UPDATE: Well... I give up on Apple, sort of.

[spyguy10709]

I wondered about this until I saw the VPN/India thing. Our 2018 MBP 15" has the stagelight problem, and we (wrongly, according to every Apple person on the phone) thought we could get Applecare up to a year after the purchase. So we called with a few weeks to go. No amount of pleading got us Applecare, and now the MBP is pretty much a useless $3000 machine -- unless we spring for a $600 repair. We're still waiting for Apple to do something, but they probably won't.

I'd visit another genius bar, and be polite but firm that it just isn't acceptable that your machine failed within such a short amount of time. Unless there's obvious physical damage, absolutely mention that you've seen that it's a widespread issue that "people you know" have faced and gotten resolved at no cost. (yelling at a clerk about "stagelight defects" won't help your cause, however.)

 

[vemac575]

Sure, i understood that. But thanks for explaining. Will check out some dongles then . Sounds like that could be the best solution.
Is there any consensus about what dongles are best? Some of them fit on the two ports, some are loose..

Just get any "do all" dongle that goes in one port. One with 4-5 stars on amazon. I wouldn't do the two port board type because they have to be on a flat service or can flex.

For home use, I am in love with the OWC thunderbolt 3 dock. It actually can take one port and output to two monitors without mirroring.
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https://www.macrumors.com/2017/06/21/applecare-plus-mac-iphone-60-day-purchase-limit/

As for the Mac, customers who have had their Macs for longer than 60 days but less than a year are not eligible for AppleCare+ but are still able to purchase a standard AppleCare Protection Plan, MacRumors has learned. Apple is only offering AppleCare+ for Mac on its website, so customers will need to call in to Apple Support to make the standard AppleCare purchase. Standard Mac AppleCare is priced at $149 to $349, depending on the machine.

Macbook pro users are NOT eligible for applecare up to a year after purchase anymore. At least not in the US.
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Apple makes great phones, tablets, and I really love the AirPods Pro. Also - Apple Customer service is unbeatable.

What has been seriously lacking lately are their desktop and laptops and MacOS is an embarrassment. I actually prefer using the current iteration of Windows 10 over Catalina 9 times out of 10. My main machine now is an MSI GS65 and the only reason I have my MacBook Pro 13 is for Final Cut Pro, Xcode, and the hope that the next release of Mac OS will be great.

Still no touch screen on a MacBook, no official Nvidia support for gaming, and the OS isn't as solid as it used to be. Not sure what is going on but the fans randomly blow like crazy and battery life has been garbage since Catalina. Really tempted to just revert back to Mojave which I thankfully created and saved on a separate partition!

I'd have to disagree with you on complaining over no touch on macbook screens. I think that's a pretty nit picky and gimmicky thing to complain about.

 

[Whackman]

Just get any "do all" dongle that goes in one port. One with 4-5 stars on amazon. I wouldn't do the two port board type because they have to be on a flat service or can flex.

For home use, I am in love with the OWC thunderbolt 3 dock. It actually can take one port and output to two monitors without mirroring.

Thanx. Won't buy the double port type then.

 

[PostApple2016BrainWash]

That's why Tim cook is the wrong guy for leading apple product and most people agree about it.

 

[vemac575]

That's why Tim cook is the wrong guy for leading apple product and most people agree about it.

****’s personal now... I hate him and Jonny Ive. The two single handedly ruined Apple. This Macbook crap that’s been going on for the last 2-3 years has negatively impacted my business in a HUGE way. I have 5 kids and a wife who depend on me. PERSONAL.

 

[MrGunnyPT]

****’s personal now... I hate him and Jonny Ive. The two single handedly ruined Apple. This Macbook crap that’s been going on for the last 2-3 years has negatively impacted my business in a HUGE way. I have 5 kids and a wife who depend on me. PERSONAL.

how many times have you replaced your keyboard? I’m on 2nd time

 

[chrono1081]

This is the first time I have heard that Applecare is being axed....I would have expected to pick up more wailing and railing. Googling "Applecare axed" does not come up with any hits.

The only thing I have heard recently is that Applecare can be optionally extended beyond the three years.

I must be misunderstanding something.

You’re not. AppleCare is not axed I’m literally staring at it on their site. This thread is full of BS.

 

[simplysly]

First off, I used to be the guy who reasonably stood up for Apple. I acknowledged their shortcomings but overall, I was a huge fan of the company and the merchandise. So this was not an easy realization to come to and I tend to hate these "I hate Apple threads".

HOWEVER...

Ever since the 2014 Macbook Pro, I've had nothing but issues. It got worse with the 2017 and now, the 2018. I will save you all the long, terrible stories of the crap I've been through with Apple's machines. They always made it right though. The reason I am writing this, is their decision to axe Applecare, and not grandfather those of us who bought them up to a year ago, and still had time to buy it.

