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I'm about to travel to the US, where iPods / AirPods / iPhone are much cheaper than in my country.

I wonder if Apple's warranty is international, and/or what warranty coverage exists when I return to my country.

Where can I understand what Apple Warranty covers in the US when products leave the US?

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Yes, Apple's computer warranties are international. Worst case, you have to ship your product back to the purchasing country if Apple asks for that, but the wording and common practice is U.S. purchases generally get covered everywhere Apple has service globally.

See Apple's Warranty Page for more details. The warranty is established in the country of purchase and if warranty service is not available in the country where the device is when service is requested, you may be on the hook for import/export duties as well as paying for the shipping.

No, iPhone and some parts of AppleCare plus are not necessarily international.

Pay attention to parts like:

IMPORTANT RESTRICTION FOR iPHONE, iPAD AND APPLE TV SERVICE.

Apple may restrict warranty service for iPhone, iPad and Apple TV to the country where Apple or its Authorized Distributors originally sold the device.

That doesn’t mean you won’t get service, but you could be denied or could have to get the device back to the country of purchase on your dime to get service.

Also, no in terms of consumer law varying widely between Europe, Asia, US and other countries:

To recap:

  • Warranty is what Apple offers and you may have responsibilities or costs to get service
  • Consumer law covers things outside the warranty, so you need to balance both when choosing where to buy
  • Look for words like shall and may and must - these contracts are legal and /or prescriptive so details and words matter. Read all the document, several times before spending money if you don’t know the return policy or have limited time to return goods after purchasing them.
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    the Honolulu store just refused to fix my retina display because it was bought in Amsterdam
    – rfabbri
    Commented Jul 11, 2017 at 1:31
  • @rfabbri check my answer below
    – Madivad
    Commented Aug 3, 2017 at 15:16
  • @bmike over the years you have taken a one line “yes” answer and continued to add to and edit it into this protracted, “yes, but not really” and putting the onus on the purchaser to ship it back. If a consumer purchases something in California, it would be expected you could have it fixed in NY without shipping it to Cali. If someone asks if it is international, the intent of that is “can it be repaired under warranty in that country”. To suggest it is international because you can send it back to country of purchase, then you are deluded: it is not international.
    – Madivad
    Commented Oct 18, 2019 at 11:42
  • I confirmed with the apple customer service care, they confirmed that the warranty is not international. Warranty is applicable only in the country where the device is purchased.
    – Ganesh M S
    Commented Nov 23, 2020 at 20:16
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Read my answer here: https://apple.stackexchange.com/a/13285/34885 in the comments (look for my name: madivad). I can vouch that:

iPhones warranties are NOT international.

IMPORTANT RESTRICTION FOR iPHONE AND iPAD SERVICE. Apple may restrict warranty service for iPhone and iPad to the country where Apple or its Authorized Distributors originally sold the device.

from https://www.apple.com/legal/warranty/products/ipad-english-a.html

UPDATE: I made this post in 2013, I have again checked the link above in 2017, and the situation is still the same.

A screengrab from Apple's own website dated 2017-08-04

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    It's very annoying. Every answer ranks higher than mine and they're all wrong. Apple's own website says so, and I have experienced it first hand. I love Apple, but fanbois need to stop posting how great they are and guessing answers unless they know the facts. I only checked this again a few months ago and it's still the case. It MAY accepted, but by no means is it a guarantee (which in my eyes makes it no warranty either) Ahh well. It's an old post now. Lol.
    – Madivad
    Commented Oct 1, 2015 at 2:27
  • I disagree with your comment above in practice. The vast majority of countries and the vast majority of warranty service calls in my experience don’t end up with Apple exercising their right to “maybe” require service only in the original country of purchase. But, that doesn’t matter if for example, you only care about an iPhone purchased in a country that has a different agreement than most of the EU / US with Apple Retail store physical presence. This question is primarily about US purchase. Do you have examples of US goods not being serviced elsewhere?
    – bmike ♦
    Commented Oct 17, 2019 at 9:38
  • @bmike you can disagree all you like, it doesn’t change the fact that I, and others, have had warranty denied because we were out of the country of purchase. There are examples all over stack. Can you cite any specific time you have had US warranty exercised for a phone outside of the US? And PLEASE stop adjusting the question and accepted answer to suit. Your edits are changing context and that is distasteful. With power comes responsibility. Or you can use it to do whatever it is you are doing. Whatever that is.
    – Madivad
    Commented Oct 18, 2019 at 11:50
  • your comment goes against how the site help is designed. If you want to ask someone (Mod or not) to not make edits, asking on Ask Different Meta is the proper avenue for discussion and resolution.
    – bmike ♦
    Commented Oct 18, 2019 at 17:04
  • @Madivad I can vouch for the fact that iPhones purchased in overseas locations will have their warranty honoured in Australia, so long as the user can provide proof of purchase (i.e. a valid receipt showing the date of purchase from new). Without that, however, it can become problematic and will often get down to a manager/supervisor making a call on whether to cover the device or not.
    – Monomeeth ♦
    Commented Oct 19, 2019 at 12:30
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I bought an ipad in January 2013 (10 mths ago) in the USA. It started giving problems a few weeks ago by restarting for itself every 2 mins. I took it at the apple dealer and repair center in South Africa where I currently stay, they tried fixing it but said that it needs to be replaced but they can't replace it since its under international warranty and they only deal with South African bought products.

So I guess the warranty is not international

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Apples warranties are international except for the iPhone where the warranty is only valid in the country the phones was bought in.

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  • I just read through the iPhone 4 warranty pdf, and skimmed the iPhone 3GS dito. And I can't see that this statement is correct. They may request the service in the country it was bought, but it's not demanded.
    – Glenn Jorde
    Commented Aug 17, 2010 at 22:29
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Apple Warranty is international and you can use your warranty on every country that apple has branch.

but other than warranty you can buy AppleCare Protection. Apple has “global repair coverage” If you carry your Apple computer or iPod when you travel and happen to need repair service, AppleCare Protection Plan offers global repair coverage.

but for this you need to purchase AppleCare Protection , and if you want go to other country to buy your product cheaper AppleCare Protection not a good Idea.

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  • Why is AppleCare Protection not a good idea if you want to go to other country to buy your product cheaper?
    – john2x
    Commented Apr 19, 2015 at 8:16
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    WRONG! I bought an iPhone in Australia and cracked my screen it during a trip to Brazil where they have a store and authorized service providers and they refused to fix my phone. I had to use it broken for months until I could repair in Australia.
    – Roberto
    Commented Dec 21, 2016 at 1:05
  • This is wrong AFAICT. Macs yes, iPhones, iPads, no. I couldn't get my iPad serviced at the Apple store in Berlin because I bought it in the USA. Was told only Macs get international service.
    – user27319
    Commented Mar 2, 2020 at 1:06
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Yes it's international.

My friend bought a MacBook in the US and had a warranty case in Switzerland. The warranty case got solved without any problems.

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AppleCare warranty is international, sort of no questions asked (unless you take in a soaking iPod).

Apple's limited 1 year warranty is sort of international. As in, your local Apple Service Provider may provide you with warranty or may choose to be very strict on the wording and not cover anything they don’t have to cover to the letter of the law and agreement.

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