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Review by KSBAY:

The Applecare Protection Plan – an expensive but necessary requirement if you buy an apple laptop.

Why is it a requirement? Because Apple doesn’t make the hard drives or the logicboards (motherboards) or the processors or the DVD burners inside their machines. Apple sources its parts from component manufacturers like Seagate, Nvidia, Intel, Sony etc etc. These parts just like all electronic components can and may fail after a period of time. Once a part fails, Apple is generally known to charge extremely high fees to repair or replace parts.

For example – Motherboards – 0 to 00. Superdrive replacement – 0 to 0. LCD screen replacement – 0 to 0) It’s better to be pay for Applecare once than pay Apple exorbitant repair fees every time a part fails.

Basically, the A.P.P. is a 2 year warranty extension to your apple laptop (that comes with a one year hardware warranty), it provides unlimited phone support and hardware diagnosis. It also offers Mail-in repair for Mac notebooks using a prepaid shipping box provided by Apple and service by an apple store or an Apple Authorized Service Provider.

The A.P.P. also gives you global repair coverage so if a hardware issues arises while you’re in another country and there’s an Apple Store or Apple Authorised Service Provider near by, you can take your mac in for diagnosis and repair.

It does not offer any sort of damage protection or on-site repair.

Please remember to buy the A.P.P. if you plan to do so before the first year of ownership is up. If you bought your machine on X Date 2009 – buy the A.P.P.before X Date 2010. Apple will not honor an A.P.P. policy bought even 2 days after the first year is over (in most cases unless you get lucky and speak to a friendly agent on the phone willing to relax the rules a bit)

Just like before, I HATE to be recommending an extended warranty, but it’s a necessary evil. There is no guarantee that something will go wrong with your expensive mac notebook after the first year but if something does go wrong after the first year, it’s better to be covered by the A.P.P. and avoid paying those exorbitant repair/replacement costs.

NOTE – Don’t buy Applecare from Apple. Look around – there are good deals to be found at Authorised Apple resellers and other legit online outlets. Amazon used to be one of the best places to purchase an A.P.P. from but sadly, Amazon has raised it’s price also. It used to sell the A.P.P. for 192 / 199 dollars, but has now increased the price to 232 dollars and it’s been stuck there for a while. I have no idea why Amazon raised the price but you should buy when the price is low or a price correction occurs. Hope this helps

Review by just me:

Get Applecare if you buy a mac laptop. Logic boards and lcd screens can commonly go bad within 3 years and cost +0 to fix without warranty at Apple. I’ve seen many laptop screens that start getting white spots that appear after 1 1/2 years old. Some example of Logic board failure are like firewire/USB/External video port don’t work right, or after upgrading to new version OS(example 10.7 when it comes out) you computer doesn’t boot or recognize the original OS on the restore disc (10.6), wheezing fan and constant freezes are some other logic board issues. I guess when all the dust collect inside it stops cooling and the logic board goes bad.

Other common parts that fail are the superDrive, cost about 0 without applecare at Apple. Hard Drive fail often and cost about 0 at Apple. More so on the lower macbook models I’ve notice Apple are now using Toshiba brand 5400 rpm hard drives in them. Every tech I know has a shoebox of failed Toshiba Hard Drive that came out a macbook. This is going to break just a mater of when.

Other part that normally get worn out but should be cover by Applecare. Such as the display hinge clutch. Every Mac I know that is more than a year old has some play in the screen hinge clutch. Worn hinge clutch also doesn’t hold the screen open and tends to shut when holding the laptop straight upward This alone can cost 0 at Apple.

Trackpad and especially the clicker can get worn out. it goes flat and doesn’t bounce back as when new. Not as resilient. This alone can cost 0 to fix at Apple.

See after a few repairs, Applecare pays for itself. I fix macs and I guess I just see a lot of broken macs all the time because I’m in the repair business. But all I said above is true and I’m not exaggerating.

