Will S-off void warranty?
- Thread starter MCube74
- Start date
s-off does in fact void your warranty but, I would love to know if turning s back on and re locking the bootloader is possible.
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Absolutely lol...
But at the same time you can relock and remove all evidence of S-Off and unlock with it as well.
The only way to keep the warranty is to gain S-Off WITHOUT having to unlock the bootloader first. Once S-Off is gained you can lock and relock with no issues. I believe the T-Mobile M7 had this option on 1.42 builds. Not sure about the M8 yet
Keep in mind the moment you request an unlock key from HTCDev your warranty is void regardless of if you use the code or not. Now I use Void because it is a generalization used in warranty's and insurance but typically if your speaker blows out or your screen dies and you are unlocked they won't void that part of your warranty seeing that your modifications did not directly impact the failing part.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
But at the same time you can relock and remove all evidence of S-Off and unlock with it as well.
The only way to keep the warranty is to gain S-Off WITHOUT having to unlock the bootloader first. Once S-Off is gained you can lock and relock with no issues. I believe the T-Mobile M7 had this option on 1.42 builds. Not sure about the M8 yet
Keep in mind the moment you request an unlock key from HTCDev your warranty is void regardless of if you use the code or not. Now I use Void because it is a generalization used in warranty's and insurance but typically if your speaker blows out or your screen dies and you are unlocked they won't void that part of your warranty seeing that your modifications did not directly impact the failing part.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
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I've returned the HTC One M7 a good few times for issues while S-off and with a custom ROM on and they were repaired and returned without issue , but I would recommend returning the phone to stock before sending it off if you can.
It'll come down to HTC as to whether something you have done will void your warranty or not when they receive your phone I guess.
It'll come down to HTC as to whether something you have done will void your warranty or not when they receive your phone I guess.
s-off does in fact void your warranty but, I would love to know if turning s back on and re locking the bootloader is possible.
most people will need to unlock thier device via HTC dev prior to s off which will leave a record unique to thier phone which means that waranty will be void so even if all trace of s off and unlocked bootloader is removed, HTC will still be able to cross reference and say no.
Some will be lucky enough to use the method for s off which avoids the need for HTC dev unlock so these people will be able to s off and keep thier warranty providing they retuirn to stock
Some will be lucky enough to use the method for s off which avoids the need for HTC dev unlock so these people will be able to s off and keep thier warranty providing they retuirn to stock
most people will need to unlock thier device via HTC dev prior to s off which will leave a record unique to thier phone which means that waranty will be void so even if all trace of s off and unlocked bootloader is removed, HTC will still be able to cross reference and say no.
Some will be lucky enough to use the method for s off which avoids the need for HTC dev unlock so these people will be able to s off and keep thier warranty providing they retuirn to stock
Not necessarily. Just because you've requested the token, who's to say you've used it? If the phone is 100% stock, locked and S-ON HTC can't prove anything - unless the unlock process itself sends something to HTC to say it's been unlocked, in which case they'll know
At least in the US, making a modification to a device does not immediately void a warranty no matter what the manufacturer says. This is most times encountered by car enthusiasts who might replace a part on their engine. Subsequently the engine has a problem and gets taken to a dealer for warranty repair. The dealer cannot unilaterally void the warranty because of a different part or other modification. They must prove that the part or modification directly contributed to the failure and then only that part of the warranty is void, not the entire car's warranty. Phones and other devices would be no different. For more info google the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnuson–Moss_Warranty_Act
Even with this, it would be rare for someone with a genuine warranty issue to have a problem getting it repaired or replaced regardless of the security status of the device.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnuson–Moss_Warranty_Act
Even with this, it would be rare for someone with a genuine warranty issue to have a problem getting it repaired or replaced regardless of the security status of the device.
I'm not a lawyer, but I think that flashing the phone basically can be used to invalidate the warranty in many circumstances. When we flash a phone, we are changing the basic code that is being used to drive the device. That is a bit different that using an after market part in a car. I know that flashing a diesel pickup cpu chip, for example, voids the warranty on the engine. I can't imagine that a phone (which is basically all about the software code) does not have the same effect.
It is a different question as to if the vendor (TMO in my case, HTC for direct orders), would refuse to pay for warranty repairs. I think they would be more likely to pay for a failed screen or other hardware part, but less likely for a burned out motherboard. HTC has been very understanding in this regard, despite the warning when getting an unlock code.
I have flashed my phones before (not since the Amaze - the M7 and M8 are great stock IMHO), but I did so with the understanding that a warranty claim might be rejected.
S off is not the same as an unlocked bootloader, my Dev Edition was bootloader unlocked out of the box with s on.
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
I was talking to a guy in an electrostore yesterday about rooting phones and warranty.
He said the representative from Samsung Benelux (Belgium etc) said they will still fix phones that are rooted. They all know people do this.
But they will return them to stock when they send it back. Samsung decided this last week.
He didn't know about other company's but he thought they'll do the same.
He said the representative from Samsung Benelux (Belgium etc) said they will still fix phones that are rooted. They all know people do this.
But they will return them to stock when they send it back. Samsung decided this last week.
He didn't know about other company's but he thought they'll do the same.
The HTC Texas repair center refused to repair my M7 with S-Off. Wanted to charge me $180 to fix the purple camera. After arguing and elevating nothing happened, they sent it back, I re-locked/went completely back to stock and tried again. They sent it back no problem.
I think you're on the right track. Auto manufacturers can't void the warranty simply because of a modification, they have to prove that the modification caused the failure. For example, if someone changed the engine tuning to allow a 10,000 RPM redline and destroyed the engine the manufacturer would easily be able to say that the modified software caused the failure. Similarly a phone manufacturer could void the warranty on the cpu/mb/battery/etc... if they can prove that the different software caused the problem. They couldn't void the warranty on the camera, usb port, digitizer, headphone jack, speaker, etc... because you decided to go S-Off, root, and run custom software as the software couldn't have damaged those components. As with all things legal though, it would likely cost less to jump through hoops or just buy a new device than to get them to accept your warranty claim if they choose to be difficult about a claim.
People think that unlocking phone in unauthorized way (S-Off) will be better for warranty rather than using htcdev, how is that?
Impossible, only if You unlock your bootloader then warranty may be void.
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1most people will need to unlock thier device via HTC dev prior to s off which will leave a record unique to thier phone which means that waranty will be void so even if all trace of s off and unlocked bootloader is removed, HTC will still be able to cross reference and say no.
Some will be lucky enough to use the method for s off which avoids the need for HTC dev unlock so these people will be able to s off and keep thier warranty providing they retuirn to stock
Not necessarily. Just because you've requested the token, who's to say you've used it? If the phone is 100% stock, locked and S-ON HTC can't prove anything - unless the unlock process itself sends something to HTC to say it's been unlocked, in which case they'll know
