Other Adding Applecare Plus after Purchase

[KrisLord]

It's $10 out of the $249 I have to pay in Canada. $249/52 weeks X 2.

However not concerned about the money, I would rather have it start from the day of activation. I can't imagine I'm the only one who thinks this and will be going through this during Christmas. Seems illogical that AppleCare Plus time is running while the Phone is under the tree.

Apple care lasts 2 years though so it’s 104 weeks. (I made the same mistake when I was working it out)

Most people buy AppleCare when they buy the product, I’d guess only a few add it later.

They want to avoid people waiting 60 days and then buying it in the hope to cover the product until it’s 2 years and 60 days old.

If you could do this, people would delay purchase and people would forget. So the option to add it later doesn’t get you any additional benefit vs someone who bought on day 1.

 

[jav6454]

How about bitting the preverbial bullet and buying it from the get go. Two weeks won't do much.

 

[fischersd]

The "big" deal is I'm losing 2 weeks of Applecare Plus.

Normally when you do a pre-order, it's on activation date (which is usually when you receive it). I wouldn't be surprised if Apple still adjusted it based on activation date, based on the phone being a gift (and how common that is).

You should call Apple and confirm.

 

[noobinator]

It is the way it is so either accept it or try another mfg whose policies you agree with more.

 

[posguy99]

The "big" deal is I'm losing 2 weeks of Applecare Plus.

What are you "losing"? You *have* the phone. What does you keeping it in a box for two weeks have to do with it?

 

[Blondie&Dagwood]

funny how people spend over $1,000 on a new phone but then go ape sh@t over something under $10 in a sunk cost

 

[karinatwork]

If you buy Apple Care now, it won't start counting down the days UNTIL you activate your phone for the first time. Countdown starts when you activate your phone. Not from the date of purchase of Apple Care. However, you only have 60 days to purchase Apple Care for your device. I believe (not sure though), that this may be counting down from the moment you purchase the device. So I would buy it now. You will not lose any days for sure.

 

[Beau10]

What are you "losing"? You *have* the phone. What does you keeping it in a box for two weeks have to do with it?

I'm totally perplexed why people are finding this so confusing.

He wants to have as close to the full 2 years of warranty as possible.

So if the warranty starts on the day of purchase, then every day it sits unused prior to activation is a lost day of warranty coverage.

If it starts on the day of activation, then every day it sits unused prior to activation does not matter.

When AppleCare+ added is immaterial - it adds accidental coverage + an extra year on top of the original warranty. Yes, it needs to be done within 60 days of purchase, but when it's done does not matter to what he is asking.

 

[vistokid]

If you buy Apple Care now, it won't start counting down the days UNTIL you activate your phone for the first time. Countdown starts when you activate your phone. Not from the date of purchase of Apple Care. However, you only have 60 days to purchase Apple Care for your device. I believe (not sure though), that this may be counting down from the moment you purchase the device. So I would buy it now. You will not lose any days for sure.

Unfortunately that's not true. If I go to the Apple Store and add AC+ today it starts from the day of purchase. I've verified this.
[doublepost=1513199643][/doublepost]

funny how people spend over $1,000 on a new phone but then go ape sh@t over something under $10 in a sunk cost

It's not the $10 at all, it's the 2 weeks lost that I'm speaking to.

I also don't think I'm going "ape sh@t" at all. I'm just wondering why this is policy.

 

[posguy99]

So if the warranty starts on the day of purchase, then every day it sits unused prior to activation is a lost day of warranty coverage.

How is that Apple's problem? In what world does the warranty on some product you purchase start some nebulous time after you purchase something? You bought it, you have it in your possession.

Now, *if* the phone wasn't already in his hands, you might have a case for the warranty starting when it was *delivered*.

 

[Beau10]

Unfortunately that's not true. If I go to the Apple Store and add AC+ today it starts from the day of purchase. I've verified this.

It does appear to be Apple's position, taken straight from their page on it:

https://www.apple.com/support/products/iphone.html - "AppleCare+ for iPhone extends your coverage to two years from the original purchase date of your iPhone"

As AC+ modifies the original warranty, this should be true of that as well but I can't find language on that for some reason.

Truly odd, I would have thought for a phone it would be the activation date. So if you want to extend the phone's warranty to the max - which I truly understand, I'm thinking about getting one of these myself and want to go caseless and have it last 2 cycles - it looks like buying it closer to Christmas would be the best move.

 

[posguy99]

Truly odd, I would have thought for a phone it would be the activation date.

A phone is somehow different from every other consumer product because...?