I've had issues since day one with this Mac, but I have been unable to take it to the Apple store for repairs, because of lengthy hospital stays. No big deal though, I thought. I'll just buy Applecare like I always do. Come to find out, they got rid of it in September.

What a coincidence. WHAT A FKN COINCIDENCE that Apple got rid of it, right around the time millions of people would be purchasing it, to send in (over the next 2 years) all of the i9 2018 Macbooks that get too hot to do anything for long...

SO, I will send it in and get the repeating buttons, faulty USB ports and graphics glitching taken care of. BUT the buttons WILL start repeating again, the heat will always be an issue (which by the way freezes my touchbar when it gets too hot), and it will overall always be a hindrance to my work.

But I will either sell it after I get it back from repair, or give it to my wife and...

BUY THE NEW ONE. Yep, and that's where the "sort of" comes in. I have been using Logic Pro X for years and it is not on a PC. So I will just take it in the rear and buy another Mac WITH the Applecare +, and deal with whatever issues arise from these machines that are now supposed to be fancy, at all cost to quality.

Anyway... I just needed to rant. The day Jobs died, I knew this was coming. I hoped these days wouldn't, but they have and I think all of us knew that the honest and customer considerate soul of Apple was Steve, and now that he's gone, it's just another business that cares more about money than it does it's products or customers.

Damn shame...

This is heavy. Logic Pro X user here. Use it for my daily work. MBP 19 15inch overheats. Touch bar freezes more often that i would of liked. If I wasn't 100% reliant on Logic Pro X to bring home the bacon i would have ditched apple 3 years ago. Sad post

 

[vemac575]

This is heavy. Logic Pro X user here. Use it for my daily work. MBP 19 15inch overheats. Touch bar freezes more often that i would of liked. If I wasn't 100% reliant on Logic Pro X to bring home the bacon i would have ditched apple 3 years ago. Sad post

Wish you the best.

 

[Mike Boreham]

You’re not. AppleCare is not axed I’m literally staring at it on their site. This thread is full of BS.

Can I have another go at understanding this thread. Which of the following statements is no longer true after the recent change:

1. Products have a one year warranty whether Applecare is purchased or not.

2. in the first 60 days you can buy Applecare+ which includes accident cover

3. In the first year you can buy standard Applecare which does not include accidental cover.

4. Both standard Applecare and Applecare+ extend the warranty by two years, ie to three years from new.

 

[chrono1081]

1. Products have a one year warranty whether Applecare is purchased or not.

2. in the first 60 days you can buy Applecare+ which includes accident cover

3. In the first year you can buy standard Applecare which does not include accidental cover.

4. Both standard Applecare and Applecare+ extend the warranty by two years, ie to three years from new.

1. Correct. You get one year, and 90 days tech support.

2. Correct. Applecare+ covers two accidents BUT you will pay a $99 deductible for screen damage or external enclosure damage and $299 for other damage (like if you submerged it in water). The deductibles sound bad but I get it, when there were no deductibles people abused the crap out of it.

3. Correct on certain items. It appears that all devices except for the AppleTV are AppleCare+ now. I'm personally not keen on this move but I get it, I used to work in IT and most people came in because they broke something and not because said something stopped working.

4. Correct, you are covered a full three years.

It sucks tacking AppleCare on to a purchase but if you break the coverage down year by year its not too bad. It was $375 for my 16 inch I just ordered. I'm paying $125 a year for coverage for a $4500 laptop, that's not terrible. If its dropped I pay $99 to get it fixed not over a thousand. I carry it a lot so coverage is worth it for me personally.

 

[Mike Boreham]

1. Correct. You get one year, and 90 days tech support.

2. Correct. Applecare+ covers two accidents BUT you will pay a $99 deductible for screen damage or external enclosure damage and $299 for other damage (like if you submerged it in water). The deductibles sound bad but I get it, when there were no deductibles people abused the crap out of it.

3. Correct on certain items. It appears that all devices except for the AppleTV are AppleCare+ now. I'm personally not keen on this move but I get it, I used to work in IT and most people came in because they broke something and not because said something stopped working.

4. Correct, you are covered a full three years.

It sucks tacking AppleCare on to a purchase but if you break the coverage down year by year its not too bad. It was $375 for my 16 inch I just ordered. I'm paying $125 a year for coverage for a $4500 laptop, that's not terrible. If its dropped I pay $99 to get it fixed not over a thousand. I carry it a lot so coverage is worth it for me personally.

Thanks for that. So is the big issue, that triggered this thread, is that you now have to decide to get Applecare+ in the first 60 days, because after 60 days standard Applecare is no longer available, (but you still have the one year warranty).

So bad news for prevaricators!

BTW I think there are regional variations in Applecare+...I am in UK but I assume the current US situation will spread to other regions.