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Is AppleCare+ Worth It For One Year?

MichaelMidnight

MichaelMidnight

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 20, 2008
400
115
Los Angeles
With the advent of the new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, I've broken from two-year hold on a phone to just a year. I don't know yet if i'll jump ship in a year's time once the iPhone 7 is announced, but I'm wondering if I do stick to a year, is AppleCare+ still worth it?

From my understanding, the benefit of AC+ is that it extends coverage to 2 years, instead of 1, and has 2 accident preventions, so if say water damage occurs you pony up $100 and you'll get a new one.

But if I don't expect water damage but maybe a screen crack, isn't the cracked screen covered in the first year, or are the accident preventions also a benefit of AC+?

So my question is this, Is AppleCare+ Worth It For One Year?
 
I was thinking about this as well. However, I am more concerned with dropping the phone or water damage than I am any hardware issue. So, reluctantly I took Apple Care +
 
There was a very good thread with all the insurance options. Worth searching for, I discovered my credit card offers both extended warranty and loss/damage coverage! From what I understand AC does not mean replacement if your lost or damaged... there are fees involved.
 
MichaelMidnight said:
With the advent of the new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, I've broken from two-year hold on a phone to just a year. I don't know yet if i'll jump ship in a year's time once the iPhone 7 is announced, but I'm wondering if I do stick to a year, is AppleCare+ still worth it?

From my understanding, the benefit of AC+ is that it extends coverage to 2 years, instead of 1, and has 2 accident preventions, so if say water damage occurs you pony up $100 and you'll get a new one.

But if I don't expect water damage but maybe a screen crack, isn't the cracked screen covered in the first year, or are the accident preventions also a benefit of AC+?

So my question is this, Is AppleCare+ Worth It For One Year?
Click to expand...

Broken an iPhone, only has been broken, and it was my trusty 4S. However, I am always more concerned with warranty than anything else.
 
I've never heard of a screen cracking from regular use. Not saying it couldn't happen, but I imagine most scenarios involve some kind of trauma to the phone (which would only be covered by AC+)

However, you raise a good point about the yearly thing. Given that I'm 99% sure I'll be going for the 7 next year and that AC+ is now $129 (vs $99) for the policy and $99 (vs $79) for a replacement, I'm passing on AC+ this time. Just not worth it to me. I've dropped my 6 many times and it is still perfect (I do have a case on it).
 
fanta88 said:
I've never heard of a screen cracking from regular use. Not saying it couldn't happen, but I imagine most scenarios involve some kind of trauma to the phone (which would only be covered by AC+)
Click to expand...
^^^This. Apple sees this the same way. Generally, if your screen is cracked that's because of some external physical damage.

Which the standard warranty does not cover.
 
Waste of money and Apple knows it. If you tear it up in that year they will sell you one at a special price.
 
You can cancel your Applecare+ coverage after a year and get a prorated refund. So there's that.

EDIT: To clarify: you can cancel pretty much anytime and get the appropriate pro-rated refund. Also, this only applies if you've had no coverage claims.
 
id either buy a case or purchase insurance that cover lost or theft. Last I remember Att offered loss and theft protection for $7/month.
 
MichaelMidnight said:
With the advent of the new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, I've broken from two-year hold on a phone to just a year. I don't know yet if i'll jump ship in a year's time once the iPhone 7 is announced, but I'm wondering if I do stick to a year, is AppleCare+ still worth it?

From my understanding, the benefit of AC+ is that it extends coverage to 2 years, instead of 1, and has 2 accident preventions, so if say water damage occurs you pony up $100 and you'll get a new one.

But if I don't expect water damage but maybe a screen crack, isn't the cracked screen covered in the first year, or are the accident preventions also a benefit of AC+?

So my question is this, Is AppleCare+ Worth It For One Year?
Click to expand...
No definitive answer I'm afraid.

  • If you were clumsy and smashed/submerged your iPhone 6, then you would be really pleased you took out AC +, as it would have saved you a lot of cash in replacing 2 x iPhones.
  • If you went clumsy and didn't use your AC+, then you might look back and consider it a waste of cash (but only with the benefit of hindsight).
It's an insurance policy, no one can say how good it will or won't be for you.
 
I'm wondering how much a cracked screen on the 6s is going to cost. If it's less than $130 I see no reason to get AppleCare
 
I'm off the AC+ train now that I'm on Next 12.

