Seagate changes warranty from 5 years to 3 on selected bare drives

Effective from January 3, 2009, Seagate will be cutting the warranty period from 5 years to 3 years on selected bare drives. Seagate believes that the new warranty period and terms better reflect current industry standards. Seagate enterprise class drives and Seagate and Maxtor external retail products that have 5-year warranty periods will not be affected by this change.

Drives affected by thins change include:

• Barracuda 7200
• Diamondmax
• Momentus 7200
• Momentus 5400
• Pipeline HD
• Pipeline HD Pro
• DB35
• LD25 5400

Drives purchased prior to January 3, 2009 will still carry the 5 year warranty.

Seagate is keen to point out that this change shouldn’t reflect badly on drive quality or the confidence that Seagate has in the product:

"Our product quality remains excellent, and, as the worldwide leader in drive storage, Seagate is committed to providing our customers with the most reliable storage solutions available anywhere. Based on our data, we know that 95% of all returns take place during the first three years, so by going to a 3-year warranty period (which is more in line with the rest of the industry and the needs of our partners and customers) we can make other aspects of our customer and warranty support programs more attractive, with negligible impact on customer product return needs."

Product Warranty Matrix

Please consult these FAQs for answers to questions you may have regarding the recent transition to a 3-year warranty for bare drives.

Q. When does this change go into effect?

A. January 3, 2009

Q. What about products purchased before Jan. 3, 2009? Will Seagate still honor the warranty offered at time of time of original purchase?

A. Yes, any Seagate customers who purchase(d) products prior to Jan. 3 will be covered by the warranty in place at the time of purchase.

Q. Will there be any changes to the warranties of enterprise storage or retail products?

A. No. Seagate does not anticipate any changes to warranties of enterprise storage or retail products at this time.

Q. Why is this change being made now?

A. We have identified the opportunity to offer our customers warranty terms that we believe are in line with industry standard warranty offerings, and that better align to the requirements of our partners and customers.

Q. Why are enterprise-class hard drives still receiving a 5-year warranty?

A. Based on available market data, the standard industry warranty for enterprise-class products is 5 years.

Q. Isn’t this a step backward in terms of demonstrating your confidence in the quality of your products?

A. Absolutely not. Our product quality remains excellent, and, as the worldwide leader in drive storage, Seagate is committed to providing our customers with the most reliable storage solutions available anywhere. Based on our data, we know that 95% of all returns take place during the first three years, so by going to a 3-year warranty period (which is more in line with the rest of the industry and the needs of our partners and customers) we can make other aspects of our customer and warranty support programs more attractive, with negligible impact on customer product return needs.

Q. What will happen to the inventory authorized distributors currently have?

A.On-hand inventory of Seagate customers will maintain the warranty in place at the time of original purchase. The 3-year warranty will apply to products shipped starting Jan 3 rd, 2009.