Sure there is. Replacing the mainboard should do the trick in most cases. I have over a dozen of 2018 models in my care and none of them are crashing.
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Given the T2 chip crashing issue, shall I buy AppleCare+
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Sure there is. Replacing the mainboard should do the trick in most cases. I have over a dozen of 2018 models in my care and none of them are crashing.
Yes, you can buy the old applecare if you call the applecare line, but make sure you actually get to an applecare person. I spoke to a general customer service person first, and they said it was no longer offered. I called back and made sure to get to actual applecare, and they said you can still buy it up to one year after purchase.
typical Apple, they trying to push people during first 60 days from purchase to buy more expensive ac+
Its that thought process that got me thinking of why am I sticking with the MBP.
If you buy a machine with T2 crashes don't wait for 2 years. Return it...
None of mine have them, but if they did, I'd return them in a heartbeat.
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all the mistakes that were on apple part were usually fixed by apple for free; that was the experience with 2012 MBP for me. That's why I'm staying. If that changes, i'm out.
You are basically paying Apple extra for the right to pay them additional exorbitant "co-pays" when something goes wrong.
I view it more like insurance. You are paying a small amount in case something much more expensive happens. AC+ includes accidental coverage, so it becomes more akin to paying for collision coverage on your car. Something you never hope you have to use, but if you drop your macbook in a puddle you are glad you have.
I get that bit. But you buy a 15" MBP and Apple wants an additional $379 for AppleCare+ which extends your warrant an additional 2 years and adds 2 instances of accidental damage. But even with AppleCare+ if you crack your screen it will cost you an additional $99, if you drop it in a puddle as you suggest, it will cost you an additional $299 for liquid damage.
In other words, if you crack your screen it will have paid $478 for a replacement (the $379 for AC+ and the $99) copay. What does it cost you now to replace a screen? I believe back in 2017 it was $475, maybe a bit more now. But it is almost a wash. Liquid Damage used to be about $800, now with AC+ it is $678. I am not arguing that it isn't a saving, but unless you need both claims, it isn't a significant one due to the co-pays UNLESS you need both claims.
Most people will never use either claim.
By comparison, Lenovo charges $87.20 to extend a Lenovo P1 warranty to 3 years and 3 years accidental damage can be added to that for an additional $119.20. So $206.40 for 3 years warranty with accidental damage. Not only is it cheaper to begin with, but doesn't have the 2 incident cap or the co-pays. The limitation is that if the cost of the claim exceeds the cost of the laptop, they will replace it with a new laptop. You can't complain about that.
Microsoft Complete is $149 with 2 incidences of accidental damage and a $49 co-pay.
The point I was really trying to make is that Apple charges more than enough for AC+ where they are making plenty of money on it, especially considering the majority make 0 accident claims, that they don't also need to be charging those kinds of "co-pays" in addition to it.
Apple is the party benefiting most by everyone adding AC+
As you say their prices may not be as low as the competition, but it is the same with all insurance. But, I know with AppleCare+ if I need a repair I can walk into the store 3 miles from my home or anywhere in the US, and likely get it looked at, evaluated, and repaired quickly. Or if they do need to send it and I have an immediate work need, get a replacement unit quickly (another reason I don't order BTO configs.). At worse I would buy a new unit, use it for a business trip, and return it for a refund when my unit is repaired.
Regarding there likely be no claims, all insurance is like that. There is no way any insurer can stay in business and make a profit unless the vast majority of people make no claims. It is the same with car insurance, health insurance, home insurance, etc. These are all for profit companies, with shareholders that expect a return on their investments. And if they do not make a profit, the executive's heads roll.
Right, but Apple is making it hand over fist. The others aren’t losing money with their lower upfront fees and lower co-pays either. If they were they would either raise prices or discontinue it. They make plenty at the lower prices, Apple would make plenty if their AC+ and co-pay were priced competitively as well.
I have never seen Apple books, so I have no way to understand what their cost/profit structure is or things like their costs to repair a system versus other companies.
