Warranty Services

Frequently Asked Question for New Warranty Policy for WD Authorized Distributors

• Q: Why is WD extending its warranty periods?
  A: WD places a tremendous amount of emphasis on product quality. All of WD's products are rigorously tested to ensure that product quality is best in the industry. The new warranty policy is not only better aligned with our product quality, it is also better aligned with industry standards.

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• Q: To which products do the new warranty periods apply?
  A: The new warranty periods will apply to bulk desktop hard drives shipped to our authorized distributors. WD Scorpio®, WD Caviar®, WD Caviar SE and WD Caviar SE16, will be supported with a 3-year warranty. All enterprise products, including WD Caviar RE and WD Raptor®, will be supported with a 5-year warranty. There is no policy change to WD's retail packaged products. Please check your most current price list to see details on product family descriptions.

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• Q: What is the effective date of the new warranty policy?
  A: The new warranty periods will apply to WD products sold by authorized distributors on or after July 18th, 2005.

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• Q: What warranty period will apply to WD hard drives that I currently have in inventory?
  A: WD will automatically update the warranty periods for all hard drives that have a manufacturing date of June 1, 2005 or later.

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• Q: How much credit will be applied to returned products?
  A: The following credit schedule will be used:
  
  • 1st Year = 100%
  • 2nd Year = 75%
  • 3rd Year = 50%
  • 4th Year = 25%
  • 5th Year = 10%

  This new credit schedule will apply to all product returns on or after July 18th, 2005. The percentage from the credit schedule will be multiplied by the current market value for the in-warranty product in order to determine the credit amount.

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• Q: How will WD validate the ownership term for a defective drive (i.e. which credit tier in the above schedule will apply to a returned hard drive)?
  A: The ownership term will be determined as the time that has elapsed between the original ship date and the date of the RMA issuance.

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• Q: Will I be credited for warranty extensions that I purchased?
  A: Yes, but only for those drives that are in inventory as of July 18th, 2005. To get this credit, distributors will need to submit to WD all serial numbers, package or pallet IDs for any extended warranty hard drives that are in inventory as of July 18th, 2005. WD will verify these serial numbers and IDs and issue credit accordingly.