If you sneer at the idea of paying to extend the warranty on your smartphone, click away now.
I admit that AppleCare+ won’t pay to replace your iPhone if you use the phone in your bid to win the 2012 Darwin Award. But I know that it will make all sort of troubleshooting, repairs, and replacements a lot faster, easier, and cheaper.
The reason I’m making a fuss about this is that if you pre-ordered an iPhone 4S you probably weren’t offered the option of purchasing AppleCare+. The option wasn’t available on the Apple website during the first wave of orders, and it wasn’t offered by AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon.
This is a problem because AppleCare+, which covers accidental damage to the phone, must be ordered at the time the phone is purchased.
However, the option is now available for people who should have had the chance to purchase it. A note on the Apple Store website says:
AppleCare+ will be available through November 14, 2011, to customers who pre-ordered iPhone 4 (8GB) and iPhone 4S. After you receive your new iPhone, contact us at 1-800-275-2273 to purchase AppleCare+.
K.G. Anderson
iPhone 4 Tips 