Don't Worry, Know the Warranty

As on my previous posts, I have mentioned that I have two MSI Motherboards that failed.  These are 2 out of 10.  Thinking that the boards are no longer covered with warranty, since PC Express claims that there is only one year warranty for MSI motherboards, I tried to see what was really wrong with these boards.  There were no signs of burn marks, damaged components or anything.  I lost hope and thought that there will be two PCs in our shop with no motherboards.  One day I mentioned the problem to one of my officemate, who happens to also have a computer shop.  He told me that most of the motherboards have at least two years of warranty.  He suggested to look for the official distributor and call them to double check if the one year warranty that PC Express claims is valid.  So I did looked up in the internet and found in MSI's website that their official distributor in the Philippines is NetEssentials and their office is found in 8th steet along Boni Serrano which was quite near our office.  According to them the warranty of MSI boards is 2 years.  To my surprise, I jumped for joy!  My Mobos are still covered!  The following day I hurriedly brought the two boards to NetEssentials.  They did the necessary inspections like the one I did before, looked for any burn marks, damaged components, and the sticker with the serial numbers.  After been visual inspected, they gave me a slip and said that I can follow-up the status of the boards after 3 working days.  It took 1 week before the boards were replaced with new ones.  They said that the problem was the on-board graphics.  Although its been a week, it is better to have them back than not having them fixed or replaced at all.

This has been a lesson to me, that before having your device or any other electronic appliance or gadget repaired by yourself or an outside technician, know first if it is still covered with warranty.  Some brands let their products carry an international warranty.  This means that if you bought it from someplace else like Singapore, Hong Kong, or even in the US of A.

One of my experience regarding the warranty is repairing my 2nd Generation iPod.  After failure to repair it I delegated it to the Mac Center in Megamall.  After having it shipped to Singapore I found out that it was still under warranty with only a few days left for the warranty to expire.  They could have replaced it with a new one if it not I have opened it.

Recently, my boss asked me if I can fix his HP Netbook since it won't boot up.  My advice is to contact HP first and know if it is still under warranty and have them fixed it instead of me.  After one day he endorsed it to HP and they repaired it since it is still covered with warranty.  Unfortunately, HP will have to format the hard disk and reinstall the system including the OS.  Bummer.

So if you have a defective gadget, Do not worry, know the warranty!