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Too late for Apple Care?

N

nordsee

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 26, 2013
3
0
Germany
Hi folks,

yesterday I spilled water over my rmbp, about half a glass. I turned it upside down immediately to let the water run out, carefully dried it with a towel and put it in the sun on my balkony for a few hours. seems like it was my lucky day, everything works fine so far.

As I searched the internet about what to do about the spilling, I learned that apple placed so called "water sensors" inside the mbp so that they can see if it ever got wet.

I didnt buy apple care for the rmbp yet, and I wonder if it still makes sense to buy it, or if apple will track future hardware damage back to me spilling water over the rmbp?

has anyone had a similar problem, any experiences?

regards

p.s.: Excuse my bad english please, as you might have noticed its not my native language ;>
 
I don't think Applecare will cover accidental spills. Might be covered under your home insurance policy though. Just keep liquids far away from the MBP when you are working.:rolleyes:
 
Im not talking about future spills. Lets say 1 year from now my mbps logic board dies. Will it be covered by Apple Care or will they (Applestore salesmen) say its because of the water spilling that happened before (as they can see that from the sensors)?

I know there is no definite answer to that question as it is very situational, but maybe someone here experienced something similar.

regards.
 
nordsee said:
Im not talking about future spills. Lets say 1 year from now my mbps logic board dies. Will it be covered by Apple Care or will they (Applestore salesmen) say its because of the water spilling that happened before (as they can see that from the sensors)?

I know there is no definite answer to that question as it is very situational, but maybe someone here experienced something similar.

regards.
Click to expand...

Don't get Apple care, it's a waste. If anything goes wrong and they take apart your Macbook, they will see that the water sensors have been triggered. That will void any Apple care you have.
 
tgi said:
Don't get Apple care, it's a waste. If anything goes wrong and they take apart your Macbook, they will see that the water sensors have been triggered. That will void any Apple care you have.
Click to expand...

Well, I would call Apple and ask if they can detect whether or not the water sensors have been triggered. If not, I would recommend buying apple care. On the other hand, if water has triggered the sensor, then maybe they can take note of it before you buy Applecare. That way, your computer will have warranty if anything else goes wrong with it that is not related to liquid spills.
 
gentleman00 said:
Well, I would call Apple and ask if they can detect whether or not the water sensors have been triggered. If not, I would recommend buying apple care. On the other hand, if water has triggered the sensor, then maybe they can take note of it before you buy Applecare. That way, your computer will have warranty if anything else goes wrong with it that is not related to liquid spills.
Click to expand...

I don't think that's a bet Apple would be willing to take, fluid spills can still cause problems to develop over time. I think once they see there was liquid intrusion they will void whatever warranty is left and you won't be able to buy Apple Care for it.

I know spilling is accidental, I guess I'm just surprised at how frequently such threads pop up. Leaving the laptop out in the rain tops the list, though...

"Inland marine" insurance is great if you can get it, cheap too.
 
nordsee said:
Im not talking about future spills. Lets say 1 year from now my mbps logic board dies. Will it be covered by Apple Care or will they (Applestore salesmen) say its because of the water spilling that happened before (as they can see that from the sensors).
Click to expand...
If liquid damage is suspected (i.e. the indicators show contact with a liquid), then the repair will most likely not be covered.

If you take it to an Apple Store, it will be a technician (Genius), not a sales person (Specialist), who will start the repair and let you know.
 
On the retina there is a whole lot of liquid sensors placed at various places, either they will find out water damage by the sensors or if any corrosion is on the board. The only way to know is for you to find out yourself, if you do take it to apple and ask to chekc the sensors they will doubt something fishy.
 
nickandre21 said:
On the retina there is a whole lot of liquid sensors placed at various places, either they will find out water damage by the sensors or if any corrosion is on the board. The only way to know is for you to find out yourself, if you do take it to apple and ask to chekc the sensors they will doubt something fishy.
Click to expand...

Apple technicians can check to see if the sensor have turned red. If not, then you can purchase an Applecare warranty. If the sensors are red, then there is no use purchasing an Applecare warranty, and you are out of luck. Asking Apple to check the sensors should not raise any suspicions. You simply want to find out if it makes sense to purchase Applecare warranty.

