Your teen's cellphone breaks, do you...

[FlightlessDuck]

My first rule was to never buy my child an $800 phone.

Well, yeah, that's another option. My kids' first smartphones were both refurbed iPhone 5s's when the iPhone 6 was new. One was in college and the other was in high school. Before that, they had dumb phones.

 

[wenrob]

My first rule was to never buy my child an $800 phone. (We were typically a generation or two behind and buying refurbished phones).

She actually just got her first job and the first purchase? A brand new $700 phone. And she refuses to use one of the Otterbox-like cases. But she knows she's on the hook if something happens.

I'm not a fan of t-mobile's insurance. Too pricey and the deductible is almost as high as the cost of replacing a broken screen. Has anyone tried one of the 3rd party insurance companies?

We hand down our old phones to our kids. When it gets to the point that they want the latest and greatest then they get to pay for it and any mishaps are on them. Oldest DD has been buying her own since she was 16. She's on our plan but the payments are hers to make. What kind of phones do you use? Apple Care + is pretty reasonably priced and you don't have to go through the carrier at all. Apple CS has been awesome for us over the years. DH and DD have both had a phone replaced (hardware issues) within the one year warranty no questions asked. I've also witnessed them replace a girl's phone that was shattered, no Apple Care. It doesn't always happen but they're known for be generous at times. They want you to keep coming back.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

We hand down our old phones to our kids. When it gets to the point that they want the latest and greatest then they get to pay for it and any mishaps are on them. Oldest DD has been buying her own since she was 16. She's on our plan but the payments are hers to make. What kind of phones do you use? Apple Care + is pretty reasonably priced and you don't have to go through the carrier at all. Apple CS has been awesome for us over the years. DH and DD have both had a phone replaced (hardware issues) within the one year warranty no questions asked. I've also witnessed them replace a girl's phone that was shattered, no Apple Care. It doesn't always happen but they're known for be generous at times. They want you to keep coming back.

We don't have insurance on any of our phones. At $11 a phone that would raise my monthly bill to over $30 a month. We also don't have AppleCare but it is something to look into since it's not very pricey.

A cracked screen is around $80-100 to fix. We take our chances there. We have a iPhone 6 in a drawer. If someone loses their phone or breaks it and their contract isn't up yet they will use the old phone.

iPhones are covered under warranty for a year so if it messes up due to a manufacturing issue we take it to Apple and they replace the phone. A few months ago SO's phone was acting up. Dying before the charge was gone, not holding a charge, etc. We took it to Apple and it was out of the year warranty. The battery was damaged and swelling. They gave him a new phone on the spot since it was a safety issue. My son has also had a software issue with his phone and we've taken it to Apple and they've fixed it with no charge and it's older than a year.

 

[mom2rtk]

We hand down our old phones to our kids. When it gets to the point that they want the latest and greatest then they get to pay for it and any mishaps are on them. Oldest DD has been buying her own since she was 16. She's on our plan but the payments are hers to make. What kind of phones do you use? Apple Care + is pretty reasonably priced and you don't have to go through the carrier at all. Apple CS has been awesome for us over the years. DH and DD have both had a phone replaced (hardware issues) within the one year warranty no questions asked. I've also witnessed them replace a girl's phone that was shattered, no Apple Care. It doesn't always happen but they're known for be generous at times. They want you to keep coming back.

We're sort of the opposite. My husband and I don't care enough to have the latest and greatest. We each have a refurbished Galaxy S5 purchased on Groupon. One of my criteria is that I want to carry one that I won't feel like I need to keep insured. My daughter is all in with Apple, so no hand me downs for her. Besides, my husband and I will likely keep ours until they die.

I know her new phone came with a 1 year manufacturer warranty. If she wanted Apple Care wouldn't she need to add that now? Or can she add that when the 1 year is up?

 

[wenrob]

So true!!! Our son did buy his iPhone... We did insist on the AppleCare.
But, he refused to get a case, because it was bulky and wasn't cool.
He bought one yesterday when he saw what happens when you simply drop your phone!!!

PS: I have dropped my little cheap LG, and it is unscathed.
It is well known that the Apple phones are less durable, and have shorter better battery life, because they were designed to be the very thinnest/lightest.

