In this edition of the Kent Techie, we’re going to address the next thing that many people don’t understand – their hardware warranty. What does your manufacturer’s warranty cover? Are supplemental manufacturer’s warranties worthwhile? How about the warranty the electronics store tries to sell you with your purchase? SquareTrade? What’s that? Keep reading!
The warranties we’re going to be talking about are for computers. When you purchase a computer there are 3 distinct types of warranties, and several flavors of each of those. We have the manufacturer’s warranty, the manufacturer’s premium (supplemental) warranty, and the warranty the store tries to sell you (i.e, Geek Squad’s “Black Tie” Service). We’ll also take a look at the Squaretrade warranty you can purchase separately. To start with, we’re going to look at your manufacturer’s warranty.
A manufacturer’s warranty covers your computer’s hardware. Hard drive failure and LCD, or screen, failure are two prime examples of what would be considered “covered.” The manufacturer’s warranty covers failure due to some internal component of the computer not being manufactured or installed properly from the factory. A manufacturer’s warranty is typically for a period of ninety days, up to a year. Read the information kit included with the computer. In the event of a failure, you’re probably going to have to ship your computer back to the manufacturer, although some companies still offer an in home service option. It’s usually at a premium in addition to your standard warranty.
Standard procedure to have a computer fixed under warranty is to call your manufacturer’s tech support, and go through trouble shooting steps. If they can’t fix it, they’ll send you a box, and you ship it back. You’ll get your computer back in one to two weeks, either working, or with a technician’s note as to why the repair isn’t covered. Laptops are almost always sent back, whereas it’s a toss-up with a desktop. Sometimes you have to return it, other times they’ll send a tech. Common repairs that are not covered – power surges, liquid damage, signs of abuse or mishandling, including scratches, cracks, missing keys, or a really dirty computer. Abuse such as liquid damage or mishandling can void your warranty entirely. In those particular cases, it can be better to get the computer fixed privately outside of warranty, so that the remainder of the term isn’t voided. Make sure you take it somewhere you trust. Even then, by default, having your computer fixed by a shop can void your warranty. There are manufacturer’s seals that can be broken, and cables that need to be run EXACTLY the way the manufacturer did from the factory.
What makes a manufacturer’s “Premium warranty” special? Typically, you can extend the duration of the basic warranty. In some cases, you can also get additional features such as North American tech support, in home service, and accident coverage. Basic finance teaches us that supplemental warranties aren’t worth it for the majority of people. Most people who buy them don’t use it. That’s how they can warranty a computer system that retails for several thousand dollars for a few hundred dollars. These are the warranties that you purchase during checkout from the Dell, Lenovo, HP, etc. website, are optionally available for phone orders, and are available at an additional charge when you purchase one of their products from a brick and mortar retail outlet.
Now for the bias disclaimer – I buy these premium warranties. I typically use a Dell Latitude, which is a fairly pricey notebook. They use expensive parts, and rarely break. Secondly, I travel with it every day. It gets dropped, kicked, things spilled on it, and generally abused. Finally, I can’t stand Indian call centers, and have no interest in learning Urdu. I’m sure the language barrier makes it just as bad for them as it is for me, but I digress. I’m not above paying extra to talk to someone who doesn’t read from a script. Essentially it makes a 3 hour phone call a 10 minute phone call. It’s up to you to decide if you abuse your computers, especially laptops. If your last computer died of old age, think about it before you buy it. If your last computer died being sacrificed to the Coffee Gods, then it’s something to ponder.
The only supplemental warranty I tell people to buy every time is AppleCare. Buy it for as long as they’re willing to sell it for you. Repairing an Apple computer, especially something higher end, like a new MacBook Pro is cost prohibitive. Apple users are aware of this fact, however PC converts can be in for sticker shock. Also be aware that Apple voids your warranty if they detect nicotine on your computer, as they consider it to be a biohazard. That means don’t smoke near it, let other people smoke near it, or keep it in a smoker’s car or household. Apple is also very finicky about what kind of condition your computer has to be in to qualify for warranty repair. Scratches and scuffs from normal use CAN void your warranty, and there are many stories of it happening to people. This was a particular issue with the acrylic Macbooks, as the plastic was very soft.
Lastly, we have supplemental warranties sold by retailers. We’re going to address what I see the most: Best Buy service plans and Squaretrade Service Plans.
