This is the second and final blog post about purchasing AppleCare+ on Child Accounts. Part one outlined the saga. I wanted to follow up in a post and mention how things turned out.

I had rescheduled a call with my Apple Support contact for this previous Monday (April 18th). This call was also set for 8pm, like the last one.

Leading up to this call, I had been checking Apple’s Check Coverage site every other day. I last checked on Easter Sunday. Each time with no luck. I figured I would pester the support person on what I should do.

Monday at 8pm came and went. I waited for a call from Apple Support for about 30 minutes before giving up and figuring it was another no-show. Shortly after 9pm, I received a call from Apple. I missed the call because I was walking the dogs 🤦🏻‍♂️.

The support person left me a message saying that the issue was resolved. They went on to say that I should email them back and let them know if things were satisfactory on my end. I couldn’t believe it. I check both kids’ phones and the website and it appeared that the issue was indeed resolved.

I am happy with the outcome, even though the process to get here wasn’t ideal. I’m not sure if purchasing AppleCare+ through a child account is an issue for everyone, or just us. I hope Apple has fixed the root cause of the issue.

I’m glad this issue has been resolved. I‘ve spent way too much time thinking about this and how to get it fixed.

In February we got new iPhones for me and two of the kids. My wife wanted to get the back of her current phone fixed before upgrading to a new phone.

The phones are great, but that’s another story.

Once we had the phones in-hand, I wanted to make sure that we all had coverage in case something happened to them. Some phone cycles, we keep the phone longer than the typical 1-2 years. We had the last phones for over 3 years.

I bought AppleCare+ on my phone (paying monthly for as long as I have the phone). It was super easy. Just activate an in-app-purchase and I was done. Now, I’m covered for as long as I have the phone.

I figured doing this for the kids would be just as easy. I was so wrong.

I got the kids to make the same in-app purchase I made. Since they have kid accounts, I had to approve it. They initiated the requests, I approved them. Once that was done, I figured we were good to go. We weren’t, and aren’t.

We were immediately billed for the purchases. But when I looked at the status of the AppleCare+ on their phones, it said “Limited Warranty” & “AppleCare+ Coverage Available”. I thought this was strange, but figured there might be lag in it showing up on their phones. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Fast forward a month. I got billed for AppleCare+ on their phones again. I decided to check their phones and see what the coverage said. I got the same “Limited Warranty” & “AppleCare+ Coverage Available” messages.

I figured there was something wrong with their phones, so I checked Apple’s Check Coverage site. The site basically says the same thing with an “Eligible for an AppleCare product” message.

I then started down the path of Apple’s Support. Apple’s support is usually great and things are taken care of quickly.

I started with Apple’s Support chat system. This didn’t work out. The advice they gave me was to check the phones again and they provided me with a link to tell me how to purchase AppleCare+. Uh. Thanks?

Later that evening, I set up a call with Apple. I chatted with several nice folks at Apple. I was on the phone for over an hour and talked to three different people. The only thing we were able to determine was:

• I was indeed paying for AppleCare+ on these two devices. (I knew that)
• The state of these purchases was stuck in limbo.
• The folks on the phone had no idea how to fix it.

The last person I talked to said they they were personally taking ownership of this issue and should have it resolved shortly. They were going to call me back in two weeks to verify that things were taken care of.

Nothing has changed.

Every few days I’ll check the Check Coverage site and verify that the phones are in the same “Limited warranty” state.

They were supposed to give me a call back last night at 8pm (Eastern) and did not. I waited around for over 30 minutes before finally giving up. There was no communication from Apple outside of the original email setting up the appointment.

I did email them last night after waiting. The support person responded this morning saying that something came up last night. We’re going to try the call again next week.

I am not sure what to do here.

I think there are a few days left where I can purchase AppleCare+ via the website for these devices. I could do that, but it will mean I will have over-paid for AppleCare+ on two devices (for 2 months).

It bothers me that purchasing AppleCare+ for a child account through an in-app purchase is so broken. Not only is it broken, it’s all Apple’s system and they can’t figure out how to fix this. The support person who set up my call back did not call me, or communicate to me that they would not be calling me.

This all leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth.

To be continued…

I’ve consumed quite a bit of content in 2021. Here are some of my favorites. Not all of these were released in 2021, but it’s when I enjoyed them. So I’m going to count them. And since I’m making up the rules here, I’ll allow it.

Books

In 2021, I read 43 books. I liked most of the books that I’ve read. I couldn’t put down either of the following books.

Favorite

My favorite book that I read this year was Hail Mary by Andy Weir. I really like his books and this was no exception. It’s a great Sci-Fi novel.

Runner Up

It was hard to chose a runner up. It was really close between any of The Expanse novels that I’ve read. But I think my runner up is Press Reset by Jason Schreier. It’s a great look into the video game industry when things don’t quite go as planned.

Movies

I don’t watch as many movies as I used to. I really enjoy watching movies, but I am alone on this in my house. So I try to sneak movies in here and there. Sometimes it’ll take me a week to watch a movie. I was able to talk some family members into watching these two movies though.

