Sony Changes PS4, PS3, VR And Vita Console Warranties

Sony Interactive Entertainment has made some changes to the warranties to its PlayStation devices in the United States and Canada. From now on, the company will show some leniency toward owners of the PS4, PS3, PS VR and PS Vita who want to avail repairs and other services.

On Tuesday, Sony announced the changes via the PlayStation Support page. The company revealed that it has made two primary changes to the warranties of the PS4, PS3, PS VR and PS Vita systems. The first one alters Sony’s stand on certain instances that could exclude owners from availing services through their device’s warranty.

Sony cited the below warranty terms as part of the first change:

Our previous warranties stated that the warranty does not apply if the product is used with a peripheral that is not supplied or licensed by SIE. Our updated warranties state that the warranty does not apply ‘to damage caused by’ use of the product with an unlicensed peripheral.
Our previous warranties stated that the warranty does not apply if the warranty seal on the product has been altered or removed. Our updated warranty states that the warranty does not apply ‘to damage caused by’ opening the product or to damage caused by service performed by someone other than a representative of SIE or an SIE-authorized service provider.

The second primary change pertains to the added clause in the warranties that help clarify and confirm the company’s practice of providing free return shipping for in-warranty devices in the United States and Canada. The clarification also reaffirms the free return shipping policy for repaired (or factory-recertified) consoles to the customer. Sony explained that its free, round-trip shipping policy has always been around, but the previous version of the warranties never specifically stated them.

According to Dualshockers, Sony updated its warranties because of the FTC’s threat of legal action after learning that the video game company’s terms were unlawful. The FTC has also issued the same warning to Nintendo and Microsoft, so it’s very likely for the two to also update their warranties very soon.