Apple locks iMessage to its own devices, which makes full texting on Windows basically impossible. That is not a tech limitation, it is a policy choice.
They do not provide real API access, so Microsoft can only mirror basic messages over Bluetooth. The result is half working threads, no real history, and constant friction.
Android proves it can be done. Apple just doesnt allow it.
I arrived at 11:55 for a 12pm Genius Bar appointment and was not seen until almost 1pm. When I went to a worker and asked what was going on, they revealed I was never entered into the system despite speaking to a worker upon arrival and being escorted to a seat. Very slow service.
Upon entering the store, I was treated in a humiliating and disrespectful manner. I was followed, spoken to harshly, and asked rude questions, which made me feel unwelcome and judged. I had come with the intention to make a purchase, but instead I left feeling embarrassed and devalued.
I would give it zero star if i could. Customer service is so poor at this store. Go to Best Buy. You get the same product and same price but better service!
Customer service not very professional i went to this store to buy my grand daughter a apple air phone it took about 20 for someone to ask me if I needed help .there were only a few people in the store about 10 the whole process took over a hour Iwas ready to purchase but they ask what color i want so I called my grand daughter to ask at the same time he took off then about 15 minutes later a different representative came i told i need to know price on phone with everything I wanted he gave me a price I ok well when I went to pay I had already asked him full price like was walking out the door so I paid him I reviewed the apple pay was not in there I told him before I wanted he said ok but when I had to that amount that was ok but after payment it wasn't there he told me a additional 140 and I had to pay again they don't listen to what customer want head ache from buying there I will never go to that store again to me I waisted $1300
I bought an AirPod about two months ago and it stopped charging, so I brought it to this store while it was still under warranty. I was helped by Jas, who was noticeably cold from the beginning. She ran a diagnostic that showed no result and said the AirPod had to be sent out for further testing. I explained that I had purchased it recently, needed it for work, and asked if a replacement exception could be made, but there was no flexibility and the interaction became increasingly frustrating.
When I asked to speak with a manager to see if anything could be done, nothing moved forward and my last interaction was still with Jas. As she finished the transaction, she turned around and said “have a good rest of your day” in a clearly rude tone. It was so obvious that two other people at the table even commented on it.
The visit took over an hour, and I left without a solution for a product that failed after only two months. Between the lack of support and the poor customer service, the experience was really disappointing.
Came here to buy a case for my iPhone and the employees pointed me in the direction than ran away. It took 5 minutes to get someone’s attention than they said sorry I can’t assist you.
I left. I hate this company. I am ready to leave it all together. Tech is not the same.
The only thing I needed help with was checkout, and even that was handled extremely poorly.
I came into the Apple Store on my birthday to purchase a new phone as a gift to myself. Unfortunately, this turned into the worst shopping experience I’ve ever had.
After waiting nearly 40 minutes, it was finally my turn. However, the sales associate repeatedly spent long periods assisting new customers, leaving me waiting over and over again ……….
A manger told me to wait … someone will help me … After waiting about 15 minutes, he directed me to an employee named Sarah. She was assisting another customer and asked me to wait. I waited an additional 25 minutes .when it was finally my turn. She spoke to me for about two minutes, then turned away to assist someone else. This happened repeatedly—brief acknowledgment for a few seconds, followed by long conversations with another customer—leaving me standing there, confused and ignored……
I remained patient and polite, but the repeated interruptions made me feel dismissed. The situation became overwhelming, and I ended up having an anxiety response and crying in the store.….This should never happen to a customer—especially one prepared to spend over $1,000 and who has supported Apple for more than 10 years.
Eventually, another employee stepped in and was genuinely kind and helpful, which is the only reason this review is not one star. However, by then, the experience was already ruined. On top of that, the data transfer process after purchase took over 25 minutes while connected to power and still failed.
While waiting for data transfer … I have realized how disappointed Apple has become
A $1,000+ phone no longer even includes a power adapter? You willing to creat unnecessary inconvenience and added time costs. Just to make the customer pay $50 more ? It feels calculated and dismissive of loyal customers ?!!
Nearly everything now feels monetized—music, photo storage, basic features. Apple may be bigger than ever, but it has become colder, more transactional, and less respectful of customers’ time and experience.
I returned the phone on the spot and decided to explore other brands. I hope Apple reflects on how it treats customers and what kind of experience it truly should to offer.
I had my back glass repaired here today. After four hours, I went to pick up the phone and found that they scratched up the screen. Then they tried to tell me it was already like that. I had to push back for them to look into it. They then admitted that the technician “hesitated”when asked if it was them who scratched it, and then said maybe it was. Really dishonest and unprofessional experience.
