Generally we only remember the guarantee of the products when they are damaged and we have to use it, and many times we find ourselves in serious problems to be able to manage an RMA even if the product is within the guarantee period because we do not comply with some of the conditions. In order to clarify the policy of the main motherboard manufacturers in this regard, below we are going to synthesize a summary so that you can have it clearer and thus be able to buy your next motherboard knowing how the manufacturer is going to act on it. case you find problems.
The Asus motherboard warranty
Asus does not specify the guarantee of its motherboards on its website, so we must understand that it adheres to what the law says: its products have a 2-year guarantee unless otherwise provided, the first year must be managed by the store where the product was purchased and the second year must be managed directly by the manufacturer.
In the same way, Asus does say in a general way that a bad manipulation of the product will void its warranty, and therefore we have to understand that if, for example, you bend the socket pins when trying to place the CPU, the warranty will not cover it, as just as it will not cover problems you have due to overclocking or poor physical manipulation when mounting the motherboard on the PC.
The great advantage of the Asus RMA service and that places it as one of the most interesting is its ARS (Advance Replacement RMA Service) program, which implies that when you manage and accept an RMA, they first send you the new product in advance and, Once received, you must send the defective one, so that you will never be “thrown” without your device.
ASRock motherboard warranty, the worst ever
The warranty policy for motherboards from the manufacturer ASRock does not differ much from that of Asus, with the exception that they do indicate that the warranty is 2 years unless they say otherwise, the first year being responsible the store where the device was purchased. product and the second year directly from the manufacturer. They also indicate that all the costs of sending products for repair will be borne by the user, that is, if you want to send an ASRock product for repair, you will have to pay the cost of round-trip shipping on your own.
Interestingly, this manufacturer also specifies that if you want to return a product because it is not compatible with your hardware, you will be charged 15% of the invoice price of the same, that is, you will not get all your money back but only 85% to what You will have to subtract the price of the shipping, this as long as you decide to manage it directly with them (in Spain there is a right of withdrawal, whereby when buying a product online you have the right to 15 calendar days to return it without giving explanations, although yes , paying you the shipping cost).
Beware of MSI boards
According to the MSI website, if you want to know the exact details of the guarantee of your products, you should contact MSI Spain directly. On their website they indicate that the warranty period for their motherboards and other hardware products is 12 months, something that does not apply in Spain because the law requires them to give all their products a 2-year warranty and, therefore Therefore, we understand that they adhere to the law as in the previous cases: the first year you would manage the guarantee with the store where you bought the plate, and the following year you will have to fight with the manufacturer to enforce your right.
What MSI does indicate on its website are the exclusions of the guarantee, that is, the situations in which it is voided:
- Product damage caused by catastrophes, thunder strikes, electrical power (watch out for this), and environmental factors.
- Defacement of product labeling (i.e. removing or damaging the label voids your warranty).
- Unauthorized changes to non-MSI parts, modifications and alterations (this means that you cannot change any component of the product or you will void the warranty, although we understand that as this is prescribed in the general policy it will refer rather to pre-assembled laptops and PCs).
- Damage caused by user error.
- Internal or external consumable items, such as battery, headphones, etc.
- Accessories and packaging are not covered by the warranty.
Gigabyte / AORUS and its policy
Gigabyte and AORUS are the only manufacturers that express their warranty policy clearly, and they are also the best warranty among the 4 major manufacturers with a 3-year limited local warranty. This means that the first year, as the law indicates, you could manage the warranty with the store where you bought the motherboard and the next 2 years you will have to manage it with the manufacturer.
There is not much more to say in this regard, since the requirements are the same as in any warranty management: present a valid purchase invoice and obviously that the plate has not been damaged by mishandling of the product. Gigabyte / AORUS also specify the cases in which the warranty will be voided:
- Failure caused by mishandling or even lack of cleaning and maintenance of the product.
- Damaged, altered, erased or removed label on the product.
- Damage caused by accidents or extreme environmental factors.
- Damage caused by not using the provided power adapter (this is more for laptops and monitors, of course).
- BIOS updates are not covered under warranty, beware of this.
EVGA, NZXT, Biostar and others
Although Asus, ASRock, MSI and Gigabyte / AORUS are the main manufacturers of motherboards by market volume, there are many other manufacturers that also sell motherboards such as NZXT, EVGA or Biostar, so we also have to define what they say about the warranty of their products.
As for NZXT, the warranty policy section exists on their website but it is empty and they only lead you to open a ticket with technical support or request an RMA, but they do not specify their conditions so we have to understand that they adhere to the law: 2 years warranty, the first with the store and the second with them.
EVGA, for its part, specifies a three-year warranty on motherboards with the suffix -K1, -K2, -K3, -KB, -KF, and -KR in the product name, while the rest have the usual 2 years, with The particularity that EVGA allows the transfer of the guarantee of its products to other users if there is a second-hand sale, and this is clearly specified on their website. In addition, they have the warranty extension program through which by registering on their website and registering the product you will get an additional year of warranty. Otherwise, the warranty policy is the same as the others.
Biostar and other manufacturers with more marginal market share in the market do not specify a warranty policy either, so we understand that as we have seen several times before in this article, they adhere to the 2 years that the law establishes as a minimum.
