In short
Let's go deeper
Last night my iPhone 13 Pro flew out of the loft, 2 and a half meters in flight, and thankfully it didn't break up.
But you know what? Fuck you, I have theAppleCare+.
How many times have we asked ourselves if Should we activate AppleCare+ on our Apple devices? Or maybe if it's better, Kasko instead?
The guarantee issue is always a problem for us consumers and today I will try to explain, in a few simple steps, differences, pros and cons.
Let's think together.
Warranty types for Apple devices
To date, if we talk about warranty for Apple and non-Apple devices, we have two types of warranty:
- Italian national guarantee, for example Apple Italy or Europe and imported, which covers faults and factory defects
- Accidental damage assistance coverage, for example AppleCare+ or Kasko, which covers accidental damage in addition to factory defects in the national warranty
The first type is free and available to everyone, the second is paid and optional.
In short, not only do we pay 1300€ for a telephone, we must also pay to get less money out during the repair phase.
Dage of consumerism over 9000.
Differences between Apple Italy and Europe or import warranty
First of all, let's start from an assumption, there are - fortunately for us Italians - basically two types of guarantees:
- Apple Italia warranty
- Europe or import guarantee
The substantial differences between the Apple Italia Guarantee and the European Guarantee are as trivial as they are important:
- The Italian warranty lasts two years, the repair takes place in the Italian territory and in a very short time
- The import warranty lasts only one year, the repair takes place outside Italian territory and months may pass before receiving the repaired product
Neither type covers accidental damage or contact with liquids and in the case of purchases with a VAT number, in both cases, the warranty will be reduced to only one year.
But let's go into detail.
Everything about the Apple Italia warranty
The Apple Italia warranty covers factory faults and defects, present on the device, that have occurred within the two-year warranty.
The management of the product, during the entire warranty period, is entirely in the hands of Apple, which can replace or repair the device, in a very short time.
The repair always takes place in one of the authorized service centers and based in Italy and it is also possible, through the toll-free number 800 915 904, to request the device to be picked up at home, by express courier.
All about the Europe guarantee
The Europe warranty, or import warranty, covers faults and factory defects on a device that have occurred only in the first year of warranty.
The warranty year is always managed by Apple at authorized service centers, but outside the Italian territory.
The second year of warranty is not managed by Apple as per the Italian warranty but, rather, it should be the supplier or the retailer who guarantees the repair at its expense, as per Consumer code and the waiting times will be much longer than Apple's Italian warranty.
Often, unfortunately, It happens that the second year of warranty is not guaranteed by the supplier or retailer, thus not complying with the consumer code.
Most of the time - speaking from experience - the supplier or retailer not only passes off an imported device as a product with Italian warranty but, in addition, attributes the factory fault or defect to improper use by the buyer, also requiring an amount for the out-of-warranty repair of the device itself.
In short, beyond harm, insult.
This is why you should always rely on resellers authorized by Apple, but we'll talk about that later.
Apple Italy or Europe warranty?
So, you understand the differences, what do we do?
Basically, as already discussed, the difference between Italian warranty and import warranty is both in the duration of the warranty and in the speed of the repair.
The right choice is in the middle:
- imported products often cost even 100€ less than the others, so there are big savings at the expense of the guarantee
- Apple Italia warranty products are an iron barrel in case of problems and are sold, rightly so, at standard prices by authorized retailers
But stop talking about guarantees that are due to us by right, let's dive into those for accidental damage.
Differences between AppleCare+ and Kasko
Currently, when it comes to accidental damage, in Italy, we can decide to activate two types of paid warranty:
- AppleCare+, which can be activated independently within 60 days from the date of purchase of an Apple device
- Kasko, which can be activated in electronic stores only at the time of purchase
The first, nice and expensive, covers against accidental damage but not from liquids, the second is cheaper but leaves something to be desired.
All about AppleCare+
AppleCare+, as anticipated, is Apple's coverage for iPhone, iPad and Mac, which covers accidental damage, lasts 2 years and is added to the warranty for factory defects.
This coverage can be activated within 60 days from the date of purchase, in Apple stores, on Apple.com and in total autonomy through the settings on your device.
The AppleCare+ service is one of the best care coverage in the world, especially for its efficiency and speed.
Assistance can be requested conveniently by telephone, through the toll-free number 800 915 904 and with home pickup by courier, or at the many authorized Apple service points, in Italy. In both cases, the device will be repaired by qualified Apple technicians and authorized Apple service centers.
How much does it cost to activate AppleCare+?
AppleCare+ has an activation cost that varies between 169€ and 229€ depending on the device model. The repair of the display and the back costs only 29€ and 99€ for other damage. You are entitled to only 2 interventions per year, the third will have higher costs than those mentioned above.
For some time now, Apple has also allowed you to activate, on some devices, a subscription plan for AppleCare+ instead of the usual payment A one-off.
Why isn't the Kasko of small and large electronic stores convenient?
The Kasko supplied by small or large electronics stores, most of the time has lower costs than AppleCare+ coverage, but The repair of these products can also be carried out by external technicians and not by qualified Apple technicians, at unauthorized service centers and with non-original spare parts. The waiting times are obviously much longer and the nasty surprises are always just around the corner.
Conclusions
In short, the guarantee issue is a mess and between suppliers and retailers, the consumer always receives the package.
At the end of the fair, there are essentially two important things:
- It is always convenient to buy a product with the Apple Italia warranty, both for waiting times and for not running into problems or difficulties in the second year of warranty
- If, like me, you are careless and know that you will 100% destroy your iPhone within two years of purchase, don't think twice and activate AppleCare+
- If, on the other hand, you are handsome, sure you won't break anything, buy imported ones, pay less and keep your fingers crossed
In any case, as already mentioned, it is always good to buy products from qualified retailers so as to never have warranty problems.
Until next time, young and old spenders.
