Will screen replacement void warranty

[seanpbaldwin]

Will screen replacement at local establishment void my warranty? I have insurance however, I'd like to get things done quicker.

 

[Mooncatt]

Keep in mind that my reply only applies to U.S. based warranties. This is a global forum, and other countries have different warranty laws, so research your own laws if you are outside the U.S.

https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/blogs/business-blog/2018/04/ftc-staff-sends-warranty-warnings

The U.S. has good consumer focused warranty laws. The short answer to your question, as laid out in the link, is no. That third party repair would not void the warranty on its own.

That's the law.

Here's the real world explanation.

The warranty does not cover damages caused by third party parts or services. Let's say the shop leaves a connection loose that later finally breaks and shorts out the phone. The factory warranty would not cover that because it was not a factory defect. That would have to be covered by the shop or their insurance company. That means you need to make some considerations from the practical standpoint.

If you have the factory or authorized service center make the repair, you have nothing to worry about with future warranty claims. Even if the repair work was the cause of a future problem, the claim is handled by the same company either way. This gives you the greatest piece of mind.

If you have a third party shop do it, then you need to find out their warranty policies on both parts and labor. You'll also want to know if they use OEM parts or if they are buying whatever is cheapest on Amazon or whatever.

If you have a defect after the repair, and the manufacturer finds out a third party repair was made or inferior parts (the manufacturer can set what parameters a part must meet, but not require a specific brand or part number) were used, they will most likely try to deny the warranty claim outright even if the defect is completely unrelated to the prior repair. It's easy for them to claim the defect was caused by that repair or part, and now you're looking at a fight. So you have to decide if you'd be willing to take them to court or whatever is needed to get the warranty honored. These things can drag out for a long time. While not legally right, it may be better on your pocket book to just bite the bullet and pay for the factory repair or get a new phone in this case.

It also depends on how much longer your factory warranty is in effect. If it isn't much longer anyway, then this isn't as big of a concern. For your insurance, I would double check the fine print for claims made due to failed third party repairs. It's insurance, not a warranty, so not subject to the Mag-Moss act.