You can now extend AppleCare+ for the Mac for longer than three years

Apple stops penalizing those who bought their whole plan up front.

What you need to know

• Customers can now extend AppleCare+ for their Mac past the 3 year up-front plan.
• You’ll be able to sign up for an annual plan after the 3 year plan expires.

You can now extend AppleCare+ for your Mac for…forever.

According to an updated support document on the Apple Support website, you can now extend AppleCare+ for the Mac indefinitely if your 3-year plan expires. While the company has more recently offered annual and monthly plans, there was previously no way to keep coverage going for the up-front 3 year plans.

In Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States
* If you paid upfront for an AppleCare+ plan for your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch, you can purchase new coverage that renews monthly.
* In the United States, if you paid upfront for an AppleCare+ plan for your Mac, you can purchase new coverage that renews annually.

Things are a little different in mainland China since Apple only offers a 24 month upfront plan there.

If you paid upfront for 24 months of coverage, you can continue coverage on an annual basis when the 24 month period is over. If you pay annually, your annual plan will renew each year until canceled.

Within 30 days of the end date of your coverage, go to Settings > General > About. Then tap AppleCare+ Coverage Available and follow the onscreen instructions.

AppleCare+ not only extends the warranty of your Mac, covering things like defects in the hardware, but also covers incidents of accidental damage. If you are wondering when your AppleCare+ plan for your Mac might expire, Apple has provided the following ways to check up on that:

• On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, go to Settings > General > About, then tap the name of your AppleCare plan.
• Or go to mysupport.apple.com and sign in with your Apple ID. Then choose your device from the list.
• You can also find the expiration date in the Proof of Coverage or Plan Confirmation message that is sent to you when you purchase the AppleCare+ plan.

Apple also began offering AppleCare+ for the Apple TV for the first time this week.