The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had recently sent warnings related to warranty coverage to companies which manufacture consoles. Now Sony has announced some changes to their warranties for PS4, PS VR, PS Vita, and PS3 consoles in the US and Canada.
One of the changes has to do with using peripherals that are not produced and licensed by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE). Earlier, they had stated that the warranty doesn’t apply if such peripherals are used. Now they have clarified that the warranty doesn’t apply only if damage is caused by the use of such peripherals. The second change is that previously the warranty stated that it wouldn’t apply if “the warranty seal on the product has been altered or removed.” Now, they’ve clarified the warranty will not apply only if there is damage caused by opening the product or if damage is caused because of service performed by anyone other than an SIE representative.
Apart from this, the company also clarified their policy regarding shipping for in-warranty consoles “SIE added language that clarifies and confirms our longstanding practice of providing free return shipping for in-warranty consoles in the U.S. and Canada, and free return shipping for repaired (or factory-recertified) consoles to the customer. SIE long has provided this free, round-trip shipping, but its warranties didn’t specifically say so. Now they do.”
These new terms will effectively replace the old ones, and it’s likely that other console manufacturers such as Microsoft and Nintendo will also soon make changes to their warranties.