What if you bought applecare, and didn't activate?

[agentphish]

What if someone bought applecare 2 years ago and didn't ever activate it because they thought it was like most other extended warranties where you don't have to activate anything and all you have to do is physically buy it.

Is that person screwed?

 

[scienide09]

Very likely, Apple won't make an exception. AppleCare is very clear on the fact that it MUST be activated within the original one-year warranty. They do this to avoid being frauded.

If you have all your documentation, such as original receipts for when the Mac was purchased and when AppleCare was purchased, you might find a Apple rep sympathetic enough to help you. It's a long shot, but could be worth it.

 

[agentphish]

Thats what I was figuring on.

My cousin's macbook seems completely fubar from what I can tell...and even though I told her 10 times to activate it she never did.

My aunt and uncle took it to the apple store about a year ago and were denied coverage because it was never activated. The magic color changing top case of the macbook was the culprit then.

My uncle got pissed and walked out of the store because "It should be automatically activated from the moment you purchase it, like every other extended warranty I've ever seen, and it's not ethically right for them to not honor it if it's clear that you bought it and you have proof of that" He got nowhere with apple in the store by stating this.

 

[Scooterman1]

Use it on a New One

If she buys a new computer, just activate it for that one. I bought 2 iPhones last July, and got 2 Applecare's when they offered the $100 refund. I didn't activate them at the time. I'm planning on activating them before the 1 year is up, and if I decide to go with the new iPhones, I can activate them for the new ones instead. You see, there IS a benefit to waiting until the 1 year is almost up, but you DO need to activate them in order to use them.

 

[mreg376]

My uncle got pissed and walked out of the store because "It should be automatically activated from the moment you purchase it, like every other extended warranty I've ever seen, and it's not ethically right for them to not honor it if it's clear that you bought it and you have proof of that" He got nowhere with apple in the store by stating this.

"Not ethically right"? That's the typical answer in our current "I'm always the victim" world. In that world, when you buy something with instructions you don't have to read them and you get to assume that they say what you want them to say, and if they don't it's someone else's fault.

Zero sympathy here for any of the "adults" involved.

 

[JNB]

I think the only thing that even comes close to "automatic" activation is if the APP is purchased at the same time as the hardware in question. When I bought my G5 iMac and APP in the same purchase in-Store, they actually activated it for me prior to leaving (even though they never mentioned it). When I got everything set up at home and registered the machine with Apple, the warranty was shown to expire three years out.

This, obviously, is something done by individual employees at POP, and not to be assumed to be policy, but as it was the iMac and APP for same (and I told them I wanted the APP for it), it was pretty apparent.

If someone purchase APP for any product that is not part of that product's purchase, how the $%^& is Apple supposed to know what serial number to tie it to? How do they know it's for that individual, and not a gift, or a purchase by a parent?

 

[Henri Gaudier]

"Not ethically right"? That's the typical answer in our current "I'm always the victim" world. In that world, when you buy something with instructions you don't have to read them and you get to assume that they say what you want them to say, and if they don't it's someone else's fault.

Zero sympathy here for any of the "adults" involved.

Ohh ... I'd be so sad if you momentarily assumed something based on previous experience but it turned out to be not so and it came back to be a pain for you. That would be really awful.

 

[mreg376]

Ohh ... I'd be so sad if you momentarily assumed something based on previous experience but it turned out to be not so and it came back to be a pain for you. That would be really awful.

It pretty much was awful. They couldn't get their Mac repaired under Applecare. You consider that a positive outcome for The Victim Mentality? And one well worth not taking 30 seconds to read the instructions, especially after the OP said he told them 10 times to activate it?

 

[MacDawg]

If she buys a new computer, just activate it for that one.

applecare is specific to what you buy

applecare

for instance, i bought an imac with applecare and brought it back unopened the next week and got a macbook with applecare,
but i had to get the macbook applecare instead of the imac applecare

they are not mix and match and the cost is different

Woof, Woof - Dawg

 

[iJon]

You are not screwed. This happens all the time. If you have a receipt showing when you purchased your machine and when you purchased Apple Care you can fax them the information and they will activate your warranty.

Don't count on the peons at the Apple Store. CALL Apple.

jon

 

[Grimace]

I think you are supposed to activate it within a much shorter time frame than 1 year; at least, that was the case when I used to work for Apple a few years back. If you don't, you will have to go through lengthy phone/fax communications -- and if you don't have proof of purchase, you are probably out of luck.

Paying with a credit card helps because Apple keeps those receipts on file and they can be dug up for ~18 months after the purchase, with a lot of prodding.

 

[iJon]

I think you are supposed to activate it within a much shorter time frame than 1 year; at least, that was the case when I used to work for Apple a few years back. If you don't, you will have to go through lengthy phone/fax communications -- and if you don't have proof of purchase, you are probably out of luck.

Paying with a credit card helps because Apple keeps those receipts on file and they can be dug up for ~18 months after the purchase, with a lot of prodding.

Not true. AppleCare can be activated on the first day of warranty up until the last day of the 1 year warranty. Makes no difference.

jon

 

[agentphish]

Well all I know is when they went to the store a year ago, they where refused applecare service.

I have told my cousin at this point that she needs to find her receipt and applecare box and I will make sure it gets activated. I'm sure they will do it if I call apple and beg.

Otherwise she'll be out ~120 bucks for a new hard drive and I'll have to spend my time installing it.

 

[iJon]

Well all I know is when they went to the store a year ago, they where refused applecare service.

I have told my cousin at this point that she needs to find her receipt and applecare box and I will make sure it gets activated. I'm sure they will do it if I call apple and beg.

Otherwise she'll be out ~120 bucks for a new hard drive and I'll have to spend my time installing it.

Where did you buy the machine? If you bought AppleCare at the time of purchase you should only have to find one receipt. If you bought them separately then you will need to find both of those receipts. Rest assured though that if you do find them and fax them to Apple they will resolve this issue.

The people at the Apple Store can only honor what their computer spits back at them. Once you get this situation handled then your local Apple Store will be more than willing to help.

jon

 

[Hawkeye411]

"Not ethically right"? That's the typical answer in our current "I'm always the victim" world. In that world, when you buy something with instructions you don't have to read them and you get to assume that they say what you want them to say, and if they don't it's someone else's fault.

Zero sympathy here for any of the "adults" involved.

Geez ... you sound like an American ... oh . NM...

 

[varmit]

What if someone bought applecare 2 years ago and didn't ever activate it because they thought it was like most other extended warranties where you don't have to activate anything and all you have to do is physically buy it.

Is that person screwed?

Depends on how they bought it. If they bought it with on the same purchase on the over the web, its most likely that the AppleCare is already registered to that computer. Just go to the support website and look up the AppleCare to see if its still in warranty. If they bought it at the store, and got a box version with their purchase, then most likely they needed to register it, and has to be done in the first year of owning the computer. Again, just check on the support website and see if the AppleCare is 1 year or 3 year.