iPod Touch Warranty System: What is Covered, What is Not, & How to Extend It
Don’t Waste the Money
The iPod Touch is one of the most involved MP3 players on the market, both because of its ability to support a number of different media types
and because it supports a growing library of apps. These iDevices are pricey to say the least, and some of the more sizable models will run you a few hundred dollars without any peripherals you may want. A warranty comes along with the iPod Touch for free and will take care of different types of problems that can occur, but leave out several others. Here is a look at this warranty system, as well as how you can extend it with the iPod Touch AppleCare program.
Warranty Details
The iPod Touch warranty, though limited, comes along for the first year of ownership. What it means by limited warranty is that it really only supports a small number of different problems that may occur, but will never cover damages that you are responsible for. Damage that may happen will not be covered by the warranty if you are the cause of it and it does not come from standard use. If your there is water damage to your iPod Touch it will void the warranty, as well as a cracked screen or a Home Button that does not work. This will usually be up to the discretion of Apple themselves, and the worker at the Genius Bar will often determine this for you if you are unsure about a specific situation. What is always covered by the warranty are going to be problems that occur with the device that could not have been traced to your actions specifically, such as a battery issue that takes place within the first year.
You will still have warranty coverage if you purchased the device through a third party as long as it is still within the first year of purchase, and you will have the same coverage for a refurbished iPod Touch as well. If you find, however, that your specific damage is not covered by it then you will incur costs if you have sent it to Apple. For example, if you send in your iPod Touch for repairs under the warranty and it is determined that the damage is not under your realm of coverage then they will send it back to you at the cost of shipping without it being repaired. This does not mean that you cannot always pay for it to be repaired, but many of those damages will have repair costs that are not reasonable and it will be better just to purchase a new iPod Touch.
AppleCare Protection Plan
The iPod Touch warranty only covers you for a year and with it you only get technical support for the first ninety days, but the iPod Touch AppleCare Protection Plan will extend both to a full two years. This AppleCare will then cover all items in line with the iPod Touch, which also means the headphones and the iPod Touch’s battery. If you do want to buy the iPod Touch AppleCare then you need to do this during the period of the first warranty and make sure it is registered. This is not going to give you much extended coverage beyond what you get with the original warranty, but can be very useful for the technical support.
AppleCare is only $39.00 to $59.00 for the iPod Touch, as well as the iPod Nano, so it is not going to be too excessive and goes well as a package when you first buy it. The only issue here is that there is not a lot that you can get out of the iPod Touch AppleCare plan, so it is not as useful as when you purchase it along with a Mac computer, iPad, or iPhone.
References
Photos:
Sources:
