Here's when Apple says you can pick up a newly bought or repaired iPhone from the Apple Store
The coronavirus has forced all of us to make some changes and that includes major corporations in the mobile industry as well. Apple has shut all of its retail stores except for the 42 it just reopened in China. Verizon has closed most of its company-owned stores in the U.S. and T-Mobile shuttered all of its locations that are inside shopping malls. All U.S. carriers are eliminating late fees and data caps.
Today, Apple updated its FAQ page related to servicing, returns, and new device orders. First, Apple reiterated its earlier announcement about its retail stores which are closed everywhere but China through March 27th. If you must order something for your Apple device (offhand, we'd guess that replacing a broken charger is
the most pressing issue), you can do so through the Apple Store app available from the App Store. You can also order online from Apple's online store.
The Apple Store will be open at certain times to allow customers to pick up a repaired device or a newly ordered device
Now here's an interesting scenario. Let's say you recently purchased an Apple device and the two-week return period ends before March 28th when the stores are expected to reopen. Not to worry, Apple has got your back. The company says that with some exceptions, it will accept a return for up to 14 days following the reopening of the Apple Stores. Here's a more upsetting scenario. Your Apple device is at an Apple Store for repair but the store is closed. Don't jump! Apple says that it is working to complete all repairs and a Team Member will contact you. If the device is ready to be picked up, you can do so from the Apple Store on March 15th or 16th between 12:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m local time. You can check the status of your repair by going to this web page.
If you had your new iPhone 11 shipped to the Apple Store, Apple will allow you to pick it up on March 15th or 16th
Now let's say that you need to get an Apple device repaired. What can you do? Well, one thing that you can't do is visit the Geniuses at the Genius Bar. But you can arrange to have the broken device shipped to Apple for repair. To get the ball rolling, visit Apple's support page. And if you have a Genius Bar appointment scheduled for before March 28th, you need to reschedule by visiting this web page.
Now here is an important question. Let's say that you ordered a new Apple device and arranged to pick it up at your local Apple Store. What do you do in that case? Actually, Apple will allow you to pick up the new device at your nearby Apple Store location on March 15th or 16th between 12:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. If you ordered an Apple device and asked for it to be shipped to your local Apple Store, it is not too late to change the shipping address. You can go online to view the status of your order, or contact Apple via chat or phone.
We can definitively say that Apple has not canceled the rumored March 31st new product event at which we had hoped to see the introduction of the iPhone 9 (and possibly the iPhone 9 Plus) and two new iPad Pro models sporting the same rear camera module as the one you see on the iPhone 11 Pro models. However, the only reason that Apple never canceled this event is because it was never officially announced in the first place. As far as we know, you can't cancel an event that never existed.
However, Apple did announce that it is moving this year's WWDC developers conference online. And if the COVID-19 pandemic is still a threat in a few months, Apple might have to delay the unveiling of its first 5G iPhone models which we expected to see unwrapped this coming September.
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