On October 26, 2025, I purchased an iPhone 16e at the Apple Store in the Stanford Shopping Center, in Palo Alto, California.
During the purchase, I asked the salesperson whether the device would work in Brazil, since I was informed that only the eSIM version was available. The salesperson assured me that there would be no issue using it in Brazil. I was then referred to another staff member to complete the transaction, who confirmed the same information.
However, upon returning to Brazil, I went to my mobile carrier and was informed that the iPhone 16e is not compatible with Brazilian eSIM networks, and therefore cannot be used in the country.
I am extremely surprised and disappointed, as two store employees assured me that the phone would work normally in Brazil. This situation suggests a lack of proper training or inaccurate information being provided to international customers.
I would like to know how Apple intends to resolve this issue.
On September 25th, I purchased an AirPods 3. Despite infrequent usage, I noticed approximately ten days later that the left AirPods was not charging, while the right AirPods seemed to be functioning normally.
I promptly scheduled an appointment with Apple Care at their earliest available date, which was October 12th. Upon arrival at the store, I was informed that a brand-new replacement would not be provided due to the device being outside the return window (17 days versus the 14-day return window). I requested an exception, since it was only 3 days, but was denied.
Instead, the store conducted tests and diagnosed the problem as being with the charging case, not the AirPods.
Unfortunately, the store did not have the specific charging case in stock and ordered a replacement for me. I was informed that the replacement would take a few days only. However, after a ten-day period, I received NO communication from the store. I had to follow-up myself to understand the status of my case and on 10/22 finally the new case arrived at the store.
Today, October 24th, I have been attempting to pair the AirPods with the new charging case I picked up, but I am encountering a different error. It appears that the issue may be with the AirPods themselves, not the charging case, which the technical team might have overlooked.
After another hour or so of interaction with Central Support over the phone, I have scheduled another appointment for tomorrow to collect and try to pair new AirPods set.
Long story short: I’m expressing my dissatisfaction with the handling of multiple defective items I received and the complete disregard shown for my time.
I just had the worst experience at this Apple Store. I brought my phone in to get the battery repaired. They were supposed to finish it on time, but they didn't. Every time I asked about the progress, they told me it would be ready in 10 or 15 minutes. However, it took them almost 40 minutes longer than expected. This is completely unacceptable. They have no sense of time management. I'm really disappointed. I hope they can improve their service and be more respectful of their customers' time.
Terrible experience at this Apple Store. The team was completely disrespectful and dismissive - they didn’t even want to hear the issue and told me to “just deal with it.” When I asked for a manager, he wasn’t any better. Instead of listening, he tried to cover for her, gave conflicting explanations, and made zero sense. He listed four possible causes, ruled out three, and then contradicted himself about the only one left. Both employees showed zero accountability or professionalism. Totally unacceptable for Apple.
Genius Bar is useless They don’t really care to solve your problem. They also carried a very bad attitude like how dare you book an appointment and waste our time. We had to ask questions to get them to think creatively instead of them proactively help us.
To make it even harder, they have done a great job hiding their associates, and you have to really do the work to find them around the store. They don’t raise their hands to help either.
Waited 45 minutes for a scheduled trade in, had to find another associate to help bc mine was so new that he couldn’t keep track of who he was supposed to help and took a long time to help the person before me. The other associate then told me I’d have to come back tomorrow and walked away. Then had to find another associate to schedule another pick up…
This store looks nice, but it’s probably the most frustrating Apple location I’ve dealt with. First off, parking is a nightmare. The lot is packed, and now they charge for the front rows. To make matters worse, the disabled parking spots are actually further away than the paid parking, which feels completely backwards.
The bigger issue is the service. I came in with a MacBook Pro that had been damaged in a car accident — the screen was bent, the housing dented, and it wouldn’t close properly. Even with AppleCare+ (theft and loss coverage on all my devices), the technicians flat out refused to help. Their excuse was that it was “cosmetic damage,” which made no sense because cracked screens (also cosmetic) are covered. This wasn’t the first time either — years ago with an iPhone 12, I was also denied service here, while another Apple Store (Hillsdale) had no problem helping me and even replaced the entire computer.
My impression is that the technicians here are dismissive and lazy. Instead of listening, they assume you caused damage intentionally or make excuses not to help. Compare that to other Bay Area Apple Stores where staff actually try to resolve your issue. If you value your time and want proper support, I’d recommend avoiding this store.
sent my iPad Pro for warranty repair in this store , the store send the iPad to their repair center , and item got sent back with a new screen damage( burned notch). The store manager Marcel said it’s not apples’ fault and refuse to fix the new issue caused during the repair process, they said it’s neither under warranty nor own their mistake.