Best Buy service plans are something that the sales rep will try and tack on. They can get a nice cash incentive for doing so. It starts covering your product within a few days after you’ve purchased it. The cost varies by computer, and they do offer accidental coverage for laptops and netbooks. If something in your computer fails, and is covered by the manufacturer’s warranty, Best Buy will direct you to the manufacturer. Once the manufacturer’s warranty expires, the Best Buy/Geek Squad warranty will kick in. The warranty covers similar things to the what the manufacturer would – defects in workmanship, etc. Look above in the third paragraph. You’ll have to call up Geek Squad, or stop by a Best Buy to get your claim started. According to the warranty terms, it’s kind of vague as to the typical protocol of repairs, whether they’re done primarily in home, or in store. From my personal experience the computer is usually dropped at a Best Buy store or shipped directly, and repaired at a Geek Squad repair center. You can read the complete terms of service here: https://www.geeksquad.com/uploadedFiles/wwwgeeksquadcom/protection_plans/black_tie/1941-0230921-terms-conditions.pdf
If this is something you’re interested in doing, just google Best Buy Service Plan, and read about other people’s experiences. The process isn’t as straightforward as a premium warranty from the manufacturer, and there seem to be a lot of caveats involved. I never recommend these.
SquareTrade is something new, and is offered from a variety of Online retailers, such as Amazon, Ebay, and Tigerdirect. It can be used to cover any computer that you’ve purchased from anywhere, as long as it’s new, and you’ve purchased it within the past thirty days. You purchase the warranty from the website, https://www.squaretrade.com. Simply select the type of computer (Laptop or Desktop), what you paid for your computer, and select the term of the coverage you want, and they’ll email you a quote. Typically, it will run anywhere from $100 to $150.00. SquareTrade warranties are much cheaper than the premium warranties you’d buy from the manufacturer, and there is a reason. Basically what you’re buying is a prepaid repair voucher. For a flat fee, you get up to the value of your computer (let’s say $500.00) in repairs. If the computer’s damage is something they can’t fix, you get a credit for the purchase price of the machine. If the machine can be repaired, the cost of the repair is deducted from the value that you’ve purchased. So if your $500 laptop needs a new LCD panel, and the repair was $300.00, you’d have $200.00 of value left in your policy. Once you’ve used up your $500.00 in repairs, they consider the warranty used up, and you’re no longer covered. SquareTrade warranties are nice if you’re typically easy on your computers, but just want some kind of safety net. It’s not worthwhile for heavy warranty users or accident prone people like myself because you can use the entire value of your SquareTrade warranty quickly.
On to the “how to wield it.” If you’ve got a computer that suddenly stopped working for any reason, call the manufacturer and see if it’s still under warranty. If it’s been over a year, and you don’t own a Dell, chances are it’s not. Dell computers occassionally will come with longer warranty terms as part of a promotion. Regardless, call them. They’ll ask you for the model number, and serial number, which is typically found on the bottom of a laptop. On a desktop , the model number is usually printed on the front panel, with the serial number on the back, where you’d plug in your USB cables, monitor, etc.
The manufacturer will give you one of two responses. If it’s not still under warranty, and you don’t have an extended service plan through Best Buy, Staples, Walmart, etc, it’s time to to figure out if your computer is worth fixing. If the computer is only a few years old, or was particularly expensive, it’s usually worth fixing. If it’s older, it may not be. Regardless, you should always get a quote, often times, several. Most shops will give you a different diagnosis. I’ve had lots of people explain that another shop told them it was the mainboard/motherboard, when in fact it was some loose memory, a broken fan, or a bad cable. A hands on assessment of your problem is always the best, but be aware that some places will charge you for a diagnosis.
If you do have an extended warranty through some place like Best Buy , just give them (the retailer where you purchased the computer) a call, and see what their policies are regarding diagnosis and repair.
When fixing your computer with the manufacturer’s warranty, or a service plan that doesn’t have accidental coverage, you can never really be sure what will void the warranty, and what won’t. Liquid damage to a laptop is obvious. Don’t try and pull one over on the manufacturer, they’ll know. If your computer quits working after a lightning storm, you never really know if it was lightning, or simply a coincidence. Just tell them the computer was turned off last night, and when turned back on this morning, didn’t work. We can tell by the kind of arcing on or around the notebook power port, or inside the power supply. As I mentioned, missing keys, lots of dirt, and dents and scratches are a sure fire way for a manufacturer to question your repair.
Lastly be aware – standard manufacturer’s warranties never cover software. They won’t fix your virus problem, and if you send in your machine for warranty work, and they need to wipe the hard drive, they will do so, and won’t back up your data. (Read: erase your kid’s graduation pictures, wedding photos, recipes, tax returns, etc.) If you have a warranty repair, always get someone to backup your data first if you haven’t done it recently. For a simple drive pull and backup, you can expect to pay anywhere from $35-$150, depending where you take your computer, and if the hard drive is damaged. If your hard drive has been completely destroyed, you’ll be looking at a professional data recovery service, and it can run in the thousands of dollars.
Good luck with your technology. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to email me: [email protected]
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