[charanreddy]

I had an unfortunate experience recently when my Apple iWatch Series 6 went under the sofa and its screen was almost reduced to a paste. Luckily this was bought in US and i had the apple care +. Cost of apple care plus in US is a reasonable $4 per month. My watch was replaced in seven days flat with zero cost to me.

Whats more surprising is that the apple service center guy in HSR layout told us that you can buy the indian version of apple care + even after your device is damaged and once you present your device at service center its much cheaper to repair / replace.

[AnAvgJoe]

It’s a sad but true state of affairs, Apple products are expensive to repair (at the official retailer). I guess it equates well to car repair at an authorised dealer vs independent repair shop.

Unfortunately, unlike most car manufacturers, Apple is actively trying to make it harder for third party repairers to repair Apple products.

They do this in 2 ways
1) Original Apple spares are sold only to official Apple repair shops (whose billing is regulated by Apple), third party repair chaps must make do with black market spares from China or used parts harvested from damaged machines.
2) The parts are now coded to the individual product (someone on YouTube tried swapping the cameras between 2 brand new iPhone 12’s, both phones threw up error messages). I guess the repairers will now have to recode the repaired device with Apple’s help for the devices to function.

To be fair to Apple, a few other major phone manufacturers are already doing this as well.
I think the death knell has already been rung for third party repair shops, unless the US/European lawmakers pass the ‘Right to repair’ act (forcing companies like Apple to release repair guidebooks and spare parts).

[Rocketscience]

Originally Posted by Guite

My own experience with third party repair has not been good. It's just one instance though.

In 2017 our brand new iPad was dropped accidentally from dining table. The screen cracked. To save money we got the screen replaced from a non Apple store in a mall. I think it boils down to inexperience and pathetic workmanship: the attachment of the screen to the "chassis" (the aluminium pan back cover) has not been the same since then. We have managed to use it somehow by holding it together with 3M magic tape. By now it is behaving erratic, time to replace it.

Don't think the screen-chassis attachment issue is only with aftermarket service centres, my 2 day old iphone 11 had a black patch on its screen, Apple never replaced the device but replaced the display, it has never sealed completely and in pitch darkness i can even see light leak from one side, i'am sure it is not water resistant anymore but i haven't tested that , the screen has been working perfect since more than an year though.

[ron178]

Originally Posted by docsr

Here are a few questions:
1. What has been the general experienced with this scenario amongst other T-BHP members?

My 2015 MacBook Air had a corroded logic board and refused to start out of the blue. An authorised Apple service centre offered to have it repaired using non-OEM parts (it was shipped to Mumbai to the best of my knowledge) and the total was 26% of the price quoted by Apple using OEM parts.
My sister's 2017 MacBook Pro suffered two issues: one was covered as part of a recall and fixed free of cost (the DisplayGate issue where the screen progressively dims and dies on opening more than ~30º). The other issue occurred later, and it was corrosion of the logic board (just like with mine). This time, non-OEM parts were not available and the repair cost was a staggering 55% of the purchase price of the device. Out of dire necessity, this repair was performed.

So, bottom line, if you can find trusted service centres who can do the repair for you, it's definitely worth it. Just be careful before giving any non-authorised service centre access to your data, if required.

Also, AppleCare definitely pays for itself in the long run. It's exactly like buying an extended warranty for a Volkswagen/Škoda DSG, an issue that has been discussed time and again on this forum. When a product is destined to fail (MacBooks do have a history for both over-engineering and design flaws), it's best to purchase an extended warranty.

[greenh0rn]

For those in Delhi having a MacBook issue, I can recommend MacBook repair experts in Nehru Place (search them on google, they are on 8th floor of Meghdoot Building). Super efficient, plus extremely reasonable charges. I recently paid 2,500 for a damaged Airport card in my 2017 MacBook Air, because of which it was not catching any WiFi.

[jitin]

I have some experience repairing Macbook Airs - have a dead MBA which unfortunately could not be fixed, but have used parts from it to revive other damaged MBAs in the family/friends.

About a year ago, right before lockdown, my girlfriend's air's display died and I simply swapped my dead laptop's display with hers. Also replaced the thermal paste which did bring the temperatures down by 10 degrees on that laptop. And a similar story for replacing a dead battery, a hard disk, and the airport chip in other laptops with parts from my dead laptop. All these were simple unscrew/replace/screw jobs, no soldering required.

