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Step 1 to getting Mac fixed. Take it to Apple Genius who may well just fix it for free (definitely if it's under warranty and quite often if it isn't) or tell y

Step 1 to getting Mac fixed. Take it to Apple Genius who may well just fix it for free (definitely if it's under warranty and quite often if it isn't) or tell you exactly what's wrong and how to fix it yourself or where to get it fixed cheaply. Assuming your problem isn't already solved, then Apple products are no easier than rival brands aside from being better built in the first place, having standardized parts, a simple range of models, and an active third party market. I'm sure Microsoft has different levels of support, but I suspect everyone you're talking to is referring to Apple's standard warranty coverage. I'd rather have an Apple product with standard coverage than anyone else's product with "gold" or "platinum" or whatever they call it support. (From my experience of high-end corporate support the only benefit I found was that when I told the support person "assume I tried all that crap" (rebooting, reinstalling Windows, rebooting anything else on the network, etc.) he actually went off script and got to the useful stuff.

hauget 11y ago
I've had nothing but great experiences with Lenovo, Apple and Dell's customer support. As others have mentioned, there is also a fantastic third party ecosystem for parts and services. I can not say the same for other companies and would welcome others experiences with them.
ewoodrich 11y ago
The tip of my Pen on my Surface Pro 3 broke (I wasn't even sure when, or how, it could have been entirely my fault). I walked into a Microsoft Store and showed them the problem. They weren't able to remove and replace the tip itself, so a few minutes later the CSR went to the back and brought me a new pen, and mentioned that it wouldn't appear as warranty service so I would be free to replace it down the road if necessary through "normal" repair channels. This was without any additional warranty coverage. I can't speak for other Microsoft products, but they seem to go out of their way to support the Surface to provide a similar, if not superior, repair/replacement experience as Apple (I previously owned a MBP and had its screen repaired for free as well at an Apple Store).
- ximeng 11y ago
  MS support suggested (off the record) that I find someone who had a Surface Pro still in warranty and ask them to ask for a replacement power adapter. Said that they'd get one free of charge, no questions ask. Unfortunately I don't know other people who own a Surface Pro so that didn't work for me. Anecdotally I've heard of Apple offering informal service outside of warranty, so was hoping I'd get something similar as it felt like a borderline case, but no luck in my case. Even a reduced price to replace the faulty accessory would have gone a long way to improve the support experience for me. In the end I got a half-hearted apology from them and that was it.

hauget 11y ago

I've had nothing but great experiences with Lenovo, Apple and Dell's customer support. As others have mentioned, there is also a fantastic third party ecosystem for parts and services. I can not say the same for other companies and would welcome others experiences with them.

ewoodrich 11y ago

The tip of my Pen on my Surface Pro 3 broke (I wasn't even sure when, or how, it could have been entirely my fault). I walked into a Microsoft Store and showed them the problem. They weren't able to remove and replace the tip itself, so a few minutes later the CSR went to the back and brought me a new pen, and mentioned that it wouldn't appear as warranty service so I would be free to replace it down the road if necessary through "normal" repair channels. This was without any additional warranty coverage. I can't speak for other Microsoft products, but they seem to go out of their way to support the Surface to provide a similar, if not superior, repair/replacement experience as Apple (I previously owned a MBP and had its screen repaired for free as well at an Apple Store).

ximeng 11y ago
MS support suggested (off the record) that I find someone who had a Surface Pro still in warranty and ask them to ask for a replacement power adapter. Said that they'd get one free of charge, no questions ask. Unfortunately I don't know other people who own a Surface Pro so that didn't work for me. Anecdotally I've heard of Apple offering informal service outside of warranty, so was hoping I'd get something similar as it felt like a borderline case, but no luck in my case. Even a reduced price to replace the faulty accessory would have gone a long way to improve the support experience for me. In the end I got a half-hearted apology from them and that was it.