Apple suffers in comparison to Lenovo and Microsoft in that they are primarily a consumer product company. Microsoft makes most of its profit from services, like Azure, and subscription based software, like Office 365 or MSDN. Lenovo makes a lot money from services and from the sale of servers.
Quartz reported that the second largest part of Apple revenue comes from "services." Verge reported that revenue from "Services" increased 26% year to date. Apple makes plenty of money from "services," which include iCloud, AppleCare and iCloud.
Bottom line is that the AC+ plus co-pay, results in a cost to the user of about 80% of the out of warranty repair if you only make a single claim. If your auto or home insurance company were to tell you that your premium and deductible would cost you 80% of any uninsured claim, you would probably tell them to get stuffed and find another insurance company.
You would be better off taking that $379 plus $299 ($678) and putting it into a savings account toward the very rare event you drop your MBP into a puddle.
As I mentioned in my original post, it is the exorbitant "co-pays" I am opposed to, not the cost of AC+. For $379 that should cover 2 incidents or at most have a reasonable "co-pay" per incident of $49.
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For me the solution is to simply live with the warranty they include and then count on credit card extended warranty protection for an extra year/two/three depending on which card we are talking about.
Of course I actually have a 2015 model, my second one now, and I’ve never had a single issue with either of them so far.
The best protection one could get is to “not buy the newest models”. Lol
Of course I actually have a 2015 model, my second one now, and I’ve never had a single issue with either of them so far.
The best protection one could get is to “not buy the newest models”. Lol
I had a 13" MBP that had to have 2 screen replacements due to "staingate." Other than that the only product I have ever had to make an accidental damage claim on was an iPhone I was carrying in my hand when I slipped on some ice and it went flying. That is one phone out of countless phones over the years. In addition to credit card extended coverage, put a little bit of money aside every month for accidental damage coverage and you will come out ahead in the long run.
For those who have trouble saving, sign up for something like Acorns. It just rounds up purchases to the nearest $ and puts them in an investment account. It did it on a whim just to see how much money it would net and it ended up being thousands a year just on freaking rounding up purchases hahaha.
Apple is now near enforcing the need for AC+ due, to the extensive repair cost's due to Apple's own poor design decisions. No doubt there's a decent margin in both, with Apple looking to squeeze every cent it possibly can out of it's customers.
IMO For the price of a modern Mac AC+ should be included in the price gratis. My current primary notebook came with 24 months international & 36 months national warranty, nor any legal requirement at no additional cost. The fact that the notebook is covered by the manufacturers warranty is a great incentive as no matter the brand notebooks are generally expensive to effect repair on, that said Apple is truly "milking it" theses days...
After all Mac's are so reliable, what's Apple got to loose
Q-6
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Looking more at the comparisons with other companies. With Microsoft "you can use one of the two Accidental Damage Claims to replace your Surface. The only cost is the deductible amount for the claim." That deductible being $49. Not a bad price for a new machine. I think if I did accidentally drop mine into a puddle, that would the route I would go rather than trying to repair that kind of water damage.
You can also get an out of warranty replacement for a Surface device. Out of warranty replacement for a Surface Book 2 15" is $649, which is still less than Apple wants for repairing water damage even if you do have AC+ ($678).
It is a shame that they are enforcing the need for it and it is a shame that they seem to be enforcing the purchase of AC+ rather than AC only. While I think Accidental Damage can at times be worth it for a mobile device, I wouldn't ever buy it on a MBP if it were a separate option as it is with Lenovo.
This was my point of my response. Microsoft and Lenovo make most of their money from many things other than personal devices and services to support them. Apple does not have these other large revenue streams and must make it from the sale of personal devices. So when comparing the service contract prices of Microsoft, Lenovo, and Apple you need to factor in these differences.
How much do you factor in until there is just not good value there?
