Apple Giving Customers a Second Chance to Buy AppleCare+ After Their iPhone or Mac is Repaired

Apple is now providing customers who have faced a costly out-of-pocket repair for an iPhone or Mac with a second chance to purchase AppleCare+ coverage for the device, although there are some strings attached to the policy.

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In an internal memo this week, obtained by MacRumors, Apple said customers who had an iPhone or Mac repaired at an Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider are now eligible to purchase AppleCare+ for the device, so long as the device was purchased less than one year ago and passes a physical inspection and diagnostics after repair.

For customers who are unsure if their iPhone was repaired by an Apple Authorized Service Provider, iOS 15.2 introduces a new "Parts and Service History" in Settings > General > About that indicates if components like the battery and display are genuine Apple parts. The software update is expected to be released as early as next week.

Customers are still required to pay Apple's full out-of-warranty fees for any repairs completed prior to purchasing AppleCare+ coverage for the device.

An example scenario: A customer named John purchases a new iPhone, but he decides not to pay for AppleCare+ coverage for the device. A few months later, John drops the iPhone and the display is cracked. John takes the iPhone to an Apple Store to be repaired and faces costly out-of-warranty service fees since he decided not to purchase AppleCare+. Since the iPhone is less than one year old, John is advised that he can still purchase AppleCare+ for the device so that any subsequent repairs aren't as expensive.

The policy is in effect at Apple Store and Apple Authorized Service Provider locations in all countries and regions where AppleCare+ is available.

This expanded AppleCare+ eligibility for repaired iPhones and Macs should further boost Apple's services revenue, which hit a record $18.27 billion last quarter.

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Top Rated Comments

haruhiko Avatar
38 months ago
So now Apple not only gets the expensive repair fees, they get the AppleCare sales too. ??
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
adamjackson Avatar
38 months ago
Just a reminder for some people that it may be worth checking if your credit card will cover this. I bought my iPhone 13 Pro full price with my American Express card which extends the factory warranty by 12 months (2 years) and by paying for my cell phone bill with Visible with my Amex card, they extend to me an $800 per incident damage coverage for every 30 days I pay my phone bill. So in that scenario, if I have a cost to repair my iPhone for a damage scenario, I submit the receipt from the Apple Store to Amex and they reimburse me up to $800.

This is why I stopped buying AppleCare+ on my iPhones but I do continue to put it on my MacBook Pro which still works to my advantage because even though I won't get damage coverage through Amex they will add 1 year to my 3 year warranty since I attached AppleCare at the time of purchase so my MacBook Pro has a 4 year warranty for hardware failures not related to damage.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AmazeSE Avatar
38 months ago
Wow this is a smart idea. People are be more likely to insure their device after they go through an expensive repair.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JPSaltzman Avatar
38 months ago
Another one of Tim's ingenious Cash Cows to keep that money flowin' in and the stockholders happy....
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
38 months ago

So now Apple not only gets the expensive repair fees, and they get the AppleCare sales too. ??
Apple gets it all. They really know how to save $ and get a single penny out of your pocket.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
38 months ago
Ohh! That’s pretty cool. People will need it if they plan on fixing the devices themselves.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)