Google Pixel 4a Warranty Claim

cheaplee on 21/02/2021 - 16:50
Last edited 21/02/2021 - 19:32

Ok so my wife's Pixel 4a screen died. Now it may be related to the fact that she dropped it and it has a graze and small dent on the bottom. That however was about 3-4 months ago and it has been working fine until last week. Then the screen stopped responding and now is completely black. It is still on, but the screen does not work at all.

I have been talking to google and sent them a photo of the damage on the bottom of the phone. There are a couple of grazes in the plastic and the bumper surrounding the screen. The screen itself has no damage.

If they assessed the phone and found water ingress and determined it was most likely due to the damage on the bottom of the phone, then fine I would accept that. They have however stated in chat (I called multiple times, but just kept getting hung up on) that the screen failure is NOT related to the minor damage on the phone. However there is physical damage and so the warranty is void. I politely pointed out that I don't think damage that didn't cause the failure is capable of voiding the warranty. They said they will check with their resources again, took some details and said they will email me.

They also suggested I get the damage repaired and then recontact them. I don't see how this damage would actually get fixed - it is damage to the plastic unibody and the whole shell would have to be replaced.
Obviously this would not be a $20 fix and I likely wouldn't get that done to then recontact google for them to tell me prior damage caused the failure and so it is still not covered.

I am of course expecting an email stating that warranty is void and that was just a way to get me off chat.

All in all I am pretty disappointed. At least have a look at it and say the damage caused the failure, but to explicitly tell me that the damage did NOT cause the failure and to then say the phone is void anyway is perplexing.

Has anyone else experienced this? I'm no law expert, but I don't think they could say ANY damage to the phone voids the entire warranty.

Link to picture of the damage in question - https://photos.app.goo.gl/hky5Qpr6fELbSsLKA

Electrical & Electronics Google Mobile Phone Android

Comments

  • life is suffering on 21/02/2021 - 17:12

    They also suggested I get the damage repaired and then re-contact them

    doesn't make sense this one. can you share the phone damage? not an expert but would be good to see.

    • cheaplee on 21/02/2021 - 19:33

      Updated post to include photo

      • life is suffering on 21/02/2021 - 21:50

        I would push for Google to take a look and fix. Ask nicely again and maybe they will take a look.

  • Aldog24 on 21/02/2021 - 18:01
    +1

    Recently went through the warranty support process for my wife's pixel 3. Turns out it's a month out of warranty, most company's would do free repair on good will. Not google. Notoriously difficult to deal with. Convinced the emails I received from them were automatically generated by AI and likely didn't even involve a human. Suggested sending the phone of for repair by their chosen partner in Victoria… I'm in NSW… Suggest repair price was $500. Shame, pretty much the nail in the coffin for me an pixels. I transitioned over to a samsung S20, provided by work. I will be purchasing my wife a S20 FE. Not giving any more money to google for substandard hardware and support.

    • brendanm on 21/02/2021 - 18:45
      +1

      You must have been very difficult to deal with. I've had great experiences with Google warranty.

      Back in the nexus days, had a couple of replacement nexus 5 for stuck power button causing bootloop issues. When it happened a third time, and the phone was 2 years or so old, they gave me a full refund.

      Purchased a used pixel xl that was a refurb. A month or so out of warranty it died. They gave me a pixel 2 xl as a replacement, even though I wasn't the original owner, and it was out of warranty.

  • whooah1979 on 21/02/2021 - 18:39
    +1

    . I politely pointed out that I don't think damage that didn't cause the failure is capable of voiding the warranty.

    It's up the technician to determine if the misuse caused the fault.

    • cheaplee on 21/02/2021 - 19:30

      I agree 100%. The chat lady told me the damage didn't cause the screen failure, hence my position in the statement above. She then followed that up with 'warranty is void because there is damage', hence my questioning of the process.

      You quoted me out of context

  • spackbace on 21/02/2021 - 19:37
    +4

    All in all I am pretty disappointed.

    Not sure why

    If I had dropped a phone (side note, I always use a case), and it caused damage and later on the screen died, I would put all blame on my dumbass self for dropping the phone.

    • cheaplee on 21/02/2021 - 20:07

      Because the Google rep explicitly said the damage didn't cause the screen failure and then stated the warranty is void because the phone has damage.

      If anyone from Google actually looked at the phone my attitude would be different, but to say the phone has nothing covered but warranty anymore because it had some scratches on it is disappointing.

      I've used plenty of cases in the past. Over years they leave marks on the phone where dirt gets between case and phone. Applying this situation that phone has damage, therefore no warranty. Doesn't sound legit to me

      • spackbace on 21/02/2021 - 21:01

        Over years they leave marks on the phone where dirt gets between case and phone.

        Which would you rather, minor scratches on the back of the phone from sand movement or a dented edge causing a broken screen?

        Again, you're putting more emphasis on 1 conversation than I'd ever bother with. Damage = most likely the reason the screen died. It's a common thing from manufacturers to say that when they see it, and won't assess the problem until the damage is sorted.

        Very common.

        • cheaplee on 21/02/2021 - 21:44
          -2

          Why didn't you say that the first time?

      • mmd on 22/02/2021 - 04:15

        I've used plenty of cases in the past. Over years they leave marks on the phone where dirt gets between case and phone. Applying this situation that phone has damage, therefore no warranty. Doesn't sound legit to me

        My car got scratched by a dog so therefore i should be able to get warranty claim from the car dealer since its the same as when I had fender bender and now my headlights are not turning on.

        • cheaplee on 22/02/2021 - 06:38

          Your analogy is all wrong.

          My car got scratched by a dog a few months ago and now my headlight isn't working. Toyota has said the two are not related, but will not accept a warranty claim for the headlight unless I get the scratch repaired first.

          • mmd on 23/02/2021 - 17:21
            +1

            @cheaplee: No, when does a screen display black out?
            When do headlights ever not work?
            Scratch by a dog not the same as a dent
            Scratches on your phone by a phone cover is not the same as dropping a phone.

            Can definitely tell the photo you uploaded is definitely not caused by a phone cover scratch

            If you brought the car to them with no dents and your headlights are not turning on, they will need to investigate and help you further

  • cheaplee on 07/03/2021 - 20:49

    So whilst Google ask you nicely to make your phone look brand new again, they also seem to realise they can't neglect the warranty they promise.

    If you don't cause the hardware failure Google should replace the phone under warranty.

    I had to be persistent, but it was relatively painless in the end to get the phone refurbished.

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