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Review by Tom:

If you buy an iMac, you should buy the AppleCare, it’s that simple. For that matter you should but AppleCare for any Apple product you buy that it’s available for. Don’t gripe that the iMac is expensive enough and it should be included. Or if you want to gripe, buy it anyway. When I switched from PC’s to Apple, I was like a fish out of water. I was on the phone quite a bit with Apple about the Time Capsule, Air Port, Apple TV, iPhone, iMac, MacBook, you name it. What’s wonderful about Apple support is that it’s easy to get someone on the phone pretty quickly, that speaks clear english, is knowledgeable and will stay on the phone as long as it takes to resolve your issue. When you know you have such a great resource at your disposal, there is no need to fumble around with online help or through manuals, you just pick up the phone. Ever try that with Dell?

Review by A. Moore:

AppleCare is worth the extra cash. With free telephone support that will walk you through everything, and then if that won’t fix it, Apple will send an authorized tech to your home at no charge! And if needed replace the machine. I have not used it on this iMac, but I have used AppleCare for other items in the past.

Review by Andres Hervas Jacome:

I am incredibly satisfied with these, recommend it to everybody who really takes advantage of it mac…

Review by Christa:

I’ve been a Mac owner since 1992 and am still a completely satisfied customer. Apple is AWESOME when it comes to Apple Care usage. Back in 2001 I sent in my G4 Powerbook for a logic board fix due to the old “pixel flicker” problem, and not only got it back in 3 days, but also got a new top case (where you rest your hands/trackpad) and they replaced my missing feet for free and without request! (The feet cost about a set, and the top case is roughly 0.)

In 2006 I sent in the same G4 Powerbook for another logical board fix (5 years of heat abuse bent the logic board) I again received quick service and replacement feet.

I’ve also used Apple Care to get new chargers for my laptops. (Mine tend to short out after a few years as I use my laptops 10+ hours a day, 7 days a week, and take them EVERYWHERE with me). I’ve also gotten brand new replacement iPods with my Apple Care if they’ve had any drive problems (e.g. from dropping them).

The customer service people are friendly (for call center/customer service people), they have very quick shipping and the procedure as a whole is pretty effortless as far as tech support goes.

Apple Care is ABSOLUTELY worth the money. If there are ANY bugs in your computer, Apple will fix them at no additional cost, with speedy service. If you buy a Mac, you MUST buy Apple Care. It can be a life saver!

(Tips: 1) If you buy any 3rd party hardware for your computer, always take it OUT before taking it to a Mac Genius or sending it to Apple. They do not support 3rd party hardware. 2) ALWAYS back up your computer before you take it/send it in to avoid their backup fee.)

Review by JOACHIM:

The product is very good because the apple people are very responsive.

My issue is with Amazon: I bought my macbook pro on 4/4/07 and apple care sent me an ending date of jan/10 – which is about 3 months short of the 3 years I paid for.

Upon contacting apple, they indicated that the start date for the apple care plan is the date when amazon purchased the computer and not when the amazon customer purchases the computer. Buyer beware – ask the question about the purchase date when you buy.

Review by NotTheOnlyFan:

I used to work in an Apple Store. We were pressured to push AppleCare. I only took the job with the understanding I would NEVER pressure a customer to buy something they didn’t need. They forced me to push .Mac just the same, but I made it clear to customers my heart wasn’t in that disappointing product.

But my heart was in AppleCare. For two simple reasons: Apple gave excellent care, and frankly, you needed it. Look at Consumer Reports listings of product breakdowns, and you discover Apples break as much as PCs. As others will tell you, AppleCare is NOTHING compared to paying for repairs out of pocket.

But one day I got a customer who said something mind-boggling to me. He said, “I never buy AppleCare, ever.” I’m like, why not? He said, “I unload my Macs on eBay one month before the year warranty runs out. This way, you’re always running a new, zippy Mac, with the latest operating system installed instead of purchased.” I thought that was a little kooky, but the more I thought about it, it was genius. For iMacs and Mac-Minis, no. because the AppleCare is relatively inexpensive But for laptops?

Brilliant.

Think about it. Like it or not, laptop batteries seem to go lame or dead by year two. Laptop prices also drop a bit each year. With a recession slamming against us, and Apple plainly stating prices will fall (a rarity indeed), put the pieces together.

