Transfer AppleCare+ to new country

[HummusToast]

I'm currently living in Japan and thinking about buying an Apple Watch Series 6 including applecare+ here.
I will however be moving to Germany in about 3-5 Months and would like to keep the peace of mind of applecare+.

Many people seem to have had no problem repairing their iPhones in other countries on applecare+ if there are official Apple Stores there.

I have read the official documents which state " If you seek service in a country that is not the country of purchase, you must comply with all applicable import and export laws and regulations and be responsible for all custom duties, V.A.T. and other associated taxes and charges. For international service, Apple may repair or exchange products and parts with comparable products and parts that comply with local standards "
I'm not entirely sure what to make of this and also in regards to a Japanese Apple Watch in Germany. Does this simply mean that the prices for applecare+ repairs because of incidents obviously will be the German prices and not the Japanese or that they might order a Japanese version and I will have to pay for shipping and so on.

Are there even different models of the Apple Watch Series 6 depending on region like with the iPhone?
Can I somehow officially transfer applecare+ to the new country like I will also be switching the region of my AppleID?

Edit:
I just checked and the Japanese and German Apple Watch Series 6 seem to be the same model number, even though they somehow have to encode the country of purchase like the ECG yet being disabled on the Japanese one.
Apple Watch Series 6 Models

 

[0128672]

My advice is to call the Applecare Agreement Team to find out what's possible. It's a bit of a tricky legal question and you'll want an answer from the best source. If you contact Support, they can transfer you to the agreement team.

 

[SaSaSushi]

There are physical differences between the German and Japanese models, for example the FeliCa radio for contactless payment and SUICA and PASMO transit systems.

If you ended up needing a replacement under AppleCare in Germany you would get the same Japanese model so I assume they would charge for you for the necessary shipping if they don't stock them there.

The ECG app and irregular heartbeat notifications will be enabled in the soon-to-be-released WatchOS 7.3 but until then you wouldn't be able to use them in Germany since this is also hardware-specific and location is irrelevant.

 

[HummusToast]

There are physical differences between the German and Japanese models, for example the FeliCa radio for contactless payment and SUICA and PASMO transit systems.

If you ended up needing a replacement under AppleCare in Germany you would get the same Japanese model so I assume they would charge for you for the necessary shipping if they don't stock them there.

The ECG app and irregular heartbeat notifications will be enabled in the soon-to-be-released WatchOS 7.3 but until then you wouldn't be able to use them in Germany since this is also hardware-specific and location is irrelevant.

Right, I forgot the FeliCa. But are those really different models with different hardware or just software switches (that cannot be easily changed), as the model numbers are the same and as we can see the ECG will also be enabled soon.

I guess I couldn't convince Apple Germany to just give me a German one when it needs repairs as I would have no need for the Japanese Features anymore after moving. Are you aware of any Features I would be missing in a Japanese version while being in Germany?

I will try to contact the Apple support tomorrow.

 

[SaSaSushi]

I stand corrected. It looks like Apple added Global FeliCa to iPhone 8, iPhone X and Apple Watch 3 in 2017.

The main differences in regional models appear to be firmware-based.

Still, I am quite sure if your Apple Watch needs replacement they would replace it with a Japanese model in Germany.

I had a US version Apple Watch Series 2 I received as a gift on a trip home to the states a few years ago which I had replaced here in Japan and they did, indeed, send me another US model.

 

[HummusToast]

That is very interesting and good to know. Thank you for sharing your experience.

Do you remember if you had to pay for the extra shipping or was it just a matter of taking longer?

Edit: The Japanese and American Apple Watch do have different model numbers while the German and Japanese Version is the same. I still think it is very possible that they would want to exchange for a Japanese Version in Germany.

 

[SaSaSushi]

Do you remember if you had to pay for the extra shipping or was it just a matter of taking longer?

I do remember and I didn't have to pay any shipping fees but I know that at that time they had the US model in stock at the Tokyo service center so that's probably why.

Edit: The Japanese and American Apple Watch do have different model numbers while the German and Japanese Version is the same. I still think it is very possible that they would want to exchange for a Japanese Version in Germany.

Do post back if you get any different information about this from Apple but from what I've seen online they seem to limit replacements to the identical model and region of purchase.

Is it a cellular model? From this page at Apple:

To cover the LTE and UMTS bands used around the world, cellular models of Apple Watch come in regional models for the Americas, China mainland, and Europe/Asia Pacific. Unlike iPhone, there isn't a worldwide Apple Watch model that supports all cellular bands used globally.

 

[HummusToast]

I just called the apple support in Japan. I was told that if I buy the upfront 2year AppleCare+ to a new Apple Watch Series 6 that I could use it in Germany for repairs without having to change anything (I was put on hold for a bit to check this).
After asking he also said that there shouldn't be any problems in any way with regards to the Apple Watch Series 6 in Germany as the Model is the same.

So I think I'm going to go forward with my purchase, hope for the best and don't worry about it. Fingers crossed I won't even need to take advantage of it and find out that there is a problem after all.

Thank you very much for all of your input.