6 ms·

Really interesting to hear so many people having had experiences with Apple support. I recently bought a 10 year-old iMac second hand from Cash Converters, whi

Really interesting to hear so many people having had experiences with Apple support. I recently bought a 10 year-old iMac second hand from Cash Converters, which I promptly softbricked the day after purchase (bad Bootcamp install + firmware password). I took it in to the Apple Store, and despite the fact that it was 10 years old and used, they contacted the engineers in Cupertino to get the firmware unlock key, reformatted it and updated it to the latest supported macOS, and didn't charge a cent for the service. I was blown away and told people I knew about the experience. Apparently they did something similar for a friend's iPhone 6 a couple of years ago. Didn't charge a cent to service a 5 year-old smartphone.

dkjaudyeqooe 4y ago
Cash Converters is a pawnshop for those wondering.
- Gigachad 4y ago
  Usually referred to as Crime Converters in Australia.
KennyBlanken 4y ago
I've owned macs for decades and every single time there's been a problem or defect, they have been gaslighting assholes the whole time. Things were particularly bad when the only way to get a laptop repaired was to ship it to their repair facility in Texas. Weeks of waiting, only to get the machine shipped back to you with a letter saying they found nothing wrong. Apple is infamous for "secret" recalls that staff will never mention unless you specifically know about them in advance. One example: I had a Retina MBP with the infamous antiglare-flaking problem, which Apple was sued over and initiated a secret warranty extension program for people who complained...but the settlement did not require notifying owners of said extension. I assumed they weren't doing repairs until I heard about the program second-hand...a year after they stopped doing it.
- WWLink 4y ago
  Sad thing is, in my experience, they're still one of the best when it comes to service lol.
  - drusepth 4y ago
    Razer's support is underrated. They've easily been the best for any company I've had to deal with multi-thousand-dollar replacements/repairs for, and coincidentally they also serve a very similar niche to Apple (high-priced, high-performance, well-built laptops).
    - AussieWog93 4y ago
      From my experience with them, as the guy who'd fix everyone's electronics back in uni, the build quality of Razer gear was unfortunately not so great! A lot of chabuduo Chinese components in products that were priced at the high end of the market!
throwoutway 4y ago
Both of your examples are software related. In my experience, anything hardware related Apple tends to shift the blame to the consumer. I wonder how much of their profits are based on repairs.
- Handytinge 4y ago
  It's also worth noting he's in Australia, where sane consumer laws exist that Apple have to operate in. The staff here are pretty good.
- rootusrootus 4y ago
  I think it's perhaps more random than that. Friend of mine had a problem with an older MBP. He took it in to get repaired, it was going to be a system board replacement, but since they didn't have that part handy they just sent him out with a brand new MBP with comparable (but slightly better) specs than his original. For all the people complaining about Apple, they haven't screwed me over yet either, I've only had good experiences. All hardware, I haven't had a software issue I couldn't find the fix for on my own.
  - Bilal_io 4y ago
    I assume your friend had Apple Care, in which case it would be expected to receive a replacement device if they cannot repair it or cannot repair it in a timely manner.
    - rootusrootus 4y ago
      He did, but it was out of AppleCare too. The kicker was that the problem had begun to manifest while still within the three year window, so there was documented history. It was most of a year out of AppleCare when it failed the last time and they decided to cover it as goodwill.
- pier25 4y ago
  In my experience when there are design flaws Apple won't move a finger until there are class action lawsuits. And good luck if you're outside the US. Not sure how it is in other countries, but in Mexico Apple doesn't do repairs. It's all left to authorized third parties that really will only try to get as much money from you as possible or get you to buy a new device. I know a couple of people that were denied repairs/replacements on the infamous butterfly keyboards because these repair centers said they couldn't reproduce the issue themselves. Most likely they didn't want to do the repairs because their margin was too low.
zionic 4y ago
FWIW, there is a special command you can use to disable the apple unlock key for the firmware password. I don’t have it on hand
- jamesy0ung 4y ago
  https://support.apple.com/guide/security/firmware-password-protection-sec28382c9ca/web https://support.apple.com/guide/security/firmware-password-p... > For users who want no one but themselves to remove their firmware password by software means, the -disable-reset-capability option has been added to the firmwarepasswd command-line tool in macOS 10.15. Before setting this option, users must acknowledge that if the password is forgotten and needs removal, the user must bear the cost of the logic board replacement necessary to achieve this.
cmckn 4y ago
IMO getting good customer service requires social engineering, whether it’s the Apple store or the cable company. Personally I’ve always been able to talk a Genius into replacing the device, even with a new one versus a returb; at no cost. Sucks that it’s a gamble who ends up assisting you, but my odds have been good.

dkjaudyeqooe 4y ago

Cash Converters is a pawnshop for those wondering.