Of course, if you have the technical skills, you can open the MBP and check the sensors yourself.

http://www.hardmac.com/news/2012/07/03/10-water-sensors-in-the-new-retina-macbook-pro
 
AppleCare is kinda pointless in the EU for hardware faults as most of the countries have laws in place that say faulty goods should be replaced or repaired within a certain amount of time. For example, in the UK it is the Sale of Goods Act, which covers every consumer bought item for 6 years. Some countries only have two years but I think that's the minimum.

AppleCare does offer phone support but I have never had any issues ringing outside of the usual 90 days and speaking to someone for free if I need to...not that I ever really have.

Most people, when buying a new TV, get an extended warranty offered by the store and simply turn it down. However, because of the way Apple has stated what AppleCare is and how they market it leads people into thinking they really need it or must have it. It's just a belated, very overpriced extended warranty that, in the EU at least, is completely pointless.
 
Last edited:
In your opinion. Sale of goods act will not cover every product for three years. With AppleCare you also get telephone support. I would always get AppleCare with a high costing item like an iMac or MBPR. I've never bothered with my iOS devices though (as I never plan to keep them that long!)
If the OP gets the sensors checked, and they are ok, it's his choice if it seems like a good investment (for 3 years support and piece of mind).
 
scbond said:
AppleCare is kinda pointless in the EU for hardware faults as most of the countries have laws in place that say faulty goods should be replaced or repaired within a certain amount of time. For example, in the UK it is the Sale of Goods Act, which covers every consumer bought item for 3 years. Some countries only have two years but I think that's the minimum.

AppleCare does offer phone support but I have never had any issues ringing outside of the usual 90 days and speaking to someone for free if I need to...not that I ever really have.

Most people, when buying a new TV, get an extended warranty offered by the store and simply turn it down. However, because of the way Apple has stated what AppleCare is and how they market it leads people into thinking they really need it or must have it. It's just a belated, very overpriced extended warranty that, in the EU at least, is completely pointless.
Click to expand...

It's 6 years in the UK not 3
http://www.apple.com/uk/legal/statutory-warranty/
 
Apple fanboy said:
In your opinion. Sale of goods act will not cover every product for three years. With AppleCare you also get telephone support. I would always get AppleCare with a high costing item like an iMac or MBPR. I've never bothered with my iOS devices though (as I never plan to keep them that long!)
If the OP gets the sensors checked, and they are ok, it's his choice if it seems like a good investment (for 3 years support and piece of mind).
Click to expand...

You're correct, but it's impossible to summarise the Sales of Goods act in this context in just a brief sentence or two. The act does cover you in most circumstances apart from the obvious ways such as buying from another individual over eBay or Gumtree. Even in those circumstances you are covered but you try tracing someone you bought an item from on eBay 6 years ago.

The telephone support generally sucks and is free anyway. In the words on an Apple employee, "Even though we have a pay per call option if you don't have telephone support Apple would never turn away it's customers." In other words, call up, get support and if they try to charge you (unlikely) just say you aren't paying the charge and they will just carry on providing the support.

----------
dazlicous said:
It's 6 years in the UK not 3
http://www.apple.com/uk/legal/statutory-warranty/
Click to expand...

I stand corrected. I knew it used to be 6 years but I recently read somewhere that it was 3 years and assumed it had been amended. Makes AppleCare that much more useless unless it's given to you for free.
 
magbarn said:
And Brits always complain of the 'high cost' of your Apple products... It costs Apple much more to sell a product there in the UK as they have to repair your computer for 6 years! I guess your 2x Applecare is baked into the cost of your products.
Click to expand...

Not at all, it's baked into a law which has been around since 1894. Apple aren't going to charge us more because we're protected by sensible laws. The reason we pay much more is because of value added tax, currently at 20%. Factor in that Apple has to ship and import them into the UK and we actually pay around the same, plus the 20% tax on the top. When Brits complain about the cost, it usually comes down to the tax.

The rest of the EU (i.e. the first world) has similar laws to protect consumers. Don't knock our laws or say we complain when we haven't got things like the US senate and the NSA to contend with!
 
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