Repairs, such as taking out a graphic card or replacing the motherboard, come out of the user’s pockets. If you purchased your device overseas, they will only rely on AppleCare in extreme instances that warrant a new item. I haven’t relied on iShop for any computer-related emergencies (yet), but others have reported the company uses a similar system to MacStores. The guy clearly has a good eye for businesses. It’s owned by none other than billionaire Carlos Slim, the richest man in Mexico and a top-three contender for most wealthy man in the world. Since that fateful day a little over a year ago, I have learned that there is another reseller in Mexico, iShop. If you’re travelling there and something happens to your gear, you’ll need to rely on the resellers or an independent tech company if you want to get it fixed or replaced on the road. Another 21 only have online stores, and 79 others have Apple websites that are just catalogues, with no ability to buy through them.Īs such, there are many countries in which Apple products can only be bought online, through a reseller or both. In fact, Lauren went through another frustrating experience with Apple’s warranty in New Zealand a couple of years ago.ĭespite Apple’s claim to be present in every country in the world (except for a few affected by US sanctions, such as North Korea and Iran), there are only 18 countries with a physical Apple retail store. Where in the World Are You… and Is Apple There Too?Īs it turns out, the experience I went through is not exclusive to Mexico. But what happens if you find yourself in a country where Apple is not officially, physically present? Will AppleCare save you? I’ve looked into the matter, and here’s what I found. Here at Too Many Adapters, we’re no strangers to glitches in Apple’s “global” warranty and customer service. “Then we will send the old laptop to the US, and order you a new one.”
“Like if the computer is irreparable,” he said. They look like an Apple Store, but have no such thing as a Genius Bar: all repairs are done by CompuDabo, the company that owns MacStores across Mexico.ĬompuDabo, Alberto told me, does utilise AppleCare, but uses its discretion to choose when.
The place I went to, MacStore, is a privately-owned reseller. You see, there is no such thing as an official Apple Store in Mexico. Not a bad deal, compared to what a new computer would cost, but more than the nada I was expecting the bill to be. The guy behind the counter, Alberto, told me it would cost 600 pesos (US$50 at the time, less with the current exchange rate). At least the repair would be free.Įxcept it wasn’t. “Your computer will go significantly more slowly, but it will work,” he said. The guy behind the counter took a look at my laptop, pressed some buttons, and informed me he’d have to remove a damaged RAM module. Just in time, I thought, as I waited in line: at almost three years old, the insurance was about to expire – and my laptop looked like it was about to do the same. So I took my US-bought MacBook to a MacStore in a shopping strip in Mexico City, which has been my surrogate home for the last two years. They are, however, protected in a way that my old PCs never were, through AppleCare. Yeah well, as I learned that day, Apple computers are definitely not indestructible. What was this malarkey? Macs were supposed to be indestructible, weren’t they? When I got the dreaded striped screen (mine was of the green variety, but I’ve since learned that it can also turn blue), I looked at it in bewilderment. I had never seen a MacBook fry before my eyes.
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