Friday, August 2nd 2024

Intel Extends Warranty by Two Years for 13th and 14th Generation Processors Amid Crashing Concerns

by
AleksandarK
 Discuss (70 Comments)
In a statement for Tom's Hardware, Intel has announced a two-year warranty extension for its 13th and 14th Generation Core processors. This decision comes in response to widespread reports of crashes and instability affecting a broad range of models, from high-end flagship chips to mid-range offerings. The extension effectively increases the standard warranty period from three to five years for most boxed processors, with even the limited-edition models seeing an increase from one to three years. This move aims to reassure customers and mitigate concerns about potential long-term damage to affected chips. Intel has identified excessive voltage as the root cause of the problem, which has led to unexpected system crashes and blue screens of death (BSODs), particularly during gaming and other demanding tasks.

The company plans to release a microcode update by mid-August to prevent further degradation in unaffected processors. However, this update will not resolve issues in chips that have already experienced problems, and users with malfunctioning processors will need to seek replacements. The tech giant has faced criticism for its delayed response to the issue, which has plagued users for months. In its statement, Intel also addressed concerns about Via Oxidation, clarifying that while this separate issue was discovered in 2022, it is not the cause of the current instability problems. The company claims to have implemented fixes and enhanced screening procedures for Via Oxidation by early 2023, with affected chips reportedly removed from the supply chain by early 2024.
As investigations for a potential class action lawsuit begin, Intel's warranty extension appears to be a proactive step to maintain customer trust. The company has advised users with OEM systems to contact their manufacturers directly, suggesting similar warranty extensions from system builders may be forthcoming. Below, you can see Intel's statements for Tom's Hardware, on the matter of two-year warranty extension.
Intel is committed to making sure all customers who have or are currently experiencing instability symptoms on their 13th and/or 14th Gen desktop processors are supported in the exchange process. We stand behind our products, and in the coming days we will be sharing more details on two-year extended warranty support for our boxed Intel Core 13th and 14th Gen desktop processors.

In the meantime, if you are currently or previously experienced instability symptoms on your Intel Core 13th/14th Gen desktop system:
  • For users who purchased systems from OEM/System Integrators - please reach out to your system manufacturer's support team for further assistance.
  • For users who purchased a boxed CPU - please reach out to Intel Customer Support for further assistance.
Intel is also investigating options to easily identify affected processors on end user systems and will provide additional guidance as soon as possible. At the same time, we apologize for the delay in communications as this has been a challenging issue to unravel and definitively root cause.
Next, Intel also issued a statement for Tom's Hardware regarding the Via Oxidation issue.
The Via Oxidation issue currently reported in the press is a minor one that was addressed with manufacturing improvements and screens in early 2023.

The issue was identified in late 2022, and with the manufacturing improvements and additional screens implemented Intel was able to confirm full removal of impacted processors in our supply chain by early 2024. However, on-shelf inventory may have persisted into early 2024 as a result.

Minor manufacturing issues are an inescapable fact with all silicon products. Intel continuously works with customers to troubleshoot and remediate product failure reports and provides public communications on product issues when the customer risk exceeds Intel quality control thresholds.
Source: Tom's Hardware

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70 Comments on Intel Extends Warranty by Two Years for 13th and 14th Generation Processors Amid Crashing Concerns

#26
SL2
64KThis is good news for those that build their own PC but what about the vast majority that buy pre-builts?
Well, at least there's a chance that those customers could go through with an RMA, like the text suggests, but in the end it probably depends on the brand.

What about tray buyers? Those people get nothing..
Posted on Reply
#27
Caring1
Warranties are worthless if the company won't honour them.
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#28
SL2
Caring1Warranties are worthless if the company won't honour them.
That's why it can be a good thing to own a prebuilt desktop, they might be better at this than Intel itself. The question is which ones are the good ones..
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#29
Daven
TPU's 'Editor's Recommendation' Award for the 13900K and 14900K is looking a little ridiculous but they could not have known at the time of review. I wish there was a way to burn in CPUs rapidly to see how they might degrade over the years if at all.
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#31
LittleBro
fevgatosYou can fact those tales about any company. Put company name on Google followed by RMA denied, you'll find hundreds. Doesn't mean a thing, cause even if it's true we don't know the details.
If it wasn't true, then probably a class action lawsuit investigation would not be real thing right now, eh?
I mean what stupid lawyer would take such already lost case to a court?

I take you're just trolling like in many other forum threads. How about you posted a proof about Intel honoring all the RMAs?
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#32
Dave65
Outback BronzeHappy camper here :)

Nothing wrong with my CPU's and now just got 5 years warranty on them.
Happy Camper?

WOW: I salute you for being on the Titanic's deck being a happy camper just as you go under with smile on your face:laugh:
Posted on Reply
#33
Daven
LittleBroIf it wasn't true, then probably a class action lawsuit investigation would not be real thing right now, eh?
I mean what stupid lawyer would take such already lost case to a court?

