If your claim is legitimate you will be entitled to a free repair or replacement. If your product is defective or substandard in some way you have six years from the date of delivery (or five years if you live in Scotland) to make a claim under UK consumer law. So smashing your screen, or other accidental damage, would not apply – unless it smashed or broke under normal use in such a way that would indicate it was defective. Your statutory rights apply quite specifically to situations where products are defective or do not conform with the contract of sale. So you start with your statutory rights, which are non-negotiable, then by buying direct from Apple you layer the standard warranty on top of that (at no extra cost), and then by paying extra for AppleCare you layer further rights on top of that. Note first that AppleCare plans (and indeed the standard Apple warranty) layer on top of the previous entitlements rather than replacing them.
It’s slightly different for some products, with the Mac and Apple Display getting three years, while iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch, Apple TV, HomePod, AirPods and iPod get two. These periods apply to both claims for accidental damage and telephone tech support.ĪppleCare vs standard Apple warranty and statutory buyers’ rights? All AppleCare plans also entitle you to an extended period of telephone tech support, and if this succeeds in helping you sort out a problem with an Apple product you won’t have to pay anything. Tech supportĭo note, however, that AppleCare isn’t limited to fixing smashed screens. This means that should the motherboard fail after 23 months, Apple would repair it or replace the device as part of the coverage.
If you purchased the plan, which could be done up to a year after buying the Apple product, it would ensure that the device receives support for up to two years after it was initially bought. In the past it covered various products and was the baseline coverage which extends the length of time that parts are protected against failing. Until recently there was also AppleCare Protection Plan available, but Apple seems to have fazed it out in favour of one unified AppleCare+ brand.