An AppleCare+ subscription holder brought her phone into an Apple store to replace its battery. However, she soon learned the plan she’d been dutifully paying for years wouldn’t cover the repair.
Katie (@casuallykatiee) implored others to check their AppleCare+ subscriptions in a viral TikTok that’s garnered over 78,000 views.
iPhone battery let down
Katie begins her video by speaking directly into the camera while seated inside of a car. A text overlay on the screen reads, “PSA: check your Apple subscriptions.” Looking at the caption in her clip, it appears this bit of advice comes from personal experience. And the experience doesn’t seem to be a good one. That’s because the caption reads: “New level of stupid unlocked.”
She divulges what went down during a recent visit to the Apple Store. “Yes, so you’re gonna wanna check your Apple subscription. You’re gonna want to check your Apple subscription,” she repeats, nodding her head.
Next, she explains why.
“Yesterday I go to the Apple Store. I want to replace the battery in my phone. I’ve had this phone for two years, two years,” she emphasizes. “I’ve had this phone for two years paying for AppleCare+. The battery’s dying. [I] go in. I sit down; I talk to the guy. And the guy goes, ‘Yeah, the warranty’s expired.’”
The wrong phone
Upon hearing the Apple employee say this, Katie was befuddled. She explains that she pays monthly for AppleCare+. Thus, this led her to believe that her device should be covered.
“I was, like, what do you mean the warranty’s expired? It’s Care+? Like you just pay monthly. It doesn’t expire. Like, what do you mean it’s expired?” she questions.
Subsequently, the store worker looked up Katie’s account to determine her phone’s AppleCare+ status. As it turns out, there wasn’t any coverage appended to it.
“He’s like, ‘Yeah. Actually, I’m looking at the system. … This phone… has never been covered,’” she recalls.
Katie gives a deadpan look into the camera, conveying her disbelief with this new information. As it turns out, she was paying for AppleCare+ on a completely different device. It’s one the TikToker says she doesn’t even have in her possession due to theft.
Not only did she have the phone stolen for her, but the crook, or whoever they sold it to, has had it insured, on Katie’s dime, for two years.
“I’ve been paying for AppleCare+ for two years, two years, on a phone I don’t have. On a phone that was stolen from me two years ago,” she says.
Does AppleCare+ cover theft and loss?
Afterward, Katie tallies up the total amount she’s forked over for the AppleCare+ coverage. “$325 I have spent on AppleCare, for naught. And I can’t even replace the battery in this phone,” she says.
She closes her video with a warning to AppleCare+ subscribers, exhorting them to make sure they don’t make the same mistake. “So I know you’re not checking your AppleCare subscriptions. You see them come in every week. $7.49, $13.49, $19.99. And I know you’re not checking what they’re going to. You’re gonna wanna check. You’re gonna wanna check,” she says.
According to Apple’s support page, the AppleCare+ with Theft and Loss plan covers theft and loss of a phone. This is an add-on to the AppleCare+ subscription and costs extra.
As per the company’s website, 18 countries, the United States included, offer this extra peace of mind. If you have AppleCare+ with Theft and Loss and your device is lost or stolen, you can file a claim here.
“Theft and loss coverage is included with AppleCare+ with Theft and Loss for iPhone and provides up to two incidents of theft or loss coverage every 12 months. Each incident is subject to a deductible, and taxes may apply. Coverage for theft or loss requires you to have Find My enabled on your device at the time it is lost or stolen and throughout the claims process,” the website states.
@casuallykatiee new level of stupid unlocked #psa #applecare #subscription #fyp ♬ original sound – katie
Commenters react
Viewers offered their recommendations for what they think Katie should do. “Pretty sure you could’ve had Apple customer support switch the Apple Care to your current phone,” one claimed.
Another viewer also thinks Apple should have done more to help Katie out. “No I check now cause Apple is so scammy. They should have honored it,” they wrote.
Another encouraged her to dispute the transactions with her bank.
An Apple customer in a similar situation to Katie’s said they had no issue getting their AppleCare+ refund—they just had to take the issue to a manager.
“I found out I was getting 9.99 charges every week for months, probably years tbh. Turns out my old phone was subscribed to things not on my current phone. Check your statements, not just your current phone subscription!” another said.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Apple and Katie via email for further comment.
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