Windows 10: New computer warranties

I'm doing some preliminary research on buying a new Windows 10 laptop.
In my case I haven't purchased a new computer since 1998 so I'd appreciate a heads up on what to consider when it comes to warranties.
I probably need to improve how I feel about warranties, but from what I can determine, it appears to me that a standard warranty on a new computer is good for one year for hardware only and the computer usually needs to be sent in if it isn't purchased locally.
Then there are plans with more options such as in-home service.
What I'm thinking of doing is settle for the standard 1 year warranty which I believe is free. If I can't solve an issue that comes up myself, ask for help here in our forums, if something is still over my head, then bring it to a local computer shop.

:)

 

New Windows 10 laptop; connected to my router, but no internet access

New computer = warranty. Call the manufacturer's technical support. You paid for that warranty.

 

Bought a New Computer. Windows 10 Isn't Genuine.

Quote>

I got my new computer .

I'm sorry...... but if you got a new computer then stop messing with it.

You should have a warranty....don't play with it ....this will void the warranty .

*john

 

Pretty much a 1 year standard parts warranty in uk pal. Acc dam not included in any capacity *Smile

 

If it is under warranty and a hardware issue, then pay a local computer shop to fix it?

 

Not if it's free. But you made me realize I need to mention my concern about paid-for warranties. In general are they worth it?
As a result, when I mentioned "What I'm thinking of doing is settle for the standard 1 year warranty which I believe is free" I need to rephrase that: When the time comes to make a decision, determine what does a paid for warranty actually cover and does it provide any value add features?

 

I have never used any paid for warranty that I have paid for and I will never purchase one again. When you are getting advice from others, make sure they are offering their actual experiences with having really used whatever they are offering advice about. If they say, "I bought XYZ warranty and it covers this and that.....", the first question should be, "Have you used it? How was the experience when you actually used it?"

Here's my experience with Asus factory warranty. I purchased a laptop for my daughter. I immediately upgraded it to an SSD myself as soon as we bought it. I think it was about two months and the screen started going weird. I contact Asus and they provided me with an RMA#. I removed the SSD, stuck the original HDD back in it, and sent it off to Asus. I think they sent me a return label, but don't remember, I might have had to pay shipping to them (about $20). In less than 2 weeks (I think I sent it on Monday, and got it back Wednesday of the next week), I had the laptop back, put the SSD back in it, and have had no problems with it since then.

 

From a hardware manufacturer's perspective, the warranty covers hardware failure. The standard coverage lasts one year. Any purchase of extended coverage from the manufacturer would not cover anything outside of hardware. One only extends the length of coverage, not breadth.

Buying extended warranty from the seller who is not the manufacturer muddies it somewhat. Questions will have to be asked about the breadth of coverage. A forum member complained in a thread about an (extended?) warranty servicer charging extra for 'software' problems. No hardware problem was found. An OS reinstall was done. The warranty holder was charged for the 'software' service.

 

Thanks for your mentioning your experience. That actually helps me feel I prefer staying with a mfg. warranty.

 

If it's the same complaint you indicate, that's what had prompted me to question a separate paid for warranty company.

 

UK (and EU )law is significantly different to US law in terms of warranties.

The guarantee is supplied by seller of device, not manufacturer (although they may provide additional warranty protection).

It is pretty much a legal standard in UK if device fails within first month, you can legally get a full refund, after that it is up to seller to deal with manufacturer.

One thing even a lot of Brits do not realise, is if you get it repaired in first month, and it fails again in first month, you are not legally entitled to money back any more.

Another subtle one is if they offer a replacement in first month, always say NO and ask for a refund, then buy a new one, as then you get a full 12 months guarantee (actually most reputable sellers do this anyway but always worth clarifying before accepting replacement).

I had a tablet fail in second month and a major high street PC company (huge in US as well) said I would have to pay a return fee to manufacturer and I went ballistic as this is totally illegal.

