applecare
Latest
Apple warranty blunder Down Under
The Australian Consumer Law was passed in January of 2011, with one of the major stipulations being that companies must provide customers with a "reasonable" warranty period for products. For expensive items like computers, a period of two years is suggested. The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that Apple has increased the standard warranty on its products to two years to comply with the law, but is telling retail employees to not discuss those changes with customers. The newspaper obtained an email from an Australian Apple retail store instructing staff not to talk about the new warranty with customers. In some cases, Australian customers who request repair or replacement for an item outside of the normal one-year Apple warranty end up paying for the support if they didn't purchase AppleCare. NSW Fair Trading Commissioner Rod Stowe was interviewed by the newspaper, and he agreed that electronic devices like Apple's products fall under the two-year "reasonable period." Stowe was quoted as saying that it was "rather surprising and disingenuous" for Apple Store managers to be instructing employees not to tell customers about the two-year warranties. "To instruct your staff to not let people know [about the change] is something that seems of quite concern and I don't understand why they wouldn't want to be upfront about it," said Stowe. The new warranties are effective for iOS devices as of today, and will apply to Macs within two weeks. Australian consumers should be sure to be informed of their rights under the Australian Consumer Law before considering the purchase of AppleCare Protection Plans. [via Apple Insider]
Daily Update for January 15, 2013
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Apple's warranty practices questioned in Belgium
Belgian consumer watchdog agency, Test-Aankoop/Test-Achats, is not happy with the AppleCare protection plans offered to customers who purchase Apple hardware. The group has filed a complaint that claims Apple doesn't properly explain consumer rights when it markets and sells these warranties to Belgian consumers. According to TechCrunch, Test-Aankoop/Test-Achats decided to pursue legal action after an effort to discuss this issue with Apple failed. Apple recently faced a similar complaint in Italy. In that case, Apple was forced to pay over €900,000 (US$1.2 million) and stopped selling AppleCare in order to meet Italian requirements. [Via TechCrunch]
Italian authorities fine Apple again over warranties
By now, Apple should be pretty familiar with Italy's standards regarding product warranties, but it seems that despite already being fined roughly $1.2 million, the company's troubles are not over. AppleInsider reports that after being hit with the fine, Apple continued to push AppleCare's two-year warranty in the region, rather than informing customers of the standard two-year warranty guaranteed by Italian law. For that, the Italian Antitrust Authority hit Apple with another fine of $264,000. Since its latest spat with Italian regulators in July, Apple has decided not to offer AppleCare in Italy at all, so it appears this final fine is a bit of a going away present.
Use the F-word to quickly reach a real person at AppleCare
Today TNW spotlights a helpful tip (originally posted on Reddit) that can help you get through to a real person faster when calling the AppleCare helpline: drop the F-word. Like many of us, the Reddit user grew frustrated navigating through the numeric automated telelphone system menu and (perhaps like many of us) began cursing in frustration into the phone. Then something interesting happened: "[The automated voice] cut itself off in mid-sentence, apologized, and in about 10 more seconds I was talking to an Apple tech." The ability of an automated telelphone system recognizing the F-word isn't a genius invention by Apple, though. It's software built into the third-party Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system used by AppleCare. As TNW points out, IVRs "are often programmed to listen out for certain keywords that might indicate they are about to lose a customer. By monitoring calls and immediately connecting a frustrated caller, the company may be able to reduce the number of complaints [it] receives and retain the caller's custom." But for those of you reading this who now think you have a hotline to a real AppleCare representative the second you call, you might want to think again. Despite the ability of the IVR to recognize profanity, shouting "F*CK!!!" every time you call AppleCare may not get you the results you hope to get for a few reasons. First, you look like a jerk with anger issues. Second, another Reddit user suggests that doing so won't always take you to someone who can answer your questions. Instead it just might transfer you to an AppleCare "call director" who will apologize for making you wait and then transfer you back to the queue -- something that might have you screaming "F*CK!" all over again. [Image by Sebastian Fritzon]
Apple facing European investigation into how it sells AppleCare
Ever hemmed and hawed over buying AppleCare with your shiny new gadget? European chiefs are worried that you don't know all of your rights. They're concerned that Cupertino's warranty-selling practices hide the fact that all customers are entitled to a statutory two-year warranty to fix defects present at sale. The company has already had to open its checkbook to Italian regulators, but pointed out that the protection plan is there to remedy issues that may crop up after you've taken your new toy from its perfectly-engineered box. Nevertheless, commissioner Viviane Reding is pushing for a Europe-wide inquiry into the company, contacting all 27 member states to look into the matter. In the meantime, we're left working out how many times we're likely to drop our new device in the next three years.
