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AppleCare+ for iPhone covers accidental damage

by Steven Sande Oct 4th 2011 at 3:31PM

One good accessory purchase for any iPhone buyer is AppleCare, but now Apple has upped the ante with a new product called AppleCare+ -- they'll now cover accidental damage to your iPhone.

AppleCare+ ($US99) must be purchased at the same time that you buy your new iPhone, and covers up to two incidents of damage due to handling errors. For each of those incidents, Apple will extract a $49 service fee, but that's a lot less expensive than purchasing a whole new iPhone.

AppleCare+ is available for purchase now, and shows a delivery date of October 14 -- the date that the first iPhone 4S devices will be available.



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One good accessory purchase for any iPhone buyer is AppleCare, but now Apple has upped the ante with a new product called AppleCare+ --...
 

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Meredith McKay

SquareTrade is about the same price AppleCare+. It's $99 for two years, but must be started within 30 days of iPhone purchase so that makes the coverage time about the same as AppleCare+. And, there's a $50 deductible per damage incident, slightly higher than Apple's $49. And, you have to deal with a third-party provider, rather than get Apple's (usually) exceptionally-good service.

Personally, I think I'll just self-insure as always, but if I were to buy coverage it would be AppleCare+.

October 05 2011 at 6:40 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Meredith McKay's comment
austinjennings21

SquareTrade does sound good but my cousin had a very bad experience with them so I'm a bit skeptical, I'm sure they're a great company though. He had bought an HP iPaq online and the warranty from them and when the screen cracked the denied his claim for some erroneous reason, according to him.

I came across Worth Ave that provides the same Extended Warranty and Accidental Damage for two years. The best deal I came across was Securranty, they match up pretty much evenly with AppleCare+ and SquareTrade. Best part is they're only $79!

http://www.securranty.com/smartphone-extended-warranty-Accidental-Damage-Handling.html

I think they're new but I know the warranty industry is regulated and when I called and asked they said they were underwritten and administered by Service USA and another company.... Sprint will not be offerring insurance on the iPhone 4S so I'm most likely going to get my warranty from Securranty. Saves me $20 =D

October 10 2011 at 3:39 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Daniel

Does this completely replace AppleCare? Because the ability to buy it within 12 months was one of the biggest selling features for it. I only needed $70 within a year of buying my $200(subsidized) phone, rather than $300 upfront.

And let's all be fair, AppleCare covered accidental unofficially before. At least, every AppleStore I've seen replaces pretty much anything if you have AppleCare. No cost.

October 05 2011 at 1:38 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Marcin Przybylski

honestly a great deal :D

October 04 2011 at 4:21 PM Report abuse +2 rate up rate down Reply
Actionable Mango

That seems like a bad deal. Current cost to replace your broken iPhone 4 is $200. With AppleCare+ you will pay $150 to replace your broken iPhone.

So without AppleCare+ you either pay $0 if you don't break it or $200 if you do.
And with AppleCare+ you pay $100 if you don't break it or $150 if you do.

The savings does not seem worth it.

October 04 2011 at 4:18 PM Report abuse -1 rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Actionable Mango's comment
Carrespondent

But if you're under contract and you break your iPhone, without a warranty, you have to buy a new one at the unsubsidized price.

October 05 2011 at 10:27 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Marty Estes

So.....what they used to do with Applecare, you now have to pay extra for?

October 04 2011 at 4:14 PM Report abuse -2 rate up rate down Reply
Pylori

Is it really worth it though? $99+49 = $148. When I dropped my iPhone 3G and it smashed the screen it cost about that much to get it replaced in its entirety. I guess if you're prone to drop it more often. AppleCare is great for Macs, but for the iPhone it doesn't really seem worth it, especially when you can just get it covered under your home insurance (my home insurer covers the iPhone for no extra cost to my monthly fee).

October 04 2011 at 4:10 PM Report abuse -1 rate up rate down Reply
Christian T

Or, you can just go to any Apple store where they will probably swap out the phone for free. Successfully did this 3 times in 2 states. (not all me, friends and family)

October 04 2011 at 3:55 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Christian T's comment
Tbayrgs

Te likelyhood of that happening in the future is probably unlikely now that it's integrated into a warranty you can now purchase.

October 04 2011 at 5:10 PM Report abuse +1 rate up rate down Reply
Freep

Can anyone say 'SquareTrade?'

October 04 2011 at 3:50 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
docrock

Very nice and yet I kinda feel like "It's about time"

October 04 2011 at 3:40 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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