 

[Blondie&Dagwood]

It's not the $10 at all, it's the 2 weeks lost that I'm speaking to.
.

fine, so you are going ape sh#t that for the last 14 days in 2 year period subsequent to activating the iphone you will be without AppleCare? 14 days out of 730? c'mon man!!

 

[Beau10]

How is that Apple's problem? In what world does the warranty on some product you purchase start some nebulous time after you purchase something? You bought it, you have it in your possession.

Now, *if* the phone wasn't already in his hands, you might have a case for the warranty starting when it was *delivered*.

It makes perfect sense to me that it should start on first activation - it's a phone, it hasn't been used up until that point.

No need to get worked up. The guy asked for information/clarification.
[doublepost=1513201285][/doublepost]

A phone is somehow different from every other consumer product because...?

What exactly can you do with a phone before you activate? It's entirely different from just about every other consumer product in that regard.

 

[vistokid]

It does appear to be Apple's position, taken straight from their page on it:

https://www.apple.com/support/products/iphone.html - "AppleCare+ for iPhone extends your coverage to two years from the original purchase date of your iPhone"

As AC+ modifies the original warranty, this should be true of that as well but I can't find language on that for some reason.

Truly odd, I would have thought for a phone it would be the activation date. So if you want to extend the phone's warranty to the max - which I truly understand, I'm thinking about getting one of these myself and want to go caseless and have it last 2 cycles - it looks like buying it closer to Christmas would be the best move.

Correct!
[doublepost=1513201774][/doublepost]

A phone is somehow different from every other consumer product because...?

It's not the phone I'm speaking to. It's the AC+ policy.

In fact if you want to get in to details, the 1 year factory warranty from Apple actually starts on the activation day of the phone. So I guess yes in this case the iPhone is different from other consumer products.

 

[newellj]

What are you "losing"? You *have* the phone. What does you keeping it in a box for two weeks have to do with it?

He bought it as a gift. So, really, no one has the phone. And that's why he's noticed that

It does appear to be Apple's position, taken straight from their page on it:

https://www.apple.com/support/products/iphone.html - "AppleCare+ for iPhone extends your coverage to two years from the original purchase date of your iPhone"

As AC+ modifies the original warranty, this should be true of that as well but I can't find language on that for some reason.

Truly odd, I would have thought for a phone it would be the activation date. So if you want to extend the phone's warranty to the max - which I truly understand, I'm thinking about getting one of these myself and want to go caseless and have it last 2 cycles - it looks like buying it closer to Christmas would be the best move.

Just want to say: I think that's a weird way of arranging things. I agree, AC+ logically should start at activation.
[doublepost=1513201962][/doublepost]

fine, so you are going ape sh#t that for the last 14 days in 2 year period subsequent to activating the iphone you will be without AppleCare? 14 days out of 730? c'mon man!!

My Mini $h!t the bed in the last week of my three year AC coverage period. If it had been the OP's phone, it could have made $550 difference to me. Do you think that should not matter?

 

[Beau10]

Correct!
[doublepost=1513201774][/doublepost]

It's not the phone I'm speaking to. It's the AC+ policy.

In fact if you want to get in to details, the 1 year factory warranty from Apple actually starts on the activation day of the phone. So I guess yes in this case the iPhone is different from other consumer products.

Wow, that is some funky stuff. I have to assume the bean-counters went to town crafting this policy.

 

[Blondie&Dagwood]

Warranty commencing at the date of purchase/delivery makes sense because of the following reasons:

1) If warranty commences at time of activation, then think back to the Australian from Perth iPhone 6 launch day. Remember how he when he opened the box for the first time, the phone fell out and hit the ground? If he had purchased AppleCare +, and lets say he actually cracked the screen from the drop, then he would not have been covered by the AppleCare incidental coverage.
2) Define activation. Is it when you activate the SIM card, or turn on the device for the first time? If the latter, how would Apple be able to pin point the exact date and time you turned on the phone for the first time? Right, I can just see the Edwin Snowden's of the world coming out to protest the level of access Apple has to track one's activity. If it is when the SIM card is activated, then what about instances where someone doesn't actually activate using a SIM card and simply uses the phone via WIFI? or maybe uses an international carrier SIM card who doesn't share that type of info with Apple.

 

[karinatwork]

From the confirmation email I got from Apple:

"Thank you for purchasing AppleCare+.

This certificate confirms AppleCare+ coverage for your iPhone listed below. Your Coverage End Date will automatically adjust to two years from the date you first activate your iPhone."

 

[Blondie&Dagwood]

My Mini $h!t the bed in the last week of my three year AC coverage period. If it had been the OP's phone, it could have made $550 difference to me. Do you think that should not matter?

