Items tagged with warranty
It didn't take long for Nintendo to bow down to pressure from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) with regards to its warranty practices. Back in April, we reported that the FTC has deemed "Warranty Voice if Removed" stickers to be illegal and said that it had warned six companies about anti-consumer warranty policies. We later found out that those six companies were Nintendo, Microsoft, Sony, ASUS, HTC and Hyundai. Nintendo is one of the first to step to the plate and publicly state that it will end the practice going forward with its gaming hardware. Nintendo says that it has added new language regarding its warranty policy that now adheres with the FTC's new guidelines....
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Last month, the FTC stepped up and said that those "Warranty Void if Removed" stickers were totally illegal and ran afoul of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. The FTC is now back and is telling six companies that they are in violation, giving the firms 30 days to clean up their acts or face potential legal action. The FTC sent letters out to ASUS, HTC, Hyundai, Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony, which have all been warned that language on their websites is in violation of U.S. laws. The letters were obtained by Motherboard via a Freedom of Information Act request. The letters state, "This letter places you on notice that violations of the Warranty and FTC Acts may result in legal action."...
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We've all seen those annoying "Warranty Void if Removed" stickers on electronics. They're normally either slapped over a screw silo or wrapped around where two pieces of metal/plastic join together to discourage you (or a third party) from opening up the device to tinker with it yourself. Well, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has now deemed these stickers to be illegal. The FTC says that is has put six major companies on notice for the use of these stickers (among other practices), and say that they violate the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (MMWA) that provides guidelines for consumer product warranties. The MMWA specifically states: No warrantor of a consumer product may condition...
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Do you have an iPhone that is looking a little worse of the wear and needs serving at an Apple Store? Well, it might be good to know beforehand whether that cracked screen or potential water damage is covered under warranty. Thankfully, internal Apple documentation has leaked out that gives us a good look at what Apple deems covered (or not covered) by its warranty services. The service guide was obtained by Business Insider, which has posted a few select pages for all to view. The Visual/Mechanical Inspection Guide (VMI) covers Apple’s iPhone 6, 6 Plus, 6S, 6S Plus, 7, and 7 Plus smartphones. The first page covers items that are eligible for Apple’s warranty services “regardless of any accidental...
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If you have been eyeing the recently-introduced Honor 8 smartphone, you are in luck. Huawei is now guaranteeing two years of software and security updates for Honor devices. Huawei is the third largest telecommunications manufacturer in the world. Most of its business comes from China, however, Google’s Nexus 6P (check out our review here) and the Huawei Mate 8 (check out our review here) have both made successful inroads in the United States. Huawei will give customers access to new features for up to 24 months following each product's launch. The company will continue to provide safety updates thereafter. Taylor Wimbley from Huawei remarked, “Our goal is to ensure customers have the best...
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You have to hand it to HTC, the first company to build an Android handset (HTC Dream, otherwise known as the T-Mobile G1), for which it was handsomely rewarded. Samsung and Apple have stolen the smartphone show in recent years, but rather than pack it in and call it quits, HTC continues to build solid Android devices, the newest of which is the HTC One M9. And should you purchase one, HTC will provide a year of accidental damage protection at no cost. It's part of the HTC's new "Uh Oh" program, and as described, it's nothing short of awesome. Should you drop your One M9 onto the pavement and crack the screen or accidentally sustain water damage (like...
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Up until recently, you could purchase an iPhone from Apple (online or in an Apple Retail Store) and have a full 30 days to return it for a full refund, provided it was in new condition and repackaged with all of the original contents. According to Apple's revised return policy, you can still return an undamaged iPhone for a full refund, but the time period to do so has been slashed in half to 14 days. "You have 14 calendar days to return an item from the date you receive it. For an Apple iPhone, you have 14 calendar days," Apple's return policy states. According to 9to5Mac, part of the reason Apple made the change was to avoid confusion. Wireless carriers typically offer a 14-day return period...