Before, I'd buy AC+ knowing I was going to sell in a year, because it was transferable to the new owner. I seemed to get a slightly better price on eBay for the iPhone.

Now with Next, there's no need IMHO to spend the $129. My current iPhone is going back to AT&T, and my 6s+ is going back a year from now. I've got coverage for that year from Apple. I know there's no ADH coverage, but that's OK.
 
Not worth it in Canada (costs $169). I bought with a credit card that doubles the manufacturer warranty, and covers loss/theft/damage etc. for 120 days. If I break it after 120 days, I'll just pony up the screen repair service fee, which is cheaper than AppleCare+ + the service fee.

bueller1 said:
I'm wondering how much a cracked screen on the 6s is going to cost. If it's less than $130 I see no reason to get AppleCare
Click to expand...

$129 USD
https://www.apple.com/support/iphone/repair/screen-damage/
 
Last edited:
I would not get it with the new prices. A broken screen will cost $229 with AppleCare+ ($129 up front and $99 for a replacement) and $129 without it.

A total replacement without ac+ is $299
08c0a8807dfbcc104dc557fd3e9f0b1f.jpg
 
wksj said:
Not worth it in Canada (costs $169). I bought with a credit card that doubles the manufacturer warranty, and offers 120 day loss/theft/damage etc. If I break it after 120 days, I'll just pony up the screen repair service fee, which is cheaper than AppleCare+ itself at $169 and there's a $129 service fee!



$129 USD
https://www.apple.com/support/iphone/repair/screen-damage/
Click to expand...

Then it's definitely not worth it. $129 + $99 + $99 for 2 replacements or $129 plus $129 for two cracked screens. I rarely destroy a phone. Always just a cracked screen
 
bueller1 said:
Then it's definitely not worth it. $129 + $99 + $99 for 2 replacements or $129 plus $129 for two cracked screens. I rarely destroy a phone. Always just a cracked screen
Click to expand...

Exactly. Very few people have a total loss on their phone. A drop is usually just a new screen.
 
dsquared81 said:
I bought it with my amex so I'll use their benefits in case something happens. Plus I'll probably be getting the 7 in a year.
Click to expand...

Me too, but that just extends the manufacture warranty by a year. Nothing to do with accidental damage
 
bueller1 said:
I'm wondering how much a cracked screen on the 6s is going to cost. If it's less than $130 I see no reason to get AppleCare
Click to expand...

It's now $129+$99 ADH charge for a cracked screen. So that's $228 for the first cracked screen. I've only cracked a screen twice, with the original iPhone and 3GS. I replaced those screens myself. And I've now got damage/theft coverage from AT&T for $7/month.

What I did like about AC+ was the free advanced ship for a damaged/broken device. They'd send the replacement first, with a return label all ready to go for the damaged/broken iPhone. But that's not enough of a benefit to spend the $129. If somethings happens in the year, I'll bring it in to the Genius Bar or make a claim with AT&T.
 
I think it is, or it was until they started raising the prices on everything this year, because if you don't end up using it they will give you a prorated refund at the end of the year.
 
It's totally worth it for peace of mind if nothing else. Also you can get a pro rata refund if you don't use the whole two years. If I sell privately I also get a much better price more then covering the price of AppleCare Plus. Those credit card warranties don't normally cover accidental damage.
 
It adds to the resale value of the phone so I would say yes.

MichaelMidnight said:
With the advent of the new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, I've broken from two-year hold on a phone to just a year. I don't know yet if i'll jump ship in a year's time once the iPhone 7 is announced, but I'm wondering if I do stick to a year, is AppleCare+ still worth it?

From my understanding, the benefit of AC+ is that it extends coverage to 2 years, instead of 1, and has 2 accident preventions, so if say water damage occurs you pony up $100 and you'll get a new one.

But if I don't expect water damage but maybe a screen crack, isn't the cracked screen covered in the first year, or are the accident preventions also a benefit of AC+?

So my question is this, Is AppleCare+ Worth It For One Year?
Click to expand...
 
It's worth it to me because, as Mr. C posted, the peace of mind goes a long way. I have always used AppleCare on my computer purchases for varying reasons. While I never had to use AppleCare+ for my iPhone, I have had for iPads in the past, and a phone is more mobile than an iPad.

I'm not particularly clumsy and have never dropped a phone on a hard surface, but if you spend that much money on a device in the first place then it's not a terrible idea to spend a hundred more to cover it with one of the only warranty programs worth it out there. I've always had great experiences with AppleCare.
 
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