Favorite

Dune was such a good movie. I only watched it once, but can’t wait to watch it again. The movie also has an amazing soundtrack, which I have listened to multiple times (including The Dune Sketchbook).

Runner up

No Time to Die is a great ending to the Daniel Craig Bond movies. The Daniel Craig Bond movies are the only Bond movies I’ve seen, but I’ve enjoyed all of them. This one was no different.

TV Shows

We watch more TV Shows than movies. But we end up watching older shows like The Office, Seinfeld, Friends, etc.

Favorite

Wandavision was a bit of a slow start. Once things got going, they didn’t slow down until the end. I spent a lot of time reading the Wandavision subreddit theorizing about what might happen next.

Runner up

Ted Lasso (Season 2) was a family favorite. I think we watched the entire season over a weekend. We’re all looking froward to season 3.

Video Games

Along with movies, I don’t play as many video games as I used to. And I’ve actually gotten pretty bad at them. But I did play a few video games this past year.

Favorite

I both played and finished Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. I have a thing for Star Wars content. This was probably the best Star Wars game I’ve played in a while. I hope they make a sequel to this game. I had a lot of fun playing though it.

Runner up

Metroid Dread. I have a special love/hate relationship with this game. It’s an amazing game. But I am terrible at it. I died hundreds of times. I persisted and made it to the end boss.

I really enjoyed how Metroid Dread made me better at the game the more I tried (and died). I never finished the game though. I got to the final boss, got frustrated, took some time off and have probably forgotten everything I’ve learned while playing.

2022

2022 is just hours away. I have a backlog of content. I hope to make another list like this next year.

It’s the Holiday Season and around this time year, I usually indulge a little bit with some extra treats.

Eggnog

I am a recent convert to eggnog. I don’t believe I’ve ever had it before about a year or two ago. Now I will usually pick up a quart of eggnog each week while grocery shopping.

I’ve tried a variety of eggnogs, but my favorite (so far) has been Upstate Farms Light Egg Nog. If they don’t have the light variety, I’ll get the regular variety of it. It’s delicious and smells great.

I will usually have about 4oz of eggnog in the morning with my breakfast. Eggnog is rich, so I usually won’t have a lot.

I haven’t tried any spiked eggnog. I haven’t ruled it out yet, but I just haven’t tried it yet.

See’s California Brittle

In the “before times” (pre-COVID), I used to travel to San Francisco, California about once a year.

During these trips, I usually tried to pick up some See’s Candies on the way home (along with a lot of sourdough bread for the family). I usually picked up a variety pack (of some sort) in the airport while waiting for my flight home. During one of these trips, I discovered See’s Milk California Brittle.

Milk California Brittle is described as:

Buttery brittle with California almonds covered in smooth milk chocolate.

It’s absolutely delicious.

Last year, I ordered two pounds of California Brittle and had it shipped to me. I did the same thing this year. This has already become a bit of a Christmastime tradition for me. I think if I did this any more than just around Christmastime, I would start to pack on a few pounds.

If you haven’t tried California Brittle, I absolutely recommend it.

Puppy Chow

Puppy Chow (also know as monkey munch, muddy buddies, muddy munch, reindeer chow, or doggy bag) is another amazing treat for the holiday season.

Puppy Chow is Rice Chex covered in chocolate, peanut butter and powdered sugar. What’s not to like?

I’ve tried making this once a few years ago and failed miserably. I don’t know what I did wrong, but it was terrible. Now, I beg my wife to make it. She will usually humor me and I’ll scarf it down.

I haven’t had puppy chow this year, but I’m looking forward to it.

Chex Mix

My Mom used to make us her own patented (not really) Chex Mix every year for Christmas. This was pre-COVID. My kids tried to make it last year and it just wasn’t the same. It was good and I love that they made an effort.

I don’t really know what’s in my Mom’s Chex Mix other than Rice, Corn and Wheat Chex, Pretzel sticks and peanuts. I have the recipe around here somewhere, but I’m too lazy to dig it up. It’s also patented (not really) and you can’t have it. 😝

Roasted Chestnuts

I had never been particularly interested in roasted chestnuts. A few years ago, we were on vacation in Italy over Thanksgiving. The street vendors were roasting chestnuts on street corners and they smelled delicious. I never tried them, but I should have.

Ever since that trip to Italy, I’ve wanted to try roasting chestnuts at home.

A few weekends ago, we tried roasting chestnuts (in the oven) for the first time. They turned out good, but didn’t smell as good as I remember from our trip to Italy. In Italy, the street vendors had roasted the chestnuts on an open fire (ala The Christmas Song) or over charcoal or something, I can’t remember.

I think we’re going to try again, but use the charcoal grill to roast them instead.

I’m sure you also have some Christmas time treats that you enjoy during the holidays. These are my recent ones.

Merry Christmas (or Happy Holidays if you prefer) everyone.

It’s a new year.

I am trying something a little different this year. Instead of setting goals for myself, I am going to set a few areas of my life (outside of family and work) that I am going to focus on. Family and work will come first, but I need something to do outside of those things.

I honestly don’t remember if I set any goals last year. I never posted about it, so it’s hard to say.

