When I bought my 3GS I also purchased a 2 year Squaretrade warranty with accidental coverage. To make a long story short, my phone went swimming and the plan doesn't work exactly how I thought.
If you get your phone wet:
They will re-imburse you the cost of an out of warranty replacement. Out of warranty replacements don't do anything with your contract so you don't have to worry about eligibility. I was told it is $199, but I have a 32GB so I'll find out today. Even though it's not a problem for me (or most other people) you have to lay the money out yourself. They will not send you a check first. Once you send them your receipt, they will cut you a check in 5-10 business days. You arrange your new phone through Apple.
Any other issues:
You send them your phone. I'm not sure if you pay for shipping or not, but they will attempt to fix your phone. They claim an 80% success rate.
My problem isn't the terms, I should have read them closer or asked more questions, thats on me, but this plan is really not a good deal unless you really beat your phone to hell.
Squartrade Plan = $79
Deductible for accedentals = $50
Most of the damage I've seen with iPhones have been cracked screens. Even though Apple charges $200 to fix this, you can do it yourself for about $20. And even if you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself, most local places charge about $60 for this. If you drop your phone and crack your screen 3 times in the 2 year period you'd pay $79 + $50 + $50 = $179. Locally at $60, you can crack your screen 3 times and pay the same $180. You'd have to crack 4 screens in 2 years just to be at break even.
If your phone goes swimming, that's going to be a better value. $79 + $50 = $129 in fees, but they will reimburse you $214 for a new refurb phone. While you would be in the black if you completely ruin your phone, the other question is, is it worth spending $129 to potentially gain $85? After your $79 plan and your $50 deductible you only net $85. Even if your phone goes swimming and then you crack a screen, because of the $50 deductible and the fact that most shops charge $60 for a replacement you still only net $95. Still probably not worth the cost of the $129, you might never have a problem.
The only other scenario this would possibly make sense is in year 2 if you have a non accidental problem with the phone. Again though, you would come out ahead, but in my opinion not enough to warrant the up front payment. What if the phone never breaks?
So, if you know for a fact you are going to beat the hell out of the phone, or your sure it'll go swimming, if your clumsy or careless it might make sense, but for the vast majority of people I don't believe the square trade warranty is a good deal.
If you get your phone wet:
They will re-imburse you the cost of an out of warranty replacement. Out of warranty replacements don't do anything with your contract so you don't have to worry about eligibility. I was told it is $199, but I have a 32GB so I'll find out today. Even though it's not a problem for me (or most other people) you have to lay the money out yourself. They will not send you a check first. Once you send them your receipt, they will cut you a check in 5-10 business days. You arrange your new phone through Apple.
Any other issues:
You send them your phone. I'm not sure if you pay for shipping or not, but they will attempt to fix your phone. They claim an 80% success rate.
My problem isn't the terms, I should have read them closer or asked more questions, thats on me, but this plan is really not a good deal unless you really beat your phone to hell.
Squartrade Plan = $79
Deductible for accedentals = $50
Most of the damage I've seen with iPhones have been cracked screens. Even though Apple charges $200 to fix this, you can do it yourself for about $20. And even if you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself, most local places charge about $60 for this. If you drop your phone and crack your screen 3 times in the 2 year period you'd pay $79 + $50 + $50 = $179. Locally at $60, you can crack your screen 3 times and pay the same $180. You'd have to crack 4 screens in 2 years just to be at break even.
If your phone goes swimming, that's going to be a better value. $79 + $50 = $129 in fees, but they will reimburse you $214 for a new refurb phone. While you would be in the black if you completely ruin your phone, the other question is, is it worth spending $129 to potentially gain $85? After your $79 plan and your $50 deductible you only net $85. Even if your phone goes swimming and then you crack a screen, because of the $50 deductible and the fact that most shops charge $60 for a replacement you still only net $95. Still probably not worth the cost of the $129, you might never have a problem.
The only other scenario this would possibly make sense is in year 2 if you have a non accidental problem with the phone. Again though, you would come out ahead, but in my opinion not enough to warrant the up front payment. What if the phone never breaks?
So, if you know for a fact you are going to beat the hell out of the phone, or your sure it'll go swimming, if your clumsy or careless it might make sense, but for the vast majority of people I don't believe the square trade warranty is a good deal.