PS3 Warranty Voided by Surge Protector!

Link.

For those who want the short version, here's the news:

Some kid's PS3 lost the ability to power on, so he called Sony who grilled him on his setup. When asked about any recent power surges, the kid said it wouldn't have mattered as he uses a high quality surge protector, to which the Sony rep responded they would repair the console... for $150!

Apparently, the PS3 is "only allowed to be plugged into the wall directly."

Now, I don't know about you guys, but most people I know use surge protectors for damn near everything. This is a weird requirement for a manufacturer's warranty to be honored. Luckily, PS3 failures are pretty rare.

I won't stop using a surge protector, that's all I know.

Yeah, its cuz under the warranty, you are not supposed to use any devices that would direct effect the equipment. I do agree... surge proctector = stupid.

Lesson = never tell the companies you've used anything except their brands or whatever else they want to hear... even if you did use something you weren't supposed to.

Well, like it's been said. Any company, doesn't matter if specific equipment does in fact effect the sold product, will not want it to be apart of a failure of their product. Thus they can account you for your warranty, blaming it on the freak occurance of another product's involvement in your failure issue.

Don't tell them anything. If they ask something specific like "Did you have it running through a surge protector?" say no, even if you think it was wise to say yes as to protecting the system. There is never a required mention of using a surge protector, therefore don't let it be known. It's just common sense when speaking to companies when dealing with liabilities and or warranty information. You used the product, it failed. End of conversation. It's like telling Microsoft that you wrapped your 360 in tin foil.

Of course it is. I've said way too much to customer service on many products and ended up losing out on warranties and or repair opportunities. It's hard to not say anything when they are an authority and or seem appealing enough to speak to truthfully.

of course i plug it directly into the wall!! (...plugs ps3, stereo receiver, tv, dvd/vhs player, ps2 into surge protecter)dholmes19

Lol I think you caught on quite nicely.

I should state that the linked article is by no means an official publication of any kind, so take the story with a grain of salt.

Sven, your reasoning seems sound, but I've not heard of the motor oil case. I'll ask a law school friend of mine the next time I get a chance.

Mariokart, as far as playing during thunderstorms, can an outage hurt the console when it's on standby or only when powered on?

See, this right here is the difference between MS and Sony. You got a problem MS fixes it, no questions. If you get a problem with a sony device they go out of their way to find something that is totally irrelevant to void your warranty.suade907

You've GOT to be kidding me? Take about 30 seconds to go through the stickied 'BROKEN XBOX360' thread on the 360 boards, then come talk to me.

Mariokart, as far as playing during thunderstorms, can an outage hurt the console when it's on standby or only when powered on?2headedhawaiian

The surge protector has insurance on it, that's all I know.lhbchen

Yea, and try to get them to honor that.

Simply put, as long as they dont already have his information, he should call again as a 'Different person'

You guys know something i dont! why is it obvious that you wouldn't use a surge protector? arent they good?

How could they possibly be responsible?

Sorry i just havent heard of them being bad YET

LAME

of the kid to even say that LOL

LAME

of the kid to even say that LOL

dstryr13

How so? Seems like some people on this board think a surge protector is bad and should naturally void the warantee.
Well i don't think Sony stated in the manual or box that "using a surge protector will VOID your warantee"... So that kid should raise hell, 316 st.yle

Personally i have my PC on a surge protector, and my PS3+TV on another wall socket but not protected... but once the warantee expires i will definitely put it on, as a surge once blew up my PS1 + controller back in the day! Well, not blew up, but the controller in my hand got fried and smoke came out of it.

Those of you saying "lolz how stoopid of this gyu to say he hsa a surge protektir", get a brain please.
However thanks to the TC for opening my eyes to yet another thing you must be careful about when dealing with sony crap support :rolleyes:

Wow I didn't know this. Sounds like a way to save on repair costs.

Does MS do this?

Well i don't have to worry as every plug socket here has Three Pins Live, Neutral and Earth. were has you Americans only have two pins Live and Neutral.

Wow I didn't know this. Sounds like a way to save on repair costs.

Does MS do this?

PrimordialMeme

no they dont at least not when i had a problem with my 360 i dunno what happen to it all i know is it wasn't the 3 red lights, and i got a brand new 360 + 1 months free xbox live.

I use a surge protector myself, by the way. I think I can see how it could cause a problem, as with any electronic device. Yet I won't stop using it, especially since I have my 360 and my Wii to jack into. Though I separate my surges. Those are the only three devices I have allowed on it. Xire_XII

I too use a surge protector for my PS3,you say you see how it could cause a problem?-what are your thoughts?-only my PS3 is forever signing me out of PSN-could that be a link with the surge protector?

Sony Denies Surge Protector Voided Ps3 Warranty!!!!

http://blog.wired.com/games/2007/10/sony-denies-sur.html

Well i don't have to worry as every plug socket here has Three Pins Live, Neutral and Earth. were has you Americans only have two pins Live and Neutral.

sgallag_play

No, our PS3 cords here are 3 prong. Live, neutral and ground. This alone will not save you from a voltage surge or even a lighting strike.

well they need to start makig the cords longer then.all my cords wont reach two outlets. my surge protector has 8 sockets. thats the main reason i use it lol

I highly recommed using surge protectors. In June while I was at work a pretty serious lightning storm passed through here (Pensacola, FL) and apparently my place ended up taking a direct hit via both electrical and cable lines. With the exception of my bedroom tv, which took damage (the color is off on the bottom quarter of the screen), all my electronics arehooked upto surge protectors. However, I did not have my cable lines running through the surge protector so anything connected to the cable received damage. The resulting damage cost me a modem, router, Cable/DVR box (plus all my saved recordings), a HDMI port on my TV and the HDMI port on my PS3. I called up Sony and told them the situation, including my use of a surge protector, and they had no problems repairing/replacing my unit free of charge. Got my box in two days, sent it out that dayand a PS3 arrived two days later. I now run everything, including my cable, through surge protectors.

Sometimes people that work for big companies can be stupid and not really know the rules.

When I tried to get a free checking account at wamu once this lady was really pressing me to get the savings account in combination with the checking. When i explained that I knew alot of people that had a free checking checking account only she said "NO YOU HAVE TO GET BOTH TOGETHER! YOU WANT ME TO GET MY MANAGER?! HE'LL SAY THE EXACT SAME THING!". So i declined, left and went to another wamu. The guy there also asked me if i wanted the savings combo but when i asked for only the checking account he said "Sure we can do that.". Then I told him about the girl at the other wamu and he said something along the lines of "I don't know why she said that. We ask but dont force it on people".

So maybe it was that kinda situation or maybe the kid was just a liar.