AppleCare is a hardware warranty service offered by Apple for their devices that can be split into two different groups – the “free” and the “paid” one. The “paid” part of this subscription works relatively similar to how a lot of other subscription services work, with recurring payments, different cancellation methods, and so on. These cancellation methods are the main topic of this article.
Hardware and software support for modern-day devices is extremely important, and there are several reasons for that. Newer software versions are usually less vulnerable to various exploits and system errors, hardware warranty ensures that issues with your hardware that are not caused by the user’s actions can be fixed for free during a specific time period, and so on.
As a company, Apple is also no stranger to offering hardware and software warranty to its users. In fact, their confidence in their own services and devices led to this kind of regular device warranty transforming into a rather complex service called AppleCare.
In its most basic form, AppleCare is not that different from any other manufacturer warranty – one year of coverage for any kind of problem or defect that is not caused by the user themselves. It can be transferred to a new user if the previous one decides to sell the device in question before the warranty ends, and it also works no matter what is the source of your purchase, be it Apple themselves, something like BestBuy, or even one of the carrier’s stores.
What’s different with AppleCare specifically is that there is a way to prolong the warranty of your hardware by subscribing to either the AppleCare Protection Plan or AppleCare+. The former is the first extended warranty type that Apple presented and it is no longer available in the US – but it can still be available in some other countries. The latter is what most people refer to when mentioning AppleCare subscription – a newer version of the extended warranty from Apple.
Since AppleCare is a service that Apple provides to its own devices, it is only natural that the only applicable hardware for this service would be made by Apple. As such, most of AppleCare subscription cancellation methods revolve around Apple devices. Technically speaking, there are five different subscription cancellation methods for AppleCare – with a smartphone (iPhone, iPad or iPod touch), with a Mac/Windows device, with Apple Watch, using traditional communication methods (a phone call, a far machine or mail), as well as unsubscribing from the extended warranty that was paid for in advance.
This is one of the more accessible subscription cancellation methods, since all you need to do here is to have your smartphone or other Apple device at hand to cancel AppleCare with little to no effort.
The way Apple works with the majority of its subscriptions within the ecosystem is extremely convenient for end users, since almost everything about both your hardware and your software can be found in the “Settings” app. This also includes all kinds of iTunes-related settings, such as your subscriptions, your Apple ID settings, and so on.
Since the “Subscription” menu is exactly what we are looking for here, we are going to start in the “Settings” app. As soon as you enter the app in question, you should see your profile picture and your Apple ID taking a part of the screen. Tapping on your Apple ID transports you to another menu.
This menu is what we were talking about before – all of your account-related settings are here, split into different groups and menus for convenience’s sake. Here we can find security settings, personal information settings, payment settings, and so on. There is also a completely separate option here called “Subscriptions” – tap this option to proceed.
The “Subscriptions” menu includes an overview of all your subscriptions for this specific Apple account, both active and expired. All that is left for you to do here is to find AppleCare+ on the list, tap on its name and choose the “Cancel Subscription” option shortly after.
Expanding upon the previously started theme of Apple smart devices, we can also use nothing but Apple Watch to manage subscriptions. The cancellation process here is not that different from the one mentioned above, with a few device-specific alterations.
Our starting point is the Apple Store on the Apple Watch. Once it has been opened, you have to scroll down until you can see the “Account” option, which includes most of the account-specific settings for this device. This menu is also somewhat similar to the one on your iPhone or iPad – with several different options available, including the one called “Subscriptions”.
Tapping “Subscriptions” transports you to the same list of subscriptions associated with this Apple account that we’ve discussed before. The rest of the process is also similar – you have to find “AppleCare+” on this list, tap it and choose the “Cancel Subscription” option in the next window.
Since Apple accounts can be used for both smartphones and desktop devices, it is only natural that you should be able to manage your Apple subscriptions using either a Mac or a Windows device. When it comes to newer MacOS versions, the app we are looking for is App Store – this is where most of your Apple account settings are stored now.
As such, the first step here is to open the app in question and look for a section that includes your Apple ID name. Clicking on your own profile picture or your name should move you to another window with the blue “View information” button.
This button is what transfers you to an actual account settings menu, with many options and categories. Since this menu is arranged as a continuous wall of information, all you have to do here is to scroll down until you find a separate section called “Subscriptions”. In this section you should see a total number of your active subscriptions for this account, as well as the blue “Manage” hyperlink.
Clicking “Manage” here is the equivalent of opening a “Subscriptions” menu on other Apple devices – it provides you with a list of all your current subscriptions for this account, both active and expired. You should also see the blue “Edit” button near each of these subscriptions. All that’s left to do is find “AppleCare+” on this list, click “Edit” near it and choose the “Cancel Subscription” option.
Technically speaking, there are three methods that are included in this section – a phone call, a fax machine and a letter. The reason why these three were grouped together is that all three of them have little to no dedicated steps that we can use to showcase the subscription cancellation process.
The phone call is the first one out of the three, which implies calling Apple’s Customer Support number to cancel your AppleCare+ subscription. The number that you would be calling here is 1-800-800-2775, and there is no way to predict each and every sentence that a member of customer support may or may not say to you.
What is certain here is that you would need some means of proving your identity before your subscription can be canceled. Make sure that you have your Plan Agreement Number at hand, as well as the Proof of Purchase and the serial number of the device that the subscription in question is covering.
As for the fax and the physical mail – both of these methods are relatively similar in a sense that you would have to compose a letter before doing anything else. The letter in question has to have a direct request to cancel your AppleCare subscription, as well as the copy of the proof of purchase for the subscription in question and the Plan Agreement Number.
This letter can be mailed to AppleCare Administration at P.O. Box 149125, Austin, TX 78714-9125. Alternatively, you can also use fax to deliver your written cancellation request. The fax number in question is 916-405-3973.
It is worth noting that all three of these methods should be treated as the last resort of sorts, since all of the alternatives are faster and more convenient for the overwhelming majority of cases.
While it is true that AppleCare+ is a subscription service with recurring payments that is mostly used to pay for the service each month, there are also cases when people pay for a prolonged period in advance. In most cases these payment plans are referred to as Single-Pay Plans.
Since this subscription type implies a prolonged time frame, Apple offers prorated refunds for users that cancel their Single-Pay Plans before the extended warranty period is over. There are several limitations for that – the only way for the client to receive full refund is to request a refund less than 30 days after it was paid for in full, with no service provided in that period.
If there was some sort of service provided between the subscription initiation and subscription cancellation, or if it has already been over a month – your refund amount is going to be prorated with all of these topics in mind. There is also a cancellation fee to be kept in mind, as well – it can be either 10% of the prorated amount or $25, depending on which number is smaller.
This kind of approach to hardware warranty is a great way to save money if your intent is to use your device for a long time, but it is also important to be aware of the cancellation fees and other topics that you may face when trying to end your AppleCare+ subscription preemptively.
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