Need advice on potential purchase of MacBook Air

Byfrost

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Hi all

I am planning to buy the base model of MacBook Air (base model $1,449). I have 0 experience on MacOS and my last Apple Product I used was iPhone 5. As I am looking to get a new laptop, I'm taking the chance to try using MacOS instead of Windows.

Question 1) I see that they have a education store with noticeable discount ($1,299). I also read that Apple has this clause in their Terms and Conditions that "Apple routinely audits the purchases of customers at the Apple Store for Education to insure that only eligible purchases have ordered and that all purchase conditions have been observed. etc etc..." What are the chances that this will happen?

Question 2) Anyone here has purchased AppleCare+? Do you think I should purchase it with the MacBook Air? How was your experience with AppleCare+? Is it worth it?
 

Shutterfly

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Hi all

I am planning to buy the base model of MacBook Air (base model $1,449). I have 0 experience on MacOS and my last Apple Product I used was iPhone 5. As I am looking to get a new laptop, I'm taking the chance to try using MacOS instead of Windows.

Question 1) I see that they have a education store with noticeable discount ($1,299). I also read that Apple has this clause in their Terms and Conditions that "Apple routinely audits the purchases of customers at the Apple Store for Education to insure that only eligible purchases have ordered and that all purchase conditions have been observed. etc etc..." What are the chances that this will happen?

Question 2) Anyone here has purchased AppleCare+? Do you think I should purchase it with the MacBook Air? How was your experience with AppleCare+? Is it worth it?

1) To be honest, it is hard to tell you the chances.. Even if the chance is low, you might still "stand" a chance to be audited. For discount, you can check out the Lazada Apple Flagship store or consider refurbished unit which is as good as new.

2) If you are going to bring out the MacBook Air often and going to use it heavily, then the Apple Care+ is worth it. It extends the warranty by 2 years to get a total of 3 years.
 

Byfrost

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1) To be honest, it is hard to tell you the chances.. Even if the chance is low, you might still "stand" a chance to be audited. For discount, you can check out the Lazada Apple Flagship store or consider refurbished unit which is as good as new.

2) If you are going to bring out the MacBook Air often and going to use it heavily, then the Apple Care+ is worth it. It extends the warranty by 2 years to get a total of 3 years.

1) I don't mind getting refurbished, but as this model is new, there is none. The refurbished MacBook air all comes with the widely known problematic butterfly switches keyboard.

2) I do not foresee the MacBook Air to be used out of the home. It will be a 99% home based laptop, maybe brought out of home a few times a year (hardly). It will be a casual laptop, nothing too serious (I already have a proper gaming DIY PC for that).
 
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They will email you to ask for a proof that you are a student within 24 hours after you placed your order online, otherwise your order will be void.

If you are a student, den of cos purchase it under the education store for the attractive discount plus free airpods. I feel applecare is a good to have if you have the budget la.. otherwise, I can do without it just take good care of it..
 

Byfrost

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They will email you to ask for a proof that you are a student within 24 hours after you placed your order online, otherwise your order will be void.

If you are a student, den of cos purchase it under the education store for the attractive discount plus free airpods. I feel applecare is a good to have if you have the budget la.. otherwise, I can do without it just take good care of it..

Ah, I understand. Sounds like it's a 99.9% chance they will do a check. I was thinking of taking the advantage of the discount.

As for the AppleCare+ that's a concern gadgets stuff like this is purely based on luck if it spoils even if well taken care off. I'm also worried about the crazy repair fees. I read that it's common in the USA for Apple to overcharge for repairs. USB Port spoil? Ah yes change the entire motherboard. But I got to check the repair prices at Apple Store first.
 

symbiote28

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i've got a different experience. while i'm holding a student card for part time studies, I never got checked for 3 of my purchases since 2018. i think it's random.
 

manofsorrows

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The macbook air has rfb 2020 version already.

1) I don't mind getting refurbished, but as this model is new, there is none. The refurbished MacBook air all comes with the widely known problematic butterfly switches keyboard.

2) I do not foresee the MacBook Air to be used out of the home. It will be a 99% home based laptop, maybe brought out of home a few times a year (hardly). It will be a casual laptop, nothing too serious (I already have a proper gaming DIY PC for that).
 

elendil5259

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Utter nonsense. I have been buying Apple products over the years (Macbooks, Ipads and iMacs) using the education store online and was never audited. Granted these are valid purchases, but they have never once emailed me to follow up with requests for verification.

Only if you purchase at the apple store will the staff ask for a student or educator card.

However, it is still a risk you are taking if you are not an educator or a student, no matter how small the chances are...
 

reddevil0728

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Utter nonsense. I have been buying Apple products over the years (Macbooks, Ipads and iMacs) using the education store online and was never audited. Granted these are valid purchases, but they have never once emailed me to follow up with requests for verification.

Only if you purchase at the apple store will the staff ask for a student or educator card.

However, it is still a risk you are taking if you are not an educator or a student, no matter how small the chances are...

