You Can Now Extend AppleCare+ for Macs or Get It for an Apple TV

Hope they remind me before mine’s up. If I keep it that long, it’s an Intel after all.

They won’t. I recommend looking it up and adding the date to your calendar.

Wish they’d bring back plain old AppleCare extended hardware coverage. I can do without that other stuff.

From this Apple page dated April 20th 2021, it looks like this only applies to USA for Macs.

It is clear from that page that extended cover is available in other regions for iPhone, iPad and watch, but not for Macs.

Unlike the Roku remote, does the new AppleTV remote have a FindMy? Or do we get some VHB and stick a Air Tag on the back?
I agree that you probably don’t need AC+ on a Desktop although I wonder on the iMac’s with the edge glass that its not tempered so, just a weighted nick is all it takes to ruin it. And I imagine the display is laminated with the glass. When I was an Authorized Mac tech, it was monthly an iMac would come in for display glass issue. And recently had an iMac 21.5" out of warranty that developed a line on the screen (not damaged, atleast not obvious). That model was $500 for display plus labor. Owner opted for new 27"imac and happier.

Sadly, no.

Thanks, I’ve fixed that now.

Is the pricing the same on a per-month basis as the original AppleCare+? That is, if the initial iPhone AppleCare+ is $149 for 24 months, does that mean that the extension is $149/24 = $6.21/month? Or is there a separate pricing plan for the extension?

Thanks for this!

My desktop macs ( iMacs ) have experienced failures and AppleCare saved me twice. Most recently my 27 inch 2019 iMac had a motherboard replacement after 4 months of ownership, so that failure alone more than paid my AC premium.

Wouldn’t a motherboard failure within 4 months of purchase been covered by the warranty, regardless of AppleCare?

I managed to get to my iMac page in mysupport. I’m eligible to extend AppleCare coverage, but I could not locate a link to do so. Chat with Apple support got me nowhere. They just kept wanting to sen me to the page I was already on! Does anyone know where a link to extend coverage is located? Thanks.

Could you be using a browser extension or the like that could be hiding the link? Perhaps try a different browser. I sometimes see that sort of thing with Brave’s shields, for instance.

I sometimes see things like this when using an ad blocker or Firefox’s enhanced tracking protection. Sometimes offers like this involve the use of cross-site tracking cookies as they redirect from one site to another. If you block the cookies or the script, then you won’t be able to access the offer.

Try temporarily disabling these features, either globally or for the specific site in question.

I don’t understand why any one would want to buy this type of insurance for anything. Insurance companies by any name are a business designed to make money by appearing to help you. Truth is they take your money and give you little in return. In the 27 years since I purchased my first Mac I would have paid $15+k in Apple care against less than $1k in repairs. I currently own 11 Apple computers, iPads, iPhones, etc. Keep your money and save it for the long term. This applies to any extended warranty on any product. Alway remember that insurance is really there to make money for the Insurance Company and it is only incidental if they have to pay any money out.

Having two brothers in insurance and having needed their services several times I’m not so sure. Also, having my wife pour a large coffee down the gullet of my fairly new MBP (past the year initial coverage), and having my AppleCare rescue me from $1,200 damage (try that on a part-time pastor’s salary in rural NC) I’m really not sure I agree with you. At the same time though, the few times I have needed that protection versus the number of Apple products I have owned with NO problems, what you say makes sense. However, having had our car and much of our newly purchased home destroyed just over a year after the purchase left us very grateful for an excellent company

You need insurance for you car by law, your house and personal liability because these can wipe you out. Your electronics, appliances, etc. you are much better to self insure in the long run.

The only devices I recommend AppleCare for are MacBooks and iPhones. I’ve used AppleCare for both, though I might have been better off self-insuring. I quietly pay for AppleCare+ for my mom’s and in-law’s phones, because it might make my life easier one day.

I’ve somehow never broken a single iPad in ten years, and even if I broke one after all that time I’d be ahead. The SSD in my 2014 iMac failed after 4-5 years, but at that point it was time for a new machine anyway. (And Adam used it to practice his repair skills.)

It’s also important to remember that AppleCare prices scale based on the cost of the device. AppleCare+ for my father-in-law’s new iPhone SE is $4 a month. It would take 100 months at $4 a month to self-insure it. And AppleCare for desktop Macs is, or at least used to be, dirt cheap.

I used to be of the exact same opinion as @jcenters. But I’ve started doubting AppleCare for iPhone.

It’s expensive and it lasts for only 2 years. And when you most likely need it, you’ll still be paying out of pocket (less of course than without AppleCare). If you’re very clumsy you probably still want it. I rarely drop my iPhone (hope I didn’t just jinx it) so that’s no worry here. Don’t have a case either. If you frequently swap your iPhone you might as well just self-insure. And if you rarely update it, you’ll need more than just two years.

I got it with my 12 mini. My next iPhone I won’t be getting it. My desktop Macs never had it, my MBPs always will.

I have found that a good case (like an Otterbox Defender) makes AppleCare less necessary. One phone I bought, maybe the 7 Plus, fell out of my shirt pocket the first day of vacation, hit the pavement, and shattered. It was brand new at the time, so I was pretty mad, but Apple fixed it.

I always get and Otterbox case for our iPhones. Saved me many a time. My wife’s iPhone looks like it has been through too many cement mixers and yet it still looks fine when the case is removed. I also use Otterbox screen protectors.

@nrkmann I agree on the extended warranties on appliances, etc, but when it comes to my computers I prefer to be safe. However, I am very tempted with some of the offers I’m getting by phone for warranties for our car we traded away 8 years ago!!!

