Apple order tracking: delivery, returns and problems

Who delivers my Apple order?

You can't choose the carrier. Here's what each country's Apple Store pages say:

In the US and Canada, Apple points you to FedEx Delivery Manager and UPS MyChoice for more delivery options. In Australia, the last mile may be handed to a third-party carrier. The UK, US, Canadian and Australian stores don't deliver to PO boxes.

1. Apple's warehouseShipment notification email
2. The carrierUPS, FedEx, TNT, Australia Post or the post
3. Apple Store or pickup pointOrder number and photo ID
4. YouDelivered in Order Status

Where is my Apple tracking number?

Look in these places:

• The shipment notification email. Apple sends it when the item leaves the warehouse. In the UK, US, Canada and Australia, it names the carrier and gives the tracking number, if there is one, and a delivery date.
• Order Status. Sign in on apple.com with your Apple Account, or with your order number and your postcode or email address. Select the item, then Track Shipment for the tracking number and a link to the carrier. Tracking shows up within 24 hours of shipping, and each item may have its own.
• Text messages. Add your mobile number at checkout. Apple texts you when the order leaves the warehouse, with a tracking link, and may text again on or after the day of delivery.
• The Apple Store app. Its App Store listing says it tracks your order status every step of the way.

The statuses in Order Status, as Apple names them:

Other shops: find your tracking number. Not sure whose number you have? Type it here:

Why is my Apple order late, or why isn't tracking moving?

Items ship as they become available, and estimates count business days. When nothing moves, it's usually one of these:

• It hasn't left yet. The "ships" estimate at checkout is when it leaves the warehouse. Engraved items and custom-configured Macs take longer to prepare, and in the US the payment method can push the ship date back.
• Several parcels. Apple often splits an order into several shipments to get you your products sooner. Each can have its own tracking.
• A postal delivery. Apple's UK and Irish pages say postal deliveries can't be tracked. If one hasn't come 5 days after dispatch, contact Apple.
• Nobody was in. The carrier leaves a card: contact it for a new appointment or another address. In the US, you can also collect the parcel at the carrier's local facility with the Delivery Notice and two IDs. In Australia, Australia Post may leave the parcel in a safe place, or a card for the nearest post office. More: missed delivery.

If the delivery date in your shipment notification email has passed, contact Apple: it checks with the carrier and works to deliver your order as soon as possible. In Canada, if you paid for faster shipping and the parcel came late, call 1-800-676-2775 about a shipping refund. When waiting is still normal: tracking not updating.

Changing the order. While an item shows Order Placed, Processing or Order in Progress, you may be able to edit it in Order Status, and cancel it until it's Preparing to Ship. After that, Apple may not be able to change the address: in the UK and Ireland, contact the carrier once it has the parcel; in Australia, call Apple. A US guest order must first be added to your Apple Account. More: change the delivery address.

Apple delivery options and costs

Apple's help pages say standard delivery is free for all online orders. The checkout shows the options, dates and price for your address before you pay:

Free next-day delivery and the courier aren't offered on custom-configured Macs or on orders paid by financing or bank transfer, and the courier doesn't take engraved products. In the UK, next day may not reach parts of Scotland or offshore areas. In Australia's metro areas, delivery takes 1 to 7 business days after shipping.

Apple Store pickup. Select "I'll pick it up" at checkout. Items marked Available Today are usually ready within an hour; wait for the pickup email before you go. Bring the order number and a valid photo ID, government-issued in the US and Australia. In the US, also show the QR code or Wallet pass: screenshots aren't accepted.

Pickup points. In the UK, a newsagent or local supermarket; in Australia, a newsagency, post office or BP service station. You get an email when it's ready. Bring your order number and photo ID (government-issued in Australia), or another photo ID with your full name plus a utility bill, bank statement or similar.

