I don't know dude, they've replaced like, 3 laptops for me, all the keyboards, everything. They fix it all, no problem, everything is easy when it's scheduled by appointment.

I'm never at fault for the issue though.

This is why I no longer buy AppleCare or any other extended coverage product from Apple.

In 2008 I bought a new 15” MacBook Pro and two coverage policies: AppleCare for manufacture issues and Safeware for any accidents. One day in the first year or two the keyboard stopped working, I took it in they replaced it. Then about a week later it wouldn’t boot. I took it in and a tech at the Apple store (Emeryville Calif) insisted it must be some kind of liquid spill. Because there was “Schmutz” on the side of the motherboard. I guess their theory was I spilled colored liquid or soup or something on it (??). Now I was covered against accidents the problem is there was no accident. Apple refused to even examine the machine beyond glancing at the side of the motherboard which apparently could be done without disassembling the machine. Couldn’t file a claim against Safeware because that would be fraud. I get mad still just thinking about it. I bought a MacBook Pro 13 2010 like a chump.

How is this a feature of Apple? I had the same experience with Sony Vaio’s in the early 2000s, corporate Dells, HP zBooks, and Apple Mac’s. Either they don’t bat an eye at the repair or they interrogate you about a liquid indicator or some other small issue to get out of it.

Going through it with my HP zBook that is making a squeaking sound from the speaker. “I do hear a little noise but the speaker works fine. No problem here. -HP Support”

Apple is fine as long as you're under AppleCare(+) - you don't care if they have to swap out a whole motherboard for a single blown 0 ohm resistor as long as they're the ones paying for it. When I had the original 2012 MBP Retina, AppleCare swapped out literally every single part on it piecemeal, with no complaints.

The hell starts when your AppleCare ends (unless you're lucky to be covered by an repair extension)

Don’t forget how they won’t even acknowledge hardware is the problem until 5 years after the device came out and many complained. By that time, they might even be so generous as to offer fixing the problem with a partial recall, long after anyone got rid of their lemon. See the gfx chipset desoldering itself in 2012 (I think it was that year?) MacBooks, the butterfly keyboard that stops working the second a tiny spec of dust gets under it, etc.

Apple isn’t alone with that strategy. I bought a fairly expensive Dell XPS 15 that was overheating. They literally replaced the mobo (which had an i7 and a GTX 1050 attached to it) four different times... and the entire process was a year long nightmare.

Between express shipping, in home techs, and parts, they spent way more than it would have cost to replace the unit. And, it never solved the problem. I have to underclock it before doing anything very CPU intensive.

Not my experience. I accidentally rammed my trailer hitch into my leg, which fortunately for my leg was protected by the iPhone 6 in my pocket.

The hitch put a huge dent in my phone, broke the accelerometer and a bunch of sensors, obvious case damage though it was still working (remarkably).

I walked into an Apple store and they replaced it on the spot, for free, despite it being out of warranty and obviously my fault.

Just got my MBP keyboard replaced yesterday for free too (admittedly it is a piece of crap keyboard :).

I went through 6 of the very first iPhones. I could walk into the store, show them the problem and they’d hand me a replacement that I’d have restored from backup by the time I walked out. Process took about half an hour each time and was pleasant. I’ve been an Apple customer since and largely had the same experience.

Just yesterday they replaced my wife’s watch by fedex within 48 hours. No hassles.

I dunno. I'm sure there are people who have bad experiences, but I've always had good experiences getting Apple hardware fixed with and without Apple Care. It's one of the reasons I've used Apple hardware for so long. Maybe my experiences are routinely good because I live near an Apple store and only deal with people in person?

Well I have a broken Apple Pencil and now way to repair it or at least more cheaply replace it. The nearest Apple store is hours away (and another few hours of queuing up waiting for temperature measurements of all customers) and sending it in is not allowed.They did tell on the phone in a roundabout way they would replace it for about half the cost.

Very known? I’ve been buying Apple since 2001 and in that time have felt like first class in all interactions with the company, even the post-Jobs era. I know a few who think like you, but whose experience is relatively close to mine (they may have gotten a bad iPhone one year, etc.)

This sounds more like the usual “Apple is too expensive and just cares about profits” trope.

I once took a 5 year old laptop that was out of warranty. The battery was swollen so they fixed that for free. They also replaced the display panel because they noticed the hinge was a little loose. They also fixed a dead ipod touch for me once. Mailed me a new one and sent me a box to RMA the old one and I couldn't have spent more than 5 minutes on support.

That has not been my experience. I’ve been overnighted replacement iPhones and AirPods without any resistance from online Apple Support. The only time I went in for a physical repair they gave me a loaner device and my repair was completed by noon the next day.

Interesting, I had exactly the opposite experience with a hardware issue. My iPod started showing symptoms pre warranty end, they suggested a software update, it got a bit better then a lot worse outside of warranty and they just sent me a refurb for free.

I just had an iPad Air replaced with zero misery on my end; reported the problem to apple via support chat, tried basic troubleshooting with support tech to no avail, promptly received paid mailer, sent device to Apple and was then overnighted a new device.

Apple replaced my rattling AirPods Pro with a couple quick and simple questions at a Genius Bar appointment. They charged me nothing and it took just a few minutes. No AppleCare.

It sounds like this is more about how they apply policy per region outside of their stores.

This has changed a lot. Back in the HDD-powered iPod days you could drop and crash the hard drive (as in the drive would physically crash and break, for you kids)... and they'd still repair or replace it for free.

the thought of supporting this mentality & behavior towards customers makes me cringe. This is the primary reason why I will never buy any Apple hardware again.