What if I were to make you an offer for Home Insurance and I told you that you would have to pay me a high premium upfront for 3 years in which you could make 2 claims on that insurance during that 3 years. What is the deductible you ask? Well, that depends on the cost of the repair. The more expensive the repair, the higher your deductible will be, but you will save an average of 20% per repair vs being uninsured for those two claims. Would you go for it? Likely not.
But you are OK with paying for AC+ and the "co-pay" that will add up to about 80% of what an out of warranty repair will cost?
Is there really any question about whether or not a company valued at just south of $1T, whose second largest source of revenue is "services" is somehow not making enough money for those services?
It’s strange the way this seems to be positioned at the moment. I wonder if they’re planning on terminating AC? Or if they’re just going to lead with AC+ and will continue allow AC as an “on request” option.
I agree, when you look at the risks and the payments, it’s a tough pill to swallow IMO.
To those of you who talk about dropping your MacBook in a puddle, are you actually talking about dropping your MacBook in a puddle by accident, or is this just some meme I’m not in about? When I think of water damage on a laptop, the first thing that comes to my mind is accidentally spilling some drink over it; is this not 100x more likely to happen than dropping it in a puddle?
It has fortunately never happened to me thus far, but I can totally see how putting cups of coffee, water etc. right next to it might end up with the liquid being spilled over the MacBook per accident if you (or someone around you) is not careful. Can’t say that my naked MacBook has ever gotten close to a puddle on the other hand. Or is there some other reason that liquid damage is seemingly associated with dropping your MacBook in a puddle in this thread?
When I think of water damage on a laptop, the first thing that comes to my mind is accidentally spilling some drink over it; is this not 100x more likely to happen than dropping it in a puddle?It has fortunately never happened to me thus far, but I can totally see how putting cups of coffee, water etc. right next to it might end up with the liquid being spilled over the MacBook per accident if you (or someone around you) is not careful. Can’t say that my naked MacBook has ever gotten close to a puddle on the other hand. Or is there some other reason that liquid damage is seemingly associated with dropping your MacBook in a puddle in this thread?
It seems like it’s a slam dunk money spinner. I don’t doubt it.
It would be interesting to see Apple’s return counts and the refurbishment costs. But then, when those returned MBPros are refurbished and then sold, a portion of those same units are getting AC+ purchased too, I would assume. So on one MacBook Apple may collect AC+ fees more than once. Although there are obviously cases where they are doing multiple returns under a single purchase too. I know we’ll never get real figures, but return quantities on the MBPro compared to industry average would be really interesting.
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To those of you who talk about dropping your MacBook in a puddle, are you actually talking about dropping your MacBook in a puddle by accident, or is this just some meme I’m not in about?
It has fortunately never happened to me thus far, but I can totally see how putting cups of coffee, water etc. right next to it might end up with the liquid being spilled over the MacBook per accident if you (or someone around you) is not careful. Can’t say that my naked MacBook has ever gotten close to a puddle on the other hand. Or is there some other reason that liquid damage is seemingly associated with dropping your MacBook in a puddle in this thread?
I think it’s just an absurd “catch all”. I don’t think too many people walk around without their MacBooks near puddles
lots of threads about spilled drinks though.
Can you still even purchase regular Apple Care for a new MacBook Pro? I don't see it as an option on the US site. Perhaps you can still get it by contacting them directly, but I was told you can not. Even if you can request it, it sounds as though the goal is to eventually phase it out.
Those kinds of warranties are always a tough pill to swallow, especially when it amounts to an additional $299 for anything other than display or enclosure. I know if I simply took the money that AppleCare would cost me for every Apple device I have purchased over the years the balance would be in the thousands.
I think it’s just an absurd “catch all”. I don’t think too many people walk around without their MacBooks near puddles
Spilled drinks is a much more common occurrence than the mud puddle for sure. If not by you, then by someone else. I cringe when my wife reaches across my laptop to hand me a cup of coffee. I have a friend who gave his wife a brand new MBP for Christmas and she spilled a glass of wine into the keyboard that evening. Knock on wood I haven't done something like that in decades because I learned my lesson once the hard way a long time ago