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Comment by taosx | Hacker News Reader

I had a different experience, I bought a S21U overseas. While in UK the screen wouldn't turn on while the phone was on. I went to Samsung KX in London and a day later I had my S21 with a new screen and battery for no cost.

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I think it's worth comparing to Apple here. I bought an iPhone from Amazon in UK and the screen developed a defect. Walked into an Apple Store after 19 months, without AppleCare and they gave me a new phone and migrated all the stuff over for me right there and then.

Not sure if they're that good now but I sure hope they are.

The UK has strong consumer warranty laws (extending to several years), and that rather than Apple's kindness of heart could be the reason. Thank the famous European red tape!

It’s probably a mix. I’ve had lots of stuff incl AirPods fixed for free well beyond warranty multiple times (I think because Apple knew they were prone to a defect causing cracking) and an Apple phone case replaced that others would probably say is “normal wear and tear” but legitimately degraded quicker than it should have etc. Apple online chat is also awesome!

Actually when I got my iPhone 13 Pro they said they said keep the receipt for the case in case it falls to bits so they can replace it free. YMMV.

19 months is less than the 24 month minimum warranty for consumers across the EU (which used to include the UK).

There is no such thing anywhere in the EU, it's a very common misconception. What there is is a 24 month(actually 6 years in some cases) seller's responsibility for the product against manufacturing defects and being "not as described"(which can include lack of described performance too). What the law also says is that within the first 6 months(12 in the EU) any defect is automatically presumed to be a manufacturing fault and the seller has to rectify it free of charge. After that time the seller is also responsible, but you as the buyer have to prove that the defect happened because of a manufacturing problem. If your macbook stops working 23 months after purchase the seller doesn't have to fix it unless you can prove that it's because of a manufacturing problem.

For all practical purposes it works like a warranty though.

I just checked my local amazon clone, and for a mac mini the warranty is listed as 24 months for consumers and 12 months for companies.

There is no official Apple presence in Romania so I can't check their official position.

There’s a difference between a guarantee and warranty. You only have a guarantee for the first 12 months. The next 12, you have a warranty. It’s almost Impossible to prove a warranty.

I’m in Europe in a country where it works like this (not sure about the exact numbers). Last time I exercised my consumer rights was when the bottom glass fell off my Samsung smartwatch. I handed it over to the seller literally one day before the end of the 24 month period. There were some remarks about it being almost too late, but I got it repaired for free. I’ve never had a seller dispute my warranty claim at any point of the two years. I’ve never had to prove anything.

Well, I guess you were lucky - legally the seller didn't have to repair it unless you proved that the glass fell off due to a manufacturing defect - just because they don't have to do it doesn't mean they won't(it's less hassle and I guess you left a happy customer not one that will go and write them a bad review).

Where I am I don't have to care about that, it seems.

In some places it is a minimum you describe and in other cases (a percentage of) the expected life of the product. Washing machines have different lifespans than phone for instance. Here we only have the 12 months of proof by seller/manufacturer and then it is the reasonable lifespan of the product.

Apple has a long history of being generous with repairs, nothing to do with the EU. Friend of mine, here in the US, got an entirely new laptop when his failed just out of warranty. Goodwill repair. And because they didn't have the old laptop available as a refurb, he got the current equivalent -- which was actually a pretty substantial upgrade.

It's hit or miss. My wife had keys failing under the butterfly keyboard replacement program, and the Apple Store tried to charge her to fix it. Apparently the technician who examined it "didn't know" about the warranty extension program.

How do you have a major repair program covering every laptop sold in the last 5 years and the technician doesn't know about it?

I’ve had similar incidents happen with Apple and other premium things, nowhere near Europe. It’s market forces that created an upmarket company with stuff like this as part of its identity. Thank goodness for global capitalism.

Same here. I have Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max with AppleCare+ which I broke during a trip to US (I'm in Canada). They were able to swap it with replacement at the Apple store in LA without any hassle. Too bad the SIM Card was also busted though :(

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