Daily Update for July 23, 2012
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
AppleCare support reps getting Mountain Lion this weekend
If they're going to answer user questions, they probably need to be running it: AppleCare support representatives have been issued redemption codes to download OS X Mountain Lion, according to a report on 9to5Mac tonight. This amplifies the anticipation for the new OS release, which many suspect could show up by midweek. In 2011, the release of OS X Lion followed on the heels of Apple's quarterly earnings call by one day; the Q3 FY2012 call will be Tuesday July 24th at 2pm PT. The build number on the version of Mountain Lion that the support reps are downloading is reportedly 12A269, which matches the developer GM build. Keep up with all TUAW's Mountain Lion coverage here.
Apple accused of misleading EU customers about warranties
The Portuguese Association for Consumer Protection, DECO, is unhappy with Apple's representation of the European Union's warranty policy. DECO has filed a lawsuit accusing Apple of misrepresenting the EU's warranty policy in a way that encourages customers to buy the company's optional and pricey AppleCare warranty. The lawsuit cites statements like the one found on Apple's website which says the EU's two-year consumer protection law only covers defects present at the time of delivery. According to a report in The Verge, the EU's warranty policy covers any defect that occurs within this two-year timeframe. Apple is facing a similar suit in Italy that threatens to shut down retail sales for 30 days in the country.
Apple faces potential suspension of sales in Italy
Apple is in hot water in Italy over its warranty policy, which does not comply with Italian law. Apple products come with a free one-year warranty that can be extended with the purchase of an AppleCare warranty. Under Italian law, the company is obligated to provide two years of free warranty service. The country's AGCM competition and market authority has warned Apple about its non-compliance and fined the company 900,000 Euros for pushing its paid service and failing to disclose the free technical assistance. Apple appealed the fine, but lost in court earlier this year, says Reuters. Despite the ruling and the fine, Apple has not changed its policy. As a result, the AGCM has threatened to close Apple's operations in the country for 30 days and levy another fine (300,000 Euros). Apple has 30 days to respond.
Apple may get the Italian boot, has 30 days to push a 2-year warranty for locals
Italian regulator AGCM is clearly on a short fuse with Apple. After issuing a €900,000 fine ($1.1 million) to Apple for not properly offering the free 2-year warranty required by national law, the agency is now warning the iPhone maker that it could face a temporary exile -- and we don't mean to Elba. On top of an additional €300,000 ($377,490) potential fine, Apple now faces as much as a 30-day shutdown of all its Italian business for allegedly doing too little to tell customers they don't always need AppleCare for extended coverage. Having lost its appeal on the original fine, Apple's main buffer is a 30-day window to address the complaints before the hammer drops. We have yet to see if Apple will tweak its policies in time, but it's hard to believe the American firm will risk even the momentary closure of an important European wing.
Dear Aunt TUAW: Did my wife just get a free upgrade?