Gigachad 4y ago
Usually referred to as Crime Converters in Australia.

KennyBlanken 4y ago

I've owned macs for decades and every single time there's been a problem or defect, they have been gaslighting assholes the whole time. Things were particularly bad when the only way to get a laptop repaired was to ship it to their repair facility in Texas. Weeks of waiting, only to get the machine shipped back to you with a letter saying they found nothing wrong. Apple is infamous for "secret" recalls that staff will never mention unless you specifically know about them in advance. One example: I had a Retina MBP with the infamous antiglare-flaking problem, which Apple was sued over and initiated a secret warranty extension program for people who complained...but the settlement did not require notifying owners of said extension. I assumed they weren't doing repairs until I heard about the program second-hand...a year after they stopped doing it.

WWLink 4y ago
Sad thing is, in my experience, they're still one of the best when it comes to service lol.
- drusepth 4y ago
  Razer's support is underrated. They've easily been the best for any company I've had to deal with multi-thousand-dollar replacements/repairs for, and coincidentally they also serve a very similar niche to Apple (high-priced, high-performance, well-built laptops).
  - AussieWog93 4y ago
    From my experience with them, as the guy who'd fix everyone's electronics back in uni, the build quality of Razer gear was unfortunately not so great! A lot of chabuduo Chinese components in products that were priced at the high end of the market!

throwoutway 4y ago

Both of your examples are software related. In my experience, anything hardware related Apple tends to shift the blame to the consumer. I wonder how much of their profits are based on repairs.

Handytinge 4y ago
It's also worth noting he's in Australia, where sane consumer laws exist that Apple have to operate in. The staff here are pretty good.
rootusrootus 4y ago
I think it's perhaps more random than that. Friend of mine had a problem with an older MBP. He took it in to get repaired, it was going to be a system board replacement, but since they didn't have that part handy they just sent him out with a brand new MBP with comparable (but slightly better) specs than his original. For all the people complaining about Apple, they haven't screwed me over yet either, I've only had good experiences. All hardware, I haven't had a software issue I couldn't find the fix for on my own.
- Bilal_io 4y ago
  I assume your friend had Apple Care, in which case it would be expected to receive a replacement device if they cannot repair it or cannot repair it in a timely manner.
  - rootusrootus 4y ago
    He did, but it was out of AppleCare too. The kicker was that the problem had begun to manifest while still within the three year window, so there was documented history. It was most of a year out of AppleCare when it failed the last time and they decided to cover it as goodwill.
pier25 4y ago
In my experience when there are design flaws Apple won't move a finger until there are class action lawsuits. And good luck if you're outside the US. Not sure how it is in other countries, but in Mexico Apple doesn't do repairs. It's all left to authorized third parties that really will only try to get as much money from you as possible or get you to buy a new device. I know a couple of people that were denied repairs/replacements on the infamous butterfly keyboards because these repair centers said they couldn't reproduce the issue themselves. Most likely they didn't want to do the repairs because their margin was too low.

zionic 4y ago

FWIW, there is a special command you can use to disable the apple unlock key for the firmware password. I don’t have it on hand

jamesy0ung 4y ago
https://support.apple.com/guide/security/firmware-password-protection-sec28382c9ca/web https://support.apple.com/guide/security/firmware-password-p... > For users who want no one but themselves to remove their firmware password by software means, the -disable-reset-capability option has been added to the firmwarepasswd command-line tool in macOS 10.15. Before setting this option, users must acknowledge that if the password is forgotten and needs removal, the user must bear the cost of the logic board replacement necessary to achieve this.

cmckn 4y ago

IMO getting good customer service requires social engineering, whether it’s the Apple store or the cable company. Personally I’ve always been able to talk a Genius into replacing the device, even with a new one versus a returb; at no cost. Sucks that it’s a gamble who ends up assisting you, but my odds have been good.