kad: Is phone support and warranty service free?
New Macintosh computers come with a standard One-Year Limited Warranty. This standard warranty gives you, in addition to the warranty against hardware defects, 90 days of free phone support for software problems and one year of free phone support for hardware problems. (Throughout this explanation, "hardware" refers to the original Apple hardware that is covered by your warranty. It does not include any third-party peripherals such as printers or scanners or upgrades such as third-party RAM.) In other words, during the first 90 days you have free phone support for any problems that you have with this Mac, hardware or software related; for the rest of your first year's standard warranty, you have free phone support for hardware problems only. If you need software phone support after the first 90 days, you will be charged $49 for each incident, which covers any follow-up calls required to resolve that particular incident.
When you call for support after the first 90 days of your standard one-year warranty, Apple support will require a credit card number. If your problem turns out to be a software problem, your credit card will be charged $49 for that incident, but if your problem turns out to be a hardware issue, you will ultimately not be charged. (You may be charged and then refunded, or just not charged at all.)
This procedure applies if you are calling specifically to get an in-warranty repair for a hardware defect. Some customers have misunderstood the process and believed that they would be charged for calling to request an in-warranty repair. This is not the case. If you do have a hardware defect that is covered by your standard one-year warranty, there will ultimately be no charge for calling to set this up. (There may be a charge-and-refund, as described above.) If you call because you believe you have an issue that qualifies for an in-warranty repair, be aware that in most cases Apple support will walk you through troubleshooting measures to determine the nature of the problem. If this troubleshooting reveals that the problem is software-related after all and you are beyond the first 90 days of your warranty, you will be charged for a software support call. If you want to be as sure as possible that you will not be charged, try to troubleshoot the problem yourself before calling; the AppleCare Discussions are an ideal place to get advice for doing this.
The extended AppleCare Protection Plan (APP) eliminates this potential charge entirely, as it give you free phone support for hardware and software problems for the entire three years (the first year plus the additional two years that an APP adds). But you do not need an APP to get free hardware phone support or warranty service during your first year's standard warranty. For more details, read Apple Computer, Inc. AppleCare Premium Service and Support Plan Terms and Conditions.
Also be aware that you can buy an APP at any time during the first year of your standard warranty, and it will cover you for an additional two years after the first year's standard warranty expires, as long as you enroll the APP before your first year's standard warranty expires. Enrolling the APP registers it in your name and associates it with your Mac's serial number. The APP package includes instructions for enrollment. You can also buy an APP for your model of Macintosh at any authorized Apple dealer.
All U.S. phone support needs for Macintosh computers are handled through the AppleCare number, 1-800-APL-CARE. This includes support calls for the first year's standard warranty and for items covered by an APP. In other countries, see Apple's page Contacting Apple by Phone and look under the "International Contacts" section, in the "Customer Support" column.