Understanding The Gophermods Warranty – What are Manufacturing Defects?

Introduction

We see a ton of devices come through our stores on a yearly basis, of course, not every repair is going to go perfectly smoothly. If that was the case, why offer warranties, why have an entire “service” industry.

Device repair is complicated, not everything is definitive, but we hope that this article can help you understand why our warranty process is the way that it is.

The hope for this article is that it will not only serve to better inform our customers about the warranty process, but also to serve as an in-house tool for our technicians to better resolve your issues.

Remember that, much like device repair in general, what we do can be complicated. Multiple issues can cause the same symptoms and, much like a doctor diagnosing a patient, the problem is not always resolved in the first go around.

So, this is not an exhaustive list of absolutely everything that would be covered under our warranty, but rather a set of guidelines to help our customers and employees navigate the warranty process.

What is covered for repairs?

We have a one year warranty on all of the parts that we use to repair your devices. If any of these were to have a manufacturer defect, we will replace it for free.

What is covered for Certified Pre-Owned device purchases?

Our warranty for Certified Pre-Owned Devices (updated August 2022) is similar, but it covers the whole device. Many of the devices we refurbish to resell are 100% all original parts, have not been repaired. Please read our blog post about our new update about our warranties for device we sell.

What is a defect?

A manufacturer defect is a fault in a part that was not intended by the manufacturer. This could also include units that do not fit within the intended design specifications set by the manufacturer.

Symptoms to look for that can imply a defect

We see a ton of devices come into our stores, and while this is not an exhaustive list, here are some of the symptoms to look out for that may mean you have a defective part.

Note, this is only applicable after you have gotten your device serviced, if you’re experiencing any of these issues with original parts, bring your device into one of our many Gophermods locations to have it inspected.

Additionally, you must bring the device in or let us know that you are experiencing an issue with your repair in a reasonable timeframe.

Physical damage is NOT covered

Our warranty does not cover physical damage, period.

With that said, we don’t want to see our customers upset and we understand that accidents happen. It’s always disappointing to see someone return to the store a week later only to have their screen broken again.

In the event that this happens to you, because things happen, please bring your device back into the store for inspection.

We cannot make warranty promises without first inspecting it in store. This means we will not approve warranty claims via email or over the phone.

With that said, mistakes happen and we want to do our best to resolve your issue in a timely manner. This is why our staff is trained to never make a promise over the phone or email, lest we not be able to follow through with it.

Why do we not offer warranty validation over the phone?

Simple, we need to see what’s going on!

Because device repair isn’t always as straightforward as we would like, there are so many different variables that could be causing the issue(s) that you are experiencing with your device.

For example, say you got a screen replaced on an iPhone 11 and then your device won’t display anything when you try to turn it on after a few days.

Then say, an employee of ours tells you over the phone that, “oh, of course that’s covered under our warranty! Come on in and we will change it out for free.”

In the store, our technician then goes to look at the device, it turns out that there is new major water damage, not an issue with the screen replacement. Or it simply requires a quick restart, and we deny your warranty over the phone over a simple 5 second fix.

Our hope is to limit promising anything we might not be able to follow through on, stopping you from any potential disappointment.

A little brag…

After being in business for 13 years, we have amassed over 2000 reviews and have a 4.8 / 5 rating overall. If we really stunk, if we were a scam, if we were difficult to work with, you’d think you’ve heard by now right?

We promise you, we will work with you in order to get your device back into working shape, potentially at a lower rate, depending on part cost or situation, just like we have done with innumerable customers before.

But WHY are physical damages not covered?

Our warranty rules are essentially completely dependent on those set by the manufacturers. These rules are pretty standard across the industry, and heck, almost every industry, with the major one being that any sort of physical damage is grounds to refuse to warranty the part.

We would love to offer better support for our customers that experience physical damage quickly after a repair, but sadly, we cannot.

How to get physical damage covered – GopherCare 🙂

We have a solution for you though!

If you are someone who is concerned about breaking your device again, you can invest into our GopherCare protection plan.

GopherCare covers physical damage to your iOS devices.