What’s utter nonsense?
 

iceman15

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same here... never been checked... there was even a time when my payment was put on-hold... 2 days later, I called them and they did a manual procedure, MacBook Pro + Beats was delivered before the week ended.

it's easier to buy online... if you go to the physical store, they will ask for documents.

And even if they call you to audit... you're buying anyway and just trying your luck on some discount and free items...

check out below link before you purchase...
https://buyersguide.macrumors.com/#mac
 

Byfrost

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i've got a different experience. while i'm holding a student card for part time studies, I never got checked for 3 of my purchases since 2018. i think it's random.

Utter nonsense. I have been buying Apple products over the years (Macbooks, Ipads and iMacs) using the education store online and was never audited. Granted these are valid purchases, but they have never once emailed me to follow up with requests for verification.

Only if you purchase at the apple store will the staff ask for a student or educator card.

However, it is still a risk you are taking if you are not an educator or a student, no matter how small the chances are...

same here... never been checked... there was even a time when my payment was put on-hold... 2 days later, I called them and they did a manual procedure, MacBook Pro + Beats was delivered before the week ended.

it's easier to buy online... if you go to the physical store, they will ask for documents.

And even if they call you to audit... you're buying anyway and just trying your luck on some discount and free items...

check out below link before you purchase...
https://buyersguide.macrumors.com/#mac

Thanks! The current promo with the Airpods makes a tempting deal! I might try buying from the education store to enjoy the offer. I still have my old Student Card, if they audit I will to use it.
 

Shutterfly

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Did you guys purchase recently? I have two friends who tried to buy this week and both got email to produce student proof. I think their purchase process for edu pricing might have changed. No more random audit.
 
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Did you guys purchase recently? I have two friends who tried to buy this week and both got email to produce student proof. I think their purchase process for edu pricing might have changed. No more random audit.

How many did they purchase? There are limits on how many items you can buy per eligible person (e.g. 2 iPad, 1 Mac) and if you exceed, they may trigger an audit. With all the reseller trying to get free airpods they may be increasing the number of audits.

Or maybe just suay
 

Shutterfly

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How many did they purchase? There are limits on how many items you can buy per eligible person (e.g. 2 iPad, 1 Mac) and if you exceed, they may trigger an audit. With all the reseller trying to get free airpods they may be increasing the number of audits.

Or maybe just suay

One unit only. Just own use and trying to take advantage of the educational pricing. Likely due to the free AirPod, they are auditing everyone. I also recall they are not so strict in the past.
 

Byfrost

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Did you guys purchase recently? I have two friends who tried to buy this week and both got email to produce student proof. I think their purchase process for edu pricing might have changed. No more random audit.

How many did they purchase? There are limits on how many items you can buy per eligible person (e.g. 2 iPad, 1 Mac) and if you exceed, they may trigger an audit. With all the reseller trying to get free airpods they may be increasing the number of audits.

Or maybe just suay

One unit only. Just own use and trying to take advantage of the educational pricing. Likely due to the free AirPod, they are auditing everyone. I also recall they are not so strict in the past.


Looks like 2 possibilities.

1) It's random, and it's a coincidence that both persons kenna at the same time.

2) They changed the 'random' audit policy to 'everyone' but is not reflected in their T&C. After all, auditing 99/100 buyers can be considered as random.
 

Byfrost

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Hi Folks, I have a few questions on file system.

I've been a Windows user for my life, so I heard that there are file system compatibility issues between MacOS and Windows.

Can I

1) Plug in any NTFS Formatted external HDD and transfer files to and from the Mac?

2) Many years ago I heard Apple only uses the FAT32 file system. Is it still true to this day? Can I store a 25GB video file in the MacOS and play the video normally?

3) As for MicroSD cards, does MacOS support exFAT format? Can I transfer photos from my MicroSD card from my Android phone into MacOS? (via a MicroSD Card reader of course)
 

-Grift-

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Hi Folks, I have a few questions on file system.

I've been a Windows user for my life, so I heard that there are file system compatibility issues between MacOS and Windows.

Can I

1) Plug in any NTFS Formatted external HDD and transfer files to and from the Mac?

2) Many years ago I heard Apple only uses the FAT32 file system. Is it still true to this day? Can I store a 25GB video file in the MacOS and play the video normally?

3) As for MicroSD cards, does MacOS support exFAT format? Can I transfer photos from my MicroSD card from my Android phone into MacOS? (via a MicroSD Card reader of course)

exFAT works just fine on mac and the OS uses APFS/HFS+.

For NTFS you can read but cannot write to it unless you get a 3rd party driver IIRC.
https://www.paragon-software.com/home/ntfs-mac/
 

Shutterfly

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Looks like 2 possibilities.

1) It's random, and it's a coincidence that both persons kenna at the same time.

2) They changed the 'random' audit policy to 'everyone' but is not reflected in their T&C. After all, auditing 99/100 buyers can be considered as random.

They probably have more time to do audit now since many people could be WFH so can assign them to some checks. :s13:
 
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