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With buyers snatching up a record 1 million iPhone 4S preorders in a single day, something was bound to go wrong. Not only were servers clogged and orders difficult (or impossible) to place for some users, but apparently many customers didn’t get the option to purchase the new AppleCare+ extended warranty.
That may not seem like a big deal, except that AppleCare+–unlike the original AppleCare–must be purchased at the same time you buy your iPhone. So anyone who fell victim to Apple’s overloaded servers during the order process would effectively be out of luck.
Thankfully, the company is making good. As reported late yesterday by TUAW, Apple is extending AppleCare+ eligibility to anyone who preordered the iPhone 4 or 4S and wasn’t offered the chance to buy it up front.
However, Apple apparently knows who those customers are, and has been sending out e-mails offering to make AppleCare+ available after the fact–for the same $99 price–until November 14. TUAW’s TJ Luoma answered that e-mail and received this set of instructions:
AppleCare+ will be available for iPhone 4 (8GB) and iPhone 4S pre-order customers until November 14th. After you receive your new iPhone, please contact AppleCare (1-800-275-2273) to complete your purchase.
The looming question here is whether anyone who preordered can take advantage of the extended AppleCare+ eligibility, or only those buyers who received an e-mail from Apple and/or are “in the system.” I have to think that if I called in and said I wasn’t offered AppleCare+ at the time of purchase (I honestly don’t remember if I was or not), I’d be given the chance to buy it.
The big deal about AppleCare+, of course, is that it includes accidental-damage protection. That’s why Apple requires you to spring for it at the time of purchase, and not wait until after you’ve, say, run over your iPhone with your car.
Did you preorder an iPhone 4 or 4S? If so, were you given the option to buy AppleCare+? And if you weren’t, did Apple contact you about it? Let’s hear your story in the comments.