The manager threatened to call police as I was angry (but not abusive). I said fine, go ahead. I then requested to speak to Area Manager as I am sure he would want to know why police were being called. At this point, manager visibly blanched and backed off and "in the interests of goodwill" offered me a full refund even though I was not legally entitled to one. Of course I took refund and went elsewhere.

The UK laws actually provide a lot of protection but it is amazing how few people understand consumer law and get fobbed off.

 

Also, some credit cards (for instance Amex and Visa Signature) offer purchase protection and free extended warranty. So if your laptop has a hardware failure after 1 year, you can get reimbursed by Amex for any repairs you get.

As for personal experience with manufacturer warranty - I have used Dell's on-site service, which is included with some of their business computers (which you can buy even if you're not a business). You have to get through their India-based tech support phone system first but once you can convince them that it's a true failure they'll send out a tech in the next day or 2 to your house/office and repair it on the spot.

 

UK Consumer Law is a little confusing with statutory Warranty periods - Set at "A reasonable time for the nature of the goods", so you would expect a longer warranty for a laptop than a chicken Curry, but both would be warranteed .

For electronic items this equates to twelve months minimum which is the responsibility of the manufacturer. However there is also a clause in the law designed to make make things easier for the purchaser, for the first six months the seller is liable for the warrantee to the customer, and they must then negotiate with the manufacturer to recover costs.

Also there are protection agencies (official Governmental), that work on behalf of the consumer that can decide on individual cases and force a manufacturer to replace items out of warrantee that fail in what is considered not reasonable, they can also force recall and free replacements of items found to be dangerous

The way that the UK consumer Law is applied by manufacturers is variable with some applying to one minute after midnight One year after day of purchase, and others like Sony, who unofficially provide an extra month to the warranty, as we all know that an item always fails a week after the warranty runs out.

As a lot of current UK consumer law was inherited from the European Community it may change with the forthcoming Brexit, although it has already been "Enshrined in UK Law" so should not - But will need to be watched.

All Credit cards are legally required to provide "Purchase Protection" for items over £100, Debit cards are not - so if you buy a laptop online pay with your Credit Card and then immediately pay the money to the Card company ( avoids any Interest), then if the company does not deliver, goes bust, or the goods are faulty and the seller refuses to reimburse then the credit card company will, Some banks go further than the Law requires as a perk to attract customers

 

All good points.

The one month refund, one year guarantee is considered reasonable practice by sell by consumer agencies and is pretty much de facto complied with by reputable sellers.

I have never heard of the six month point. This may be because any reputable seller honours guarantee for one year.

I never buy anything now from PCWorld as they use strongarm tactics to avoid replacing/refunding. I had a printer that was intermittently faulty and took it in under warranty, and they said they would send it to their third party repair agency but if they could no detect fault, I would have to pay delivery costs and which was as much as printer costs. Naturally I refused. In the end after a lot of quoting consumer laws (some of it probably bs), they caved in and gave a replacement. One of benefits of laws being confusing is if you are adamant quoting things, manager does not know if you are telling truth.

They all have ability to use some discretion but they are trained to take hard edge position and fob customer off.

By contrast, John Lewis employ staff who are well trained and provide first line diagnostics on site. I had a pc that was caught in a bios boot loop and I could not sort it - I could not even boot from a usb drive or dvd even though bios was set. I took it in and techie played around whilst I was watching (no going away and pretending), and even tried a couple of things I did not know, and concluded pc was faulty and gave full refund there and then.

 

The six month rule has been in the law for some time, added after pressure from the consumer organisations to prevent the Curry's method of warrantee dissuasion strategy you quote from it's alter-ego PC world. as they now have a legal responsibility they have to act at their cost, or could end up in court - All that's needed is for more people to be made fully aware of it and the other consumer protections and demand their rights every time they have an issue.

The warrantee is still the one year but I believe it was found that most failures in the second six months, were down to design issues so needed to be sorted at manufacturing level, of course the seller should still organise and pay for the return to manufacturer and recover their costs from the manufacturer, but the repair replacement is likely to take longer to complete