Planet Money had a nice piece on those scams.

That was a great episode indeed.

@ace That is a great article! We just got a postcard telling us we needed to renew the “vehicle protection update” on our 2012 car that was destroyed in an hailstorm 3 years ago lol. That was after several unanswered phone messages.

Re: the Atkinson brothers fiasco mentioned in the article. My dad was an FBI agent and arrested a top 10 fugitive who had a long history of bank robberies. The guy was a genius - literally. Dad asked him, “you have the intelligence to do anything you want to do. Why did you decide to become a bank robber?” His reply: “because it was easy and I could get quick money.” Yea, and serve long time lol. Someone is always looking for the easy, no matter who it hurts. Thanks for the article - sounds like the bank robber lives on and on and on ;-(

I’ll admit I’ve always bought AppleCare, but NOT for hardware – (I’ve never had an Apple device die before it’s usefulness), but for rather phone tech. The catch with the 1 yr warranty is that problems are more likely to become serious after a sys update or 2.
Generally I use it after becoming frustrated looking for resolutions to software issues, After about 20 mins getting nowhere , ACare pays for itself after a couple calls if you consider my time (even at minimum wage) worth anything.
All isn’t golden, often I have to be elevated to senior tech – but to date, I’d say I’ve had about a 95% success rate (once you get them past system updates / phone wipes).

Correct me if I am wrong, but I don’t think Apple charges for phone help anymore. Collecting serial numbers and verifying coverage took too much time and if someone was turned away, Apple’s reputation suffered. Now, they’ll talk to anyone, and if you need a senior advisor, you can get one.

Their phone support is fantastic, best in the industry, although I often find I need a senior advisor. The first line is only good for basic things, and those answers can often be found online. What remains awful is the voice response system that answers when you first call them. The one that says “I can understand full sentences. So tell me what you need” . . . Try this sentence “Help with an existing case number”. It doesn’t understand that. So, don’t waste your time with the stupid robot, just ask for Technical Support and the robot will confirm and connect you.

They say on the recording they only provide support for 90 days after purchase, but if you have issues with an Apple OS or App, they will provide phone support. No AppleCare needed. Just like the Genius Bar. They will not discuss third party apps, browser add-ons, or any other devices you may be using that aren’t made by Apple even if you bought them from Apple.

However, God forbid if you are using an Apple public beta. If so, they will not continue the conversation, and you are on your own. My advice is, unless you are really expert at Apple software, do not join the public beta program. Or join, but don’t load the new stuff until the beta test has run for a while, and the early game stopping bugs have been addressed.

AppleCare is for hardware (and you can also now buy theft and loss coverage, but there is a deductible). AppleCare covers the cost of repairs, unless you caused the problem. So if you dropped the phone and cracked the screen, you may need to pay for the repair, but at a reduced amount. But if it was an accident, then it is covered. So, never admit you dropped the phone. You were on your bike and got hit by a car door and knocked to the ground. An earthquake hit and knocked your phone off your desk, and it hit the floor and cracked.

I have always purchased the AppleCare and have not needed to use it much. My MacBook battery was swelling and bending the case, but that was covered for everyone due to a recall. My iPhone 8 was stolen, but theft coverage wasn’t available when I bought the phone.

What is new is you can continue the AppleCare after the coverage you bought on purchase has expired. This never used to be possible. Pay it monthly, just like other Apple subscriptions.

I’m getting the 12 Pro Max 256GB and I’ll buy the AppleCare again. Just for the loss and theft coverage.

Beta programs are not intended to be pre-releases for the general public. They are meant for developers to port and test their applications so they will be ready when the OS finally ships.

Yes, you are expected to know what you’re doing with beta system software. It is expected that there will be bugs and you are expected to file high quality bug reports with the beta program as you find them.

If you are not willing and able to do this, then beta software is not appropriate and you should wait for it to be released.

Agreed. But What happens when the beta software presents more than a bug?

The public beta is released long after Developer Betas were released to that community. Most of the really awful bugs were supposedly caught by the developers. Now it is up to the public to find lesser bugs. Display anomalies. Third-party software bugs caused by the new OS.

I was testing a long-standing bug in Photos syncing with iCloud. Just to make sure there were no remnants in my OS installation, I decided to reinstall the current beta from the restore partition as opposed to updating from one beta to the next.

Instead of getting the current V5, I ended up with V3. I could not do restores from Time Machine.

There was no one at Apple that would provide help. People who pay to be developers have support paths available to them. Public testers pay nothing but receive nothing.

Finally, a senior advisor took pity and educated me. In the past, Time Machine only backed up user data. I was informed that TM had been updated to back up the OS as well. So, it was now possible to erase my HD and restore both my data and the V5 OS beta. The solution was easy to execute, but difficult to discover.

When downloading the beta, you should have gotten information for how to file a beta bug report. I would assume that this is your only support channel for beta software.

I wouldn’t expect the phone support people to have a clue.

I would certainly advise any beta testers to have a means of restoring a release version of macOS/iDeviceOS for this very reason. I’ve had to do so for both phone and in-store support in the past.

Betas aside (and no, if there’s any doubt in your mind, you should NOT install a beta), the important point here is that Apple does not seem to require AppleCare for phone support anymore. I’ve certainly never had an Apple support person ask about it or make any reference to it in any way.

You are indeed correct, I’ve been able to receive phone support for awhile. I didn’t realize that this was official.

Thanks for clarifying that to me.