From http://matija.suklje.name/rooting-and-flashing-your-device-does-not-void-the-warranty-in-eu
This is a joint blog post written together with Carlo Piana with the goal to disband some popular FUD that you lose your warranty if you flash or root your device.
Does rooting your device (e.g. an Android phone) and
replacing its operating system with something else void your statutory
warranty, if you are a consumer?
In short:
No.
Just the fact that you modified or changed the software of your device,
is not a sufficient reason to void your statutory warranty. As long as you have bought the device as a consumer in the European Union.
A bit longer:
Directive 1999/44/CE dictates
that any object meeting certain criteria (incl. telephones, computers, routers etc.) that is sold to a
consumer inside the
European Union,
has to carry a warranty from the seller that the device will
meet the quality that you would expect for such a device
for a period of 2 years.
A telephone is an example of such a device and is an object that
comprises many parts, from the case to the screen to the radio, to a
mini-computer, to the battery, to the software that runs it. If
any of these parts
stop working in those 2 years, the seller has to fix or replace them. What is more these
repairs should not cost the consumer a single cent
– the seller has to cover the expenses (Directive 1999/44/CE, §3). If
the seller has any expenses for returning it to the manufacturer, this
is not your problem as a consumer.
If your device becomes defective
in the first 6 months, it is presumed that the defect was there all along, so
you should not need to prove anything.
If your device becomes defective
after the first 6 months, but before 2 years run out, you are
still covered.
The difference is only that if the defect arises now, the seller can
claim that the defect was caused by some action that was triggered by
non-normal use of the device.
But in order to avoid needing to repair or replace your device, the seller has to prove that your action caused
the defect. It is generally recognised by courts that
unless there is a sign of abuse of the device, the defect is there because the device was
faulty from the beginning. That is just common sense, after all.
So, we finally come to
the question of rooting, flashing and changing the software.
Unless the seller can prove that modifying the software, rooting your
device or flashing it with some other OS or firmware was the cause for
the defect,
you are still covered for defects during those 2 years.
A good test to see if it is the software’s fault is to flash it back
with stock firmware/OS and see if the problem persists. If it does, it
is not a software-caused problem. If it is not possible to revert it
stock software any more, it is also not a software-caused defect. There
are very few hardware defects that are caused by software – e.g.
overriding the speaker volume above the safe level could blow the
speaker.
Many manufacturers of consumer devices write into their warranties a
paragraph that by changing the software or “rooting” your device, you
void the warranty. You have to understand that in EU we have a
“statutory warranty”, which is compulsory that the
seller must offer by law (Directive 1999/44/CE, §7.1) and a
“voluntary warranty” which the seller or manufacturer can, but does not need to, offer as an
additional service to the consumer. Usually the “voluntary warranty” covers a longer period of time or additional accidents not covered by law
. If though the seller, the manufacturer or anyone else offers a “voluntary warranty”, he is bound to it as well!
So, even if, by any chance your “voluntary warranty” got voided, by
European law, you should still have the 2 year “compulsory warranty” as
it is described in the Directive and which is the topic of this article.
In case the
seller refuses your right to repair or replace the device, you can
sue him in a civil litigation and can
report the incident to the national authority.
In many European countries such action does not even require hiring a
lawyer and is most of the time ensured by consumers associations.
The warranty under this Directive is only applicable inside the European Union and only if you bought the device as a consumer.
hook out → I hope this encourages many of you to go and flash your devices with something Free! ☺
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