Same experience as all the negative comments. Had a genius appointment for MacBook Pro display issue. Waited 40 minutes. Laptop is 16 months old. Genius guy tried to upsell me right away. $600 repair. Called to come pickup. Drove in from home. Forced to wait 2 hours as they created other issues. Still waiting. Incompetence and poor customer service is rampant here. Came here as opposed to University Ave store as last year had a serious software issue with a 9 month old iphone. Made to wait hours. They had to replace the phone altogether. Made me pay their ridiculous deductible. Apple is a failing company.
came here today to purchase an Apple Watch for my mother. It was quite busy, maybe slightly understaffed, but we were given great service by Adam. He was helping three groups at once but really tried his best to accommodate everyone and answer everyone’s questions amongst the chaos. We left very satisfied
Beautiful store however, I was not helped during my visit. I couldn’t even tell who was an employee and who was a shopper. Would appreciate if they wore shirts with the Apple logo or something to tell them apart.
I brought my mom in to get a new iPhone today and Nick was extremely patient and helpful throughout the entire process. We originally went in to get the 16e but ended up leaving with the 16 Pro. It was such a great decision! After our transaction, Sarah invited us to her camera class which was SO helpful to both my mom and I. My mom and I will now be attending classes more often. Thank you so much for the kindness and positivity!
I took my elderly mother with me to pick up her exciting new Airpod Pro 2 which are going to have a new clinical grade hearing aid function for the first time. My mother's increasingly worse hearing problems have greatly decreased her quality of life and well being so I'm so excited and thankful that Apple has added this life changing feature. I hope it works when the firmware gets rolled out soon!
I am here to thank Apple and encourage them to continue creating these solutions that help improve quality of life for so many, but I'm also here to equally say how wonderful the Apple employee named Kaho was to me and my mother. Kaho was helping us pair the new Airpods but as I suspected they would cause problems, my mother's old ipad and old iphone were not making that simple. Not only did Kaho and Jeff solve our pairing issues but they made the experience truly wonderful. Kaho turned out to be Japanese like me and my mother and switched to Japanese for my mom who does not understand English very well and Kaho instinctively talked loud enough as well for my mother to hear her and talking to Kaho made my mother smile. Most people ignore people who can't hear and will talk to the one who can, but Kaho went out of her way to engage in conversation with my mother. Kaho was truly a Godsend to us! Jeff was also incredible and while Kaho had to help others, he filled in seamlessly and they successfully got the new Airpods connected for us while also being very pleasant. Now we just can't wait for the new hearing aid firmware to be released in a few days hopefully!
Made a genius bar appointment to get a cracked screen replaced. Arrived on time but was told to wait. Waited 30 min for the genius, which is a ridiculous waste of our time. There were many others who were in the same situation. If you can’t honor your reservation time, why bother having reservations times at all? If you know your geniuses are behind schedule maybe it would be helpful to send a text message to let your customers know, so they don’t have to sit there and wait cluelessly. I tried to get one of the specialists to provide just an estimated wait time, but no he couldn’t, and on top of that he asked me what I would like him to do at this point … not so genius after all huh.
Seriously Apple, you could maybe just be more mindful of your customers… a text message or ETA’s not really that hard with all the Apple Intelligence going around right :)
Walls are made of glass and products are very well maintained. When I came, there was a very long line. The store was very good and displays were excellent.
iPhone 15 Day One: The line was not very long, took about five minutes to get inside the Apple store. After a 10 minute consult with a product expert, checking all the options and trade offs, made a decision and got the phone I wanted. Entire transaction took less than 20 minutes from start to finish inside the store. A very satisfactory customer experience.
I usually buy my Apple products online on my corporate account as I've had a lot of bad experiences in physical stores. Apple employees are usually more arrogant and unhelpful compared to Microsoft and Best Buys. I had an especially terrible experience at the Burlingame location.
However, I usually have pretty good experiences here. Ephesia was very patient and helpful in trading in an old iphone for a new XR. She did a great job putting on the protective screen for 2 phones. The check in at the front was also expedient.
Had some trouble with sticky keys. Made an appointment online with genius bar. There was a wait time of a week. I was on dot and was in out of the store in 10 minutes. Tech guy just told me that blowing compressed air around the keys should be enough. Now observing other people I could see that if you are late by 10 mins, you might be denied an appointment. Techies were super efficient. Location on maps was incorrect and I put in an edit to update it.
Oct 25, 2019
Nearest Junkyards to Apple Stanford Shopping Center
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