They replaced an iMac for me for free, without question.

(The problem was dirt “smudges” under the screen.

Apple wouldn't let me return (for store credit) or exchange a gift I received without a gift receipt despite me being able to provide the purchaser and the location of the purchase.

The item was brand new and still sealed.

Even though back in March, Apple said there were no Authorized Repair people in PR, I had found one through my own search. It's called Metro Technologies in Hato Rey, not too far from Plaza Las Americas. I can't vouch for them since I have yet to take my AirPods Pro there, and I don't know why Apple didn't show them on their own search page for finding authorized repair, but I decided to search on Apple.com again, just now, and found there are 5 places now, including the one mentioned. It seems even Best Buy here does repairs now, too.

https://i.imgur.com/SLIRWD4.png

File a chargeback on your credit card.

Or send the pods to FL and then file the claim.

> non-US mainlanders

should be US non-mainlanders

Nope, chatting didn't help for me, it only added to the time wasting. I had the same AirPod Pro problem and started with chat Not only did they not solve it via chat (despite detailed troubleshooting notes I provided), they wasted a lot of time asking me to try things that clearly had nothing to do w/ the problem. After a long time of this, they said I'd have to call. Even with a case number, I basically started from scratch on the phone, took about 1hr. After all that, they did finally send me one replacement (right side only). It fixed the problem, though I will say that now they perpetually unbalanced in terms of ear pressure.

Same in Canada. Chatted online, got a case #, turned around in less than a week. Good service, not the best product.

Is there an iMessage support for Apple? I never knew that. I only see website chat and phone (call back) options in India.

Same. I finally found the time to get it fixed, and I used the iMessage chat. After going through a reset and answering some basic questions (version numbers, etc.), they just sent me a replacement.

I had the AppleCare and paid via Amex, the latter which gives me a longer warranty.

When I was trying to replace or return my 1 year and 2 week old Macbook Pro to Apple due to what turned out to be a faulty logic board, Apple said it was too late as their 1 year warranty had passed. But here in Australia we cannot just sign our consumer rights away. I explained this very clearly, that I was not seeking a return based on Apple's warranty but rather seeking a return based on the consumer rights that govern my country and any businesses that wish to do business here.

Many large companies have tried to skirt around these consumer rights, like Steam and E.A who both rejected the notion that they even do business in Australia, all to prevent issuing refunds. It's absurd. Telling a consumer they have no right to a refund when they do is even against the law here, yet Apple do it all the time.

Eventually I got to a senior representitve and they openly stated to me while denying my claim "I don't know why you expect me to know the laws in Australia". They bloody well should, though. Australia's consumer rights watchdog even forced Apple to display a notice on their website to prevent people being misled by Apple.

https://www.apple.com/au/legal/statutory-warranty/

Warranty is 2 years minimum but manufacturers tend to add a voluntary 1 year warranty on top. The hope (often successfully) seems to be that customers "forget" that they still can claim warranty after more than one year.

for sure, and it is a minimum. Not sure how it works exactly, but if a device fails prematurely (within some reasonably determined expected lifetime) due to manufacturing errors you can claim warrant for longer. You might need legal counsel to actually get it though.

I have been through this exact process as well. Mine started to make the rattle noise and I used the chat support to get a replacement sent. Your credit card is "charged" in the event you don't send the broken headphone back. The charge is reversed upon Apple receiving the broken headphone. My replacement was free.

No, but they "reserve" the amount on your credit card and only release it again once they received the shipment from you.

They charge your Creditcard until you send back your broken Airpod. In the end it doesn't cost you anything.

Thanks, I wasn't sure if the parent comment referred to my writing or the blog design. The latter we try to keep as minimal as possible, with no JS (Except a tiny non-Google analytics snippet), ads, external fonts or other garbage on the page.

Fair enough. That part is good. I just hate the “look at me, I’m so quirky I use an ugly monospace font. It’s like a typewriter, get it?”

Here in Romania we've always called it Cehia, which sounds a lot like Czechia, so it feels more natural now.

I lived here before and after the official name change. Everyone I know still calls it "Czech Republic" - "Czechia" feels weird and unnatural to me.

Additionally it sounds quite close to "Čechy" - what in English we call "Bohemia" - which refers only to the western half of the country (see [1]). So it reminds me a little bit of when people call the UK "England" - so as a Scot living in Moravia I sympathise a little with some locals who feel a bit irked by it :-)

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czech_Republic#/media/File:Cze...

I read recently that one of the leaders of .cz likes the name and one of the leaders hates it.

I'm not a fan because to me it's too similar to Chechnya. In fact, that's what I thought the parent poster was talking about until your comment was posted.

A Reason why Apple is affected relatively often is the huge volumes of products they ship. No other manufacturer ships that many identical phones and probably no one has shipped that many identical headphones over such a short time frame.

Even a problem affecting only 0.01% has a sizeable number of affected customers if you ship 100 million devices. If you only ship 1 million, that same problem is much less likely to find public support. Apple already has good quality control (my opinion) but to reach the same level of public complains as other companies, they need to be several magnitudes better.

Most people won't post about it though. I had this exact issue (replaced the left airpod 2 weeks ago) but hadn't posted about it. Until this post, anyway!

That doesn’t really answer the question. They’ve sold tens of millions so a rare and obscure problem is going to turn up tons of people.

I’m sure there’s something going on, but it’s very hard to tell how widespread it is. Apple knows, but won’t tell world. If they start an out-of-warranty replacement program, that will be a hint.