applecare

Apple Whisks Defective iPad Away, Leaving Me Without One
By Laura Northrup on April 7, 2011 8:02 AM  
The problem with having the latest, shiniest, newest gadgets is that when something goes wrong and that shiny gadget sells out, there aren't any others to exchange it for. That seems to be what happened to Nicholas, who bought an iPad 2 at Target, and shipped it off to Apple after had screen problems after only a few hours of use. More »

(Photo: Daquella manera)

Newborn And Mountain Dew Ruin Macbook, Applecare Goes Above And Beyond
By Laura Northrup on January 21, 2010 12:42 PM  
Mark's MacBook had an unfortunate run-in with an open container of Mountain Dew while he was holding his newborn daughter. He called Apple, but expected no help from the company, and certainly not an exception to Applecare's accidental damage rules. He was wrong, and surprised. More »

(Photo: dougwoods)

Don't Get Cat Vomit On Your Laptop
By Chris Walters on January 20, 2010 2:00 PM  
Tayler's cat and Tayler's MacBook Pro just had an unfortunate run-in. Does anyone have any advice on cheap ways to repair this laptop, or at least how to get the content off of it without paying hundreds of dollars? More »

(Photo: William Hook)

Apple Replaces Shattered iPhone After Customer Drops It
By Chris Walters on December 18, 2009 7:44 PM  
Someone in Apple's iPhone Support department just got the crap haunted out of him by three ghosts, I'm guessing, based on what happened when David called to explain that his wife had dropped and ruined her brand new iPhone. More »

Smoking Near Apple Computers Creates Biohazard, Voids Warranty
By Laura Northrup on November 20, 2009 6:00 PM  

—>Unless you've just arrived in 2009 on a time machine, you know that smoking isn't good for you. Did you know, that smoking isn't good for your computer, either? It's true, at least according to Apple. Two readers in different parts of the country claim that their Applecare warranties were voided due to secondhand smoke. Both readers appealed their cases up to the office of God Steve Jobs himself. Both lost.  More »

Is The iPhone 3G Liquid Sensor A Filthy Liar?
By Laura Northrup on September 20, 2009 5:30 PM  

—>Here's the $199 question. What does it take to set off the moisture sensor on an iPhone 3G? Immersion in water? Sweat from a vigorous workout? Using the phone on a humid day? The truth is somewhere on that continuum, and many iPhone users claim that their warranties have been unfairly voided when normal use set off the sensors.  More »

AppleCare Is An Extended Warranty Worth Buying
By Carey Alexander on August 11, 2009 11:30 PM  

—>I asked Apple this morning to replace my broken laptop now that they've reintroduced the anti-glare option on their 15" MacBook Pros. Apple agreed, and soon a new laptop will leave China destined for my apartment. This isn't the first laptop Apple sent me this month. It's the second. Here's why...  More »

Macbook Pro Owner Caught In Warranty Catch-22 Thanks To Apple's Mistake
By Chris Walters on July 7, 2009 4:23 PM  

—>Because of an Apple technician's mistake, Gennadiy had two options for repairing his 2009 Macbook Pro: either pay $1240+tax to replace the logic board because Apple said water damage voided the warranty, or push the unseated cable back into place and prove that there was no water damage—which would void the warranty. Gennadiy took the second option and saved himself over $1300, but now has no warranty should something actually happen to the logic board that should be covered.  More »

Apple Sells You The Wrong AppleCare Package, Then Loses Your Refund
By Carey Alexander on April 11, 2009 8:00 PM  

—>Apple sold reader Melody the wrong AppleCare package, but instead of switching her to the proper coverage, they issued a refund and told her to re-purchase the warranty extension. They even gave her American Express transaction reference numbers so she could track the refund, but AmEx says the numbers are invalid and that they have no record of a refund posting. Melody's been out $195 since February, and thinks it's time for Apple to cough up her money.   More »

Apple: Cosmetic Damage Keeps Us From Replacing Your Battery!
By Carey Alexander on March 1, 2009 3:33 PM  