Suppose you buy an 00 Macbook on Amazon, right now. Word has it the line is going to be updated in September. So you buy it, and sure enough, new MacBooks pop into existence. Maybe an entry level one at 1050. So you sell your newish MacBook on eBay for 0. That means it will cost you 0 to upgrade to that new MacBook you didn’t know you wanted. But 0 is the cost of AppleCare, and now you have a brand new Mac, new battery, and 1 year warranty.

Know what a new battery costs from Apple? Over a hundred. Know what the next operating system will cost, if you bought the box? Over a hundred.

Yes, there are a lot of ifs and buts in this process, and so if you can’t sell your MacBook on eBay for a good price, or the price on the new MacBook doesn’t drop: buy AppleCare. You have a year to buy it.

Review by Nancy:

My laptop won’t turn on after 10 months of usage. I brought it to the store and they shipped it for repairs. After this, I felt uneasy and bought AppleCare protection. I had to phone applecare and fax my Amazon receipt to get the plan bought from Amazon linked with my laptop.

Just after my 1 year warranty ran out, my hard drive died. Since I have AppleCare protection plan, I was covered, and I simply sent the laptop back to repairs. A couple of days later, I got a phone call that they would like to study my old laptop for reasons of failure and sent me a new, most recent model macbook. It comes with Leopard too! They also transfered the AppleCare protection plan to the new laptop for me.

So buying AppleCare was a very wise choice for me. I expect my laptop to last 3 years. After that, it is time for a new laptop anyway. I think I will buy AppleCare again when I buy a new laptop. It gives me peace of mind.

If you are accident prone, buying this might not be a good idea. If they see signs that the laptop has been dropped, spilled water on and so on, it is not covered by AppleCare. I don’t think the accidents are covered by the initial 1 year warranty either. So if you are accident prone, and within a year or so, you are bound to have an accident, then buying AppleCare would not extend the lifetime to 3 years, and therefore is a pretty bad idea.

Review by Shelley Shay:

Granted, I would never spend to cover a iPod Shuffle… but for any of the other iPods over 0, it’s a good deal… and here’s why.

Out of the box, you get a one year limited warranty. In the first 90 days of this out-of-the-box warranty, you can call Apple once for a general question – like “how do I speed up this track” or “tell me how in the hell to use this infernal gadget!” – but after that, it’s per call… unless there is something technically wrong, then the call is free. It is a toll-free #.

The one year limited warranty is a 2-parter. In the first 6 months of this warranty (this is where reading the fine print really helps), you can contact AppleCare or go to an Apple Retail Store if your iPod is failing (not from accidental damage, though – just if it stops working or behaves badly) – if they cannot do a software fix for it, they will replace the iPod with a refurb unit. The refurbs have new cases and new batteries – but the LCD and Hard Drive might be refurbs. This is also in the fine print. The unit is still covered under your warranty for the life of the warranty period.

Your warranty period starts from the date of purchase of the iPod, not the date of purchase of the warranty. You have one year to buy the warranty and register it online. So, let’s say you are a last minute shopper and you fly to New York to shop at the Fifth Avenue Apple Store that is open 24/hrs a day, 365 days a year… and you buy the blooming iPod on Christmas day. You of course remember the date (like a birthday) in your memory… knowing you have one year to buy the warranty and register it… you will have until Christmas EVE the next year to buy & register the warranty online. You cannot buy it on the one-year anniversary – it’s one day too late – 366 days, not 365 days. Don’t procrastinate! By waiting, you do not add time to your coverage.

So – back to the limited warranty – after the first 6 months, there is a processing fee. This is waived if you have the AppleCare Protection Plan (APP), but if you just have the limited warranty, you’ll pay plus tax for a replacement unit. Why? They ship the old unit back to be taken apart and recycled and it covers the shipping of the replacement unit to the store or to you (if you do the mail in service instead of going to the store).

When you get a replacement unit, the unit is covered for the length of your warranty or 90 days – whichever is longer.

When you have APP, there are no more fees – you have coverage for 2 solid years – unlimited phone support and no fees if you have to replace the unit in the store 20 times.

