Apple today announced that its annual extended holiday return policy begins today in the United States and several other countries around the world.

apple gift wrap
Under the policy, eligible products purchased between November 14, 2018 and December 25, 2018 can be returned until January 8, 2019 in the United States, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, and select other regions. You can return something ordered online or purchased in store, and Apple's policy states that the items can be sent back to Apple for free through the mail or dropped off at any Apple Store.

In countries like Japan and Spain, the policy is slightly different and extends from November 14, 2018 to January 6, 2019, with a return deadline of January 20, 2019 in these regions.

In all regions, items excluded from the return policy include Apple or iTunes gift cards. Otherwise, most products can be returned, including iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and more. The devices can be opened and used prior to being returned, but they must be undamaged and in their original packaging.

As with any holiday purchase, make sure you keep your receipts when buying on Apple.com or in an Apple retail store, to ensure that your purchase falls within the timeframe of the extended holiday return policy. If you bought something from Apple prior to today, it will fall under Apple's typical 14-day return policy.

Top Rated Comments

travis64 Avatar
81 months ago
I bet people just rent macbooks and iphones every year during this time
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jimthing Avatar
81 months ago
What if the MacBook is opened? Free or restocking fee?
Free.
[doublepost=1542216584][/doublepost]I just wished they offered interest free credit again, like they used to do. They do it for the iPhone (the "iPhone Payments" plan: 20 months UK / 24 months US), so why not the more expensive Macs/iPads?!

Instead they want to make more money, by offering Barclays or Paypal finance at a whopping 15%, in a market where you can get a personal loan for less than 3.5%. So bleeding obvious they're making money from these loan companies, on top of increased pricing across the board, all to raise their ASP and thus increase shareholder value.

Sure pension funds rejoice, but we're all paying for it through the nose.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
pward Avatar
81 months ago
I bet people just rent macbooks and iphones every year during this time
It certainly does seem to provide an opportunity for an extended free trial for those so minded.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
5105973 Avatar
81 months ago
Yikes I only just got my Halloween decorations down yesterday. :eek: And of course I found out I still forgot a couple of things. One bat, one black cat and a Sock monkey wearing a mask and cape. :p

Anyway last year when I returned my iPhone X (due to it giving me migraines) well within the holiday return date and within all of the specified parameters, I still got a real runaround at my local Apple Store when we returned it.

First they tried to say we were past the return deadline. Not true, we had many days to spare.

Then they tried to tell me they could not locate a record of the purchase. They claimed some sort of issue prevented them from finding it in their system. My husband showed it to them on his iPhone. Then they tried to insist my phone was part of some special promotion or something which made absolutely no sense, because no such promotion existed at the time my husband bought the iPhone. I can’t explain it here to you all because they made everything up as they went along. Like if they dragged it out long enough I would give up and go home. It was awful.

Then they tried to deny the terms spelled out on the web site saying it didn’t apply to their store. We had to pull up the web page and show them the fine print of the return terms.

They finally approved the return but said they were doing us a favor in doing so because we really didn’t meet the terms. But they couldn’t explain how we didn’t meet the terms. I’ve never seen such a weird runaround.

It was a process that should have taken ten minutes but was dragged out for about twenty minutes or so. It was just so weird and atypical.

Normally the FEW returns or exchanges that we have done at that store over the years are a breeze. Apparently they are wary of the holiday ones. Or at least some store managers are.

So, buyer beware. Definitely save every bit of documentation both electronic and paper.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
seatton Avatar
68 months ago

I’m sure that happens a lot. I’m glad that I can buy gifts now knowing that I can return them if the recipient already has it or doesn’t like it. :)
Thanks for your info today. I went to an Apple store near my office this evening and purchased Apple Pencil 2. My return date is Jan 8.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Pipper99 Avatar
68 months ago
Holiday returns started today. I purchased an Apple Leather Loop at the Apple Store, and the return date is 1/8/20. I can’t find a mention on Apple’s website, but it’s noted on my receipt.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Leak Reveals All-New Design

Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app. Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
2024 App Store Awards

Apple Explains Why It Removed TikTok From the App Store in the U.S.

Sunday January 19, 2025 6:58 am PST by
Apple on late Saturday removed TikTok from the App Store in the U.S., and it has now explained why it was required to take this action. Last year, the U.S. passed a law that required Chinese company ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok due to potential national security risks, or else the platform would be banned. That law went into effect today, and companies like Apple and Google...
iPhone 17 Air Size Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With Rear Camera Bar Allegedly Shown in Leaked Photo

Tuesday January 21, 2025 12:46 pm PST by
A leaker known as "Majin Bu" today shared an alleged image of a component for the rumored, ultra-thin "iPhone 17 Air" model. The blurry, pixelated image shows a pair of rear iPhone shells with a pill-shaped, raised camera bar along the top. On the left side of the bar, there is a circular cutout that appears to be for a single rear camera. On the right side of the bar, there appears to be an ...
iPhone SE Dynamic Island Majin Bu

iPhone SE 4 Leak Shows Dynamic Island, Casts Doubt on Rumored 'iPhone 16E' Name

Monday January 20, 2025 9:01 am PST by
A new iPhone SE is widely rumored to launch this year, and the device has potentially been confirmed today by known leaker Evan Blass. In a private social media post, Blass shared an image of what appears to be source code mentioning an iPhone SE (4th Gen), which casts doubt on the alternative "iPhone 16E" name rumored for the device. However, the name in the source code could be a...
airtag 4 pack blue

AirTag 2 Launching This Year With These 3 New Features

Sunday January 19, 2025 8:11 am PST by
After a four-year wait, a new AirTag is finally expected to launch in 2025. Below, we recap rumored upgrades for the accessory. A few months ago, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple was aiming to release the AirTag 2 around the middle of 2025. While he did not offer a more specific timeframe, that means the AirTag 2 could be announced by the end of June. The original AirTag was announced...
iOS 19 Roundup Feature

iOS 19 Rumored to Be Compatible With These iPhones

Saturday January 18, 2025 10:28 am PST by
iOS 19 will not drop support for any iPhone models, according to French website iPhoneSoft.fr. The report cited a source who said iOS 19 will be compatible with any iPhone that can run iOS 18, which would mean the following models: iPhone 16 iPhone 16 Plus iPhone 16 Pro iPhone 16 Pro Max iPhone 15 iPhone 15 Plus iPhone 15 Pro iPhone 15 Pro Max iPhone 14 iPhon...
apple power beats pro 2

Powerbeats Pro 2 Coming Soon: Apple to Announce Them 'Imminently'

Sunday January 19, 2025 8:25 am PST by
In September, Apple said that it would be launching Powerbeats Pro 2 in 2025, and it appears the wireless earbuds are coming very soon. Powerbeats Pro 2 images found in iOS 18 code In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the Powerbeats Pro 2 are "due imminently." In addition to Apple filing the Powerbeats Pro 2 in regulatory databases last month, Gurman said Apple is...
Generic iOS 18

Everything New in iOS 18.3 Beta 3

Thursday January 16, 2025 12:39 pm PST by
Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features. Notification Summary Changes Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines. For...