*sigh* No. Have you ever used an iPhone? They are not any less durable or bad on battery life than any other smartphone. Not sure where you've gotten this idea that they are fragile, delicate things that will fall apart if you look at them. They survive my DH and kids who are while not abusive not exactly gentle with them either. And when we have get togethers guess who's always asking me for chargers or where they can plug in? Hint: not the iPhone owners.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

We're sort of the opposite. My husband and I don't care enough to have the latest and greatest. We each have a refurbished Galaxy S5 purchased on Groupon. One of my criteria is that I want to carry one that I won't feel like I need to keep insured. My daughter is all in with Apple, so no hand me downs for her. Besides, my husband and I will likely keep ours until they die.

I know her new phone came with a 1 year manufacturer warranty. If she wanted Apple Care wouldn't she need to add that now? Or can she add that when the 1 year is up?

It looks like AppleCare needs to be added within 60 days of purchase. When we get new phones I may get it. It doesn't seem like a bad deal and is way better than the insurance offered through the phone company.

 

[wenrob]

We're sort of the opposite. My husband and I don't care enough to have the latest and greatest. We each have a refurbished Galaxy S5 purchased on Groupon. One of my criteria is that I want to carry one that I won't feel like I need to keep insured. My daughter is all in with Apple, so no hand me downs for her. Besides, my husband and I will likely keep ours until they die.

I know her new phone came with a 1 year manufacturer warranty. If she wanted Apple Care wouldn't she need to add that now? Or can she add that when the 1 year is up?

You have 60 days to add it. It's $99.

 

[wenrob]

We don't have insurance on any of our phones. At $11 a phone that would raise my monthly bill to over $30 a month. We also don't have AppleCare but it is something to look into since it's not very pricey.

A cracked screen is around $80-100 to fix. We take our chances there. We have a iPhone 6 in a drawer. If someone loses their phone or breaks it and their contract isn't up yet they will use the old phone.

iPhones are covered under warranty for a year so if it messes up due to a manufacturing issue we take it to Apple and they replace the phone. A few months ago SO's phone was acting up. Dying before the charge was gone, not holding a charge, etc. We took it to Apple and it was out of the year warranty. The battery was damaged and swelling. They gave him a new phone on the spot since it was a safety issue. My son has also had a software issue with his phone and we've taken it to Apple and they've fixed it with no charge and it's older than a year.

We usually take our chances as well. We went with Apple financing this last time and it automatically comes with it. Will be nice when we hand them down since it will still be in effect.

 

[mom2rtk]

*sigh* No. Have you ever used an iPhone? They are not any less durable or bad on battery life than any other smartphone. Not sure where you've gotten this idea that they are fragile, delicate things that will fall apart if you look at them. They survive my DH and kids who are while not abusive not exactly gentle with them either. And when we have get togethers guess who's always asking me for chargers or where they can plug in? Hint: not the iPhone owners.

I don't think they're any more delicate, but I will say that both of my Apple owners in the house have had battery issues. (Honestly, one of the reasons I love my Android is that I can pop the battery out and replace for next to nothing. And when I travel, I can keep a spare to get me through the day.) But we tend to keep phones for a fairly long time. We had insurance through t-mobile on both of their lines for a long time, and both ended up having phones replaced because of battery life. They both got to the point where they wouldn't hold the charge like they used to, and would drop from 20% straight to 0.

 

[mom2rtk]

It looks like AppleCare needs to be added within 60 days of purchase. When we get new phones I may get it. It doesn't seem like a bad deal and is way better than the insurance offered through the phone company.

We usually take our chances as well. We went with Apple financing this last time and it automatically comes with it. Will be nice when we hand them down since it will still be in effect.

Thanks for the info. I figured it had to be added pretty soon. Which stinks since it pretty much negates the benefit of the 1 year warranty. But the price is certainly better than the t-mobile plan.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

We usually take our chances as well. We went with Apple financing this last time and it automatically comes with it. Will be nice when we hand them down since it will still be in effect.

AppleCare lasts for the lifetime of the phone?

