I know that Applecare+ does not cover lost or stolen, which I don't understand to some extent. If I smash my iPhone with a sledgehammer I get a new phone for $49 but if I lost it in a lake I get nothing. Trying to decide if Applecare + is worth it and what alternatives exist for a 4S....and is there anyone who does cover lost/stolen phones?
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Lost or stolen insurance?
- Thread starter davidra
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It makes sense the way Apple has it already - if it covered lost phones you could theoretically walk into an Apple Store, claim the phone as lost when it could very well be in your back pocket, pay $49 and walk out with a second iPhone. There's no way for Apple to verify if the phone is lost or not.
That's because it's not insurance. If you want insurance for your device then shop for insurance. AppleCare+ is a warranty that also covers a set number of incidents involving accidental damage.
Homeowners or renters is your best bet. Most dedicated tech insurance companies don't do it because the iPhone is very expensive and the program would be rampant with fraud. Even if they did block it from US carriers unlocked phones still will sell for a nice premium to be sold overseas. When present the opportunity to take $300-$400 and turn it into $1000 your going to have a lot of fraud.
Funny how what you just described sounds an awful lot like insurance. I still say it is irrational to say that you will replace a phone I drop off a building but not one I drop off a boat. But whatever. My homeowner's deductible is more than the cost of an iPhone so that won't do. Does Square Trade cover lost/stolen devices? Does anyone?
There's a big difference between a warranty and insurance.
Your homeowners policy will often cover lost/stolen but not warranty.
Your homeowners policy will often cover lost/stolen but not warranty.
Semantics. Warranties usually cover manufacturer's defects, not accidents where you smash the phone to pieces. Applecare + is NOT just a warranty; it's insurance against damage that you cause to the phone as well as a warranty. Do you really not see the difference?
There is a difference and Apple's biggest reasons have already been pointed out, which you've chosen to ignore.
Securranty does, but I actually never went through the claiming process to see how they are:
http://www.securranty.com/smartphone-extended-warranty-accidental-damage-handling-loss-theft.html
I'm not ignoring it. It may seem very rational from their point of view, just not from the consumer's point of view. And as I said before, I suspect there are ways of minimizing the risk of fraud by disabling the phone. The way I see it, Applecare+ seems to be a great deal if you are pretty sure you'll smash your phone not once (which would save you no money at all over just going with the regular warranty) but twice. Of course, you would need to be more careful the second year without it, but really...it doesn't seem that overwhelming a deal if you are careful with your phone. What am I missing?
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They do for some phones, but not the 4 or 4s.
You're not missing anything.
It's no different than buying an extended warranty on a TV or any other piece of equipment. It's a piece of mind for those who are often clumsy, but generally useless to the rest.
Disabling the phone on a worldwide level with multiple carriers wouldn't be an easy task, they'd have to be on the watch for new hacks or tricks to bypass their systems, and they'd have to deal with the poor unlucky saps who bought said phone thinking it was legit and working.
It's much easier for Apple to simply avoid those risks by not covering lost/ stolen.