Warranty policy of gigabyte

[quicky008]

hello,can anyone please shed some light on the warranty policy of Gigabyte(especially for mobos)?From what i have heard,gigabyte provides warranty based on the serial number of the product-and the validity of the warranty period is the 3 years from the date of manufacture of the product,NOT the date of purchase.Is it really so?

So if i buy something from some online retailer(where i have no way to check its date of manufacture)and they sell me a product that was manufactured 2-3 years earlier then does that mean its warranty has either already expired or is on the verge of expiration?

I am concerned about this as i want to buy a h61 mobo from itwares but as its a somewhat older model,i am not sure how long ago it was manufactured and whether its warranty is still valid for 3 years or not.How can i make sure that i dont get an out of warranty product?I'd greatly appreciate if someone could help me out with this.

 

[whitestar_999]

Contact Ingram Micro,official gigabyte India distributor,in Kolkata.
Where To Buy | GIGABYTE

Why do you want to buy it from itwares when mdcomputers & vedant are situated in Kolkata itself?They most likely get gigabyte products directly from Ingram Micro & they should have some policy regarding clearing of old stock so as to avoid warranty issues later.

 

[quicky008]

actually the model that i intend to buy is only available on itwares,not mdcomputers or vedant.I had already checked at their stores earlier.

 

[whitestar_999]

If it is that much old model then it is better to get clarification directly from distributor.If it is not even available at distributor then most likely the manufacturing date of that model would be quite old.

 

[quicky008]

The model in question is gigabyte h61 s2ph-i was looking for it as it has 2 pci slots and therefore its expansion options are pretty decent(most low end h61 mobos available nowadays dont feature any standard pci slots),i dont know how old this particular model is actually but it appears to be in stock only at itwares.

I wanted to contact ingram micro but couldn't find any contact info of any of their eastern region branches at their official website.however i have managed to find the ph no of their kolkata office on justdial-should i just call them up tomorrow and enquire about this matter?

 

[whitestar_999]

On the above gigabyte site link I posted earlier,there is a kolkata std code landline phone no & yes you need to call them for clarification.

 

[quicky008]

I have found some similar h61 motherboards from GB and asus at a local store-however none of them have support for usb 3.0 unfortunately.But i am thinking of buying from there as there's an inherent risk of facing issues with warranty when something is bought online.

 

[Zangetsu]

AFAIK it will be from the date of purchase

 

[quicky008]

are u sure?acc. to this page on gb's website duration of warranty will be 3 years based on the serial no of the product:
Warranty | GIGABYTE
what does that mean?does it imply warranty will commence from the date of purchase or manufacture?

 

[The Sorcerer]

It is always from the date of invoice- not from the date of manufacturing. When I say invoice, I mean the invoice the dealer gives you as a buyer and not the invoice or challan distributors give to dealers for reselling. There's no harm in doing some legwork and finding a store that sells this model.

 

[patkim]

It is always from the date of invoice

That's how it should be in the interest of the buyer, but the official statement at GIGABYTE Technology Revamps India Warranty Terms | GIGABYTE is indicative of 3 years from date of manufacture ??


Extract from this official page---

Return Material Authorization(RMA) Policy

If any GIGABYTE motherboard fails to work within 3 years from the date of manufacture, the company will offer repair / replacement service if there is no physical damage. If the product submitted is found to have no faults, it will be returned without any service charge.

I have also written to sales@gigabyte.in for clarification! Let me see if they reply anything conclusive.

 

[The Sorcerer]

That's a 2013 quote. Gigabyte said a lot of things but the reality is everybody needs an invoice to see the validity. First, they check with the serial number which cannot show the time of sale. It could also mean that if it crosses three years from the date of manufacturing but within three years of invoice, they may offer an alternative like a credit note. But yeah they should be clear on it.

 

[patkim]

Today I visited IT Expo 2017 exhibition in Pune organized by CMDA cmdapune.org. There were several IT hardware/software product companies and dealers in IT components showcasing their business there. There was a Gigabyte India stall showcasing their gaming series motherboards. I asked this warranty question to the representative and he gave me somewhat ambiguous response.

First he said Gigabyte mobos carry warranty for 3 years from date of invoice. When I talked about serial number and date of manufacture, he made a conflicting statement. He said that if you have purchased a brand new but one that has crossed or reached 3 years from date of manufacture then thereafter Gigabyte will have issues in offering repairs/replacement as the product line is likely to be phased out and replacement won't be available! He did not comment anything about any alternatives if any though in such a case.

Apparently sales@gigabyte has not at all responded to my mails despite several reminders. It's anyways prudent on part of consumer to always select a recent brand new IT product in such a scenario. Apparently I have observed that many IT products being sold online at great discounts are most likely the ones that remained on the shelf for too long.

 

[quicky008]

It seems like a deceptive tactic being employed by gigabyte to avoid providing RMA to consumers who may have unluckily bought something that was manufactured at an earlier date-i think this should be considered illegal too because an unsuspecting buyer has no way to know that the brand new product that he's just purchased is not eligible for warranty claims simply because its from an older stock.

If this is indeed their policy that they should provide a written statement of it on a conspicuous location somewhere on the box or the packaging of the product itself so that the average customer can be cognizant of all the risks that he's likely to face if he's buying something that was manufactured nearly 3 years earlier,before he actually makes the purchase-that way,he can avoid running into potentially frustrating issues with warranty and RMA later on.

However,given that such a step has not yet been taken by Gigabyte(and they most likely never will),the customer will very effectively be given the shaft if he ends up buying something that was manufactured 3 years ago.I think this is indeed a very serious matter that needs to be addressed immediately-a lot of components that are sold at retail outlets all over india were manufactured 2-3 years ago(which is especially true of motherboards).Just because Gigabyte is a very popular brand,it doesn't entitle them to take their customers for a ride with their confusing and deceptive RMA policies.

The fact that sales@gigabyte didn't bother to respond to patkim's queries is also another clear and disconcerting indication of the fact that they don't really care about their customers-this should be considered a warning sign for anyone who intends to buy any gigabyte product now or in future.I'd personally suggest others to avoid this brand completely as far as possible from now on.

 

[patkim]

@quicky008 Did you manage to talk to any of the customer care numbers of Gigabyte in your region? I am also curious to know what would they respond.

 

[quicky008]

not yet,but i will do so as soon as i get an opportunity

 

[topgear]

meanwhile I will also try after reading this as I've bought a gigabyte motherboard recently ( bought it as ther were no other alternatives ) but unless they answer the question will try to avoid this brand.

Another thought - all this is happening because we don't have any strict government law for protecting consumers interest in tech field - the existing law need should be updated.

 

[quicky008]

was the mobo a newer model or an older one?Was the mobo's date of manufacture mentioned on the box?

 

[topgear]

Sept 2016 - Rev. No. 1.