Is it real to repair the ASIC under warranty?
If the buy-and-place process of ASICs is quite simple, the check-and-repair is definitely not. The issue of warranty cases, supplier and customer responsibilities and legal cases is a terra incognita for most of our readers. So, we decided to break this ground with the help of Asic Jungle experts.
Who are we speaking with?
Asic Jungle is a mining hardware provider established in 2020. The company’s specific is ASICs Procurement. It connects the producing company or a reseller with a potential client accompanying the whole deal process. The main focus of Asic Jungle as a brokerage desk lies in larger-sized hardware purchases. And the company assumes that every supplier has to go through a vetting process and in-person inspection of the premise in which the hardware has been operated, and an inspection of the hardware itself. The company also takes full responsibility of delivering working machines as the counterparty in the contract so that the customer doesn’t have to deal with the seller directly.
Asic Jungle focuses on wholesale and larger order sizes. The deals typically range in the ~1-15 MW in size.
What is a common warranty practice?
The question of warranty issues with mining equipment is painful for the crypto community. And the fact that terms of policy don’t have common norms make it worse. Company passes every sale through a due-diligence and inspection process, however breakdowns can still appear. Asic Jungle works with different suppliers, and that’s what it says about widespread terms of warranty policy from the traders it works with.
— Everything depends on the hardware and transactions. Every transaction is different, and if we are shipping used hardware overseas, we will typically add a certain percent of units on top of the total purchase quantity to off-set any potential issues. Otherwise, the common warranty on used hardware is 7 days for a repair or refund. If the units are used but still fall under the manufacturer’s warranty then we let the client deal with the manufacturer directly.
How would a real case be solved?
To dive into the topic, we decided to imagine the following situation:
The customer buys several ASICs in September. They make a long journey from one country to another and reach the buyer in December. They connect the machines and find out that one of them isn’t working.
Firstly, we need to determine the day from which the warranty starts. If the hardware purchased is brand-new then it starts the day that it leaves the manufacturer’s warehouse. For used hardware, it will typically start on the date that the hardware is received. With Asic Jungle, shipments normally take less than 14-16 days to arrive, even for international shipments.
If the warranty timeframe hasn’t passed, then it’s a right moment to decide whether it’s applicable in this case at all. If the hardware seems to break down, the company usually requests the customer to make a report of the issue and address it based on the report and proof provided, such as hash reports, videos, and anything else useful. Warranty claims are dealt with quite fast in order to allow the client to proceed with their mining efforts efficiently. That refers to internal damages.
If the machine presents physical damages from the shipping, it will be visible before even having to unbox the units. A reliable company would take care of properly boxing and securing the units on the pallet prior to shipping, so these types of damages don’t normally happen. Asic Jungle has taken as a rule to insure all of their shipments. If damages happen during the transportation phase the client is not responsible for any damages.
As the crypto mining sector is heavily globalized, the question of legal jurisdiction rises often. Well, it’s independent of where the units are being shipped from or to. Instead, it’s based upon the country of incorporation of the company and the purchase agreements. And if the seller and customer cannot come to an agreement, the case can be overlooked by a court of the country of origin of the company.
Now time has come to leave the imagined situation behind as we hope everything is clear with it. So let’s switch a bit and speak about a more rare but interesting warranty case.
And what if a customer decides to combine ASIC and a cooling technology?
Immersion cooling is quite a young invention in crypto mining equipment. The technology helps to cool the equipment by placing it in special baths to prolong the service life and increase productivity. Some miners have already decided to use the new technology while others are skeptical. Coming closer to the warranty cases, let’s imagine one more situation. A miner decides to try out immersion cooling, places an ASIC into the bath, and the machine breaks. Asic Jungle reflects on who is responsible for the issue.
— If the machine breaks following misuse or mistreatment by the customer, then they are solely responsible for the issue. As a company we guarantee the purchase and delivery of the hardware purchased, in its entirety. Any issues that are caused by potential neglect or other issues after the proper delivery has been made are the client’s sole responsibility.
What advice should a miner use?
It seems that we’ve discussed an impressive core part of the warranty issues. However, these were imagined situations and potential cases. And it’s always pleasant to receive something more personal along with these. So, the Asic Jungle team came up with top-3 advice regarding the question of crypto machines warranty.
- Make sure to read the manufacturer’s warranty policy prior to purchasing new hardware. Most manufacturer’s will void the warranty if you decide to open the machine by yourself for immersion or other purposes.
- Buy from legitimate and verified sources. Ask for references. Paying 1-2% more for your machine is better than risk getting scammed.
- Take care of your mining facility and you won’t have to deal with serious warranty issues too much.
