The average person spends roughly 3 hours and 15 minutes a day on their phone. That amount of usage can cause a smartphone to deteriorate fast. When you are spending anywhere from $800 to $2,000, you want your phone to last as long as possible.
Phone warranties help you to accomplish that. However, sometimes they come with their own price tag. When you are already spending a lot on the phone, it can be hard to decide if a warranty is worth it.
If you’re interested in learning more about phone warranties and what their benefits are, continue reading.
What Is a Phone Warranty?
Nowadays, most of the companies that make phones provide a one-year warranty when you purchase a phone at no extra cost. The only issues that these warranties typically cover, though, are manufacturing defects and hardware failures.
Manufacturing defects are pretty rare, and hardware problems don’t usually start to occur until after one year of using the phone. Furthermore, cracked phone screens, water damage, and misplaced phones are not part of the warranty plan. These issues fall under the category of “accidental damage” and are common mishaps.
For these reasons, many phone companies, including Apple, Google, and Samsung, have created longer-term insurance plans that cover a wider-array of phone problems. They offer more services as well, but this all comes at a cost.
AppleCare+ is a two-year plan that costs anywhere from $99 to $129, depending on which iPhone you have. It covers accidental damages and offers express replacement care services. When you need to talk with an Apple Expert, you’ll have priority access and will be able to contact one at any time of the day, every day of the week.
Apple has also offered an advanced package that includes theft and loss. This offer has all the perks that come with AppleCare+ too.
Samsung and Google have insurance plans that are similar to this, and they have similar price points. The great news about Samsung phones is that they have been making water-resistant phones since 2016. So if you have a limited warranty, you won’t have to worry about water damage being an issue.
Phone care providers, like Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T, also offer protection plans. Before going ahead and purchasing an insurance plan, you should weigh your options to see which one is best for you.
Hardware Malfunctions Phone Warranties Can Fix
Say you aren’t interested in paying the extra money for a phone insurance plan and want to stick to the limited warranty, that is entirely understandable. You should know what hardware malfunctions your warranty covers, though.
Below are the issues that most plans will fix. However, you should also check with your provider to see if they do cover all of them.
Batteries and Charging
One of the first signs of a malfunctioning phone is its short battery life. When your phone’s battery life starts to dwindle as soon as you take it off the charger, it is probably time to have it looked at. iPhone users can check their battery’s maximum capacity to see if how worn it is or if it is not holding its charge due to a hardware problem.
While on the subject of low battery life, phone warranties also cover broken charging ports. If your phone is no longer charging, this could be because the pins in your port are broken or bent. Make sure that you prevent debris and residue from settling in your charging port, as most warranties will not fix it if this is the cause.
Broken Pieces
Sometimes a quick dusting off of the camera lens doesn’t cut it. When your photos don’t seem to be coming out as sharp as they once were and your camera lens looks foggy, you might need a lens replacement, which you can get from the phone’s manufacturer or a third-party company.
Phone manufacturers are considered the more reliable option but are likely going to charge you more for the lens. If you choose to use a third-party company, check their reviews and media coverage to make sure they offer high-quality phone parts.
Your warranty should cover broken buttons and touchscreen if they aren’t working due to accidental damage. iPhone users can turn on AssistiveTouch and Samsung Users can use the AssistiveMenu to access the button controls from the touchscreen.
Furthermore, there are steps you can take to try and fix the touch screen on your own, like resetting your phone. You should take your phone in for repair, though, if these actions did not help or if you do not prefer to use the AssistiveTouch on your phone.
Lack of Connection
Internet connection issues could be coming from your network, your router, or your provider. Otherwise, your WiFi/Bluetooth IC Chip may need to be repaired.
This is a process that would be a challenging task to complete on your own, as you’ll need to take your iPhone apart to do so. If you are under warranty, you can take this to your manufacturer. If not, you can always take this to a third-party repairer as well.
Who Should You Call to Fix Your Phone?
Because phone warranties only last a year and do not cover accidental damage, it is always good to have a backup option for when they run out. Get your phone repaired at Fruit Fixed. They’ll get your iPhone or Android back up and running in no time.
Plus, if you are having problems with any of your other Apple devices, they’ll help you out. Fruit Fixed is dedicated to repairing your technical issues quickly and at a reasonable cost.
