Apple is well-known for having a generous 14-day return policy. If you purchase a product directly from Apple—online or in an Apple Store—the Apple website says: "You have 14 calendar days to return an item from the date you received it." Obviously, your return must include everything that come with the product, including the cables. But this is truly a no-questions-asked return policy. Over the last few months, I used this policy a few times and learned a few things along the way.
My multiple Apple Watch purchases and returns
I purchased an Apple Watch Series 7 with a stainless steel case in 2021. I loved that device, But after three years, the battery life wasn't as good as when I first received it and I was ready for something new. Thus, my plan had been to get a new Apple Watch when the new models went on sale in 2024, which I correctly guessed would be in September.
Unfortunately, at the very end of a family beach vacation in early August, my Apple Watch Series 7 stopped working. I have no idea why. I had been using it in a pool, but I've done that on and off for years. I don't believe that I dropped it or anything. It was just dead. So when my vacation ended, I brought it to my local Apple Store to see if perhaps it just needed a new battery, which would cost $99. With a fresh battery, maybe I could sell the Series 7 model after I had upgraded or even pass it along to a family member. The Apple employee was able to use his special tools to get the watch to turn on and run a diagnostic test, but the verdict was that a new motherboard was requried, and I wasn't going to spend hundreds of dollars on a watch I was about to replace.
I use my Apple Watch every day so I didn't want to go without one for a month, but I also felt silly purchasing any Apple Watch when new models would be announced in just a few weeks and available for sale soon after that. But it occurred to me that maybe I could purchase an Apple Watch to carry me over for a short period of time and then return it. And to my surprise, the Apple employee who helped me even suggested this as an option. I could purchase an Apple Watch, use it for two weeks, then return it and get a different Apple Watch, and then return that and perhaps then the new models would be available. The Apple employee mentioned that some people refer to this as the unofficial Apple Loan program.
So that's what I did. I purchased the Apple Watch Ultra 2, and it was a great opportunity for me to learn first-hand what the Ultra models are all about, the pros and cons. I posted my review on August 13, 2024, and even though that model was released in 2023, it turns out that the review remains quite relevant today because Apple continues to sell the same Ultra 2 model, although a new color was added this year. (Perhaps in 2025 we will see an Apple Watch Ultra 3.) When I returned the Ultra 2, I exchanged it for an Apple Watch Series 9. I didn't post a review of that watch, but using it gave me a chance to see the improvements since the Series 7 that I had been using and it also gave me a chance to stop using an Ultra after using it for two weeks so that I could find out what I would miss. I also got to try a different band, the Braided Solo Loop, which I reviewed on August 28.
When it was time to return the Series 9, it was still only August 31, so I exchanged it for another Ultra 2. My hope was to return that on Friday, September 13, and at that time purchase one of the 2024 models. Apple did announce the new Series 10 on September 9, but instead of it coming to stores that Friday, it would arrive the following Friday, September 20. Thus, on September 13, I returned my (second) Ultra 2 and got a (second) Series 9, this time with a gold stainless steel case just to see what I thought of having a gold case. Once my Apple Watch Series 10 arrived on September 20, I returned the Series 9 for a refund.
The return process
As you can see, I purchased and then returned four Apple Watches in August and September. I had heard that Apple has a good reputation for having a no-questions-asked policy when it comes to returns. and that was 100% my expeirence. Every time that I returned one watch, I thought that someone at the Apple Store would challenge me and ask for a reason for the return. But no. Once they saw that I was within the 14-day return window and that I had returned everything, that was it. I could not believe how easy it was.
You do need to pay attention to the return window dates. The Apple website says that the 14 days starts to run on the date you received a product. But during one of my returns, I did have one employee tell me that if I ordered a watch online for pickup the next day, the 14 days would start to run from the date of the online order, not the date that the watch was in my hands. To be safe, I decided that I would count 13 days from when I purchased a product, so if I purchased and received a watch on a Sunday, I would plan to return it on the Saturday that was 13 days later. Doing that always worked fine for me.
Although the normal return period is 14 days, Apple does often provide a more generous return period during the holidays. For example, any product purchased between November 3, 2023, and December 25, 2023, could be returned until January 8, 2024, a 66-day return period. That special policy meant that you could purchase an Apple product as a gift for someone, secure in the knowledge that if the recipient wanted something else, you could still return it after the holidays. I presume that Apple will do something similar next month for the 2024 holidays.
When you return one product and purchase another, the refund from one product applies directly to the purchase of the next one—i.e., an exchange. Thus, on some occasions, I would receive a refund on my credit card (such as when I returned an Ultra 2 to get a Series 9), and on other occasions, I would owe a little bit more because the trade-in value did not quite pay for my next purchase. Note that the Apple website says that exchanges are not available for certain custom products such as engraved AirPods or a custom-configured Mac; you can still return and get a refund to the original form of payment, but that money cannot be directly used on a product you are purchasing a the same time as your return.
Restrictions
As generous as this policy is, there are still some restrictions, all of which are noted on Apple's website. Here are a few that I think you should keep in mind.
First, Apple's return policy only applies if you purchase from Apple (either online or a retail store). If you purchase from another store like Amazon, you will have to figure out that store's return policy.
Second, Apple's return policy is really just intended for hardware. Apple specifically says that you cannot return opened software (not that many people purchase software in a box anymore), Apple Gift Cards, and Apple Developer products (such as a ticket to Apple's WWDC conference).
Third, don't damage the product. The product must be returned in its original condition to take advantage of the return program. If you break it, you bought it.
Fourth, if you return a product that has a wireless service associated with it (such as an iPhone) you may still have to pay carrier fees, and each carrier has its own cancellation policy. I use AT&T for my wireless service, and I pay $10.99 a month for the "Unlimited for wearable" plan. That plan includes unlimited talk, text, and data for a wearable device, and while there is a $35 activiation fee when you first start the plan, I was not charged any additional fee any of the times that I added a new Apple Watch—which I have done five times since my Apple Watch Series 7 died. But I don't know if a different wireless company will charge you a fee every time you get a new Apple Watch.
Fifth, you can only return a product in the same country where the product was purchased.
Closing thoughts
It is wonderful that Apple gives people two weeks to try a product and see if it is right for them. I loved having the ability to try out an Apple Watch Ultra 2 and see what I thought after multiple days of real world use. And at the same time, Apple's policy gave me the ability to use an Apple Watch during a period of time when I otherwise would not have had one.
I certainly don't encourage people to abuse Apple's generous policy. If too many people do that too many times, I'm sure that Apple would change the policy for all of us. But as someone who has been purchasing Apple products since 1988 but who has never before taken advantage of this policy, I was delighted to learn that this return policy really is as generous as people have said it is. It is truly no questions asked. If you find yourself in a position where you are unsure about whether an Apple product is right for you, keep this generous return policy in mind. As long as you don't break it or forget to return it until after 14 days have passed, Apple's return policy gives you more than enough time to see what you really think, the ability to try before you buy.
