Hi All, Today we go to Law School to learn abit about your rights as a device consumer.
The topic of the day being Warranties (Warranty)
What is a Warranty? Warranty is a guarantee by the seller or manufacturer that the good is not defective. This strategy is used to promote sales by creating consumer confidence.
So primarily there are TWO types of warranty:
1. Express warranties – usually written and/or spoken by the person giving the warranty.
2. Implied warranties – automatically given by law or is not written or spoken.
Our focus of the day is Express Warranties, specifically a statement of fact or promise made by the seller/manufacturer, like this device can be submerged in water, 12/24 month written warranty…etc.
The warranty we know, understand & come to love is a manufacturer’s guarantee to repair your device if something goes wrong with it that ISN’T YOUR FAULT.
[The capitalized words sum it all…if you are the cause of the fault YOU ARE NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY!!]
Warranty is important when purchasing any electronic device, the longer the warranty, the better.
Average international warranty lengths are displayed in the table below.
Most mobile phones and electronic devices carry a 1-2 year manufacturer’s warranty, but while the device is likely to be covered for 1-2 years the battery is only normally covered for 6 months. The reason for this is battery life is dependent on how you treat it.
The best way to find out exactly how long your warranty is would be to ask the retailer you purchased the product from.
There are a bevy of problems/faults warranty doesn’t cover, hence there’s INSURANCE. Now this covers most of the things warranty doesn’t but at a premium of course. Undoubtedly the cheapest option is to add the phone to your home insurance, usually as a “possessions outside the home” extra. This could cost as little as Ksh 4500 a year, and there will be other benefits, but you’d need to check the excess on the policy.
Lets clarify the highest ranking things of which Warranty doesn’t cover.
Warranty covers the device if it breaks down through no fault of your own.
Hardware Issues
Warranty does not cover accidental damage. This includes dropping it, smashing it or any external damage to the device such as keys from the keypad falling off.
Water/liquid/moisture damage does void your warranty, even if the device was still working for a while after the exposure occurred.
Avoid (as a 3rd party or yourself) opening up the phone for curiosity, repair & changing covers while tampering with the seals & warranty stickers when still covered by warranty; this will void your warranty.
Software Issues
If your device develops a fault because you have installed custom firmware/software on it, your warranty is void. Not only will your device have no warranty but by rooting or jail-breaking it, you could cause your mobile to “brick”, which essentially means it becomes useless – a brick.
So in summary, keep your device away from liquids, try not to drop/sit on it, and stay away from dodgy software if you want to keep your warranty intact.