Signatures. In the UK, carrier deliveries above £200 may need a signature, and postal ones don't. In Ireland, carrier deliveries need one. In the US and Canada, the shipment notification email says whether you must sign; in the US, if you won't be in, use "Pre-sign for delivery" in Order Status. In Australia, expect to sign for TNT; Australia Post doesn't ask for a signature. More: parcel lockers and pickup points and uncollected parcels.

Apple parcel not arrived or marked delivered: what to do

Look first, then report. In order:

1. 1Check the trackingOpen Order Status, then the carrier's link. A partly shipped order has more to come, and each item may have its own tracking. No email? Check your spam folder and the email address in Order Status.
2. 2Look around and askLook for the carrier's card. At a business address, ask the mailroom; in a building with a concierge, ask at reception: both can sign for carrier deliveries. A postal parcel with a card waits at the delivery office. In Australia, check for a safe place.
3. 3Contact AppleUK: 0800 048 0408, Monday to Friday 8 am to 8 pm, weekends 9 am to 6 pm. US: 1-800-MY-APPLE (1-800-692-7753). Ireland: 1800 92 38 98, Monday to Friday 9 am to 8 pm. Canada: (800) 692-7753. Australia: 133-622, Monday to Friday 9 am to 9 pm, Saturday 9 am to 6 pm. Have your order number ready. Apple checks with the carrier.
4. 4Report damageIf your order arrives damaged, call Apple Store Customer Service; in the US and Canada, call 1-800-676-2775 for damaged or wrong items. Apple deals with the carrier and keeps you informed of its investigation. A damaged or incorrect item can also go back to any Apple Store in the same country. If the product itself seems faulty, call AppleCare.
5. 5Refund or new itemApple sends a replacement where appropriate. Under Apple's UK and US terms, the risk of loss passes to you only when you, or someone you named, take physical possession of the order. If you send an item back instead, the refund starts when Apple receives it.

More: parcel marked delivered but not received, lost parcel and damaged parcel.

Returning an Apple order

You have 14 calendar days from delivery; in Canada, 15 for eligible iPhone, Mac, iPad, Apple Watch and third-party products. Under Apple's UK terms, you tell Apple within 14 days, then have 14 more days to send the item back. Start the return from the item in Order Status and print the return label.

• UK. Drop the box at a pickup point within five days, or book a UPS collection on ups.com or at 03457 877 877. Or take it to an Apple Store in the UK.
• US. Print a label for each box, then schedule a carrier pickup or drop it at a carrier location. Any US Apple Store takes returns and processes the refund then.
• Ireland. Drop it at a pickup point within five days, or book a TNT collection at 0818 400 600.
• Canada. Print the label and packing slip; several items can share a box.
• Australia. The carrier contacts you within 2 business days to collect it, or you print the label at a pick-up point within seven days. An Apple Store takes it with photo ID and your web order number.

In the UK, US and Canada, a card refund goes to your bank within five business days of Apple getting the item; in the UK and Ireland, allow 5 to 7 days for it to reach your account. In Australia, a credit card refund goes to your bank within 3 business days. In the UK, express delivery charges aren't refunded. Where the return's tracking number is: returns tracking.

Bought it from another shop? Apple's US pages say it goes back to that retailer under its own policy, as with Amazon orders.

Can I track an Apple parcel in Peek?

Yes, with the carrier's tracking number from the shipment notification email or Order Status: paste it into Peek. Here's what numbers from the carriers Apple names look like (made-up examples):

Peek recognises these by their shape alone. FedEx's 12-digit numbers and TNT's 9-digit ones share their shape with other carriers' numbers: Peek asks the likely carriers and shows the one that knows the number. If several know it, press "Choose"; if Peek shows the wrong one, press "Change" and pick the right carrier. For a carrier this guide doesn't name, paste its number all the same: Peek follows more than 3,500 carriers. If the order comes in several parcels, add each number.

If a parcel changes carrier on the way and the first carrier names the one taking over, Peek keeps the history from the start and follows the new carrier. Peek shows what the carrier publishes. Claims, refunds and returns go through Apple.