 

[wenrob]

I don't think they're any more delicate, but I will say that both of my Apple owners in the house have had battery issues. (Honestly, one of the reasons I love my Android is that I can pop the battery out and replace for next to nothing. And when I travel, I can keep a spare to get me through the day.) But we tend to keep phones for a fairly long time. We had insurance through t-mobile on both of their lines for a long time, and both ended up having phones replaced because of battery life. They both got to the point where they wouldn't hold the charge like they used to, and would drop from 20% to 0.

I've honestly never had a problem.

 

[mom2rtk]

I've honestly never had a problem.

That gives me hope for my daughters recent purchase.

 

[wenrob]

Thanks for the info. I figured it had to be added pretty soon. Which stinks since it pretty much negates the benefit of the 1 year warranty. But the price is certainly better than the t-mobile plan.

Apple Care 2 years.

AppleCare lasts for the lifetime of the phone?

No but we'll most likely be all in for iPhone 8 so they'll be getting these and will still have Apple Care +.
E
edited for clarification/and again because I misunderstood

 

[wenrob]

That gives me hope for my daughters recent purchase.

And if she has issues she shouldn't hesitate to take it to an Apple Store.

 

[lovin'fl]

OP here. We have five phones and I have insurance on each new phone for a short period. Verizon now has you pay for the phone in monthly payments, unless you pay in full when you get it. There really is no free upgrades. My kids are 18, 18 and 20 and need smart phones for school as their teachers ask them to Google stuff all the time. My DDs 18 need them because they play a competitive sport and are all over the east coast. Also not driving a new car so I worry if they break down.

As far as insurance, what I learned, when one of my other kids broke their phone once, was that you pay the $9-12 a month, whatever it is, and still pay a copay when getting repaired and copay was like $150. For DD to have screen replaced at Apple store was $135. So makes no sense to get insurance unless you need an entire phone replacement. And that's why I stop when the phone is about halfway paid off. And I never get them THE latest and greatest of the iPhone or Galaxy. DS wants the new iPhone and I told him he'd need to pay for some of it. I just got the galaxy s7 even though the 8 just came out and DS, after the Verizon lady showed him his cost for the new iPhone, he said he'd be happy with the galaxy s7. Funny how that works.

 

[mom2rtk]

No, it starts after the one year warranty is up, so three years.


No but we'll most likely be all in for iPhone 8 so they'll be getting these when Apple Care + kicks in.

So now I'm confused. You need to buy the $99 plan within 60 days but it kicks in after the year. How long does it last?

 

[mi*vida*loca]

No, it starts after the one year warranty is up, so three years.


No but we'll most likely be all in for iPhone 8 so they'll be getting these when Apple Care + kicks in.

My son's 2 years is usually up around Christmas so he is already asking for the iPhone 8 for this Christmas. We do Verizon monthly payments. He's "due" for a new phone in October. I'm definitely going to do the Apple Care.

I keep my phone until it dies. But it sure makes Christmas easy on me for him.

 

[wenrob]

OP here. We have five phones and I have insurance on each new phone for a short period. Verizon now has you pay for the phone in monthly payments, unless you pay in full when you get it. There really is no free upgrades. My kids are 18, 18 and 20 and need smart phones for school as their teachers ask them to Google stuff all the time. My DDs 18 need them because they play a competitive sport and are all over the east coast. Also not driving a new car so I worry if they break down.

As far as insurance, what I learned, when one of my other kids broke their phone once, was that you pay the $9-12 a month, whatever it is, and still pay a copay when getting repaired and copay was like $150. For DD to have screen replaced at Apple store was $135. So makes no sense to get insurance unless you need an entire phone replacement. And that's why I stop when the phone is about halfway paid off. And I never get them THE latest and greatest of the iPhone or Galaxy. DS wants the new iPhone and I told him he'd need to pay for some of it. I just got the galaxy s7 even though the 8 just came out and DS, after the Verizon lady showed him his cost for the new iPhone, he said he'd be happy with the galaxy s7. Funny how that works.

For iPhones you'd be better off with Apple Care IMO. I'm not an android person but that 8 sure is a thing of beauty.

 

[wenrob]

So now I'm confused. You need to buy the $99 plan within 60 days but it kicks in after the year. How long does it last?

I edited my post to clarify. Apple Care + , 2 years covers accidents, that's the one you'd want. If she were to break the phone in the first year (or after) it would be covered with a fee. Here is a break down. https://www.apple.com/support/products/iphone.html