Customer Reviews

AppleCare Protection Plan (For Portable Apple Computers 15 Inches and Above) OLD VERSION

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I've been a Mac owner since 1992 and am still a completely satisfied customer. Apple is AWESOME when it comes to Apple Care usage. Back in 2001 I sent in my G4 Powerbook for a logic board fix due to the old "pixel flicker" problem, and not only got it back in 3 days, but also got a new top case (where you rest your hands/trackpad) and they replaced my missing feet for free and without request! (The feet cost about $50 a set, and the top case is roughly $250.)

In 2006 I sent in the same G4 Powerbook for another logical board fix (5 years of heat abuse bent the logic board) I again received quick service and replacement feet.

I've also used Apple Care to get new chargers for my laptops. (Mine tend to short out after a few years as I use my laptops 10+ hours a day, 7 days a week, and take them EVERYWHERE with me). I've also gotten brand new replacement iPods with my Apple Care if they've had any drive problems (e.g. from dropping them).

The customer service people are friendly (for call center/customer service people), they have very quick shipping and the procedure as a whole is pretty effortless as far as tech support goes.

Apple Care is ABSOLUTELY worth the money. If there are ANY bugs in your computer, Apple will fix them at no additional cost, with speedy service. If you buy a Mac, you MUST buy Apple Care. It can be a life saver!

(Tips: 1) If you buy any 3rd party hardware for your computer, always take it OUT before taking it to a Mac Genius or sending it to Apple. They do not support 3rd party hardware. 2) ALWAYS back up your computer before you take it/send it in to avoid their backup fee.)

The product is very good because the apple people are very responsive.

My issue is with Amazon: I bought my macbook pro on 4/4/07 and apple care sent me an ending date of jan/10 - which is about 3 months short of the 3 years I paid for.
Upon contacting apple, they indicated that the start date for the apple care plan is the date when amazon purchased the computer and not when the amazon customer purchases the computer. Buyer beware - ask the question about the purchase date when you buy.

The backlight sensor on my PB G4 (2.5 years old) became defective and I sent it to Apple to fix under AppleCare. The sensor was backordered and after several weeks I called to complain that it was taking too long to fix. I spoke with a Supervisor who said that since the sensor was backordered and they could not fix the PB G4 in a timely fashion they would give me a new MacBook Pro instead. They shipped me the MacBookPro several weeks ago (latest version and not refurbished) and then they sent me my PB G4 so I could transfer the files and then after deleting files I sent the PB G4 to Apple (all shipping was at Apple's expense). I must say that I was really impressed.

You've got a new MacBook Pro. Let's face it, it wasn't cheap. The standard 90 day telephone support / one year warranty seems pretty long. Buying a protection plan seems like unnecessary expense. These things work incredibly well and are incredibly reliable.

So what do you need Applecare for?

Well first of all your MacBook Pro is going to last a lot longer than one year. I have had my 17" MBP for over two years and it runs like it is just out of the box (try saying that about any Windows notebook). But it is a computer. It has moving parts. It is in other words a mechanical device. Any mechanical device can fail.

Now someone posted a review that said Applecare isn't insurance. That reviewer is right. But it is a very generous warranty. I have sent my MBP in three times (twice to my local Apple Store which can do repairs locally many times) and once to the service center. Only one problem was critical-a dead display. The others were for issues I had taken to the Genius Bar only to learn that I needed replacement parts. One was a HD issue (even though the HD was working) and the other was a keyboard problem. Total cost? Zero dollars.

My stepson has the same model MBP as I do, and got his at the same time. He did not buy Applecare and so far has been very lucky. But he did have a dead display which was initially slated to go to the Service Center for repair at a cost around the same as Applecare. Fortunately the store opened the case before shipping it out and found a loose connection. The cost for cracking the case and pushing a wire into a slot? $80 (still a lot cheaper than a trip to the Service Center).

So bite the bullet and get Applecare. It may not be insurance but it certainly is peace of mind.

I purchased a 17" MacBook Pro in May of 2007. At checkout, I added the AppleCare warranty because I have had positive experiences with the plan before. Total cost was approximately $3,000. I find that my experience with Apple has been worth every penny of this amount, if not more.

My MacBook Pro worked great until July of 2009, when the bluetooth card stopped working. I sent the MacBook in for repair, and it was back at my door within two business days. To my dismay, the computer came back scratched and dented beyond belief (even the Apple Store employees were astonished by the extent of the damage). So they sent it back to the repair depot for a case replacement. Two days later, the MacBook was back in my hands with a new case. But the battery was still dented. I was starting to get impatient, but the Apple Store replaced the battery. Overall, a hassle of an experience, but I did get a new battery, so I was not terribly upset.

A week later, the latch for the screen stops working. The MacBook had left my house precisely 0 times since the repairs, so I knew this was as a result of poor case installation. I opened a case online and noted that this was the fourth repair. I politely requested a replacement Mac. Not more than two minutes later, I received a call from a supervisor who completely agreed with my request. I was astonished as he explained they would be replacing my MacBook with a brand new (not refurbished) top-of-the-line one- as soon as I printed the FedEx label and dropped off my old MBP to FedEx, they would ship my brand new one out. Absolutely free. I even got a $100 refund for the AppleCare that was remaining on my old MacBook.

Basically, I got upgraded to a brand new Mac after TWO YEARS of using the old one, for absolutely free. That's amazing, considering that most PC laptops are obsolete after two years. With Apple, the old adage "you get what you pay for" certainly rings true.

I picked up the Applecare for the laptop based on the positive experience I had with my MacPro. I had a problem with the Airport card, they sent someone to the house who disassembled the machine, changed the card and reassembled the computer once again without leaving any spare hardware out! The computer's wireless has worked flawlessly since. Called on Thursday afternoon, computer was repaired on Monday. Seeing how this is how problems get handled, if you're going to spend for Apple, get the service contract. It's sooo worth it!

Both of my children have MacBooks for school and have been told that AppleCare is void once there are any dents or other indications that the MacBook may have been dropped. My daughter brought her MacBook in for a drive problem and was told she would have to leave it there for several days so she decided to wait. Then, when she brought it back for the repair she was told it was not covered because it looked like the computer had been dropped. The service is fine for software problems, but the chance that a college student's laptop will be in pristine condition after a year is pretty low, so next time I'll save my money.

We have owned several Macs, and the extended warranties have paid for themselves many times over.

Despite what others have said about their difficulties with registering their MBP, I felt that the registration process was pretty painless. Essentially, I received my AppleCare Protection Plan package in the mail, went to Apple's website, entered the serial number for my MBP, entered the AppleCare registration number, and then I was done. The whole process took about 5-10 minutes at most.

I am in North Carolina and ordered this product. I don't know if there is issue with NC, but there is no warning on this.

If you own an Apple product, you owe it to yourself to get the 3-year warranty with AppleCare. Don't make the same mistake my sister-in-law did! She had to replace an iMac that was 14 months old (weird since I own 2 and never had trouble).

However this product may or may not work. The seller did not ship me anything, but gave me a number over email to register the product online. This failed. When contacted, Advancity (the seller) told me to call AppleCare Support to get it registered. 30 minutes of wasted time later, and Apple says that I have to get a refund.

Buyer beware of this product from this seller!