I take you're just trolling like in many other forum threads. How about you posted a proof about Intel honoring all the RMAs?
At this point, I have no idea what motivates Fevgatos given everything happening with Intel. It will take several rounds of fired CEOs, attempted buyouts and major business model pivots before Intel's ship is righted again. In the meantime, it's risky business to buy Intel products. At best, you might lose support as Intel goes down. At worst, the chips will literally fail in your PC due to poor quality control as Intel cuts R&D staff and corners to get out of the red.
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#34
esserpain
This is a good move for sure, but it took weeks of public pressure and threats of a class-action to get here. It's much too late for Intel to regain customer trust when they're already being investigated by every party under the sun. The damage has already been done.
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#35
Darmok N Jalad
Not an Intel tale, but I remember MS denying a warranty claim on an XboxOne for me once. If I was playing one game on a DVD and then swapped it for another, the new game wouldn't load, claiming the disk wasn't loaded. When I was working with MS support, the "solution" was to completely power down the Xbox and start it back up again--something that took several minutes to do thanks to the spinning HDD. This worked, but that only meant that the Xbox wasn't really working as-advertised, because one of the selling points was that it had a suspend state so you didn't have to shut down and/or restart it all the time. I also had the Xbox controller start drifting on me inside of warranty, and that was considered normal wear. I try to have realistic expectations of my stuff, and to me, both issues were due to poor workmanship, based on my experience using similar products over the years. It wasn't long after that I moved to PS.

I'd have to think that something similar can be said here for Raptor Lake. How is it behaving relative to advertised claims, and how does it compare to previous CPU-ownership experiences?
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#36
fevgatos
LittleBroIf it wasn't true, then probably a class action lawsuit investigation would not be real thing right now, eh?
I mean what stupid lawyer would take such already lost case to a court?

I take you're just trolling like in many other forum threads. How about you posted a proof about Intel honoring all the RMAs?
The class action lawsuit isn't about the RMAs bud.

I don't need to provide evidence of something I didn't claim.
Posted on Reply
#37
b1k3rdude
Thats all fine and dandy, but what if you bought the cpu from a system intergrator or not in a retail box, or used....
fevgatosCan you post some actual evidence that Intel denies RMA of affected cpus?
Just do a search or check out any number of recent videos from any of the well know tech channels... Intel have already been caught numerous time rejecting warranties on non-retails CPU's which is basically B$.
Posted on Reply
#38
fevgatos
b1k3rdudeThats all fine and dandy, but what if you bought the cpu from a system intergrator or not in a retail box, or used....


Just do a search or check out any number of recent videos from any of the well know tech channels... Intel have already been caught numerous time rejecting warranties on non-retails CPU's which is basically B$.
I'm not in disagreement, I'm sure they are rejecting plenty, just like every other company does. Are they rejecting cpus that need replacing though?
Posted on Reply
#39
Darmok N Jalad
b1k3rdudeThats all fine and dandy, but what if you bought the cpu from a system intergrator or not in a retail box, or used....


Just do a search or check out any number of recent videos from any of the well know tech channels... Intel have already been caught numerous time rejecting warranties on non-retails CPU's which is basically B$.
Non-retail, OEM (tray) CPUs don’t have the same warranty coverage as retail (boxed) CPUs. For OEM, you go to the OEM, which is not Intel. The OEM manages the claim. This is why OEM chips are cheaper than retail, as the warranty coverage is usually less, or even non-existent. So if you do buy Retail, it’s not a bad idea to keep your original packaging. I actually got $90 for the iPhone 6S battery debacle, because I still had the box with serial on it. The phone was long gone at that point.

So basically, Intel is really only extending the Intel warranty coverage for a small percentage of Raptor Lake owners, those that bought Retail. Most of Intel’s sales are OEM, so this largely is an extension of those that built their own system with retail parts. Pretty strategic, really, as that’s the portion of the population that’s going to hammer Intel online the hardest.
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#40
HD64G
They are indeed trying hard to avoid a class lawsuit...
Posted on Reply
#41
mkppo
I think if they put out a statement that even if their CPU's are bought from a system integrator, Intel themselves will honour the warranty then it would be something good. Extending it for two years doesn't do much at all for the small fraction of people buying individual CPU's. Most people that are stuck have no warranty because the usual 1 year warranty for systems have run out. And they represent the majority of PC's and consequently CPU's sold.

There are plenty of cases where Intel are saying they received tray CPU's when in fact they got sent a boxed one. I think given the unprecedented failure rate of the CPU's their RMA department must be working overtime and mixing stuff up in the process.

Also someone mentioned a intel diagnostic tool to check if your CPU is stable. Guess what, it does a terrible job of actually figuring out stability and many CPU's that have degraded actually pass that stability test but crash in games let alone ycruncher
Posted on Reply
#42
fevgatos
T
mkppoI think if they put out a statement that even if their CPU's are bought from a system integrator, Intel themselves will honour the warranty then it would be something good. Extending it for two years doesn't do much at all for the small fraction of people buying individual CPU's. Most people that are stuck have no warranty because the usual 1 year warranty for systems have run out. And they represent the majority of PC's and consequently CPU's sold.

