My follow up:
I was able to add my Smart Keyboard Folio to my iPad Applecare+ plan. I also asked the AC Admin Dept advisor a few other questions and told him I wanted to pass on this info to the Macrumors community. He said that was great to help clear up confusion about iPad accessory coverage.
The Applecare Administration Department can be only be reached by calling the main Support number (in the US 800-275-2273), and ask to be transferred to the AC Admin Dept. At first you may get a plan advisor, but this person is still general tech support and not the AC Admin Dept. The plan advisor can help customers buy an AC policy, but cannot add accesories to the plan. For that you need the AC Admin Dept, so be firm and ask to be transferred.
The AC Admin advisor said it’s good to always add either your keyboard or pencil to the policy,
but interestingly, you can’t add both. (Update: please see
@JuanitoIvanisios post below about this).
He said even if you have both, they are covered, but they have an exception policy if you need a repair for the accessory not added to the policy.
He strongly encourages anyone with an Applecare question for
any product to contact the AC Admin Dept. General tech support and retail does not receive the in-depth Applecare training that the advisors in the AC Admin Dept get.
To add an iPad accessory, you will need:
- Serial number of the accessory (found on the box)
- Applecare Agreement number OR
- iPad serial number
Note: the purchase date was not requested.
Here’s some other questions I asked him with his answers:
Is it required to add the iPad keyboard or pencil to the AC+ policy for it to be covered?
He said it’s a really good idea to get it added and will help if you need a repair. He didn’t say it was required but he strongly recommended it. They
do not have to be on the same receipt or purchased from the same company.
After buying an iPad and AC, how long after does a customer have to buy an Apple iPad keyboard or Pencil for them to be covered under that policy?
There is
no timeframe to add an Apple iPad keyboard or pencil to your existing iPad AC+ policy as long as your policy is active. The 60-day timeframe
only applies to buying the AC+ policy for your iPad.
If a customer buys an Apple iPad keyboard and/or Pencil and then buys an iPad and AC+, are the keyboard and pencil covered?
Yes, they’re covered. It’s ok to buy the accessories before you buy the iPad and AC+. Remember to add one of them to your policy.
Can customers add their own keyboard and pencil via checkcoverage.apple.com if purchased from Apple (so that the purchase date can be verified)?
The accessories don’t have to be purchased from Apple. If the purchase date can be verified on that site, this will work, but sometimes the date can’t be verified. In that case, call Apple Support and ask to be transferred to the Applecare Administration Department.
How long before I‘ll see my iPad accessory on mysupport.apple.com?
It generally takes about 72 hours for it to show up.
I hope this is helpful clearing up some of the misunderstandings about iPad accessory coverage under Applecare+.
