Opening Up Your PlayStation No Longer Violates Your Warranty

One of the lamest things about Sony’s warranty policies has always been the term which stipulates that you forfeit your warranty coverage simply by opening up your PlayStation 4. In other words, if you tried to make a simple repair to your own console, you could no longer call on your warranty for help.

Finally, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) came down on this ridiculous and unfair term, serving up a notice to Sony which stated the following:

“This letter places you on notice that violations of the Warranty and FTC Acts may result in legal action. FTC investigators have copied and preserved the online pages in question, and we plan to review your company’s written warranty and promotional materials after 30 days.”

This notice was given not just to Sony, but also to Microsoft and Nintendo, which had similar policies in place.

In response, Sony has been swift to modify its USA and Canada warranty policies for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PlayStation VR and PlayStation Vita.

Here is an excerpt where Sony describes the changes:

“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.”

Let’s see if we can translate this into plain English. Basically, Sony is still discouraging you from using third party peripherals, and it is still trying to dissuade you from opening up your own console.

But in the past, you could be denied warranty coverage simply for doing those things. Now you can only be denied coverage if Sony can prove that your actions in doing so are what damaged the console.

Does this still leave Sony with plenty of loopholes to deny warranty coverage? Sure, but at least the burden of proof now rests with the company. And now that the FTC is finally aware of the situation, further unfair practices are more likely to fall under their immediate scrutiny. We’ll let you know if there are any further updates.