Apple appears to have informed some customers that its repair center in Houston, Texas is unsurprisingly closed due to Hurricane Harvey, which has caused catastrophic flooding and damage in the area since making landfall five days ago.

apple genius repair
In a discussion on Reddit, one user said his Mac has been sitting at a FedEx shipping facility since Friday. FedEx, UPS, and the United States Postal Service have temporarily halted service in many areas of coastal Texas and western Louisiana.

Another user from Austin, Texas said he visited an Apple retail store and learned that Apple has supposedly been calling customers with repairs routed through Houston to inform them about the possible delays.

Apple appears to be diverting at least some new repairs to its other repair facilities elsewhere in the United States.

Apple's retail stores in the Houston area are also unsurprisingly closed, including its Highland Village, Houston Galleria, Memorial City, Willowbrook Mall, Baybrook, The Woodlands, and First Colony Mall locations.

In related news, accessory maker Twelve South said it will be donating 12 percent of all sales from Wednesday, August 30 through Monday, September 4 to the American Red Cross, in support of Hurricane Harvey relief efforts.

Harvey made another landfall in western Louisiana on early Wednesday as a tropical storm. Heavy rains continue to be expected along the Texas-Louisiana coast as the storm makes its way farther inland and eventually dissipates.

Top Rated Comments

jmkinny Avatar
111 months ago
I brought a Mac to the Apple Store yesterday and he did let me know that it would take a few extra days. I am totally fine with that, as it wasn't my Mac, but one of my end users (I'm a Mac tech).

I hope that everyone in the Houston area is ok and they make a quick recovery from this horrible time. I remember going through something similar with family and friends from NJ with hurricane Sandy.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
111 months ago
Anybody upset with this delay doesn't deserve their repair.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
111 months ago
Anybody upset with this delay doesn't deserve their repair.
It can be very disruptive and difficult for people to be without their computers but there are people there who have lost everything. One little girl was found clinging to her dead mother. :( I know someone down there who is trapped in his house. He didn't say much about it to anyone other than he and his wife are alive and well, considering. I don't know if he has water inside his house or just around it, he didn't say. The message was very brief. He has had to conserve battery so it's not like he can hold conversations about what's going on.

It's fun to come to this forum and talk about tech rumors but I appreciate the moment to acknowledge there's suffering going on and I hope our fellow MR members in the affected areas are staying safe. Our thoughts, well wishes, prayers and practical support are with them.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
justperry Avatar
111 months ago
Meanwhile... on the other side of this globe

http://metro.co.uk/2017/08/29/as-storm-harvey-dominates-headlines-floods-are-devastating-south-asia-6887164/

It's a disaster much bigger than what happens in the states now yet we don't hear much about it.

Don't get me wrong, nobody should be in this situation, sad thing is, not all places are safe to live.


Don't think many will complain about delays, but then again, there are stupid people everywhere.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
avanpelt Avatar
111 months ago
As someone who just had a repair completed on my MBP at the Houston depot within the past month, I feel for those who are waiting for their computers; and also for the people in the Houston area, many of whom are going through hell on Earth right now.

That depot was amazingly quick on the turnaround time. Brought the computer into an Apple Store on Wednesday night after FedEx had already picked up for the day; so the computer shipped out to Houston on Thursday. It was delivered to my home on Saturday morning.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
111 months ago
Well thats just great, I need my iPhone back today. What am I going to do without my Angry Birds and Carpool Karaoke D:
Phones don't go to Houston. They either go to Austin or Elk Grove, Ca. The facility that Apple uses in Houston only repairs Macs for Apple. They also repair PlayStations, Xboxes and other PC manufacturers products.
[doublepost=1504110799][/doublepost]
How could they not have thought of that a couple of days earlier? What is this Mickey Mouse country ever getting done properly?
Well first of all they weren't sure how bad the storm was going to be. Second, not all Mac repairs go to Houston, some go to Memphis and you won't know until the repair actually is created, so when you call Applecare or go into a store, they don't know where it goes specifically.

As far as the Mickey Mouse comment goes, what country are you from? Goofy?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Apple Announces Special Event in New York Feature 1

Apple Reportedly Plans to Unveil at Least Five New Products Next Week

Sunday February 22, 2026 9:48 am PST by
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple will have a three-day stretch of product announcements from Monday, March 2 through Wednesday, March 4. In total, he expects Apple to introduce "at least five products." Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. A week ago, Apple invited selected journalists and content creators to an "Apple Experience" in...
tim cook data privacy day

Tim Cook Warned by CIA That China Could Move on Taiwan by 2027

Tuesday February 24, 2026 4:03 am PST by
Apple CEO Tim Cook was among a handful of top tech executives who attended a classified CIA briefing warning that China could attack Taiwan by 2027, according to a sweeping investigative report by The New York Times ($). The previously unreported briefing was apparently held in a secure room in Silicon Valley in July 2023. The meeting is said to have been arranged at the request of the...
iOS 26

iOS 26.3.1 Update for iPhones Coming Soon as 'Apple Experience' Nears

Sunday February 22, 2026 5:29 pm PST by
Apple's software engineers are testing iOS 26.3.1, according to the MacRumors visitor logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. iOS 26.3.1 should be a minor update that fixes bugs and/or security vulnerabilities, and it will likely be released within the next two weeks. Last month, Apple released iOS 26.2.1 with bug fixes and support for the second-generation...