Apple’s Tech Support used to be legendary and held the top spot in our Tech Support Showdown for several years running. However, kinks in the Apple armor were detected last year when the company dropped to second place. Now, I must whip out my sleuthing cap and brush up on my covert-op skills to find out if Apple resolved the issues that caused it to drop a spot or if things are going even further downhill.
Is Apple Customer Service Good? 2021 Rating
Apple was known for its tech support, and it’s still a unique challenge to stump them or get one of their reps flustered. I know this because I tried my darndest, as I went into full Jason Bourne mode to disarm and deceive everyone I came into contact with. Would I break them with my disoriented newbie middle-aged man who has never owned a computer charm and nonsense? They almost all handled my ignorance with the precise, animatronic reactions and responses that we’ve all come to expect from Apple’s customer service.
During my calls to Apple’s phone-support, I mainly experienced smooth, effortless interactions with three team members. Apple’s techs will even offer to work with you if things get too complicated by sharing your screen and offering proven helpful guidance.
My Twitter, Live Chat, and App experiences were uneventful, and each time I was directed to the Support Page at Apple, I quickly found easy-to-use instructions on how to resolve most day-to-day issues that can arise. Overall, my experience with Apple’s Tech Support and Customer service was good but the one misstep I experienced lowers Apple’s scores.
Apple tech support
| Overall | Web Score | Mobile App Score | Social Media Score | Phone Score | Avg. Call Time | Phone Number | Web Support |
| 80/100 | 15/20 | 12/15 | 13/15 | 20/30 | 15:48 | 800-275-2273 | Link (opens in new tab) |
Live chat, Twitter and Apple Support app
As we all know, Apple doesn’t do Facebook, which I am fine with. They do, however, have three other ways for you to contact them. I started with Twitter to see how quickly they would respond and if that response was accurate and helpful. At 10:41 p.m. EST, I tweeted @AppleSupport that I was having battery life issues with my brand new MacBook Air and that I was clueless as to what could be causing the problem.
The following day, a little after 9 a.m., I received a response on Twitter that led me via a link to the Apple Support (opens in new tab) page, which answered all of my questions and helped me learn how to optimize the battery life on my MacBook Air. The tweeted response was amicable, personal, and informative. It also angered me for those same reasons, as I felt foiled in my first attempt to jam Apple up in some way. Sure, I expected a quicker response and was hoping someone was handling Apple’s Twitter account late at night, but sadly, Apple’s Kung Fu was better than mine.
I was now determined to catch the next person, stump them, and irritate them with my computer-feigned illiteracy. I contacted a live chat agent and made sure he knew immediately that I was clueless as to why these new-fangled Bluetooth headphones wouldn’t connect to this MacBook Air my nephew bought to punish me.
In just 16 minutes, an agent guided me via chat through updating my drivers, which I needed to do, and made sure I felt OK about asking what I thought were silly questions. He answered all my questions kindly and factually, giving easy-to-follow instructions, and even assured me all would be fine when I mentioned I felt like my son and nephew were trying to kill me with all this new tech. The tech support agent responded, “No worries! I can try my best to troubleshoot from the Mac side of this issue, but if the issue is with the headphones, I may have to get you to contact the manufacturer of the headphones for further support.” From there, he guided me to resolve my Bluetooth issue. It was so quick and painless. The final thing I wanted to try before phoning Apple was the Apple Support app on my phone, which I never use because I prefer calling people up. It’s why my kids only respond to me via text. Anyway, I downloaded the app; as soon as you open it up, it welcomes you and offers three quick solutions. The first being Self-Solve, where you can get helpful information via the app to rectify an issue. The second allowed me to get help via a live chat or a phone call. Lastly, the app offers you the ability to schedule a repair at a Genius Bar or an authorized Apple service provider.
Once you hit continue, you’re taken to a screen within the app. You can do all the previously mentioned things and check your device’s performance, subscriptions, purchases, passwords, security, update, and backup. It’s a very user-friendly experience. The screen shows you all your Apple devices and how much time you have left on AppleCare or the manufacturer warranty. In the last year, Apple added a Youtube channel filled with informative videos, how-tos, and even some tricks to improve your Apple device’s performance and user experience.
Phone support
Upon my first call, the lovely Prelah helped me with quick, patient, top-of-the-line tech support. At 8:18 p.m. EST, I asked for help with issues I was having with the Time Machine app. She guided me through locating it on my network. She was very patient with my fumbling around looking for the apps on my MacBook Air and even helped me realize I hadn’t plugged it in my backup drive. The agent patiently waited for me to go plug it in and return to my desk to finish setting things up. She was informative and didn’t even mind when I asked for her name again and flubbed it.. We were off the phone in 10 minutes and 56 seconds, my issue was resolved.