The iPhone X is not going to be worth $550 two years from now. Please, you know this too.

 

[vistokid]

From the confirmation email I got from Apple:

"Thank you for purchasing AppleCare+.

This certificate confirms AppleCare+ coverage for your iPhone listed below. Your Coverage End Date will automatically adjust to two years from the date you first activate your iPhone."

INTERESTING! Looks like we have conflicting information. Good find! I know for a fact that when you go back to the Apple Store they will pull up your receipt and add the AC+ from the day of purchase.

This clearly says something different.

 

[Beau10]

Warranty commencing at the date of purchase/delivery makes sense because of the following reasons:

1) If warranty commences at time of activation, then think back to the Australian from Perth iPhone 6 launch day. Remember how he when he opened the box for the first time, the phone fell out and hit the ground? If he had purchased AppleCare +, and lets say he actually cracked the screen from the drop, then he would not have been covered by the AppleCare incidental coverage.
2) Define activation. Is it when you activate the SIM card, or turn on the device for the first time? If the latter, how would Apple be able to pin point the exact date and time you turned on the phone for the first time? Right, I can just see the Edwin Snowden's of the world coming out to protest the level of access Apple has to track one's activity. If it is when the SIM card is activated, then what about instances where someone doesn't actually activate using a SIM card and simply uses the phone via WIFI? or maybe uses an international carrier SIM card who doesn't share that type of info with Apple.

Fair points.

1) A highly unusual situation, but it's not hard to have the policy defined so if AC+ was already purchased prior to activation and there was an accident the date should be adjusted to the date of purchase.

2) Noted - this should be restricted to phones attached to and subsidized by a carrier plan (very common in the US, realise that's not the case in much of the world).

At the end of the day, the warranty is there to build a bridge of confidence between the consumer and a product. I feel, and I believe it's generally been's Apple's stance - to err on the side of being consumer friendly in the case of unusual edge cases. Also it's totally reasonable that Apple put some sort of limit on this - ie. 3 months from purchase the warranty automatically kicks in if there is no record of activation for the device.

 

[newellj]

The iPhone X is not going to be worth $550 two years from now. Please, you know this too.

In terms of new cash, no, but in terms of avoided cost, yes, it absolutely will be if you intend to keep it for even a few more days then sell it. Please, you know this too.

 

[Blondie&Dagwood]

In terms of new cash, no, but in terms of avoided cost, yes, it absolutely will be if you intend to keep it for even a few more days then sell it. Please, you know this too.

Not following. If the phone is completely destroyed after 2 years, will easily be able to purchase another like for like used iPhone X for way under $550 to replace it. Personally, I would go into the Apple store on the last day of the warranty and ask for a replacement (provided that I haven’t yet used up the 2 incidents). Will cite the scratched screen or scratched band (after 2 years both will be scratched). Then for the next 2 weeks that you are going ape **** about I would stick that baby in an OtterBox case with the glass screen protector.

However, at the 2 year mark we will be looking at purchasing the iPhone 12 with “think ID” anyway, so still confused why the need to go ape **** over 2 weeks

 

[newellj]

Not following. If the phone is completely destroyed after 2 years, will easily be able to purchase another like for like used iPhone X for way under $550 to replace it. Personally, I would go into the Apple store on the last day of the warranty and ask for a replacement (provided that I haven’t yet used up the 2 incidents). Will cite the scratched screen or scratched band (after 2 years both will be scratched). Then for the next 2 weeks that you are going ape **** about I would stick that baby in an OtterBox case with the glass screen protector.

However, at the 2 year mark we will be looking at purchasing the iPhone 12 with “think ID” anyway, so still confused why the need to go ape **** over 2 weeks

"ThinkID" - quite possibly. iPhone XII will be a bionic implant, which is actually not such a great idea.

Let me try again and see if what I'm saying makes sense to at least one of us.

Assume I drop my iPhone X after the third anniversary of the purchase date (when, for the sake of discussion, AC+ will have expired) but before the third anniversary of the activation date (when, logically, AC+ should have ended).

If AC+ covers me, for the price of the co-pay, I get a replacement phone. If I want to sell it, I can do that and net whatever the market price is, minus the co-pay. If I plan to keep using it, I have the phone for as long as I want to keep using it for the price of the co-pay. But if AC+ doesn't cover the phone, I'm SOL because at that point, as you point out, it likely that the non-covered cost of repair exceeds the value of the phone, or at least I'm better off buying a new, current year iPhone rather than shelling out significant dollars on a two year old phone.

See if that makes sense. I could be missing something... I will say for sure that if my Mini had fallen into a two-week hole like that I would effectively have been out a great deal of cash.