Apple has always offered a solid warranty program for its devices with AppleCare+. Not only do Apple devices come with a year of coverage automatically, but you have the option to extend the protection to three years with Apple's extended option. Of course, AppleCare+ comes with a cost, but it can be worth it for the extended peace of mind.

After three years, though, you're left on your own and without coverage. Apple is changing that for Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch devices. Now, the company is offering the ability to add additional coverage to its computers for extended protection.

How Does Apple's New Longer AppleCare+ Coverage Work?

MacRumors noticed a new Apple Support page that breaks down the crucial details for the extended AppleCare+ coverage. The page says, "If your AppleCare+ plan will expire soon, you might be able to continue coverage."

First, it's important to note that the extended AppleCare+ for iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch, coverage is only available in Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. If you purchased AppleCare+ upfront for your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch, you can extend your coverage monthly.

If you bought your AppleCare+ plan upfront on Mac and you're located in the United States, you can add additional coverage annually.

Apple is also offering extended coverage in mainland China. There, if you paid for 24 months of coverage, you can continue coverage on an annual basis when the 24 month period is over.

Regardless of where you live, you'll need to purchase the extended coverage within 30 days of the original AppleCare+ ending by going to mysupport.apple.com. Once there, you simply need to follow the on-screen instructions to extend your AppleCare+ protection.

Additionally, Apple noted that anyone paying monthly or annually for AppleCare+ won't need to take action to renew. Instead, plan coverage may continue beyond 24 or 36 months, on a monthly or annual basis, until canceled. So if you don't want coverage anymore, you'll need to cancel yourself if you're already on a monthly or annual plan.

How Do You Know When Your AppleCare+ Is About to Expire?

At the very bottom of the Support page, Apple points out that "You won't receive notifications that your plan is about to expire, unless local law provides otherwise." That means you'll need to pay attention to your warranty status yourself.

If you want to check it simply go to mysupport.apple.com and log in with your Apple ID. From there, choose the device you want to check on from the list and see when your AppleCare+ coverage runs out.