Applecare for the iPhone

Re: IPhone Apple Care, how does it work?

since there's already a thread devoted to this, i'll just continue it, with a focus now on the iphone 4.

as we all know or at least assume, the iphone 4 will only get warranty service (for now) in countries where the phone has been officially sold. (that doesn't include us, yet.) so if my SG-bought iphone breaks down for some reason, i'm going to have to ship it back to apple singapore.

now, what will happen when globe officially releases the iphone 4 here? will they assume warranty service for our SG, HK, UK, etc. phones? i'm not sure, but i'm assuming they won't. after all, they're globe, not apple. (what has your experience been with your non-globe 3G and 3GS iphones? please tell.)

apple also has this policy under its limited warranty for the iphone 4:

"Apple may restrict service to the country where Apple or its Authorized Distributors originally sold the hardware product." i think this is what led us to believe (probably correctly) that apple will fix your phone only where it was bought.... however, do take note of the word "may," implying that apple might have other options--such as fixing it in another country where the iphone is also officially sold.

i was thinking of this because i did what could be a crazy thing today, but let me be the guinea pig for all of us: i bought the $69 applecare for the iphone 4 from a fellow mugger, fully aware that this could be for naught--or maybe not. (in any case, the price was good--it's just like i bought an expensive iphone case ).

so who needs applecare with a year to go and with all these murky warranty issues? well, as i've said elsewhere, i'm a big applecare fan, and have five machines under applecare (and have already recovered the cost of all those polices twice over in replaced parts, over the years.) anyway--i just wanted to get APP for my iphone, so i did.

when i went online and tried to register it with "philippines" as my country, apple refused the registration, saying something like "service is not available in your country." makes sense.

so i changed my country to the US--my itunes is registered there, in my sister's place, along with my ebay and paypal, etc.--and apple accepted the registration and sent me a confirmation letter.

so if my iphone breaks down after a year, where can i get service? in singapore, i suppose, but also maybe in the US--a big maybe. (i know from other readings that they do service out-of-country iphones in the US; if you send it in unlocked, they will return it unlocked.)

so what did i learn from all this so far? don't buy applecare for your iphone 4 and expect it to be honored here--so far; they won't even register it here. it'll work where you bought it, and in the US (maybe).

at any rate, i'm actually hoping that i'll never have to test this theory, ha ha. in the worst case, i'm out of pocket by P2,800.

your theories welcome

 

ay! pels, did you check out the previous threads on ebay applecare? we strongly advise muggers against getting these "code-only" deals, because--while they seem to be great bargains--many of them prove to be bogus. some people have even been able to register their (computer-generated) codes, only to have their applecare dishonored later by apple. always insist on getting your applecare in the unopened box, even if it takes longer and is pricier.

this isn't always the case, of course, and your deal could yet be legit--i hope!--but i hope your seller comes through with either the proof or the refund. if not, and if it's covered by ebay's own guarantee (ebay buyer protection), you can still get your money back if you can prove the deal was fraudulent.

here's a link to the warning against ebay applecare scams:

http://reviews.ebay.com/FAKE-APPLECARE-APPLE-CARE-A-warning-to-buyers_W0QQugidZ10000000011731235