—>Apple claims that they can't replace reader MTW's MacBook battery because the laptop's case is chipped. The minor cosmetic damage doesn't affect the computer's functions and isn't even on the same side as the laptop's battery, which stopped holding a charge months after the case cracked.  More »

Apple: Sorry We Wrote On Your Macbook Screen With Pen And Then Lost It, Here's A New Laptop
By Meg Marco on July 7, 2008 3:39 PM  

—>Reader Brandon's Macbook had some cracks and stuck pixels, so he sent it in to be repaired. When he got it back the cracks were fixed, but someone had written on his screen with pen. So, naturally, he sent it back. This time, they lost it. Don't worry, there's a happy ending.  More »

Apple Replaces Lemon Laptop As Promised
By Chris Walters on March 13, 2008 1:12 PM  

—> Our intern Alex's lemony MacBook Pro finally went out with a spectacular graphical display of what it looks like when a robot's brain dissolves. Fortunately, Apple made good on the promise they gave him last month when he asked about their replacement policy, and a new replacement MacBook Pro is on its way to him. They're also refunding a portion of his AppleCare. Is this just typical Apple follow-through or above and beyond treatment because Alex's story was posted on Consumerist?   More »

Dear Apple: My Macbook Keeps Trying To Light My House On Fire, Please Replace It
By Meg Marco on February 21, 2008 4:09 PM  

—> This poor guy is named Steve. Steve's Macbook keeps trying to light his house on fire, so Steve would like replacement. He's already sent the computer for repair several times, gotten it back, at which time it tried to light his house on fire again.   More »

Canadian No Longer Has To Pay More For AppleCare
By consumerist.com on January 29, 2008 1:30 PM  

—>Zachariah no longer has to wonder about why AppleCare costs more in Canada ($199) than in the US ($169), he found a deal at L.A. Computer Company where he could get it for $119. They emailed him the agreement number, he registered the number online at Apple, and received his official AppleCare Protection Plan Certificate in the mail. So what's the solution to the mystery of why there was a pricing disparity even though there's parity between the dollar and the loony? We don't know for sure, but we're placing our money on that the prices were figured out when the dollar was worth more and they just haven't been readjusted since.  More »

Canadians Wonder Why They Have To Pay More For AppleCare
By Meg Marco on January 4, 2008 6:59 PM  

—>We all know that Canadians have to pay more for books, but why do they have to pay more for AppleCare?  More »

Apple Urges You To "Take At Least Some Responsibility" For Your Defective iBook
By Meg Marco on September 21, 2007 2:33 PM  

—>Awhile back we posted a letter from a guy whose claim on a defective iBook G3 Logic Board repair was "9 months too late" and was denied by Apple. He wrote Steve Jobs and the Apple Executive Support team agreed to repair the defective unit under the "Extended iBook Logic Board Repair Program."   More »

iPhone Defective? That'll Be $29 For A Loaner
By Meg Marco on August 22, 2007 11:46 PM  

—>Reader Jonathan's iPhone just keeps breaking. The second time, rather than replacing it, they decided it would need to be repaired—and tried to charge him $30 for a rental phone.   More »

Apple Denying Warranty Repairs? E-mail Steve Jobs.
By Meg Marco on June 22, 2007 3:39 PM  

—>By far the most common "Apple" complaint we get at Consumerist is about our readers being denied warranty repairs because of some sort of "damage".   More »

Apple Denying Warranty Repairs? E-mail Steve Jobs.
By Meg Marco on June 22, 2007 3:39 PM  

—>By far the most common "Apple" complaint we get at Consumerist is about our readers being denied warranty repairs because of some sort of "damage".   More »

Apple: If We've Never Seen It Break Before, It's Not Covered By Your Warranty
By Meg Marco on April 24, 2007 6:29 PM  
The center pin from her power brick BROKE OFF in the computer. Now, Apple's infamous for power-cords that fray and break, but this is a totally new failure in my 18 years as a sysadmin. NEVER have I seen the pin of a power adapter break off in its computer.  More »