Apple includes a one-year warranty on all new products they sell. Apple also offers an extended warranty on some of their products through a program called AppleCare. All new Macs have a 3-year AppleCare warranty available for additional cost that extends the 90 days of phone support out to 3 years as well. Apple also has a 2-year warranty called AppleCare+ for iPods, iPhones and iPads for an additional cost that covers accidental damage.
While I have never used the AppleCare warranty on my MacBook (thank goodness), I recently had a problem with my AirPort Extreme. Every few hours, it would disconnect from the Internet and reset itself. While I was thankful that I never had to physically reset it, it was still annoying to have Doctor Who freeze up right when I was trying to catch up in time for the theater release of the Christmas special!
I had owned my AirPort Extreme for about 10 months, so I figured I would check and see if the warranty could do anything for me. I called AppleCare (1-800-MY-APPLE), and after the machine picked up and asked me to state my problem, I was transferred to technical support specifically for AirPort routers. Within seconds, I was talking to a real person.
My AppleCare technician greeted me and asked what my issue was. She started to realize I was a techie and had done all of the standard troubleshooting like leaving it unplugged for 30 seconds, checking cable connections, etc. She then asked me to check the wireless channels of the surrounding networks and found them not to be interfering - blah blah blah.
Very quickly, she realized it was a hardware issue and gave me a case number to use at any Apple service center. I made an appointment with the Genius Bar at the Apple Store in Lynnwood and headed there.
After scrambling around to find a parking spot at the Alderwood Mall, I walked into the Apple Store a couple minutes early and was greeted with a smile and asked my name. They found my appointment, sat me down and told me Doug the Genius, who was assigned to me, was finishing up his last appointment.
What came next was the only problem I came into through my entire experience. I waited at the bar for about fifteen minutes, in which time two or three employees asked if I needed help. The Genius helping the customer next to me went to check on Doug. I was a little impatient when he came out to help.
He apologized and explained that he was the only AirPort specialist in the store that day and that he was glad to help. I gave him my case number and he pulled it up on his iPad. He saw that all the correct diagnostics were done and grabbed me a new AirPort Extreme. Within five minutes of walking in, I left with a brand new AirPort Extreme with a 90-day warranty, which was longer than what I had left on my first router.
From beginning to end, I spent about 1.5 hours from the time I called AppleCare to walking out of the Apple Store with my new router. Even with the fifteen minute delay, I was so happy with how easy it was. There was no redirecting my call or making me fill out tons of paperwork. I didn’t have to mail out my router and wait 6-30 weeks for my replacement.
All in all, I was very happy with my experience and plan to continue buying AppleCare with all of my Apple products (I’m looking at you, iPhone 6).
I hope this helps you with deciding whether AppleCare is worth your money and time. If you have any questions about AppleCare, give us a call at 800-645-2533 or leave a comment below. Please feel free to share your personal experiences with the AppleCare program in the comments section below as well.