I finally called Apple Support and resolved my AppleCare One problem. It is as I suspected: AppleCare One does not correctly handle multiple user accounts in macOS. This is a known issue. No ETA for a fix.
After days of receiving nonsensical “you have 24 hours to comply” emails about his AppleCare One coverage, John finally discovered that AppleCare One cannot properly handle multiple user accounts in macOS, a limitation Apple acknowledges but has no timeline for fixing. He says the problem may also affect those with multiple accounts on an Apple TV, though there’s little reason to have AppleCare for an Apple TV. Although full details aren’t yet available, my guess is that the accounts must be associated with different Apple Accounts and accessed after signing up for AppleCare One. (For more details about the service in general, see “Apple Unveils AppleCare One for Multiple-Device Protection,” 28 July 2025.)
Apple’s solution was less than ideal: cancel AppleCare One and sign up for individual device coverage instead. Adding insult to injury, Siracusa notes that these new plans will cost him $48 more per year than his original AppleCare+ coverage, which is no longer available. As compensation, Apple offered to let him pick an accessory worth up to $200. That’s not ungenerous, but Apple wouldn’t switch to a gift card, as he requested, forcing him to pick a $150 accessory for his wife that he wouldn’t necessarily have bought otherwise.
For now, you should avoid AppleCare One if you use multiple user accounts on your Mac, as is common for developers, families sharing computers, and people who maintain separate work and personal environments. The service might make sense for those with simple account setups, but Mac power users should stick with traditional AppleCare+ plans until Apple addresses this limitation.
I’ve been bitten by this issue. I was able to reenroll the Mac in question into AppleCare+ at the same price, but it did take a call to support, and was a pain to figure out.
This Mac is my development/test machine and is rarely logged into my main Apple Account, yet it appeared in my main account as an eligible device for AppleCare One. I have another Mac that also appears as eligible, and it has never been logged into my main apple account. They apparently have some bugs to work out.
I currently have my main Mac, iPhone, and iPad enrolled in AppleCare One, which is working fine, and saving me about $10/mo., so overall, I’m happy.
First, I have no idea where or how you sign up. I found a page about it on Apple.com, but it mixes up regular AppleCare with AppleCare One. When I click the “AppleCare One Coverage” button, it opens Settings says I have “no eligible devices.”
This despite me owning several items still under the original warranty (well within AppleCare One’s limits, as well as an Apple VisionPro which is supposed to be included (and is my main motivation to get AppleCare One as it is fragile and ensuring it would be worth the cost all its own).
I tried on phone as well as Mac and both give me the same answer. It seems the message applies to regular AppleCare, which makes sense – but AppleCare One is new and should allow these items. I guess I have to call Apple Support?!? What a mess!
What are the rules? Is the problem with different user accounts signed into different Apple IDs? Signed into the same Apple ID? Not signed into an Apple ID?
How does it decide which accounts are “user” accounts? On my iMac, dscl . -ls /Users lists 6 accounts that don’t start with an “_”. There are 3 folders in /Users besides /Users/Shared.
I have a main user account, plus an emergency account just in case something goes wrong. So do I have two accounts and would that be a problem with AppleCare One?
Nope. That’s where it says I don’t have any valid devices even though I have half a dozen that should be valid.
Several devices still under one-year warranty.
Several more bought within the last few years.
I only use one Apple ID account and they are all active and registered.
I thought maybe it was an OS issue – Mac isn’t running the latest – but though my iPhone is updated, it generated the same error message. Phone does show having AppleCare+ because it was bought under the iPhone Upgrade Program, which includes AppleCare, but other devices should be valid.
Clearly this new program has a lot of bugs and wasn’t well-thought out.
I am extremely disappointed with AppleCare One because of what appears to be an unsupportable position concerning property and user accounts. I’ve been married to a single (so to speak) spouse for over 32 years. My wife and I consider our property to belong equally to both of us, a status that is supported by law in the state where we live. To tell me that either of the phones that belong to us can’t be added to one warranty service because the primary accounts being used are different does not seem correct or supportable to me, but what is worse is that one iPhone was ineligible, that being the only reason, at the time I was invited to enroll it. Apple could have easily verified eligibility and prevented enrollment for that iPhone from the start. Instead, Apple ignored that fact, both inviting me to enroll it and allowing the enrollment process to be completed successfully. Weeks later after Apple informed me that the iPhone would be removed from coverage and left me to research the reason, I asked Apple support to nullify the purchase of AppleCare One and allow me to continue with the AppleCare+ policy that was active for the enrolled devices when AppleCare One was launched. However, Apple support refused and required me to make the changes on my own. When I tried, the AppleCare+ plan jumped from $7.99 per month to $11.99 per month for the iPhone in question. I’ve decided to drop AppleCare+ for that device and now wish I had never heard of AppleCare One.