Why is my drive out of warranty?

Even though most drives will continue to serve their owners for years beyond the warranty expiration date, hard drives are electro-mechanical devices with moving parts. