended the warranty.

I still say regular AC might be a decent proposition at $300, because sure, if you buy a $3k computer and in month 13 the logic board goes out to the tune of $800, it puts you in a really ugly spot - spending $800 on a 12+ month old machine that you're already in it for $3k on seems absurd, but yet the computer is far too valuable to junk because you don't want to spend $800 fixing it. So in those situations, sure, AC is a lifesaver.

But these days, $400+ for AC+ with Apple forcing me to get accidental coverage I don't need or want whatsoever (with a further deductible to even use it on top of the $400+, good grief) in this day and age with credit card purchase warranty extensions, and it just seems to make less and less sense. Especially with fewer and fewer moving parts as time goes on.
 
I paid $1750 for my mid-2015 model (new) in November. Also, I purchased it with a credit card that doubles the warranty, so really I'd be talking about $400+ including tax for a one year extension over what I already have.

In the past, I've bought regular AC and it was a smart choice, but it was also on computers that were $3k+ and regular AC was sub-$300, meaning less than 10% of the price. Back then there also wasn't credit card purchase protection that extended the warranty.

I still say regular AC might be a decent proposition at $300, because sure, if you buy a $3k computer and in month 13 the logic board goes out to the tune of $800, it puts you in a really ugly spot - spending $800 on a 12+ month old machine that you're already in it for $3k on seems absurd, but yet the computer is far too valuable to junk because you don't want to spend $800 fixing it. So in those situations, sure, AC is a lifesaver.

But these days, $400+ for AC+ with Apple forcing me to get accidental coverage I don't need or want whatsoever (with a further deductible to even use it on top of the $400+, good grief) in this day and age with credit card purchase warranty extensions, and it just seems to make less and less sense. Especially with fewer and fewer moving parts as time goes on.
I see. Fair enough. You are certainly an edge case, but the point is valid. I think AppleCare+ is now priced for the current models which start much higher than what you paid.

It is certainly still more than 10% in many cases. I still think it is worth the value for most, including myself. My AppleCare+ was just under 10% the cost of the machine. But I also got the most expensive 13" model. I think most are hovering around 15-20% of the cost, which if you think of the old AppleCare at about 10%, making Plus around 15-20% does not seem too outrageous.
 
AppleCare+ covers accidental damage as well as manufacturing defects/failures.

AppleCare (the regular, non + type) will cover the t2 chip just fine.
 
I have a 2018 MacBook Pro. And T2 chip crashing issue did happen before. Do you think it's a good idea to buy an applecare+?

AppleCare is insurance and is priced such that Apple doesn't take a loss on it.

I have been burned before on AppleCare (computers needing repairs just after AppleCare expired) so I don't bother with it anymore.

Rather than the T2 chip, if I was to get AppleCare it would be for the keyboard.
 
AppleCare+ covers accidental damage as well as manufacturing defects/failures.

AppleCare (the regular, non + type) will cover the t2 chip just fine.

I'm pretty annoyed how much they are hiding the existence of normal AppleCare honestly.
Things like laptops (and certainly desktops) are far far less prone to accidental damage.

As was said above in this thread, AC+ makes total sense for iOS devices but honestly feels like a bit of a money grab from Apple on the Mac side. I just wish they were co-marketing and laying out both options on the same playing field for Mac users.
 
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AppleCare is insurance and is priced such that Apple doesn't take a loss on it.

I have been burned before on AppleCare (computers needing repairs just after AppleCare expired) so I don't bother with it anymore.

Rather than the T2 chip, if I was to get AppleCare it would be for the keyboard.
I see your point, and I totally see how that is frustrating, but this can really go both ways.

My 2014 iMac developed some annoying display retention issues in its third year, along with a few other minor hickups. This was outside of the 1-year warranty but would have been well within the 3-year warranty of AC. They are not annoying enough for me to spend 1000€ or whatever a display repair would have cost, but they are a nuisance, and in retrospect I really wish I would have put down the additional 130€ or whatever AC had cost at that time so that I could have gotten the issue fixed free of (additional) charge, instead of having to spend 5-10 times as much now if I would want to get it fixed.

Because of this (and some other issues I've had), I'll probably buy AppleCare (not +) for every new Mac from now on. There might be cases where the additional 100-300€ for AC is wasted, but in general I'd rather be a bit more safe and pay slightly more up-front for the additional 2 years of warranty, instead of ending up in a scenario where I might be forced to shell out an unexpected 1000+ € for an out-of-warranty repair on a machine that I need to be working. Of course you have a point that failures can also occur outside of these 3 years, but I'd still expect a large amount of hardware issues to happen within the first 3 years.
 
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Hi all ya' all,

I believe you may be making an assumption that might not be fully justified. And that is that AC+ is actually going to help you with the kernel panics/WiFi issues/monitor problems/T2 issues of the 2018 MBPs.

I bought AC+ and it hasn't helped me at all. I'm currently in "Apple slow down" mode, for lack of a better term. It took 28 days for Apple to replace my last 2018 MBP CTO. And the last 4 emails to two senior advisors (1 to one senior advisor, 3 to another senior advisor) have gone unanswered. I thought Apple Support was supposed to get back to you within a day, but that is not the case for me. And I have been nothing but courteous and respectful in all of my interactions with Apple Support, and I have followed all of their instructions even when they didn't make sense. So, in a nutshell, until Apple recognizes (or admits) that there is some underlying problems on the 2018 MBPs/2017 iMac Pros/2018 Macminis (but perhaps only on the CTO machines or some fraction of the T2 machines?), then AC+ may not be useful to you.

Having said this, I think AC is useful for the MBPs because of the risk of battery/keyboard troubles on laptops.

Good luck.
 
Hi all ya' all,

I believe you may be making an assumption that might not be fully justified. And that is that AC+ is actually going to help you with the kernel panics/WiFi issues/monitor problems/T2 issues of the 2018 MBPs.

I bought AC+ and it hasn't helped me at all. I'm currently in "Apple slow down" mode, for lack of a better term. It took 28 days for Apple to replace my last 2018 MBP CTO. And the last 4 emails to two senior advisors (1 to one senior advisor, 3 to another senior advisor) have gone unanswered. I thought Apple Support was supposed to get back to you within a day, but that is not the case for me. And I have been nothing but courteous and respectful in all of my interactions with Apple Support, and I have followed all of their instructions even when they didn't make sense. So, in a nutshell, until Apple recognizes (or admits) that there is some underlying problems on the 2018 MBPs/2017 iMac Pros/2018 Macminis (but perhaps only on the CTO machines or some fraction of the T2 machines?), then AC+ may not be useful to you.

Having said this, I think AC is useful for the MBPs because of the risk of battery/keyboard troubles on laptops.

Good luck.
I agree. Tomorrow is the last day for me to be AC+, which I hope can help me with T2 issue. But it sounds like it won't.
 
I don't see how the T2 issues should affect your decision in getting or not getting AppleCare+... if your machine is going to experience a T2-related crash, it will be within days or weeks of purchase. Meaning that you will still be covered by regular warranty at any rate. So regardless to whether you have or not have AppleCare+, your machine will be repaired/replaced for free. And you won't get any faster service with AC+ anyway...
 
I don't see how the T2 issues should affect your decision in getting or not getting AppleCare+... if your machine is going to experience a T2-related crash, it will be within days or weeks of purchase. Meaning that you will still be covered by regular warranty at any rate. So regardless to whether you have or not have AppleCare+, your machine will be repaired/replaced for free. And you won't get any faster service with AC+ anyway...
Currently there is no solution for T2 issue by apple. maybe after 1 or 2 years, there will be solution. By then, ac+ will help?
 
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