If you drop the unit, accidentally put it in the washing machine or run it over with your car, they will be able to tell and that kind of damage is not covered. If you have a warranty on your car, you use it if you hit a speedbump and your transmission falls out. But, if you wrap your car around a tree, this is an insurance issue, not a warranty issue. Same with the iPod. Apple does not sell insurance. Some credit cards do offer limited insurance on electronics. You will have to check w/ your card to see if this coverage is available for you.

Some people opt to do all their holiday shopping at a big-box retailer w/ their attractive 6-12 months no interest deals… that’s fine and dandy – but you need to be aware of some of the extended warranties they sell. Ask lots of questions.

Many big-box retailers offer a 4-year warranty for about the same price as Apple’s 2 year warranty – but what is in the tiny print is that in the first year, you have to take the unit to Apple for service. So – you take it into Apple (or mail it in) – they don’t ‘repair’ your unit – they either do a software fix if it was corrupted software (something you can do yourself at home) or they will replace the unit. When they replace the unit, you now have a new serial number – and this is not covered by the other retailer’s 4-year warranty. You won’t know this until 2 years later your ipod dies again – you go to the big box retailer and they tell you that the iPod you have in your hand is not the one you covered with their warranty. Oops!

With your APP warranty, you’re paying 8 cents a day for peace of mind. And if you’re buying a 0 iPod, it’s nice that you don’t have to worry about getting another one for 2 years. It’s a hefty investment only to have to pay for a replacement in 6 months if the thing starts acting funny, then paying for a new one. By the time your APP runs out, you know they will have come out w/ some new awesome model you ‘have to have’ anyway. I still have the first iPod I bought about 5 years ago and it still works. The battery life is nil, but plugged in, it still works… but I still bought a new model when it came out… and you will too.

Review by A. Bigge:

I got a 30gb iPod about 23 months ago in trade for some work I did for an acquaintance. At the time I didn’t even know about the protection plan. It wasn’t until I realized how much I loved this little electronic wonder that I started to worry about how I would ever replace it if it stopped working.

About 11 months after I received the iPod I purchased the protection plan from Apple. The sales rep I spoke with was well informed and very helpful. I had actually purchased the plan 11 months and 30 days after my initial iPod purchase date. I was assured that as long as I bought the plan before the original warranty expired that I could register it to my iPod at any time. She was right.

When my iPod started losing charge and shutting down intermittently about a month ago I was worried but then I remembered the protection plan. I called them up and they had the shipping materials at my door the next day. I sent the iPod out the day after and after 1 day of transit, 1 day of troubleshooting, and 1 day of return shipping I have a newly refurbished iPod back in my hands. No questions, no runaround, no hassle.

I would recommend this product to ANYONE with an iPod. These things are just too damn cool to risk losing.

Review by Shelley Shay:

Apple makes fantastic products – in my opinion, Macs are the best personal computers a person can own – but they are computers. The hard drive has moving parts and there are tens of thousands of connections on the circuitboards inside such a small place. Things can go wrong, but you can’t go wrong with the AppleCare Protection Plan. The plan extends your complimentary phone support from 90 days to 3 years. This means you can call them every day (if you needed to, which is doubtful) for 3 years via one toll-free number – not just with hardware questions, but also for help with the Operating System and the i-Apps such as iPhoto, iTunes, iDVD and GarageBand.

I have used AppleCare more than once and their support just can’t be beat. You don’t get sent to some clueless person who’s never seen a Mac and barely has command of English – you get real Apple Certified Technicians who are very nice and never lose patience with you. I have never been disappointed by their assistance.

As an iBook user, you can take your iBook to any authorized AppleCare Technician anywhere in the world to get it repaired. If you’re travelling to Paris, just swing by the Apple Store there and they will fix it there, even though you bought the machine in the US. If you don’t get the AppleCare Protection plan, even during the 1 yr window of “free” protection, you’d have to ship the unit back to the US and have a friend or family member take it in for you.

The APP comes with a copy of Tech Tools Deluxe, a great diagnostic and repair tool for common problems. The APP provides peace of mind and is the best investment you can make for your new iBook purchase.

Review by Paul Stuart:

As a former professional tech support rep + current technology buff, I have mixed feelings about AppleCare (AC). Despite such sentiments, AppleCare is a MUST PURCHASE on all Apple systems. Note: it is not renewable and it must be purchased before factory warranty expires.

