Warranty. How is it affected? Everyone seems to have a different story. Some say that Nokia reps told them that it's voided if they use PDP (and yes, some have provided documentation of this claim). I have actually had my 928 replaced under warranty while running PDP with GDR3. Did I just get lucky? Who's right and who's wrong?
Keep in mind that the warranty that I am discussing here is for a US device, and I do not know how this warranty may differ from the warranty in other countries, as laws vary, but I would venture to guess that most of them are materially the same.
Who am I to say?
For several years, I worked at one of the largest insurance companies in the world. I worked in a department that managed extended warranties, most of my time dealing specifically with electronics warranties, and a part of my tenure dealing with home warranties. I started out on the phones taking calls from customers just like you, who were calling in with problems with their computers and such, and wanted that problem to be fixed under the warranty. I can tell you from that perspective that my primary job was to minimize expense. If I could find a way to turn down every single claim, my boss would have loved me (more than he did - :wink
. But the warranty is a contract, and it is a contract that goes two ways. There are responsibilities for the user as well as the warranty company. For example, the user has to use his device in a way that is not considered misuse or abuse. The company, in-turn, has a responsibility to repair covered items.
After one year on the job, I was promoted to Customer Relations. In that position, I only dealt with angry or dissatisfied customers. In other words, I only dealt with customers whom we'd already told their claim was not covered. It was my job to research the reason for the declination, research the reason of the failure, and determine whether we correctly declined the claim or if the declination should be reversed. I had the final say on whether a claim would be paid or not. There was no appeal above me. So I hope from this you can gather that I know very well how to read a warranty and understand what is required of the company.
Warranty - What is it?
Now that you know from what experience I'm talking, let's take a look at the warranty. Here it is, photographed from the booklet for my 928.
First two pages:
View attachment 63045
Note the highlighted portion. This tells you what is covered. The main device, the battery, the charger - basically the hardware that comes in the box.
Next two pages:
View attachment 63050
Note the highlighted section - What this warranty does not cover. You should always read this section before trying to make a warranty claim on any device. This is where you will learn what will keep you from getting the warranty repair. Look at section 7, highlighted.
By installing the Preview for Developers, did you hack or crack? Is it a virus or other malware? Was your access to this service unauthorized? No. Therefore this provision of the contract does not apply. I believe, though, that this is what the low-level customer service types on Twitter and other social media are referring to (if they are referring to anything at all) when they say that the PDP is not covered. They are not reading it with understanding.
Paragraph 10 I suppose could also be a source of confusion. It says that all the software that comes on the phone is considered Nokia software. That would include the OS, and yes, the Univision app that I always delete first. It says that this software, the OS and all apps that come with it, including upgrades and updates, is not warranted to meet your requirements, run apps you want to run, work with any other software or hardware (That BT headset? Yeah - there's no warranty that it will work with the phone. That's what this means.). (continued on next image)
Next two pages:
View attachment 63053
It also says near the top that they don't warrant that the software included will work (operation uninterrupted, error free, or defects will be corrected or are correctable). So basically, it says that the software on the phone may stop working, may not be fixable, and isn't covered. In other words, they don't cover software under the warranty. Only the hardware is covered. It also says that the software is provided "as-is." In other words, software is not covered. See a theme here?
Nokia will make their software available for reinstall (latest version - so don't count on older version availability) if there is a software problem that is covered.
What will void the warranty? Look at the highlighted section at the bottom of page 30, and the top of page 31, items 1 through 4.
This warranty is not valid if: (paraphrased)
1. Your product has been opened, modified (this is talking hardware), repaired without Nokia's authorization, or repaired with unauthorized spare parts. Broke your screen and replaced it with one you got from eBay? You no longer have a warranty.
2. Your product's serial number or IMEI has been removed, erased, defaced, altered, or illegible. I would imagine that these numbers are present somewhere inside even phones without removable batteries (I could be wrong), but they are present in the firmware when you look in settings | about | more info. So you stole a phone (yeah, I know - you found it), and it couldn't be reactivated because the IMEI is bad, so you reflashed it (which is illegal in the US) with a new number, right? No warranty.
3. Your product was exposed to moisture or extreme thermal or environmental conditions, corrosion or oxidization. You were at Yellowstone and dropped your phone into one of those really pretty hot bath things (I've never been there)? Your warranty is void.
4. The software your product runs on has been modified. Ah, here's another place where those customer service types are mis-reading. Ok - so technically when you do PDP, you're modifying the software that the phone runs on, right? Well, there are two outs for that. First, the change is authorized. And second, if you can put the original software back on (I haven't done this, but I've seen lots talk about reflashing with the original image from Nokia's site (I don't remember the name of it)), and the problem still exists, then you're covered. Remember, if this clause is taken literally as it is written, official updates void the warranty. This clause is talking about hacking the OS.
Last two pages:
View attachment 63059
The rest of the warranty language.
So here's what it boils down to. Is it a hardware failure or a software failure? If it is a hardware failure, what is the cause? If it is a software failure, then it isn't covered anyway, updated with PDP or not. If it is a hardware failure, did software cause the problem? Misuse? Abuse? Not covered. Is it a hardware failure that is unrelated to software, misuse or abuse, or any of the other exclusions? Then you're covered.
Remember, folks, this warranty is a legally binding contract, not some seat-of-the-pants, run-on-a-whim decision that some customer service level person gets to pick and choose. If the warranty is declined, they have to be able to tell you which of the exclusions was used in the declination, and if you're not satisfied with the answer, go up the ladder, and into a court room if need be. Don't buy into the "it's not covered" mantra without doing your homework.
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