third-party warranties

(Mike Matney Photography)

What Good Is An Extended Warranty Plan That Can’t Fix My Phone?

The idea behind paying extra for a warranty plan for your mobile phone that covers accidental damage is that when you accidentally damage your phone, you won’t have to pay out of pocket for a new one or spend weeks or months without a phone. Yet things didn’t work out that way for Nick, because his warranty provider couldn’t get parts to fix a cracked screen, and wasn’t able to successfully repair the phone even when they did. [More]

SquareTrade Learns 'Defective' iPhone Is Really Damaged, Replaces It For Free Anyway

Dan decided to buy a SquareTrade warranty for his iPhone because, unlike AppleCare, SquareTrade also covers damage to the phone at a good price. This warranty turned out to be a wise investment, since he dropped the phone and cracked the screen. When the replacement phone stopped working, he called them up for another replacement before noticing that the glass was cracked. No more free replacement. How sad. [More]