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De-branding DOES invalidate your warranty!

9 replies · 7,971 views · Started 03 March 2009

dez_borders 03 Mar 2009, 10:20

Just to make everyone aware (again) that Nokia will invalidate your warranty if de-branding is done using NSS and NSU.

NSU stores a record of every product code and software version applied to a handset (see email extract below).

If a handset comes in to Nokia for repair, the IMEI is checked against Nokia's NSU logs, and the warranty is deemed void if the product code has ever been changed. Even if you have restored the original product code and the handset contains the correct firmware for that product code, the warranty is still void.

See email below as received from Nokia today...

------- Original message -------
From: <[email protected]>
To: ********@************
Sent: 3.3.'09, 9:48

Dear Mr *****

Thank you for contacting Nokia Care.

Further to our telephone conversation of this morning, I can confirm that I have spoken with one of our Product Specialists and have been advised that due to the earlier product code change your handset will not be able to be repaired under warranty. As you are already aware any product code change at any point automatically voids the warranty.

Please see below a copy of the records on our system.

Serial number:
35808**********
Warranty:
YES
Care Services:

Warranty Class:
SHIPMENT + 25 MONTHS
Product Type:
RM-313
Handset:
N82
Product Code:
0558909
Start of Warranty:
22-01-2008
End of Warranty:
22-02-2010
Ship-to Country:
GB-UNITED KINGDOM
Factory SimLock:
N
Repair information
Repair Location Repair Date Sympton Primary CCT Ref Spare Part# Primary Fault
09-02-2009 5500 O901 Software upgrade

Online Software Update Attempt History

Date/Time (GMT) YYYY-MM-DD Update Type Result Reason Original Software Version Target Software Version
07 May 2008 10:44:18 Nokia Software Updater - NSU Successful update Firmware update successful (46) 10.0.046 20.0.062 Product Code 0549174

13 Sep 2008 01:25:59 Nokia Software Updater - NSU Successful update Firmware update successful (46) 20.0.062 30.0.019 Product Code 0558756

12 Nov 2008 10:34:00 Nokia Software Updater - NSU Successful update Firmware update successful with Retry (67) 30.0.019 30.0.019 Product Code 0558756

13 Nov 2008 12:38:08 Nokia Software Updater - NSU Successful update Firmware update successful with Retry and revive use case 2 (93) 30.0.019 30.0.019

I regret that I am unable to assist you any further with this issue.

Kind Regards

xxxxx
Special Solutions Team
Nokia Care UK and Ireland

ironass 03 Mar 2009, 11:32

Thanks for clarifying that once and for all.

Maybe this should be posted here:-

http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/forum//forum/thread/58225/

and here:-

http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/forum//forum/thread/67130/

as well.

Having said that I have debranded my phones as I feel that:-

1. The Nokia generic software is superior to branded software.

2. Generic software is not restricted by the removal of certain features, i.e. Internet telephone etc:

3. Firmware updates are available for generic phones a lot sooner, sometimes months in advance.

davecozens 03 Mar 2009, 11:53

Also, I have had my n95 replaced under warranty after having changed the case & de-branded it.

The screen died after i dropped it (probably related to being removed when i changed the case), so i put the old case and camera assembly back on and sen it off to my provided.

got a shiny new n95 by return...

so, although de-branding may invalidate your warranty, that's only the case if anyone bothers to check...

d

dez_borders 03 Mar 2009, 12:43

davecozens wrote:got a shiny new n95 by return...

so, although de-branding may invalidate your warranty, that's only the case if anyone bothers to check...

d

As you say, it's a lottery/luck whether or not you get caught out.

I have now had 2 warranties invalidated in 12 months, so either Nokia are getting more strict about checking, or once they identify an individual has de-branded in the past, they closely monitor any future handsets sent in for repair from that person.

Regarding the current (N82) handset - it was 'repaired' 2 times in February 2009 under warranty but without success.
(i.e. Nokia engineers simply re-flashed the firmware & reset to factory defaults then returned the handset to me with the intermittent hardware fault unresolved).
It's only when I called Nokia to discuss their engineer's failure to identify the problem, that they go out of their way to check the NSU product codes for the IMEI.

N/A 03 Mar 2009, 13:23

[email protected] wrote:
Having said that I have debranded my phones as I feel that:-

1. The Nokia generic software is superior to branded software.

2. Generic software is not restricted by the removal of certain features, i.e. Internet telephone etc:

3. Firmware updates are available for generic phones a lot sooner, sometimes months in advance.

Easy solution: Don't buy/get branded devices from network operators. That way you do get generic Nokia software, and faster availability of updates. As a bonus, you're also not locked into any networks multi-year contract, and can use any network's SIM cards when ever you want, where ever you want.

N/A 03 Mar 2009, 15:20

It is also expensive to pay higher monthly rates to a user for a couple of years, and to be prevented from switching to a cheaper network or plan until the "jail-time" ru out (or you can, but it costs you even more as you then still need to keep paying the original or you need to buy yourself out from the contract).

In many cases, it is not necessarily always more expensive to buy an unbranded device. It depends. And sometimes paying for more freedom is also worth the extra cost, if there is one.

ManInBlack 03 Mar 2009, 16:04

My solution to this is always to upgrade to the most expensive handset I can with the maximum discount, then flog it on EBay and buy the handset I actually WANT (unbranded). Normally only costs me a little and I occasionally make a minor profit!

The alternative is to go to MobilePhonesDirect.co.uk who sell handsets direct from Nokia (unlocked etc). I've just noticed that they now do T-mobile contracts as well as Vodafone. Suits me as both have good signals in my area. So, once my VF contract is up I'll PAC out to T-Mobile and then vice-versa at the end of that.... you get my drift! :icon14:

Ronaldo-9 04 Mar 2009, 00:59

The only way to get warranty is if you can put original branded firmware back on and put original product code.

I was refused on my old nokia n95 as i had original product code but generic firmware. But had it sorted as i had a friend in carphoneware house who was good friends with tech guy.

dez_borders 04 Mar 2009, 07:38

Ronaldo-9 wrote:The only way to get warranty is if you can put original branded firmware back on and put original product code.

I was refused on my old nokia n95 as i had original product code but generic firmware. But had it sorted as i had a friend in carphoneware house who was good friends with tech guy.

Not so - the original code was in the handset and the latest official O2 firmware was loaded before the phone was returned to Nokia.
Nokia checked the NUS server logs which the product code was changed in the past and this invalidates Nokia warranty condition.

You were lucky you had a friend who could persuade an engineer to bend the rules. 😉