I’ve got a few broad areas that I want to focus on this year. Since I’m not setting many concrete goals, this may blow up in my face later. But it’s something I want to try out.

Fitness

Fitness has been a focus area of mine for the last year or two. I’ve made some great strides in this area, but I want to get even better. I am slowly getting stronger and more fit.

I’ve slowly built up a decent home gym over the last year and half and have been using it almost daily. I want to continue this trend. However, I don’t want to move too far, too fast, because I’m not interested in getting injured. I’ve spent a few years dealing with injuries and pain, and I’m not doing that again.

I haven’t written much about fitness and my progress in the past. Maybe it’s something I can do this year.

Learning

I need to continue learning and growing as a developer. Sometimes I can get stagnant with the learning process.

Some layoffs late last year at my company have made me step back and realize that I need to continue to learn all the time. It’s how I’ll stay relevant where I am now and may help me in the future, if more layoffs come around.

This should be an easy thing to focus on. I just need to be more disciplined about it. I enjoy learning new things in my trade. I also like when I can show new ideas and concepts to other developers on my team.

I would like to continue applying new ideas like SwiftUI and Combine in both my personal apps and hopefully at work.

Reading

Last year I didn’t read as many books as I usually do. I managed to read 34 books, but have a long backlog of books I want to read. And that list is continually growing.

This is one area where I did set a specific reading goal. I want to read 35 books this year. I will be starting my first book of the year later today.

My first book will be Kenobi. It’s a Star Wars novel, and not even canon. Despite it not being canon, I’ve heard so many good things about it, I’m going to give it a shot.

Writing

I want to write more. Specifically, I want to write more to the blog this year. Last year I didn’t write much at all on here. Towards the end of the year, things picked up a bit. But I’m hoping to make this a more consistent thing. I enjoy writing, but I’m not great at it. I’m hoping that the more I write, the better I’ll get.

This is another place where I have a concrete goal. I’d like to write a post here every other week. This is the first of those.

Video Games

I used to play a lot of video games. I enjoyed doing so. In recent years that’s gotten away from me a bit. For me, video games are a great way to escape from the troubles of the day.

I have a Nintendo Switch, Nintendo 3DS and an Xbox Series S.

Recently, I’ve been playing a bit of The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds and Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order.

I’ve missed the entire Xbox One generation, there are a lot of games from that generation that I’m excited to play.

2021 - Let’s Do This!

That’s a lot of things to focus on. I may be spreading myself a bit thin here. Even if I do, I hope that I can at least find some things that I really enjoy.

In the coming weeks, I may go further in depth with each of these areas of focus. At least that’s the plan. We’ll see if I can stick to my “goals” here.

2020 wasn’t the best year. I’m hoping (like so many others) that 2021 is better.

2020 has been quite a ride. I’m glad that it’s over. It hasn’t been all bad, but the bad has really overshadowed almost everything else. It’s made this year a tough year for almost everyone.

Home

This year has been a busy one at home. Luckily, everyone here has remained safe and healthy.

Our 12 year old dog passed away in April. She was a Golden Retriever and she was the best. But she also lived a little longer than we thought she would. I’m not sure we’ll ever had another dog as awesome as she was.

We bought a new puppy. This happened the night before things in our area really shutdown. We decided to stick with Golden Retriever. They have great temperaments and are a breed that we enjoy. The first few weeks with the new puppy were really rough while she got used to us and (eventually) sleeping through the night. Now she’s just another member of the family.

Family life has cycled from very busy to periods with nothing to do. It’s very strange compared to other years (where we are just busy). I won’t lie, I’ve enjoyed the down time from the usual fire hose of events.

The last few years, we’ve been taking trips to Europe to explore new countries. This year, our new tradition of European vacations was put on hold. I’m hoping we can get back over to Europe (and some new countries) sometime next year. We did get away on a single vacation to the Outer Banks over July 4th week. That was a nice escape from reality for a bit.

Work

Work has been busy the entire time. I’ve been a remote employee for a few years now. When lockdown hit us, we didn’t miss a beat. While everyone else was trying to figure remote work out, we just kept chugging along.

In January, I took over as the iOS Tech Lead for DC Universe. I’ve been keeping that position since then. That role has been transitioning into the iOS tech lead for DC Universe Infinite, which is expected to launch in January.

Earlier this year, DC Universe was featured in the iOS App Store. It’s happened a few times before, but it never gets old to see.

Later in this year, I also became the iOS Tech Lead on Boomerang. I had worked on Boomerang a few years ago prior to its initial launch. It’s been nice to come back to this property and work on it again.

Boomerang has also been featured multiple times in the iOS App Store this year. I’ll be honest, it never gets old seeing this. And it’s always a pleasant surprise to see.

With leading up two different properties at work, it’s made for a super busy year. Sometimes too busy. I’m currently on a well earned vacation for the remainder of 2020. I have a feeling that next year will be another busy year, so I’m getting some rest while I can.

2021?

I have a number of goals for 2021, but I’m going to save those for another post. Posting more here happens to be one of those goals, so we’ll see how well I stick to that goal.