There was a time when even the authorised Apple guys were not able to fix a family member's air. The laptop was super slow and even replacing the motherboard did not fix it. It turned out the fault was in the webcam - apparently the webcam was on the same bus as some temperature sensor, and because of some fault in the webcam the entire bus including the temperature sensor was not working. Not being able to gauge the temperature, the macbook assumed the worst and throttled the CPU to the lower end causing the slowdown. The fix was simple - disconnecting the camera! (How did I figure this out? Pure luck! The first macbook repair video I ever watched was one by Louis Rossman documenting the same strange problem, and even though the odds were very low that this laptop would have the same problem given that it is a rare issue, but I tried and it just worked!)

Another time I diagnosed a dead laptop as having a damaged ribbon cable. I tried to procure that cable from some Indian provider, but most Indian service guys I called were quoting Rs.1500-2000 for that cable - and they described it as a "not OEM but as good as OEM" cable. I was worried that since it was such a delicate cable I might end up damaging it and getting it again and spending Rs.3-4k would have been too much for reviving that old laptop, besides the fact that there was no guarantee replacing the cable would fix the laptop - it was just a theory I had at that point of time. Ended up buying 5 of them from Aliexpress for Rs.600 including shipping, and they arrived in a month. Only needed one which fixed the laptop and has been working fine till date.

Apple is however making their laptops and devices more and more unrepairable as time goes by. I don't think the new macbooks are so easily repairable. I would suggest getting AppleCare+ for expensive purchases, or some kind of insurance/private extended warranty if that is not possible.

Originally Posted by riteshritesh

What Apple is selling on their website is the Apple Care + and has to be bundled along with purchase. I don't see a way to buy Apple Care + separately, provided I have overlooked something.

I recently got a Macbook Pro 16, and I did buy AppleCare+ for the device after I made the purchase. You have 60 days from the date of invoice to buy the plan. It covers all accidental damages 3 years from the date of purchase. I think I spent around Rs.30-40k for this but it's worth it as it guarantees my Rs.2 lakh+ purchase won't go to waste because of an accidental spill. This is the Apple page with the details, you have to dial a number and share the details with them, they ask you to email them a photo of the invoice and send you back a link to make the payment. Your plan becomes active in a couple of days.

[deepak_misra]

Originally Posted by Rocketscience

I'am looking to change my macbook's battery and Apple has quoted a ridiculous ₹13,500, their attitude is like they are doing .

I had a good experience with ifixit Koramangala. Some water had dropped on my daugthers laptop (early days of WFH) and it stopped working. APPLE quoted something like 75K to repair it while ifixit did it for approx 12K

Apple support is notorious and horrible.

[riokiar]

I would like to take this time to bring up a point about regularly backing up data so that you may avoid data loss if such an unforeseen instance occurs to you. Even if one has AppleCare, taking your device to Apple will cause all your data to be lost since Apple performs repair by fully replacing the logic board and not by replacing individual components. Since the MacBook also has a soldered SSD, recovering data is impossible in the case of device failure. But if you are buying an Apple product, do consider opting for AppleCare for the extra peace of mind.

[docsr]

Thanks for the inputs. Here is a summary of my understanding of the system as it exists.

Apple authorised repairs are available through apple authorised dealers - in bangalore iCare from Imagine, iPlanet etc are some such. Spares are not available anywhere in the world legally. There are several 3rd party repair places - iFixit, iService, iRepair etc in Bangalore. They source their spares from "apple unauthorised " sources. Though, in a majority of instances, their repairs seems to be robust in most instances.

Currently the following plans are available to cover apple devices:

1. Apple protection plan: this can be purchased within a year from the original invoice and extends protection for 1 and 2 years for phone and MacBooks,respectively. It covers only so called manufacturing defects. It does NOT cover accidental damage.There is little repair for some stuff, they merely replace it at extra cost. This has been available for several years in India now.

2. Apple Care + : This plan recently started - to coincide with he launch of the apple india store. It is quite expensive - sometimes upto 15% of cost of device and provides the equivalent of a "bumper to bumper" cover. Even accidental damage is covered for 3 years. However, this needs to be purchased at the time of invoice - especially if you are buying from the apple online store. Unfortunately, it was not yet available when I purchased my MacBook Pro 16'. It was launched a few weeks later!

3. Buying a 3rd party insurance. One assist is one such plan. I bought it along with the computer from the apple authorised seller- imagine in my case. This plan does cover accidental damage - including liquid damage and is more economical. In this instance, the insurance is carried by 3rd party insurers but is administered through One assist. When a complaint is made, One Assist arranges for a call back for details. Then they arrange from a pickup and send the machine to one of the apple authorised service centre. The service centre then make an assessment and provides a quote for repairs. One Assist then clears the repairs- this is carried out by the Service Centre and One Assist returns the device afterwards. The entire process is well documented and tracked in the One Assist App and the team there is quite helpful. If the repair is too expensive, it is classified as BER-beyond economic repair and the value of the computer is returned after adjusting for depreciation and some incidental charges. It is identical to the regular car insurance that we buy.

