Apple resumes iPhone Upgrade Program in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland
Apple has brought the iPhone Upgrade Program back to customers in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland after the program was made temporarily unavailable in the United Kingdom due to lockdown restrictions in England.
Unlike the US, where Apple accepts iPhone Upgrade Program enrollments online, the program in the UK requires customers to visit an Apple Store in person to complete their loan agreement each year. Because of the new Government restrictions amid the rise in COVID-19 cases across England, Apple had to pause the program as it wasn’t able to welcome customers in-store for the required credit check and end of contract iPhone trade-in.
Apple now appears to have updated its systems to allow for customers in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland to proceed with booking reservations in local Apple stores to enroll in the iPhone Upgrade Program, as these countries have separate lockdown restrictions to England.
It would appear that originally because Apple had to pause the program in England, its retail systems had to pause the whole of the United Kingdom. Now, the other three constituent countries have been separated in the eyes of the iPhone Upgrade Program.
England will remain in lockdown until December 2, when the Government will review the restrictions which will determine when Apple is able to bring the iPhone Upgrade Program across the UK.