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Problem with my MacBook Pro, but I cannot bring it in.

TSE

TSE

macrumors 601
Original poster
Jun 25, 2007
4,089
3,738
St. Paul, Minnesota
I am currently studying abroad in Rome and using my laptop daily for projects. I come back on the 1st of August, and have warranty until the end of July.

Obviously, I cannot get it serviced in time. Is there a way I can tell Apple I am having problems now, but it's too inconvenient to bring it in now so I have to wait until I get back to the states?
 
Apple's warranty is international - you should be able to walk into an Italian store and have it serviced. That is your only option.

Obviously, if you are using it daily then that isn't such a bright idea. You'd have to buy a different laptop for work - either grab an MBA or pick up a cheap Windoze PC.

They will not service your MBP under warranty past the date it expires, even if you submit a ticket earlier, IIRC.
 
My problem is I am way too busy to be able to let my MacBook get worked on, I'm here to study after all. And don't know Italian all too well.
 
Gpulvi said:
Go to Porta di Roma's Apple store, they can help you with that issue or, the most expensive solution, buy an AppleCare extended warranty.
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QFT. Better to buy Apple care just in case if you are not near an Apple store. At least if its anything major you will be covered for most of the cost instead of all of it.
 
I have Applecare, I have an early 2011 MacBook Pro.

Sorry if that wasn't clear, thanks for the help thus far guys as well!
 
TSE said:
My problem is I am way too busy to be able to let my MacBook get worked on, I'm here to study after all. And don't know Italian all too well.
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I checked when your MBP was from and assumed that you already had extended coverage.

I'd imagine that somebody in the Rome store will be able to speak English well - it's the international language of business and Apple wouldn't advertise an international warranty and then not have bilingual/multilingual employees working in their stores.

I understand your predicament, but the only option you have is to get it serviced there and pick up a replacement MBA in the meantime. Just keep returning it every 10 days and move all important files from computer to computer using something like Dropbox. You've got a 14 day return period.

If that is not feasible, then the laptop won't be repaired under warranty.
 
AdamskiUK said:
I'd imagine that somebody in the Rome store will be able to speak English well - it's the international language of business and Apple wouldn't advertise an international warranty and then not have bilingual/multilingual employees working in their stores.
Click to expand...

So in the US/UK I can walk into an Apple store and someone will be able to communicate with me in Italian? Or in Finnish? In Rome the chances to find someone who speaks english well enough are quite high, so OP might be lucky. But my experience from the rest of Italy is that knowledge of English is not as prevalent as it is in some smaller European countries like Netherlands or Denmark.
 
Guys... I'm from Argentina and have been in that Apple Store last february. They DO SPEAK english, is one of the main malls in Rome and one of the three official Apple stores in the city. Just try, they are open even on sundays.
 
You haven't even said what's wrong with your laptop... Maybe they will be able to fix/repair while you wait
 
Write to Apple, I am sure that they will extend your warranty for a month or two. That is the normal thing to do. They once extended my return period by two month because I was traveling with the brand new laptop but wanted to return it. The customer service is very good.
 
OP, you have an international warranty, take it in to the Rome apple store as people recommended. Post back at what's wrong/and or did you get it fixed.
 
thundersteele said:
So in the US/UK I can walk into an Apple store and someone will be able to communicate with me in Italian? Or in Finnish? In Rome the chances to find someone who speaks english well enough are quite high, so OP might be lucky. But my experience from the rest of Italy is that knowledge of English is not as prevalent as it is in some smaller European countries like Netherlands or Denmark.
Click to expand...

You underestimate the English language. It's taught to pretty much every European child to a certain degree - in English schools, you're lucky if German is taught, let alone Italian. People in Scandinavia/Nordic countries speak better English than the majority of Americans - they truly embrace it to an astounding level. I've got a dozen friends from places like Belgium, Norway and Sweden and they all speak English better than some adults here in England.

It *is* the language of business, particularly outside of Asia, and Apple would not run a store where at least 1 employee couldn't speak it fluently to Genius standards, period. Their primary markets are English-speaking countries, so how can they offer international warranties and not have somebody able to speak English in their stores?

It's a heavy assumption but it's based on a logical argument.
 
A friend of mine had a similar situation last year, except he was in the dominican republic where there were no Apple stores. He called up Apple customer service and explained the situation. They went in to the system and extended his warranty by 3 months. They gave him a case number in case the store he took it to didnt see it. When he got back to NY they looked up his serial number in the store and sure enough his warranty had been extended, so no issues.

Just be nice and polite when you call and if you dont get the desired results politely thank them for their time, and call back in a few days and hope a different rep yields different results.
 
AdamskiUK said:
You underestimate the English language. It's taught to pretty much every European child to a certain degree - in English schools, you're lucky if German is taught, let alone Italian. People in Scandinavia/Nordic countries speak better English than the majority of Americans - they truly embrace it to an astounding level. I've got a dozen friends from places like Belgium, Norway and Sweden and they all speak English better than some adults here in England.

It *is* the language of business, particularly outside of Asia, and Apple would not run a store where at least 1 employee couldn't speak it fluently to Genius standards, period. Their primary markets are English-speaking countries, so how can they offer international warranties and not have somebody able to speak English in their stores?

It's a heavy assumption but it's based on a logical argument.
Click to expand...

Smaller countries in Europe are very different from big ones. From my own experience in Netherlands and Denmark, the average person on the street understands and speaks English quite well. The same is not true in bigger countries like France, Italy or Germany. While we do learn English in school (I'm from Germany originally), it does not play a role in everyday life (movies and TV shows are dubbed for example). Even in academia most discussions are made in the local language (unless foreigners are around), only the written publications are dominantly in English.

Now, I will not doubt that in a big Apple store in Rome you can find someone that speaks English well enough to handle a problem. But in smaller cities and smaller stores, I wouldn't bet on it.
Apple can provide international warranty by offering a phone number you can call - they don't even have their own stores in many countries.
 
thundersteele said:
Smaller countries in Europe are very different from big ones. From my own experience in Netherlands and Denmark, the average person on the street understands and speaks English quite well. The same is not true in bigger countries like France, Italy or Germany. While we do learn English in school (I'm from Germany originally), it does not play a role in everyday life (movies and TV shows are dubbed for example). Even in academia most discussions are made in the local language (unless foreigners are around), only the written publications are dominantly in English.

Now, I will not doubt that in a big Apple store in Rome you can find someone that speaks English well enough to handle a problem. But in smaller cities and smaller stores, I wouldn't bet on it.
Apple can provide international warranty by offering a phone number you can call - they don't even have their own stores in many countries.
Click to expand...

As you pointed out - they don't have their own stores in many countries.

In countries like Italy, their stores are found in their larger cities. Start to piece together?

Either way, my point is that Apple will specifically employ people capable of speaking English/specific languages. In fact, if you go to the Apple recruitment page HERE, you will see that there is a language filter section.
 
AdamskiUK said:
Either way, my point is that Apple will specifically employ people capable of speaking English/specific languages. In fact, if you go to the Apple recruitment page HERE, you will see that there is a language filter section.
Click to expand...

Yep. At least on the german site, the "Specialist" and "Genius" jobs don't require knowledge of English. The "Store Leader" jobs seem to require it, although it is not specifically mentioned in the ad.

In the end we are both just guessing here. I do know that it is relatively easy to find an employee in the Geneva (Switzerland) Apple store that is able to communicate in English. But then Geneva is somewhat special... but I am willing to believe that Apple puts more emphasis on having some English speaking store employees than e.g. the average GAP or H&M.
 
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