I’ve never had to contact Apple support in over 20 years of Mac ownership. That changed when I purchased a replacement Apple Pencil to pair with my new 13” iPad Air last June.
The pencil was occasionally dropping the Bluetooth connection to my iPad. I first contacted support last November and went through various trouble shooting. Apple suggested that it may be a particular app that was causing the issue. I agreed to remove the app and see how that went. It did not solve the problem which was getting worse with the pencil dropping the connection more frequently at random times.
I got back to them today via chat and went through various questions regarding what I had tried, I explained nothing solved the issue. They seemed more focussed on the pairing and not the dropping of the connection. Pairing is easy and not the issue. During the chat I was offered the option to take my faulty pencil to an Apple Store (an hour away by car) or they would issue documentation and arrange for the item to be collected from me. This, although not ideal was acceptable. When I chose this option I was sent a link to book an appointment at an Apple Store. I said this was not feasible for me and preferred the other option to have it collected. At this point the chat went silent and after 15 minutes of waiting for a response, I decided I was being ghosted …by Apple! Then suddenly a different support operative joined the open chat window and apologised and promised to sort the matter out. Another half hour and I was told the only option was to take the pencil to a store. Apple do not have the systems to accept this by post.
My question is this, as I bought the pencil directly from Apple by mail order should they not arrange a postal solution to the issue?
It seems strange that I am expected to drive a two tonne car for two hours to deliver a pencil!