Buying ipad soon, warrenty?

[celinedion1]

I'll be buying an ipad soon probably within the next week, so before I buy one I have a question. I know that apple gives you a year warrenty and there's a extended warrenty that you can buy from apple.

My question is can you buy the extended warrenty any time within the first year of owning the ipad, or do you have you buy the extended warrenty when you first buy the ipad?

Also is there some place where I can see what the extended warrenty covers?

thanks

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

There are details here plus more comprehensive ('small print') information in the links at the bottom of the page.

Apple - Support - AppleCare - iPad

Tim
Scotland

 

[normanj]

Quick glance at the warranty suggests that the basic coverage us (a) we'll help you out during the first 90 days, and (b) we'll cover you after 90 days and up to a year the iPad just stops working right and you can show that it's not your fault. Am I right?

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

Yes - that's certainly how I understand it. For the first 90 days you get warranty and support - after 90 days you get warranty. But Apple have a reputation for being pretty good at the interpretation of 'not your fault'. And, as I think I mentioned before, the reliability of the iPad is generally very good from reports on the Forum. Most faults will almost certainly show up during the first 12 months. The iPad has, in effect, no moving parts (i.e. hard discs) so the reliability should be good. OK - switches etc are clearly likely to be the weak point but, surprisingly, I've not seen any reports so far of switch failures. Clearly the 'Home' button and the 'Power' switch are likely to be the most used (well, there is only one more!) so I'd imagine Apple *really* focussed on the reliability of those; they don't want $800 iPads failing because of a 25 cent switch.

Tim
Scotland

 

[tzimisce]

OK - switches etc are clearly likely to be the weak point but, surprisingly, I've not seen any reports so far of switch failures.

Just purely on empirical observation, many of the dead-on-arrival and dead-within-a-week defects tend to cluster around the display, more than any other component.

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

Excellent point! Yes - it does seem that the majority of reports in this Forum of defective iPads have been ‘screen issues’ - random colours, stripes down the screen, blank screens, flickering screens etc.

Tim
Scotland

 

[pastorsteve]

I believe that you have 355 days to buy your Apple Care coverage for any newly purchased Apple product, but that is something they will answer for you at the Apple store when you buy yours. To me it's definitely worth it.

 

[accordlayingkit]

I believe that you have 355 days to buy your Apple Care coverage for any newly purchased Apple product, but that is something they will answer for you at the Apple store when you buy yours. To me it's definitely worth it.

364 days I believe....correct me if im wrong

 

[pastorsteve]

I believe that you have 355 days to buy your Apple Care coverage for any newly purchased Apple product, but that is something they will answer for you at the Apple store when you buy yours. To me it's definitely worth it.

364 days I believe....correct me if im wrong

Could be. I know it's just under a full year.

 

[Megadesertdiesel]

I bought the best buy warranty. It covers dropping it and getting it wet. $130 for my 64gig 3G.

 

[NLAlston]

@Mega,

If something were to happen tom your iPad, I hope that you are to fare much better than I did - on the two occasions that I needed warranty service from them. I had bought their basic extended coverage plan on my current desktop, and had purchased their premium accidental protection plan on my wife's laptop. Both units had developed covered issues, but there was always a backing out of their honoring what I had paid for. they gave me this excuse, that excuse, this reason, and that reason as to why something might be happening - and I was always given something to try when I got the unit(s) back home.

They rode that train until my wife's laptop traveled outside of the warranty period, and THEN determined that the LCD screen was faulty. I am now about to write their corporate division about my desktop. So, as I said, I really hope that you don't find a future need for them to see you through something. If you do, then I hope you come out much better than I did.

 

[xune]

I believe that you have 355 days to buy your Apple Care coverage for any newly purchased Apple product, but that is something they will answer for you at the Apple store when you buy yours. To me it's definitely worth it.

My apple care has taken care of me on my Mac mini, my iPhone, and my iPad.. twice!

Though you have the first year to add it, you don't gain any extra time, and you miss out on the free phone tech support included when purchasing Apple Care.. worth 50 bucks a call, included for free for two years. I love that the tech support isn't outsourced either.


@mega:

Best Buy's warranty is almost twice as expensive as Apple's ($79), and it doesn't include free local over the phone tech support. I've never heard of anyone anywhere on the web or otherwise who got their iPad wet. Seems like an extremely unlikely scenario and a way to make a lot of extra money off of you imo.

Apple Care has been well worth the investment in our family's experience. They replaced my iPhone when the down button was intermittently working. They replaced my mac mini's optical drive when it started to not read discs. The last time my iPad wasn't taking a charge, Apple swapped it with a new one. Recommended w/o a doubt.

 

[tzimisce]

I've never heard of anyone anywhere on the web or otherwise who got their iPad wet. Seems like an extremely unlikely scenario and a way to make a lot of extra money off of you imo.

All it takes is getting caught in a sudden downpour without a waterproof bag. Not "extremely unlikely" at all.

 

[Tarkio]

I bought the best buy warranty. It covers dropping it and getting it wet. $130 for my 64gig 3G.

FYI on those warranties. You won't lose your $130, but you may not be completely protected. I bought a device from Best Buy that had a full replacement feature. When it failed I was told the device was too popular and they had no refurbished units to replace it with. So they sent me a check for what I paid for the coverage. I was out of luck.

 

[Megadesertdiesel]

Well the BB warranty sounds too good to be true then? Hmm I guess I will find out. Maybe I should buy the apple care tool if it's only $80.

I talked to my brother in law who was a BB geek director for a few stores on the east coast, he said I will be fine and call him if I have any issues.