Is extending AppleCare beneficial for a Mac Studio

TidBITS Talk
1

My AppleCare for my MacStudio M1 Max is running out. I have never really had any problems with it. All the articles about AppleCare that I research tend to talk about how beneficial it is for the portable devices (they can be dropped, or stolen, or sat on) that do not apply for me. I am inclined to let it expire. Is there a particular reason or instance that it would be beneficial to keep it?

2

Some circumstances that immediately come to mind:

  • AppleCare is paid for by an employer or can be treated as a business expense
  • Minimizing any downtime is important
  • The computer is kept in an extremely cold, extremely hot, or dirty environment
  • The computer is in active use for many hours each day
  • Low storage capacity RAM and SSD is installed and Memory Pressure is high and/or the SSD is almost full
3

I’d add a couple more:

  • you don’t have a secondary or backup computer you can use in a pinch (in case of downtown for the first computer)
  • replacing or repairing a broken computer would be a financial hardship
4

As an owner of a MacStudio from the initial batch, I faced that question a few weeks ago. The MacStudio had been remarkably stable; I couldn’t remember any unexpected restarts or odd behaviors under my ownership. Without introspection, I decided to renew AppleCare for the computer; unfortunately, it may pay off.

Since renewing AppleCare, the MacStudio has become unresponsive several times (about a week or so apart). The machine eventually reboots. It has passed the hardware diagnostics. The problem does not seem related to any particular action by me. If it continues, I will contact Apple Support, and there may be a need to repair or replace the computer. Having AppleCare does give me peace of mind about the eventual resolution of the problem.

5

I use a MBP as my primary station and despite being a portable Mac never extend its Apple Care. Reasons for that:

  • I could afford a new MBP configured exactly as I like it right now
  • I have two secondary Macs I could use for the time being, but otherwise…
  • I have an AppleStore close by so I could buy whatever they have on stock while I wait for my BTO config to arrive (upon which, whatever I bought would be returned to the store for a full refund)
  • in my personal experience Apple silicon hardware (including MBPs) in terms of hardware has been extremely solid and works very reliably
  • I very rarely destroy up my own hardware, as in dropping the MBP or pouring a pint of Coke into my Mac mini (last time that happened was I believe back in 2001)
  • these days you don’t need Apple Care to be able to talk to Apple Support (although I cannot remember when I last did that, obviously YMMV)

If any of those would not apply to me, I’d probably be tempted to extend Apple Care.

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6

I think of AppleCare as kind of like insurance. And going without is effectively self-insuring. If you have the resources and liquidity to be able to replace (or pay full repair price), then unless you’re extremely unlucky AppleCare will cost more than the repairs. But if you don’t, then it’s worth insuring.

(When I was a grad student, I paid the phone company a couple bucks a month for coverage of inside wiring repairs — I needed a working phone, and I didn’t necessarily have a couple hundred bucks available at a moment’s notice. Once I was really employed, I turned that coverage off.)

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