Purchasing a macbook from the US

James07 · 7 May 2014 at 23:15

Im flying out to New Orleans in September and in looking to bring back a refurbished macbook pro with me.

i just want to know if itll be okay to use here i.e. Do they use the same wifi signals and obviously ill need to get a different charger but will the european chargers be compatible with American macbooks?

Quixote · 7 May 2014 at 23:18

Have you thought about the keyboard layout ? Will it be different ? Will this be a problem for you ?

altrewin · 7 May 2014 at 23:29

EU/UK chargers should be fully compatible with US macbooks as they still use the same plug on one end (magsafe). As above, keyboard layout will almost certainly be different, along with user manuals (if any).

James07 · 7 May 2014 at 23:51

How different? I think for the saving id make id be happy to live with a different keyboard layout.

Thank you for the replies.

spixelspixel · 8 May 2014 at 00:01

@ and " in different places so pretty much no difference. I use US layout on a UK keyboard without issue as I'm used to it.

James07 · 8 May 2014 at 05:39

Oh, i suspected that would be the only difference, im fine with that

infernox · 8 May 2014 at 06:48

My macbook is US Keyboard layout anyway?

joeyjojo · 8 May 2014 at 08:06

Make sure to declare it at customs and pay the 20% VAT.

ShortWarning · 8 May 2014 at 09:32

I think the "@" and the """ are in the same place but there is no "£" or "€" symbols.

Richdog · 8 May 2014 at 09:35

joeyjojo said:
Make sure to declare it at customs and pay the 20% VAT.

Hah... sure, we all would.

MagicBoy · 8 May 2014 at 09:38

It will be fine.

The charger is multi-voltage, you either need to change the plug connector or just plug it into a good old figure-8 lead.
Keyboard is virtually the same. Only difference is Shift+3 is # not £ as per the UK, plus international keyboards get an extra symbol key down by the Z . Changing the keyboard language fixes the £ sign.
WiFi will be fine - Apple kit enables the permitted channels based on the country code broadcast by the router.
Warranty is international which is OK, however you are not covered by UK consumer law at any point.

Ryan-3 · 8 May 2014 at 09:40

joeyjojo said:
Make sure to declare it at customs and pay the 20% VAT.

You might end up having no choice about this.

But here is the difference between the US and UK layouts for Apple keyboards. You can change the layout in OS X, but it will always look like this. Apart from that and needing to change the end of the charger plug for a UK one, there is nothing else different and nothing else needed to be changed to work 100%.

MagicBoy · 8 May 2014 at 09:41

spixelspixel said:
@ and " in different places so pretty much no difference. I use US layout on a UK keyboard without issue as I'm used to it.

Incorrect for Apple layouts.
Correct for DOS/Windows/whatever.

Richdog · 8 May 2014 at 09:42

Oops sorry, well edited.

James07 · 9 May 2014 at 06:57

Im told to bin all packaging and manuals and say its a personal laptop that i take everywhere if questioned?

spoffle · 9 May 2014 at 07:00

James07 said:
Im told to bin all packaging and manuals and say its a personal laptop that i take everywhere if questioned?

ERMERGERD!!! TAX!!! TAX THIEF!!! :mad:

Richdog · 9 May 2014 at 07:33

James07 said:
Im told to bin all packaging and manuals and say its a personal laptop that i take everywhere if questioned?

Yup will be fine, most of us would do the same of course. Additionally you could send the packaging home too via post so you don't lose it.

joeyjojo · 9 May 2014 at 10:15

Richdog said:
Hah... sure, we all would.

Just pointing out the obvious - these things always look like a good deal because of the tax avoidance. Once you add the local sales tax and import tax, it's probably better to just get a UK one with a proper warranty, keyboard, and accessories. Depends on your moral character really.

Richdog · 9 May 2014 at 10:19

joeyjojo said:
Just pointing out the obvious - these things always look like a good deal because of the tax avoidance. Once you add the local sales tax and import tax, it's probably better to just get a UK one with a proper warranty, keyboard, and accessories. Depends on your moral character really.

Agreed, but that's only really an issue when you get it sent. If you buy it in person then its easy to just unpack and use it before bringing it back like any normal laptop.

MagicBoy · 9 May 2014 at 10:35

joeyjojo said:
it's probably better to just get a UK one with a proper warranty, keyboard, and accessories.

The warranty cover is identical. I had no problems getting service in the UK on my US bought 2006 machine.

What you are missing is any additional benefits over and above the warranty cover from UK consumer law. It's kind of an apt point as my 2011 has just been fixed out of warranty at no cost to myself after a discussion with Apple regarding consumer protection.