[News] Apple Will Soon Charge Fees for Outdated Warranty Chat Support

According to 9to5Mac, Apple will soon implement fees for users who want online chat support for iDevices that are out of their warranty period. It has been reported that Apple has been working on a payment system which includes the paid chat support.

Any Apple product you purchase automatically entitles you to receive 90 days of phone support which can be extended to 3 years with AppleCare. If your Apple product is out-of-warranty, you must pay a fee between $20-40 for over-the-phone help. For future online chat support, it is expected that you will have to pay around $20 for out-of-warranty support.

Currently, Apple customers can use the online chat support feature at no extra cost, even on out-of-warranty products that are not covered by AppleCare, but when the new rules take place, the online chat support would be the same tier as their phone support.

The new system that Apple has developed will mean that you can pay instantly by credit card via its support system, and even log service jobs on the spot.

Some users though will be allowed to grant an exception to the fee aforementioned. This should include iCloud issues and accidental damages where the user is wanting to purchase a replacement part via chat, or to book a repair job for their Apple product.

The fees were reportedly seen in Apple’s redesign of its AppleCare website last August in 2013, but AppleCare employees have been instructed to waive the fees until the official launch of the paid service.

The official launch could come as early as next week, but we have no exact date just yet.

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