Hard Drive Warranty - maybe not what you think!

[Byron Gale]

I thought I would share a tidbit I recently learned about hard drive warranties… at least, when it comes to Western Digital.

A couple of weeks ago, I purchased a Western Digital “My Book” external hard drive. About five days after I bought it, I wanted to register it for warranty purposes, and proceeded to the appropriate page on WD’s web site. Once there, I supplied my personal information, the drive’s serial#, and the purchase date.

The site thanked me for registering the drive, confirmed the drive model#, serial#, my info, and the purchase date. It also told me that my warranty was good until early July, 2007. Given that the stated warranty period is 1 year, I was surprised that the warranty expiration was not the anniversary of my October, 2006, purchase date.

So I wrote to WD customer service, asking why they were shorting me 3 months on a 1-year warranty. They wrote back that their practice is to start the warranty period on the date of manufacture. This means that the whole time the drive is in the retail supply chain, the warranty clock is running out for the eventual purchaser!! They also said that they will change my warranty start date to my date of purchase if I send them a scan of my receipt – so all will be OK, in the end.

So if you have purchased a WD hard drive, you may have an unexpectedly short warranty period if you don’t follow up with them. Given how industry players like to be “competitive” with each other, I would not be shocked to learn that other HD manufacturers have a similar policy – since “competitive” means “lowest common denominator” when it comes to businesses.

Anyway, I just wanted to put the information out there in the event it is helpful to others.

Byron

[Red Sky]

Byron- I read in Consumer Reports that many companies are shortening the warranty period of their products, from TV's, refrigerators and obviously hard drives, in the hopes you buy the extended warranties that are so lucrative to them. Being that extended warranties generally pay out a dime for every dollar taken in it isn't suprising. That is odd that Western thought it was OK to start the coverage period from when it was made. Are we to start asking for the "born on date" for everything we purchase?

[Wendy]

That is awful ... wonder what would happen if it had been on the shelf for over a year !!

Wendy

[JulieM]

I encountered a similar situation with Apple when I purchased 2 iPods and failed to register them. A couple months later when one needed servicing, I discovered that the warranty commenced on the manufacture date. Apple's support was quite helpful and adjusted the warranty when I faxed copies of the receipts to them, however, I don't think this would have been required if I had registered at time of purchase. I suppose it's a reminder to register in a timely fashion.

[GaryK]

Byron

Thanks for the heads up.:)

[Skywriter]

Thanks for sharing that information, Byron. I'm planning to pruchase an external HD sometime so I'm glad to be aware of that mischief.

[virgo1]

Byron,
Thanks for the info. I got a pair of WD MyBooks last week and registered them as soon as the box was opened. I will get in touch with them tomorrow.
Eva

[baderms]

Try Seagate drives, they upped their warrranties to 5 years.

[Codebreaker]

Shop in the UK....here's an extract from one of the On-line suppliers I use. Warranty starts from date of shipment and is extended for a further year.

WARRANTY AND AFTER SALES SERVICES
Guaranties via manufacturer or Pixmania.com for 2 to 10 years.
Our no quibble 15 working days money back warranty beginning the day after the goods are received means you can return your purchase if you change your mind.

Please ensure that the product has not been used and that it is returned to us undamaged in the original packaging along with all accessories and instructions and all we ask is that you pay the return carriage costs (with insurance).
All products are covered by the manufacturers warranty for a period of 12 months, unless otherwise stated, from the date of delivery. For your additional peace of mind we offer an extended warranty of one year (1) on most products at no cost!
The warranty excludes faults caused by neglect, misuse or accidental damage.
The warranty excludes consequential loss of consumable items, eg: film, batteries, processing etc.
Every product that has a manufacturer's warranty comes with a warranty certificate. If the warranty certificate is missing, your invoice will serve as written proof thereof. If the need arises for a warranty, the start date for this warranty will correspond to the invoice date. If you have any questions, you may contact customer services:
By phone: 08700 118 117 (National rate)
By e-mail : contact us

All MEMOREX memory card have a 5 years warranty.

All DANE ELEC memory card have a 10 years warranty.

Please note that the 15 days money back warranty does not apply to Major Home Appliances. For all purchased of Major Home Appliances you can cancel your purchase at any time either before or up to 7 working days following the day you receive the goods.

[LeeOtsubo]

when a 2.2MB (yes, that's megabytes) hard disk sold for ~$20,000 and shipped with a 90 day warranty. Of course, the Chairman of the company once famously said, "There's no reason for an individual to have a computer in their home."