MS Complete is no longer competitive with Apple's and Google's offerings

[Joe920]

There has been some talk on the fact that MS doubled the deductible in its latest change to the Microsoft Complete coverage for high-cost phones. That hurts, but it's no big deal since the change brings their deductible in line with Google's and Apple's equivalent insurance options.

The bigger change is that MS now offers only one replacement device in case of accidental damage, compared to two for both Apple and Google. This is a major change which I hope MS will correct soon.

Comparison:
Google Protect: $69 on 5X, $89 on 6P, 2 year warranty, $79 deductible per replacement, two replacements
Microsoft Complete: $99, 2 year warranty, $99 deductible per replacement, one replacement

This means if you're careless enough to drop your $650 Lumia 950 XL a second time, you're SOL, and you just lost hundreds of dollars that you wouldn't have lost with the competition.

Given the tough market position MS finds itself in I think it's a bad move to have worse ADP terms than the competition, and I hope someone will take note and address this ASAP.

 

[Joe920]

Turns out there have been new MS Complete terms in effect since Jan 19, but unfortunately the damage protection limit of only one accident is unchanged:

"For Breakdown and ADH Covered Claims: > Aggregate Repair & Replacement Limit: Repairs to Your covered Product up to the amount equal to the Original Purchase Price ofthe covered Product, or one (1) Replacement in lieu of Repairs; whichever occurs. Once this limit has been reached, Our obligationsfor Breakdown and ADH Coverage will be considered fulfilled and Coverage under this Plan ends." .... sadface

 

[Joe920]

One more post in my lone crusade against the new MS Complete (MSC) terms: it turns out that for around $200 you can already buy a new screen+digitizer assembly for the 950XL which is just about the same cost as MSC + deductible ($198). To me this drives home the point that MS is asking way too much. You can be sure that screen assemblies don't cost MS even close to $200. It's probably closer to $50.

Of course having MSC saves you the tricky labor, and it would cover things like water damage as well so it might still be worth it for you. Still, for me a cracked screen is the most likely problem, so I've decided to risk going without MSC on my 950XL.