There are plenty of cases where Intel are saying they received tray CPU's when in fact they got sent a boxed one. I think given the unprecedented failure rate of the CPU's their RMA department must be working overtime and mixing stuff up in the process.

Also someone mentioned a intel diagnostic tool to check if your CPU is stable. Guess what, it does a terrible job of actually figuring out stability and many CPU's that have degraded actually pass that stability test but crash in games let alone ycruncher
The fun part is that there are CPUs that push 30min of ycruncher and fail at nvidia driver installation, which doesn't make sense.
Posted on Reply
#43
tfp
HD64GThey are indeed trying hard to avoid a class lawsuit...
You say that like they shouldn't?
Posted on Reply
#44
Dragokar
A first step, not enough, though. They still should publish all timestamps with affected SKUs about the oxidization and also offer an easy RMA with updated Microcode-CPUs with no questions asked. As a customer, I don't want to wait if my CPU is impacted or will degrade faster over time. I want that fixed right after the new and “final” microcode solution is being delivered, and no, I wouldn't want to wait if I get impacted. I would want that fixed before it comes to issues.

But that's just my point of view as a tiny customer and tech enthusiast.
Posted on Reply
#46
tfp
DragokarA first step, not enough, though. They still should publish all timestamps with affected SKUs about the oxidization and also offer an easy RMA with updated Microcode-CPUs with no questions asked. As a customer, I don't want to wait if my CPU is impacted or will degrade faster over time. I want that fixed right after the new and “final” microcode solution is being delivered, and no, I wouldn't want to wait if I get impacted. I would want that fixed before it comes to issues.

But that's just my point of view as a tiny customer and tech enthusiast.
I agree with that but this RMA is not lot different then how the auto companies handle things. Intel has an army of lawyers, I expect they will do what is legal and required and maybe just enough not to piss off most customers.

For example I just had a DEF system issue that cause me to have to replace the thing at great expense last fall. They replaced it and then did a software upgrade that I didn't know was needed. About a month ago I got a letter saying that I could submit a claim to get any fixes done paid for and an extended warranty for the DEF system. Because the software was upgraded after the fix they refused to pay for anything and I only got the extended warranty on the new HW. The DEF system has been a joke that since it was created because of all of the issues and yet there is no real recourse with any truck manufactures. My truck is stock, only has 49k miles on it over 7 years and just over a 1/3 of the time is used to pull a heavy trailer (heavy loads are almost required to prevent the exhaust system from being fouled up).
Posted on Reply
#47
Darmok N Jalad
mkppoI think if they put out a statement that even if their CPU's are bought from a system integrator, Intel themselves will honour the warranty then it would be something good. Extending it for two years doesn't do much at all for the small fraction of people buying individual CPU's. Most people that are stuck have no warranty because the usual 1 year warranty for systems have run out. And they represent the majority of PC's and consequently CPU's sold.

There are plenty of cases where Intel are saying they received tray CPU's when in fact they got sent a boxed one. I think given the unprecedented failure rate of the CPU's their RMA department must be working overtime and mixing stuff up in the process.

Also someone mentioned an intel diagnostic tool to check if your CPU is stable. Guess what, it does a terrible job of actually figuring out stability and many CPU's that have degraded actually pass that stability test but crash in games let alone ycruncher
No doubt Intel will work with OEMs on recourse as well. Companies like Dell, HP, Lenovo stand to lose even more so than Intel. Do you think people will blame Intel for crashes? I think they are more likely to point their blame at the system builder, or perhaps Microsoft, since they are always an easy target (and do enough damage to themselves to earn some of that consideration). Intel knows the big risk is their system-building partners, who can get competitive products elsewhere and buy in low-maintenance volume. The challenge is that most OEM machines have one year warranties, and margins are slim. How are OEMs going to be able to afford extended support, even if it’s just for the CPU? They still have all the time and material expenses to bear just to service a failing Raptor Lake system, even if Intel sends them free replacements. It looks like an even uglier proposition than having to replace every single Retail CPU on year 5.
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#48
HD64G
tfpYou say that like they shouldn't?
Totally logical to fear that and act to protect themselves. I said that because that action in behalf of them is coming a day after some news about that class lawsuit were emerged.
Posted on Reply
#50
Darmok N Jalad
I think a class action is a bit premature, though there might be enough “clients” that are out the cost of the chip with no warranty replacement. If the micro-code update hampers performance, then the floodgates will open. While lawyers can certainly overdo it on lawsuits, that actually seems like the appropriate response if the company has to reduce the performance of the product to make it stable. It’s no one’s fault but Intel’s that the product as-is has a defect. Really, that’s what it comes down to, the shipped product is defective and requires a patch. If performance is unchanged, then it’s a tougher thing to justify, IMO. Now if Intel willfully did this and hoped it would work, that borders on fraud, but I’m sure they can escape that by calling this a mundane error in coding.
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