In light of my recent experience, I would strongly suggest that a prospective apple device buyer factors in the cost of the apple care + into the cost of the device while budgeting for the purchase. It is truly worth the extra cost.

[Wanderers]

Adding some more detail about apple care+. You can only buy online, either at online apple store along with product purchase or standalone by calling the phone number given on apple store within 60 days of product purchase from anywhere. Although the website says 60 days, due to pandemic they have given additional 30 days all over world. Also it’s counted from product activation date. You don’t need to share any invoice unless you disagree with the date of activation. You just need to share the product serial number. The best part is that even accidental damage is covered including screen replacement at nominal cost.

I bought apple care+ for my MacBook Pro bought from Flipkart. I bought in final days of 90 days period to take maximum coverage time- 3 years + 3 months. Technically you can buy it even the product is damaged in first 3 months, apple do not bother about it but they did ask if machine is working when I called first time after 50 days. Next time on 80th days, I simply replied to their email saying I am ready to buy now and they resent the link. Once Apple Care+ is active, you can see the same by checking for warranty coverage. No need to carry any proof.

At Rs 24900/- it is steal for a 2 lakhs MacBook Pro, can’t say same for MacBook Air though.

[Zignor]

While we're at Apple products, most of the deviCes (should we call them that lol) are sturdy and built to last. What irks me though, is the behaviour of some of the Apple Service Centre executives.
A couple of days back, my cousin sister saw a white line on the display of her iPhone XR. Like a good customer, we booked an appointment and went to the service centre and asked them to look since it was still in the warranty period. The executive takes a look and says there's no physical damage so it's probably an internal issue which will either be fixed by evening in Mumbai and will have to be sent to Bengaluru for a few days.
Just as we get into the car, he calls and says, there's internal damage, some component has broken and it will cost 15k to get it replaced. A nine month phone requires repairs worth 15k for no physical damage! When we got the phone back, there were now multiple white lines all across the display, not that they interfere with the touch sensitivity of the phone in any way but it's just odd to look at.
We raised an issue with Apple Support via the app but they are adamant that the only way forward is to pay and get it fixed. When I point out that there was just one line when we handed over the phone, but multiple lines all across, he said "Sir, in that case, you shouldn't have given it to us since the component has failed and it will only create more problems later". Wow!
What I don't understand is how can something internally get damaged when there's no external damage. The phone doesn't have a single dent anywhere but somehow one tiny component managed to break on its own. The phone as it currently stands, is worth only 12k and we bought it for 50k. (My 3 year old iPhone X is valued at 21k lol!).
If anyone can guide what the next steps can be taken, that would be really helpful. We'll try out itweak & axiomindiatech but apprehensive about getting it fixed from a third party lest they make it worse.

[bharatbits]

I have a ipad 6th generation 9.7 inch with wifi only model. It has a crack along the diagonal length of the iPad corner to corner. Probably because of impact which I don't remember when it happened. There's no impact on touch sensitivity. What's the best way forward?

This is my first experience of buying a apple product as well as first repair experience with Apple.

[manku]

I've used irepair in koramangala and the experience was good - professional, status tracking and confirmation before doing any repairs etc.

[irdevanand]

I have used RAM INFOTECH ADYAR, CHENNAI for my macbookpro 2016 model #FLEXGATE display issue. Monitor will go off when you lift the display above say 30-40 degrees. The laptop was just 1.5 years old and was out of warranty. Apple authorised service center wanted Rs.52500 for changing the entire display. I got it done in Ram Infotech for a decent price. There is a 3 month warranty on the repair as well. Hoping it serves me for a long time without any issues.

Regards
Dev

[docsr]

Originally Posted by bharatbits

I have a ipad 6th generation 9.7 inch with wifi only model. It has a crack along the diagonal length of the iPad corner to corner. Probably because of impact which I don't remember when it happened. There's no impact on touch sensitivity. What's the best way forward?

This is my first experience of buying a apple product as well as first repair experience with Apple.

This will be a damage that the user has caused and will not be repaired by apple under any warranty. Your options are to get a quote from an apple authorised service centre. However, there is no facility to repair these devices here and they will quote a ridiculous price.

You can go to a high -rated 3rd party repair service (non-apple) and compare quotes. They will usually be able to sort the problem out.