First things first, you’re ahead of the curve by comparing AC price. ‘AppleCare’ is AppleCare regardless of price paid for it. Amazon and other merchants/auction sites can offer the service at prices sometimes 1/3rd less than Apple. Ensure the vendor is reputable, however. Apple cannot guarantee AppleCare validity purchased elsewhere. Moreover, save your AC purchase receipt; unused AC warranty (regardless of vendor) is refundable by Apple if supported by an original receipt + purchase price.

Second, run out on warranty and good luck getting solid AppleCare hardware support via Apple or authorized repair centers. An active, AC account should equate in most instances to no money out of pocket for repairs. Note, however, that AppleCare does not cover all hardware defects. A trio of poor screen pixels will not be repaired. Ditto on ‘cosmetic’ issues which Apple deems ‘normal wear and tear.’ Still, AC has proven a godsend over the years for my misc. Apple hardware defects.

Related, Apple is notorious for odd hardware defects on new model lines (see their AppleCare forums for reference BEFORE purchasing a system). In most instances + backed by a little assertive persistence (I’ve had my fair share of wars over the years), Apple will honor AC warranty in repairing any of these widespread types of issues. FYI: unless a machine is purchased from the Apple Store directly and less than a week ago — even with significant hardware defects — Apple will not replace a unit…except, perhaps, via an act of God.

Third and for newbies in particular, AC is the King of Software Support. Even the simplest of questions AC reps are happy to answer. While I disagree with folks below that AC 1st (or even 2nd tier) + Apple Store tech support reps are all-knowing, they are — as a whole — the nicest, most patient people you’ll ever encounter. They call you back, stay past closing, the phone support has wonderful hours (love that PST). Besides, their hold music explains the popularity of the iTunes store; good stuff!

Before I get lambasted by Dell owners and/or or Mac-o-philes, this a review on AC…NOT Apple. Thus, I highly recomend the product — at the best possible purchase price! — for ocassionally flawed but always well supported product. Moreover, AC owners get preferential treatment both from AC phone and Genius Bar support. Don’t leave home without it.

Review by Graeme Thomson:

I buy a computer I expect it to last me at least 3 years, with Apple care I know it will continue to work the same way it did the day I bought it. If it stops working, or is not working as expected I simply take it in to my apple store and they fix the problem. They will even re-image my drive (i need to back up my data)

Apple Care also gives you an 800 number to call if you need to ask a question about your Mac.

Review by SDLSteve:

Buy it off of ebay where you can save 50% at least. However, it gives piece of mind plus an incentive for others to buy it used.

Review by Krishna M. Sadasivam:

This was my first order through PowerMax. Everything went incredibly smooth – I received my AppleCare box in the mail a few days after placing my order. As AppleCare is a warranty – there’s really not much of a review I can write about it. It adds 3 years of coverage for a Mac Pro (and Apple display, if purchased together). If, for whatever reason, something goes wrong with my system, I’m covered.

Whether you should buy an AppleCare warranty is entirely up to you. For me, it was about peace of mind – knowing that Apple will be there to cover this production machine for years to come.

Review by Michael Maersch:

For someone who has ALWAYS rejected the notion of purchasing an ‘extended warranty’ on ANY product purchase as just another cynical method for American corporations to wring every possible cent they can from us as consumers, I must IN THIS CASE ONLY, urge anyone considering the purchase of an Apple laptop or one of Apple’s overly priced Mac ‘Pro’ workstations purchase the Apple’Care’ extended warranty. (I am NOT some ‘Leftie’ anti-corporation/conspiracy theory nut-case! I simply believe that if I purchase a brand new, EXPENSIVE piece of technology – be it a motorcar, a refrigerator, a digital SLR, a flat screen teevee OR an ‘insanely kewl’ Apple Product [god-Steve's own description of ALL his groovy Apple Products!] – then it is reasonable to expect these ‘quality’ products last longer than 60,000 miles or 1 year! Consider all the blah-blah about ‘quality American products’ we are berated with these days.)

Why Apple’Care’?

