Hardware
I use a lot of hardware. From my LG G3 to my Surface Pro 2 and even my ASUS ROG G750. Hell, I even have an Intel NUC as a mediaserver. My peripherals tend to vary a lot as well. I have a Roccat Tyon mouse for my laptop, a Logitech G35 headset for my laptop, an LG G Watch connected to my phone, a Microsoft All-in-One mediakeyboard for my mediaserver/mediacenter and a Microsoft Designer bluetooth-mouse for my surface. In the past I’ve used a lot of different mice. A Razer Copperhead, a Logitech G500, a Microsoft Sidewinder X8 and so much more…
The bad
Since I use my products a lot, things break. Usually I try to get support to see if an issue falls under warranty. What I’ve noticed is that some companies try to avoid replacing things that broke. Logitech, for example, didn’t service me, claiming that I should just return to the shop after I explained why I couldn’t. To be fair, that is within their rights.
The way it should be
Luckily, other companies are a lot better when it comes to service. I’ve had a HDD fail in an ASROCK ION 330 mediaserver after a year. The HDD was replaced without any issues after contacting ASROCK.
Still, Microsoft seems to be king when it comes to warranty claims. My Microsoft Sidewinder X8 had a “puck” which was the wireless receiver. Since this had to be connected by USB, it involved a cable. I noticed that the cable’s plastic wrapping was ripping apart, exposing the wires inside. After registering my product and contacting Microsoft, they sent me a brand new product. I told them that my old one still worked, so I asked where I should send the old one to and they said I could keep it. I didn’t even have to show any proof. You can imagine that I was a really happy customer at that point.
This year, I’ve had a couple of issues with Microsoft products. At the beginning of this year, my Kinect for the Xbox One failed. It required me to unplug and re-plug the Kinect into my Xbox One to work again every day. I contacted Microsoft Support after seeing my warranty expired a week before. This wasn’t a problem and they shipped me a new one. They provided me with a shipping label to return the defective one and all was good.
Last week, when travelling abroad, I noticed that my Surface Pro 2 charger no longer worked. Since I didn’t have a receipt any more and officially the charger no longer have warranty (it comes with 1 year warranty and my tablet is almost 2 years old). Still, I called Microsoft Support since I couldn’t find a way to purchase a new official charger in my country. After explaining that my charger no longer functioned (and the charging light no longer goes on), they sent me a new charger free of charge under warranty! I really didn’t expect my charger to be replaced since it appears to be a cable inside seemed to have broken.
I really think that Microsoft gives great support on their hardware. I have recommended their hardware in the past because of it and I will continue to do so. They seem to get how they should do it and in the process create happy customers that come back for more in the future.