At 9:30 p.m., I spoke with another agent. At first, it was very similar to my experience with Prelah until something went awry. This employee was friendly and reassuring when I called to discuss my MacBook crashing during restart several times before working normally. He asked me to restart again to see if there would be a recurrence, and there wasn’t. Everything was going swimmingly until I mentioned that I used the Microsoft Edge Browser at work, and I was trying to find it on the App Store so I could download and use it at home on my Mac.
The agent then stated the following “Oh, yeah, because the Edge is only working on Windows PC. To which I simply replied, “Oh,” they said, “ Yes, so that’s why you’re not able to see the page in the App Store because it’s on a different platform.” This is an issue because if you search for the Edge browser, you will find that you can download a working version for Mac OS. The rest of the call was uneventful as the agent handled my main issue but was badly tripped up by the Microsoft Edge question. Overall, my call took 9 minutes and 56 seconds, and the agent was courteous and very professional apart from that misstep.
I called Apple’s Tech Support at 6:47 p.m. was kept on hold for 6 minutes and 54 seconds before the rep came on the line to handle my battery life issue. She was the friendliest, most outgoing Apple agent I have ever spoken to. The rep was informative, knowledgeable, and a master of friendly banter. I called in to seek help with a rapidly draining battery and she thanked me for waiting patiently. I explained that I suffered a rapid drop in battery life and needed help learning what to do to keep my battery from draining so quickly. She excitedly congratulated me that my nephew purchased me a new M1 MacBook Air and then shared a charming short story about her boyfriend. Then we chatted about a few other technical issues we have experienced and eventually circled back to the topic at hand. The rep was hilarious, delightful and guided me through my settings and adjustments I could make to improve battery life. She also pointed out helpful tips, like how leaving many apps open can affect battery life. She reminded me that it would be a good idea to purchase AppleCare, not in a hard sale way, but just mentioning it.
She had me run one short diagnostic by shutting down. She also told me I should download Apple Configurator because M1-based Macs can be restored via the Apple configurator application. After we ran the diagnostic, and everything was running perfectly, the customer rep also sent me an email with an informative link to use for future reference if I experienced any other battery life issues. The rep was great, and when she didn’t know something for sure, she offered to find out for me, but mentioned that she didn’t want to give me the wrong information or tell me anything misleading.
Unlike my previous call, where the agent just swung for the misinformation fences, she was transparent and honest while offering to dig deeper if it was an issue I wanted to pursue further. I declined because I had already been on the phone for over 25 mins and April resolved my main problem. In total, the call lasted 27 minutes and 43 seconds with nearly seven of those minutes spent on hold. Also, about 30 mins may seem too long but my rep’s friendliness and informative customer service skills made it a great experience.
Warranty
With Apple, you get free telephone technical support within the first 90 days of product ownership. If you require service after the first 90 days, you’re going to have to purchase an AppleCare plan, which starts at $99 for a 12-month service plan and will cover free technical service via Phone, screen damage, or external enclosure damage. For $299, you can get AppleCare+ which covers you for three years and adds up to two incidents or accidental damage protection. If you opt for AppleCare+ coverage, you can look up how much time is left on your plan with our Apple Warranty Check or use the following link (opens in new tab).
Bottom line
After using Apple’s Support page, the Apple app, Live Chat, Twitter, and calling into Apple’s Tech Support, I am left with mixed feelings and thoughts. On the one hand, the first four elements went swimmingly with minimal stress. Sure, it took the social media team until the following day to respond to my tweet but at least they responded. Live Chat was quick, and the Apple App, though impersonal, was effective, and Apple’s support page is deeply informative.
However, I feel the human element was sorely lacking in my first two calls, and by the third, I was dreading calling. On the other hand, my second call was a problem because the agent provided me incorrect information unlike April who quickly admitted to not knowing something but was willing to dig deeper to get me the right answer. My third call was great, the rep’s customer service skills, willingness to go the extra steps and look up something she wasn’t sure about helped redeem Apple. April saved Apple from a lower score, and although the call lasted nearly 30 minutes, it was welcoming and informative.
The average call time was 15 minutes and 48 seconds this year, which is somewhere near the middle of the pack compared to other vendors.Overall, Apple’s Tech Support is solid, and with a bit of work, the brand could one day return to the top and be crowned master of tech support.
