Hiya, just bought a new sound bar for my TV. And with it, as expected, came this “Register your product” pamphlet, and had me wondering how many actually register their products? I’ve personally never done this before, as in my country we have 2 years of warranty on everything we buy, so not really ever felt the need for registering products. But I am curious, do you register your products? Should I?
You do not have to do this to get warranty service by law. They just want your contact info so they can spam you.
Correct, but keep you receipts.
Yeah thought there was a catch to it…
The registration is sometimes needed when the manufacturer offers a warranty beyond what is required by law.
No, warranty is covered by European law.
I have used warranties many times, but rarely bothered to register at time of purchase. In my experience, if you go to use a warranty, they’ll just ask for proof of purchase (if they ask for anything at all). I think the point of warranty registration is in case you need to use the warranty later, but you lose your receipt.
I’ve registered my Bose speakers. It actually made it easier to talk to customer service when I was having trouble pairing up a soundbar.
Personal stuff: No. Warranty is still valid. Plus the place I bought it are legally required to handle warranty related issues as well.
Corporate stuff: Sometimes. It’s not required, but it makes it a lot easier when I can choose the device in question from a drop-down menu of serial numbers to get the exact info/stuff I need. A lot of vendors track issues by serial number, and it’s an easy way for me to keep track as well.
General rule of thumb is to only get a warranty for things that you cant easily replace. i.e a 10 dollar keyboard from walmart doesnt need a warranty. A 3,000 dollar gaming computer probably does. Companies charge more money for warranties than it costs them to honor them. That is how they make money and it is why they are pushed as hard as they are.
This ensures you, the original owner, can get service without the need of a receipt later down the road. It’s similar to voting registration in the US; you’ve proven at the time of registration that you’ve made the purchase so this card negates the need to prove it again.
Although, having worked in consumer electronics for 25+ years, if you’re buying something from a trusted local dealer, be sure to ask them if you should register. They may be able to fudge the purchase date and warranty period for you if you need service.
Moreover, much of today’s consumer electronics are so cheap and outdated within a year that most people just throw crap away and buy a replacement rather than get it fixed. I have seen some inexpensive products actually cost more to get fixed under warranty (if you have to ship at your expense) than to buy the replacement product.
Ironically, it’s probably the case that I register the stuff I expect to last longer than the warranty. It’s an easy way to provide the serial number and my info to the manufacturer and confirm if it’s under warranty or not. It also registers you for things such as firmware updates or recalls. So, a $1500 camera, yes. A $30 battery pack, no. A $200 speaker bar, yes. I also save all my boxes because they’re the perfect vessel for shipping if they need repair.
Ohh sorry…water damage, no warranty
Depends how expensive it is to replace. Up to a couple hundred, no. Over that yes
thanks for sharing!
I registered a bunch of baby products like the crib and stroller because I wanted to be notified if there was a recall.
Yeah, if a company forces me to do so (Razer, JBL). Most companies don’t require registration for warranty, at least in my country. All you need is the original invoice. When you want to claim a warranty, you need to fill out a form on that company’s website which asks for your details like name, phone number, email, and physical address, alongside the original invoice. That’s it, no prior registration required.
Jbl forced you to? I just bought a Jbl soundbar and wasn’t forced to sign anything?
I bought JBL earbuds and didn’t register my product on their website as most companies don’t require it so I basically ignored that. After 7-8 months of usage one bud was discharging quicker than the other one so I tried to claim warranty but they refused, they said that my product isn’t registered in their system. They told me to register the product first then apply for a warranty claim.
Ahh I see, that is unfortunate, hope you got it resolved 🌻
Yeah, after registering the product I claimed the warranty.
Usually no. But all my festool tools get registered since they are all $$$$$$
Only for computers, phones, tablets.
