Apple removes Unidays verification requirement for educational purchases

Posted:
in General Discussion
Apple appears to have reversed course on its decision to require stricter verification for customers on its online education store just a couple of days after implementing it.

Educational store
Educational store


The iPhone maker on Wednesday began requiring students, teachers, and others in the education field to verify their status before getting a 10% discount on Apple products. Previously, Apple didn't require verification.

On Friday, just a couple of days later, Apple has seemingly removed the Unidays verification requirement from its education store. Unidays is a service aimed at getting students and educators discounts on assorted products or services.

It isn't clear if the reversal is temporary or if Apple decided to no longer pursue stricter verification for educational purchases.

Apple still maintains strict purchasing limits on its educational store. Customers, for example, can only order one desktop, Mac mini, or notebook per year. Accessory and iPad purchases are also limited to two products a year.

Beyond the education store, Apple also requires customers to verify their educational status via Unidays in order to qualify for the discounted Apple Music student plan. That requirement is still in place.

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 5
    I think they probably re-introduce later, but it is probably reverted as Unidays is a mess at the moment. I tried to register as staff and it is not possible. Sign up info is wrong, for example they ask for "personal email" but what they mean is university email address. I have no idea how they are going to link Apple ID to Unidays account  (they will be different email addresses) because I never got that far. FAQ links are also broken and there are other problems like some students eligible for Unidays account who are not eligible for Apple University/Education discounts under the previous policy.


    edited January 2022 longpath
  • Reply 2 of 5
    XedXed Posts: 2,823member
    Angmoh said:
    I think they probably re-introduce later, but it is probably reverted as Unidays is a mess at the moment. I tried to register as staff and it is not possible. Sign up info is wrong, for example they ask for "personal email" but what they mean is university email address. I have no idea how they are going to link Apple ID to Unidays account  (they will be different email addresses) because I never got that far. FAQ links are also broken and there are other problems like some students eligible for Unidays account who are not eligible for Apple University/Education discounts under the previous policy.
    I signed up earlier today. For personal email I put in my university email since that's still a personal email since it's for a single user to access. I then used the aforementioned personal email to verify my university account. Since I was already logged into apple.com with my iCloud ID it simply showed me in the education store with the discounts.
    edited January 2022
  • Reply 3 of 5
    cp-cp- Posts: 7member
    I suppose this is relevant to the US store? We had Unidays verification for the UK apple store since a few years. 

    A long time ago (G4 era) we had to log in from a n IP address within campus, then a uni email would suffice, then Unidays verification took over. But yeah, we’ve had Unidays verification over here for years now.
    edited January 2022
  • Reply 4 of 5
    How do parents/grandparents buying an Apple item for secondary school/university use by a family member qualify for the education discount? Can you go directly through Apple Customer Service? 
    TomE
  • Reply 5 of 5
    XedXed Posts: 2,823member
    felix01 said:
    How do parents/grandparents buying an Apple item for secondary school/university use by a family member qualify for the education discount? Can you go directly through Apple Customer Service? 
    Just like it's been for many years you just click on Shop for K-12 or Shop for College on Apple's website.

    If if you're talking about with UNiDAYS enabled (which it's not) then that's not an option, just as there's usually not an email address associated with non-college students, which is probably why UNiDAYS was removed. My question is why was it enabled in the first place without first resolving these issues.
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