Well, silly me.  I didn't know you could purchase directly from FutureBit so I bought an Apollo II 1TB from BitCoinMerch.

Sam from BitCoinMerch just informed me that there is nothing they will do about my ded Apollo II because it's 3 days out of their 30-day warranty.  Yes, 3 days. Delivered on Oct 15, went ded on Nov 17.

So word to the wise, think twice before buying from a place like BitCoinMerch that only offers a 30-day warranty.

I'm hoping for mercy from FutureBit.  I filled out their support form yesterday, but last time I did that (to ask a setup clarification), it took them 7-days to respond.

If FutureBit won't  help me, I'm out ~ $1200 and now have a stylish paper weight.

In the meantime, BitCoinMerch won't be getting any more of my business.