Consider this: I purchased a Mac ‘Pro’ quad-core workstation a couple of years ago. Within less than 9 months I began experiencing MULTIPLE hardware problems. Of course, when I took this gift from the gods back to an Apple Store – and by way of many, many lengthy conversations with ‘product specialists’ @ AppleCare – the ‘geniuses’ (at the Apple Store’s ‘Genius Bar’), and the technicians in the Apple Store who supposedly ‘worked on’ my Mac ‘Pro’ all advised me ‘it’s a software issue’. Yep. You betcha! And that most-likely ‘it’s a THIRD PARTY software issue’. You know, buggy code like that built into products dumped on the market by the likes of Adobe… (Say what?!)

The ‘geniuses’ solution to my (perceived) problems? ‘Archive and Re-Install!’ They could NEVER find ‘a problem’ running their tip top diagnostic software (ASD + they even ‘beat it up’ with an ‘intense’ chess game software title the ‘geniuses’ additionally-use when making an über effort to find the chink in either hardware or software and are unable to locate it by simply looping ASD for 24 hours or longer). If anyone has ever had to endure the gauntlet of ‘Archive and Re-Install’ you know that this option is the absolute LAST DITCH EFFORT one considers in order to make an OS play nicely once again with other software written SPECIFICALLY FOR that OS! (C’mon Apple! What’s with all this smugness about how stable, how sophisticated, how kewl the Mac OS is?)

Well, long story short, I have the great fortune of being friends with a certified Apple technician; and unlike the ‘geniuses’ at the Apple Stores who just run software tests (because IT COULDN’T POSSIBLY BE A HARDWARE ISSUE – NOT a Mac!), my good friend is someone who will not accept ONLY the diagnosis of a software scan, no matter how many times you run it looking for a problem. Based upon my description of ongoing problems and with a series of screen captures I emailed him illustrating some of what I was experiencing, without even having the machine in front of him, based upon his years of experience working on Macs (and PC’s) he advised me there were problems likely-with both the logic board AND the video card. (BOTH major hardware failures, both EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE elements for Apple to replace on their ‘professional’ top-of-the-line product, the Mac ‘Pro’!)

*It took me an additional 9 months of wrestling with countless Apple representatives before the company (finally!) decided to replace the machine!* I will not bore you with the details. Suffice it to say, I have been a loyal Mac computer customer *over the past 20 years* and have decided I will NEVER purchase another Mac ‘Pro’ workstation! (These are Apple’s ‘professional’ level ‘workstations’. They are phenomenally overpriced for the quality of computing you get in my experience! When I originally bought mine, approximately two years ago now, I paid nearly 00! However, because I STILL PREFER the Mac environment over the Windows OS I will likely purchase *an iMac* one day in the future and max it out w/RAM for the photo editing work I conduct every day. But never, ever again will I squander money on their so-called ‘professional’ equipment. And as a finer point, I own Apple computers ONLY. I will not purchase any of their other products, hardware OR software. Adobe does a much better job of designing creative applications, in my opinion.)

So, to come full circle, my advice to you, to ‘get it’ (AppleCare for one of Apple’s workstations or laptops), is based upon the advice my Apple tech friend gave me early on: ‘Just cough it up Mike. A couple hundred extra bucks for extended hardware protection MAY save you LOTS MORE in the future!’ I could have never imagined how right-on his advice to me was! (And BTW, I continue to experience videocard hick-ups even with my brand new replacement, the ‘Nehalem’ box; AND this quad core ‘super computer’ REALLY DOES NOT seem anywhere near as fast ['blazing fast'?!] as one is led to believe by all the Apple hoopla on their site. Think I’m nuts about the ‘quality’ of these Mac ‘Pro’ workstations? Stop by DealMac from time to time over the coming months and take note of the TONS OF refurbished Mac ‘Pro’ ‘workstations’ the Apple Store is re-selling every now-and-then. Over the past year alone I have seen Apple dump hundreds of these ‘pro level’ refurb-machines that failed the first time out! Do your own research before dropping Big Bucks on one of these things! And if you have owned one of these machines for less than a year *purchase AppleCare before your initial 12 month warranty runs out*!)

