Verizon Begins Charging Full Price of Warranty Phones if Rooted?

[barski]

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Verizon Begins Charging Full Price of Warranty Phones if Rooted?

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What exactly should happen if you were to root your phone, play around with ROMs/hacks/etc., somehow manage to break it, and then send it in to Verizon for a warranty replacement? Should you be allowed to get a replacement or not? According to reports, you can get a replacement, but the rooting of your phone voids any warranty you had and gives Verizon permission to charge you for a new one if they determine that your broken phone was tampered with.


Our buddy @P3droid has apparently heard from a couple of friends who have run into the scenario that we described above and then been slapped with a pretty hefty and unannounced bill. Fair or unfair?


I’ll just say this – we’ve known that rooting your device voids your warranty since well back in the original DROID days, so it makes sense that Verizon would do this. As unpopular as this may sound, I can’t fault Big Red for going this route. If you decide to take your phone out of its original factory status, tinker with its guts, and break something, it shouldn’t be their responsibility to take care of you.


With that said though, a broken volume rocker, faulty screen, etc. has nothing do with rooting, so I’d hate to see someone get charged for something that they didn’t cause even if they decided to root. It’s an interesting topic, and one that I would love to hear all your opinions on.


So…sound off!


Source: Droid-Life

 

[lfylove]

Good ole sbf flash and back to stock. Nobody's any wiser

Sent from my Droid using DroidForums

 

[meaker]

If you SBF back to stock and do a reset, Can they still tell?

 

[Art Vandelay]

You deserve to pay full price if you don't revert back to stock before handing ur phone in for a warranty.

Verizon refurbishes these, so if you have a broken rocker button on ur phone you are screwing them by not changing it back. Although I'm sure they wipe and factory reset all returns prior to issuing them as refurbs.
Sent from OG Droid sporting SS5.4 w/HoneyGingerComb and Chevy's lv1.0ghz kernal

 

[FrellingFrakker]

I would have to side with Verizon on this one. If I wrote a software program for someone then they changed the code and it didn't work anymore that sure wouldn't be covered under base support.

 

[Brennan_Huber]

I completely understand why they are doing this and I fully support it.

FreeMyMoto!!!

 

[barski]

If it's a hardware related problem, that WASN'T cause by software, damage, or water, then you should get the manufactures warranty regardless of being rooted or not.

If the hardware problem IS caused by software that needs root access, damage, or water then you should be stuck paying the full price.


That's my view on it.

 

[Oxymoron]

I've had a hardware issue with my D1 for about 6 months or so (blown earpiece speaker). I haven't taken it back because...

1) I voided my warranty on day 2 of ownership by rooting
2) I simply don't want to part with it, and I don't want what they would give as a replacement. It must drink Dos Equis because... it is, the most interesting phone in the world.

I support their efforts to thwart those who voluntarily brick their phones, because they didn't read up first before attempting mods... then return them without SBF'ing. You deserve to pay full retail.... and a Darwin Award.
*customized tapatalk signature*

 

[czerdrill]

If it's a hardware related problem, that WASN'T cause by software, damage, or water, then you should get the manufactures warranty regardless of being rooted or not.

If the hardware problem IS caused by software that needs root access, damage, or water then you should be stuck paying the full price.


That's my view on it.

Yeah but they're not going to bother to investigate that deeply. If they see it's rooted they'll assume (and I have no problem with that) that that's the reason and will charge you. Trying to troubleshoot every return they get extensively would be a complete waste of time and money for them.

 

[pc747]

is it fair for vzw to charge full price for rooted phones sent in for warranty

This conversation was started by P3droid on MDW and I also notice it going on at DL

Verizon Begins Charging Full Price of Warranty Phones if Rooted?


On 06.16.11, In News, Root (unlock), by Kellex

Share35​

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What exactly should happen if you were to root your phone, play around with ROMs/hacks/etc., somehow manage to break it, and then send it in to Verizon for a warranty replacement? Should you be allowed to get a replacement or not? According to reports, you can get a replacement, but the rooting of your phone voids any warranty you had and gives Verizon permission to charge you for a new one if they determine that your broken phone was tampered with.
Our buddy @P3droid has apparently heard from a couple of friends who have run into the scenario that we described above and then been slapped with a pretty hefty and unannounced bill. Fair or unfair?
I’ll just say this – we’ve known that rooting your device voids your warranty since well back in the original DROID days, so it makes sense that Verizon would do this. As unpopular as this may sound, I can’t fault Big Red for going this route. If you decide to take your phone out of its original factory status, tinker with its guts, and break something, it shouldn’t be their responsibility to take care of you.
With that said though, a broken volume rocker, faulty screen, etc. has nothing do with rooting, so I’d hate to see someone get charged for something that they didn’t cause even if they decided to root. It’s an interesting topic, and one that I would love to hear all your opinions on.
So…sound off!
Via: MyDroidWorld

My personal opinion is whether I throw my phone in a pool or bricked my phone its still a messed up device so I should be able to use my INSURANCE. Now if I bricked my phone the whether or not the glue was not mixed right and parts fell off my phone I voided my warranty and thats that.

I want to hear from you guys....please keep it civil. I want to have a nice respectful conversation. Its ok to disagree but if this get out of hand I or another mod will close this thread.

 

[czerdrill]

I think it's fair for one reason: you agree that your warranty is voided when you modify your phone. Now I know contracts hold no weight on this forum, but if you agree to something your bound by it. It's a common thing here to try to justify breaking your contract here, but obviously the justifications mean nothing...

 

[Droid noob]

That's a gray area. Wether or not the reasons for return are from rooting is a moot point. If it's returned rooted, then the factory software may not be guaranteed for the next user. Im sure is one more possible hassle they don't want to deal with, and frankly shouldn't have to..... from their POV. Im not saying is not easy for them to fix. Just saying they probably don't care to.

Sent 2 u via Incredible 2

 

[pc747]

Well if you brick your phone you in theory will be out of luck. Asurion covers damage but they dont cover device malfunctions because that is what the warranty is for. But if you voided your warranty rooting your phone then you stuck because your phone malfunctioned and hence being in that area that is neither covered by warranty or insurance. So what have we learned, that if you mod your phone you better know what you doing and have the ability to return it to stock because if not then get ready to pay full price for it.
And before any of you come on here and say "thats why you say you lost it or it was stolen" we do not advocate insurance fraud so dont post that comment because it will get deleted. So is rooting your phone worth the risks.

 

[hookbill]

If you brick your phone by rooting, insurance does not have to cover it.

Let me give you an example. Suppose you take your fist in anger and pound the hood of your car. Let's say the damage is 1000.00. Your insurance company would not pay for that.

Essentially when you brick your phone it's because of something you did. So IMHO it's on you.

 

[czerdrill]

Well if you brick your phone you in theory will be out of luck. Asurion covers damage but they dont cover device malfunctions because that is what the warranty is for. But if you voided your warranty rooting your phone then you stuck because your phone malfunctioned and hence being in that area that is neither covered by warranty or insurance. So what have we learned, that if you mod your phone you better know what you doing and have the ability to return it to stock because if not then get ready to pay full price for it.
And before any of you come on here and say "thats why you say you lost it or it was stolen" we do not advocate insurance fraud so dont post that comment because it will get deleted. So is rooting your phone worth the risks.

To be honest I don't think there is much risk in rooting your phone. I'm sure the majority of insurance fraud claims are because someone physically broke their phone or got water damage. That being said there are also those that "brick" and panic and return their phones. The risk is there and insurance fraud is rampant. Just a fact of mobile life unfortunately. A couple of entitled fools ruin it for the bunch.