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As you might already know, OCZ Technology fell on tough times, filed for bankruptcy, and sold off virtually all of its assets to Toshiba. Following the acquisition, Toshiba launched OCZ Storage Solutions as a wholly owned subsidiary, a move that allows the hard workers at OCZ to continue pumping out solid state drives (SSDs) and other storage products without the worry of securing NAND flash memory chips in what's become a volatile market. What does all this mean in terms of warranty service? That was the big question leading up to a revised warranty page on OCZ's website. Short and to the point, some existing products are covered and some are not. Good news for some, bad news for others. "Please...
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You know that little strip in the iPhone that changes color to indicate when there’s been water damage? And how Apple avoided abiding by its warranties by noting that your iPhone showed water damage, even though you swore that you didn’t remember when or where it could have gotten wet? You weren’t the only one to feel screwed by Apple on that front, and you won’t be the only one to receive a cash settlement as a result. According to a leaked PDF acquired by Wired, Apple has agreed to pay a $53 million class action settlement for its failure to honor those warranties. The issue is that the strips inside those iOS devices (called “Liquid Contact Indicators”,...
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If you've been paying attention to Apple's most recent earnings reports, you'll probably be aware of two key points: one, the company's revenues continue to skyrocket, and secondly, China is increasingly important to that revenue increase. While Apple is typically viewed in a majorly positive light in North America, the company's image is held to an equally high standard in mainland China. Apple is opening up a multitude of new retail shops in the country, and as growth happens, so to do expectations. This week, the company's CEO issued an apology to one of its largest markets, vowing to "revamp aspects of its customer-service policies in China after more than two weeks of pointed attacks by...
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A Belgian consumer rights organization has announced it will take Apple to court over the company's failure to satisfactorily disclose EU-mandated warranty terms. According to European Union law, consumers are entitled to a two year warranty, free of charge. Apple, meanwhile, charges for an Apple Care warranty after the first year and steers consumers towards this option. It's not hard to see the Belgian group's point. Here are a pair of screenshots from the UK Apple store. That's not the clearest language in the world. Apple's "More Information" page doesn't really improve things. That first comparison point makes it sound like the EU warranty period is some sort of minimal coverage that only...
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EVGA is rolling out a new and improved 'Global Warranty' policy designed to make it easier to have your graphics card or other EVGA brand computer part serviced without having to wade through a ton of red tape or jump through hoops, regardless of where you live. The big change is that the warranty no longer belongs to the purchaser, but is instead tied to the specific EVGA product. It's the way things should be, and now they are. For products shipped from EVGA on or after July 1, 2011, registration is no longer required for RMAs with the company's Guest RMA process. That means you can sell or otherwise transfer your product to a new owner and they too will enjoy whatever time is left on the original...
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If Hollywood has taught us anything, it's that aliens will attack us at some point. For every E.T. and Alf, there's a dozen War of the World derivatives. "To Serve Man" was a cookbook, after all, and that dates back to when the world was broadcast in black and white, forget about your fancy HDTV. This inevitable fact is why it was so disheartening (or silly, as it were) to find out Asus, for a time, was specifically excluding "space invasions" from its Warranty Extension Program. Doesn't anyone at Asus have cable, or go out to the movies, or read comic books? Here is the part that was picked up by Internet detectives and, as far as we know, first posted over at Spanish website MuyComputer.com:...
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Intel recently unveiled a special warranty plan that allows users a one-time replacement for a processor they inadvertently cook while overclocking, but it cost a (relatively) small fee--between $20-35, depending on your particular CPU. Gigabyte and CyberpowerPC have partnered to offer Intel’s plan, called the Intel Performance Tuning Protection Plan, in some CybewrpowerPC systems for free. The freebie will apply only to systems with certain Intel X or K chips (per the original plan conditions) and Gigabyte Z68 motherboards. Users can redeem their replacement CPU through CyberpowerPC’s customer service. Intel’s protection plan is by no means expensive, but it’s still nice...
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