Review by John F. Ryan:

I had no problem registering the iPod on line, even though I bought it from Amazon. The registration does require filling out an online form and choosing an “Apple ID”, but the defaults are set NOT to send any advertising emails. etc.

I did have an opportunity to use the AppleCare warranty about a year after buying my Nano (battery didn’t hold charge). The telephone call did take about 12 minutes on hold (daytime hours), but the tech rep offered either to send me a return box (free shipping), or I could take the Nano to an Apple store and exchange it. My closest Apple store is a tank of gas, so I exchanged by mail. The box came in 2 days, and the Nano was returned within a week. I can’t tell whether it was the same unit or a refurb, but it was in pristine condition.

My experience isn’t unique; Consumer Reports regularly lists AppleCare as the best tech support in the electronics industry.

Review by kre8iv1:

I bought (2) 2nd generation iPod Nano’s, and (2) AppleCare Protection plans (ACPP).

Amazon’s price for the ACPP’s was GREAT!

APPLE’s registration process was NOT.

I could NOT register either iPod online. Both produced error messages and I had to call Apple directly. Both calls lasted at LEAST 20 minutes each.

For one iPod, I actually had to fax them my receipt because the item had been on the SELLER’S shelf for over 90 days and Apple had to verify that I had actually purchased it legally.

For the other iPod, I purchased it DIRECTLY FROM APPLE as a refurbished unit, and I STILL had to call them to register it! Seems that even though the serial number displayed on the screen and etched onto the back of the unit matched each other, neither one of those matched the one on the Apple invoice!

I know this entire process was set up to prevent theft/bootlegging, however it is just annoying and time consuming for me, the true purchaser.

Let’s hope I NEVER have to call Apple to actually utilize one of them!!!!

NOTE: on 11/8/08 I DID have to utilize my ACPP because my one iPod battery was not charging properly. I walked into my local Apple store at my scheduled appointment time with a copy of my ACPP and I walked out 5 minutes later with a replacement iPod. No problems, no questions, everything was easy and quick. I’m glad to know that my initial difficulties with registering my 2 iPod’s were redeemed with the ease of replacement at the store! When I buy a new iPod I will be back to get another ACPP on Amazon.

Thank you Apple, and thank you Amazon!

Review by D. Nguyen:

Oh man this seller is awesome! almost 1/2 the price of what you get directly from Apple and it activates flawlessly! At first I was very wary of this company (the seller) because I never heard of them before (website looks cheesy too); my package (Applecare box) came open but with the activation code inside, so that added to my suspicion. I thought I was going to get cheated but when the time came for me to activate, it worked with no trouble at all. This company is legit! I saved so much money. My iPod is now protected for another year. If you’re like me always only trusting Amazon and not any other third-party sellers, don’t be afraid with this firm. Buy from them, protect your iPod for cheap. Can’t recommend enough. Oh, yea they ship fast too.

P.S. I only went with this seller because at the time Amazon ran out of stock, this was the only option left and I needed it immediately (warranty almost out). Thanks to that incident, I saved money. I didn’t mention the company’s name because I think mentioning it will either cause the name to be censored or the seller would change; so, as of the date of this review I am referring to the seller that I see currently selling (MPO).

Review by S. Showalter:

I snagged this just a few days before my iPod Touch’s warranty would expire.

You get a simple little box mailed to you with a booklet of instructions and the activation code, which arrived after the iPod’s warranty expiration date, and I still didn’t call to activate it for another month.

Activating it was still easy, and mostly painless. I just emailed support a PDF printout of my Amazon order, to show that I had indeed purchased it within the iPod’s original warranty period, and I was good to go.

I grabbed a cheaper version available from a reseller, and it made no difference. A box is a box.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B001IPR82Y?tag=a52-20&ie=UTF8

This is a must-have. Battery may need replaced. Power button may stop working (it’s starting to go in mine). I’ve also had a bit of wifi trouble and that might also go out within the next year. Better safe than iPod-less!

(I also recommend you protect the back of your iPod from scratches (but the glass should always remain scratch free without any cover, thankfully). I suggest you get one of these, which also protect you from the uncovered “accidental damage” (let alone “purposeful damage”): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00284AO7A?tag=a52-20&ie=UTF8

Hope this helps!