Siva's blog

Short Version : Yes. It works (based on my experience). You can buy it from Amazon.com or B&H and extend Macbook Air/Pro’s Warranty  :)

I purchased Macbook Air(MBA) 13.3″ from Imagine Store last September. Since the warranty was about to expire in few days, I was confused whether to extend the Warranty or not. I normally don’t buy Warranty or Insurance for products such as Laptops and Mobiles. However I decided to purchase AppleCare because of wonderful reviews on product replacement and a little fear. The fear is probably because when somethings goes wrong in Windows machine, you replace the part(effectively at 20 to 25% of the laptop price) while in case of Macbook(or other Apple Products), you have to pay  70 to 80% of the laptop price. My close friend who moved to UK had a SSD problem in his 2012 MBA and was charged with 600 pounds (purchase price was 800 pounds)

My real confusion about buying AppleCare was because of price. AppleCare in India costs INR 15,500 ($249) – Standard US price. While you can get solid $75 discount from US Vendors such as Amazon.com and B&H, there is NO such discounts in India. If you are lucky, you can get INR 14,500 from Snapdeal and save 1000 bucks.

Since Macbook is covered in Apple’s Worldwide Service, I was wondering why not buy AppleCare directly from US Merchants and apply to my (Indian) Macbook. I was skeptical about it because there were NO clear statement whether it will work or not. If it doesn’t work, my friend has to ship it back(from Chicago to NY) at a cost and also arrange INR 15,500 to buy in India (since it takes 10 to 15 days to get refund. My warranty expires in 4 days).

I asked in many un-official Apple forums, Apple Discussion site and it did not help. No one had an answer (That’s the reason I’m writing here). I have talked to Apple Customer Support thrice (via Phone and Chat). Two of them told they were NOT sure and recommended me to buy from India (from where I purchased my Macbook). Other one said “As far I know, there is no restriction and you can buy!”

With limited time in my hand, I went ahead and purchased it from B&H, since the price was fluctuating in Amazon.com & went to $219.

The shipment arrived after two days at my friend’s place and he messaged the Registration number. I entered it in AppleCare Register and in less than 5 minutes, my warranty was extended by 2 years (yay!!!)

P.S 1 : It is advised to keep AppleCare box and bill safe. There are few incidents where people sell illegal AppleCare registration number on eBay and other sites. In such case, service and support will be blocked unless you provide a bill from Authorised Resellers.

P.S 2 : AppleCare doesn’t cover water damage or other accidental damage. Please read full agreement on www.Apple.com

P.S 3 : I used MasterCard and got very less forex charge. I was charged INR 10,508 which was quite good (1 USD = 60.39 INR and it was pretty close with XE.COM ). I have another VISA and use it to pay for my server every month. It always had extra +3 INR per USD.

P.S 4 : For Indian iPhone, it is better to buy AppleCare locally as there is no International warranty. Many phone parts are only available in there country where it is sold. Any queries, contact me. I will be happy to help.

Links : AppleCare from Amazon.com or B&H

Update: Working with Amazon as well.