Dear Aunt TUAW, So my wife's 11-inch MacBook Air went into an Apple Store to get its screen replaced because it cracked. It's got a core i5 1,6ghz processor in it... Or at least it did! We've just got it back home and I clicked on "About this Mac" out of habit and it's reported that it's got a core i7 1.7ghz! So my question is: Can the "about this Mac" info be wrong? Your loving nephew, Matt Dear Matt, That's a puzzler indeed. Do you know if the serial number matches up to what it was before the repair? In Auntie's experience, "About this Mac" is pretty reliable. However, as a nice man at AppleCare pointed out to her today, the store has discretion over how it performs its repairs. If it's too hard to replace a screen on an older unit, they might theoretically pop out the drive and install it into a newer Mac for in-warranty repair. Given that the screen is physically distant from the processor and not naturally linked, this might be the answer to your mystery. Please write back and let Auntie know if all the other facets of the computer match up to the pre-repair condition, or if the Genius Bar delivered a free upgrade to you! Hugs, Auntie T.
Apple reportedly investigating iPad's problematic WiFi
If you're having trouble connecting your new iPad to your local WiFi connection, you're not alone. 9to5 Mac got its hands on an internal AppleCare document that suggests Apple is looking into connectivity problems with the WiFi version of the new iPad. Apple employees are instructed to capture any faulty devices and send them back to Apple for examination. Reported issues include intermittent connectivity, slow WiFi speeds and the inability of the iPad to see nearby WiFi networks. Apple support forums are also actively talking about the issue with one thread now at 700 replies and growing.
Dear Aunt TUAW: Should I buy AppleCare+?
Dear Aunt TUAW, I was wondering how you felt about AppleCare+ vs Best Buy's extended warranty. My wife and I just bought 2 iPhone 4S's and would like to protect our investments. The Best Buy option would cost us US$15/mo. for each phone. That is $720 over the next two years. AppleCare+ is $99 for two years of coverage but has the $50 service fee. Can you do a pros and cons list of these two options? Thank you guys. Your loving nephew, John Dear John, AppleCare+ is easy to do -- just buy it when you purchase your iPhone 4S. And when things go bad, which they often do with devices that get used in your hands in real-world conditions (i.e. more often that you'd like, and "all the time" when you're looking at the population as a whole), it's more cost effective. What's more, with AppleCare+, you're in the Apple system. You're going to deal with Apple Geniuses and Apple Retail, which Auntie assures you provides more happy outcomes than dealing with Best Buy. An Apple Store's environment of hands-on help is fantastic. When it comes to "who do you trust," Auntie trusts Apple's service techs over those at Best Buy. Hugs, Auntie T.
Apple sends takedown notice about customer support email
If you've ever corresponded with Apple Support (or any major customer support outlet, really), you might have seen that little notice at the bottom of the email that says any conversation included "may be privileged and may contain confidential information." Most of the time, that's just a weak move to try and cover up any issues that customer support may cause. But in Apple's case, they sometimes try to take it seriously. David Bowles is a blogger who had an issue with his Thunderbolt display warranty, and when he corresponded with Apple about it, he posted it on the Go Inside magazine website. Just a little while after that, however, he received an email from Apple's tech support notifying him that they'd seen the "confidential" information posted online, and telling him that he should take it all down, under threat of "further action" (whatever that may be). After discussion with a support manager, Bowles eventually decided just to take down the correspondence from Apple (the rest of the post is still up, and TechCrunch is publishing the takedown notice), and that seems to have calmed the beast for now. So what does this mean for the rest of us? Probably not much -- Bowles emailed the link of the blog post directly to the tech support crew, so even if Apple is searching the web for its emails being posted, it's unknown if the company would have found Bowles email post at all. And though the takedown email did threaten "further action," it's hard to guess just what that further action would be. Even if Apple really did want to keep these emails from being published (and they probably don't really care, otherwise they would go after TechCrunch), it's hard to say what kind of legal ground they'd be able to stand on. In other words, much ado about nothing. As for Bowles, there's no news on if his Applecare warranty ever got fixed the way he wanted it, but his blogs sure didn't suffer for the attention.
