Just curious. I bought the iPhone 4 the day it came out whenever that was and then bought AppleCare after for it. Probably around month 8 and then maybe month 11 I had battery issues so I just went online filled out the form, they sent a box by UPS I sent the phone back and they exchanged it.

I have an iPhone 4S now which is maybe 7 months old not too sure but def under a year. On Apple's support site it shows it's still covered but not for phone of course. However it says I can only return accessories online and if I have trouble with my actual device my options are basically Genius Bar or go to a support centre.

I'm not anywhere near a Genius Bar or support centre. I'm just wondering if I buy AppleCare does that give me the option to mail the phone back in for service the way I used to be able to? Or did Apple stop that? I'm pretty sure my brother had sent his in for service before and it didn't have AppleCare so just curious if that's still possible. Thanks!

Phone Apple, and ask for help sending it back.

The warranty still covers phone support for hardware problems. It just doesn't cover user support (as in, teaching users how to do stuff, or fixing software problems).

Okay thanks I can try that. It doesn't give me phone support as an option it basically says I can purchase either a 1 time support call, or I can request an exception to get it for free. I could just try the general number.

In general though would having AppleCare allow me to do it online or has that process changed? As I don't mind buying AppleCare to get the extra warranty, but it's nice to do it online since I'm pretty technical and can skip all the basic troubleshooting.

Call. Ask.

Just called they said I'm outside the 90 day phone support window and wouldn't assist or answer the question. Said I need to buy AppleCare or buy a 1 time support call for them to do any assistance over the phone and had no idea if AppleCare allowed online returns as in their words "this is phone support not online, no idea how online works".

Go online. Ask.

(What's wrong with the phone, btw? You might get equally good support here.)

Just called they said I'm outside the 90 day phone support window and wouldn't assist or answer the question. Said I need to buy AppleCare or buy a 1 time support call for them to do any assistance over the phone and had no idea if AppleCare allowed online returns as in their words "this is phone support not online, no idea how online works".

Call back and tell them it's a hardware issue. If they resist, request a supervisor.