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It is wonderful to acquire a new mobile, try its new features, show it to your friends… Disappointment comes if a technical failure appears that prevents you from enjoying it properly. In this case, we will have to resort to the manufacturer's guarantee, a process that can be complicated and waste our time (or our nerves). So you are going to learn everything about your smartphone warranty
Information is power and, in the face of any impediment from the seller or manufacturer, we must enforce our rights. Here's what you need to know:
The legal guarantee
The guarantee established by law is two years in Spain, despite the fact that a shorter period is allowed, as long as it does not fall below a year. In any case, this is not very frequent, so we can assume that when we buy a device it will have a two-year legal guarantee… but this really means little.
And the law establishes that during the first six months it will be considered that a defect originated with the terminal, so repair or replacement should be easy and not involve too much dealing with the manufacturer. The problem comes when those 6 months pass, because they could require us to prove that the failure did not arise later, for which we would need an expert witness.
In reality, very few brands strictly follow the law, for better or worse, because commercial guarantee comes into play.
The commercial guarantee
The commercial guarantee is offered voluntarily by the manufacturer under the conditions it deems appropriate, as long as it respects the law. The minimum that is usually offered is one year, so it is very rare that we have to demonstrate a failure after six months After the year not all brands provide facilities, but more and more of them take charge of the problems that arise up to the age of two.
On the other hand, some companies go further and offer extended warranties. It is not something very common in smartphones, since they also tend to try to sell these services or other similar ones, such as insurance.
Other cases
If we buy something second-hand we will also have a guarantee: six months if we deal with non-professional sellers, and one year if they are. In the case of an individual, it will be quite difficult to make sure that it will offer us protection, so it is better to check that the smartphone still has a manufacturer's warranty.
If we buy online from a store in the European Union we will have the same legal guarantee as in Spain, but if we make the transaction on a Chinese page, everything is complicated. In China usually offers a one-year warranty, but we will have to take care of the shipment, something that can be complicated in the event that the package is stopped at customs. Some Chinese stores like PandaWill or Beewip have technical services in Spain, but that increases their prices, how could it be otherwise.
How to make the guarantee effective
If our smartphone has broken down, we will need the purchase ticket or invoice to send it to be repaired, in which we must verify that it is still we are within the covered period. It must be clear that, unless we have insurance, screen breaks will not be included in the guarantee, and it is very common for technical services to return phones without fixing them because they are wet or damp.
The easiest thing to do is usually go to the store that sold us the device, be it an electronics chain or an operator of communications. There they will pick up the smartphone and notify us when it returns repaired. If we buy it online, it is good to contact the seller, many times they offer great facilities. For example, Amazon has a tendency to refund purchases at the slightest problem.
Other times it is better to speak directly with the manufacturer, either because the store does not respond or because the brand works very well and we offers faster. That depends on each case.
So now you know everything about the warranty of your smartphone These issues are always controversial, some manufacturers try to save costs by offering poor coverage in the warranty period, so it is best to be patient. In any case, you already know your rights, so do not hesitate to make them effective.
What do you think of this topic? Have you ever had problems with the warranty of your smartphone, or have brands always responded well to you?
