So what are the official rules for AppleCare + on the magic keyboard?

[0128672]

I don’t have one of those. I missed that you had the smart folio. Is there no similar info section for that?

No, under Settings > General > About, there’s nothing for the SKF. Under General > Hardware Keyboard, there’s the usual settings.

 

[seatton]

I just called and talked to the team (AC Admin team). I bought Apple Pencil and iPad altogether via apple.com so when I bought an AC, both of them are automatically covered. Now when the support was trying to add the keyboard, she said she was unable to do so, but confirmed to me with her senior advisor that both keyboard and pencil are covered under AC. There is nothing else I can do..

 

[thecore762]

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:

1. Serial number of the accessory (found on the box)
2. Applecare Agreement number OR
3. 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+.

Wow thank you for this!

 

[webbuzz]

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:

1. Serial number of the accessory (found on the box)
2. Applecare Agreement number OR
3. 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+.

Thank you! I called AppleCare support Friday, the rep knew exactly what I was requesting, done within a few minutes. Still waiting for it to appear in my support profile though.

 

[RaceTripper]

I bought my MKB on a different invoice from my iPP. When I talked to AppleCare support about a different matter (pro-rated refund on AppleCare+ for an iPhone I traded in) they registered my MKB onto my iPP AppleCare+ account wihout issue or hassle.

 

[Coolio1234]

Any difference with the limited warranty vs AppleCare for new iPad pros? Got it on launch day and was curious if I could take the Apple Pencil in there to be serviced:

 

[teh_hunterer]

I got the iPad Air 4 with accompanying Magic Keyboard in late 2020, and took out Apple Care + on it. Late 2021 I decided to upgrade to the iPad Pro, and naturally I kept my Magic Keyboard. I gave the Air to my girlfriend and cancelled the Apple Care +, and took out Apple Care + on my Pro instead, which I still have.

Fast forward to early 2023, I've got a few issues with it. Firstly, it seems to have a shoddy connection - the on screen keyboard sometimes flashes up and disappears rapidly while I'm typing, indicating the connection isn't solid. I sometimes notice the charging is extremely slow, yet other times it's normal. The upper hinge also makes a loud cracking sound every time I tilt the iPad forward.

I reached out to Apple, and although the Apple Care + policy states that it covers an accompanying Apple branded keyboard, this keyboard has to be purchased alongside the iPad. It leaves a bit of a bitter taste in my mouth - almost feels like I shouldn't have spent the extra money on upgrading to the iPad Pro, nor should I have bothered keeping Apple Care + for all these years.

The person I spoke to on the phone was great, but there was nothing he could do for me. Not so much a rant, as just something I found surprising as I thought they'd take care of me. I thought Apple Care + would at least allow me to pay some sort of fee to have it replaced, but apparently I'm just out $500+ AUD for a keyboard that stops working properly after a couple of years.

Anyone experience something similar? I just found this surprising.

 

[BeatCrazy]

Apple's T&Cs (at least for the USA) don't have such a stipulation about 'must be purchased at the same time'.

Legal - AppleCare+ - Apple

www.apple.com

 

[sparksd]

See this post -

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...keyboard.2299439/?post=29977612#post-29977612

 

[teh_hunterer]

Interesting. Kinda disappointing that you have to fight with them in such a specific way and go through nebulous transfers between departments. Sounds like I shouldn't quite give up just yet though. I'll give this stuff a solid read and see how I go!

 

[teh_hunterer]

See this post -

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...keyboard.2299439/?post=29977612#post-29977612

One thing I noticed from this thread is that for all the people having success, the keyboard was still in warranty. This keyboard is from late 2020 so perhaps it being out of warranty is the differentiating factor here?

 

[FreakinEurekan]

Nah, you were misinformed (assuming USA). My keyboard wasn’t purchased with my iPad, and I got it replaced under AC+ a few months ago, well outside the warranty. Stick to your guns.

 

[teh_hunterer]

Nah, you were misinformed (assuming USA). My keyboard wasn’t purchased with my iPad, and I got it replaced under AC+ a few months ago, well outside the warranty. Stick to your guns.

Thanks for that. What was the process like when you tried to get it done? I've hit nothing but brick walls so far. I'm in Australia, so the rules might differ, but they usually don't as far as I'm aware.

What irritates me is they seem to insist that anything complicated gets done over the phone. It's like they don't want there to be anything except stock standard AI-level support in writing.

 

[teh_hunterer]

Sorry to dig up an old thread, but this whole thing really is a mess. Apple Support so far has refused on multiple attempts to add my Magic Keyboard to my Apple Care +. It's so frustrating that this is all done over the phone and you have to keep starting from scratch every time. I am ready to just give up. There's no way you can do this over writing is there?

What is the point of paying for Apple Care + if you can't even reach the people who can even tell you how it works? It's ridiculous.

Update: I just spoke to the Apple Care Admin department. As soon as I got through the guy was like yep that's how it works, and he registered it to my Apple Care plan no trouble at all.

I think the way to make this happen is not to mention any technical issues. Just start afresh, and keep saying you want to talk to the Apple Care + Admin Department because you want to register your Magic Keyboard, and it can only be done over the phone. As soon as you get through to the right department, they won't give you any trouble!

If you start off by telling support about your tech issue, they're just going to go down the road of telling you it's not covered, because they don't understand the intricacies of how Apple Care + works.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

Update: I just spoke to the Apple Care Admin department. As soon as I got through the guy was like yep that's how it works, and he registered it to my Apple Care plan no trouble at all.

I think the way to make this happen is not to mention any technical issues. Just start afresh, and keep saying you want to talk to the Apple Care + Admin Department because you want to register your Magic Keyboard, and it can only be done over the phone (which is true). As soon as you get through to the right department, they won't give you any trouble!

If you start off by telling support about your tech issue, they're just going to go down the road of telling you it's not covered, because they don't understand the intricacies of how Apple Care + works.

Grain of truth to that. Most people (not just AppleCare reps) have a hard time multitasking and can really only focus on one portion of an issue. Good idea to just address the coverage ALONE, without the issue.

One thing about AC+ with iPads that I learned with mine - Apple can only put ONE additional product “officially” tied to the iPad. It’s a technical limitation within their system. So if you own both a keyboard & a pencil, they’re both covered - but one will be listed, one will not. If the not-listed one needs service, you'll have to talk to a Senior Advisor on the phone to set it up with an override code.

 

[teh_hunterer]

Well, they sent out a replacement for me, and the hinge on the replacement one is extremely loose. The saga continues I guess!

I suppose it'll be a case of once the old one is returned via post, I can just take this one into an Apple store and they should just replace it on the spot.

 

[Z6128]

I just got off the phone with the AppleCare support line, and was told the Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil do not need to be added to the plan, that it is automatic.

Seems to be random here with different answers. May call back again in a few days and try another rep to see what they say.

 

[OlesyaPetrova]

I can understand you want to give up, but I have to ask: are you sure you were talking to an advisor in the Applecare Admin Department? It sounds like you were transferred to a senior advisor in general tech support based on “their system won’t allow them to do it …” General tech support, even a senior advisor, doesn’t have this functionality in their level of software.

The AC Admin Dept’s system has this ability and isn’t based on the purchase date. When getting transferred to another advisor, it can help to ask “are you in the AC Admin Dept?” just to be sure you’re in the right place.

Who is the best person to contact then?