Apple to appeal ruling in Italian court
Earlier this week, Apple was fined for poor communication of its warranty policies in an Italian court. Today, Apple has stated that it will appeal that ruling, according to The Register. Apple was fined 900,000 Euros (approximately US$1.2 million) for failing to inform customers that they may receive free service biennially (via the Consumer Code) and for selling Apple Protection Plans that overlapped availability of that free service. Apple denies up-selling the typically year-long Apple Protection Plan, and will appeal the associated fines, according to The Register. Apple was also ordered to alter AppleCare packaging so that it mentions the free Customer Code service.
Italian anti-trust body fines Apple for misleading customers on product guarantees
Apple Italia has been fined a total of 900,000 euros for failing to inform its customers that products purchased were already covered by two years of free assistance under national law. It appears that Apple employees encouraged the extra purchase of its own AppleCare plans. With the European court's continued investigation of possible e-book price-fixing and ongoing legal jousting with Samsung unlikely to end any time soon, it looks like Apple will be busy in the courts next year too. [Thanks Giulio]
Apple reportedly swapping recalled iPod nanos for 6G counterparts; you have yours?
It's been a few weeks since Apple's issued a worldwide recall on a number of its first-gen iPod nanos at risk for becoming uncomfortably hot under the collar. Evidently, many folks who've sent their devices into AppleCare to get swapped are finding that they've being treated with an upgrade to the current sixth-gen variant. Lovers of click wheels may view its square, touchscreen shell as folly, but hey, its hard to fuss over owning latest there is, right? The replacement program is still ongoing, so if you haven't checked to see if your nano qualifies, hit up the "more coverage" link below to find out. Already got yours back? Let us know your mileage in comments! [Thanks, Scott]
Didn't get the AppleCare+ with your iPhone? Worry not, you now have 30 days to change your mind
AppleCare+, Cupertino's latest protection plan, debuted on the same day the iPhone 4S was unveiled, but anyone wanting to take advantage of the two-year warranty and accidental damage coverage was required to fork out an extra $99 at the same time they bought their phone. While Apple allowed early adopters to buy the service until November 14th because they weren't offered it upon pre-ordering, it appears the company's extended that window until December 15th, according to an internal memo leaked to SprintFeed. What's better, it seems that Apple's softening up its policy for everyone else during the holidays, as the company now offers a 30-day window just in case you walk out of the store with your glass-laden treasure unprotected and change your mind later. Apple's site confirms the policy (shown below), but as always, there's a catch: if you choose to get it after point of purchase, you'll need to either call up Apple directly or schedule a Genius Bar appointment, bring your receipt in and have the phone inspected to ensure it's not already damaged. Seems like a lot to do, but just make sure you use that Reminders app to keep track of it all.
Sprint to offer three levels of iPhone service, 'yellow' AppleCare+ repairs will cost $49
Thinking about buying an iPhone 4S from Sprint? Depending on how clumsy you tend to be with mobile devices, you might want to consider adding the $99 AppleCare+ option at purchase, since those Total Equipment Protection plans are definitely out. A Sprint employee wrote in to detail us on upcoming service procedures, which include grouping a damaged device within three categories -- green, yellow and red -- after diagnosis. As you might imagine, green repairs are the easiest to deal with, and include 'minor damage' (i.e. cracked screens are out). These repairs will be handled for free within the first year for all customers, and within two years for those who purchased AppleCare+. Next up, the yellow category covers damage that doesn't fall within green, but is still repairable. Non subscribers will pay $199, while those with AppleCare+ will pay $49. Klutzes beware: you're limited to two yellow repairs, regardless of whether or not the device is in warranty. Finally, the red category is reserved for iPhones that provide little function beyond holding down a stack of papers or propping open your door. You'll need to pay the full replacement cost for red-labeled phones. None of these repairs will be handled in store -- iPhones will be shipped to Apple, though you're welcome to start the process at Sprint. Our recommendation: reach out to Apple directly, since your iPhone is probably headed there either way. And if you want AppleCare, don't forget to buy it at launch. Updated: Sprint wrote in to let us know that device swaps (not repairs) can in fact be handled in store, so you won't always need to go to Apple. [Thanks, Anonymous]
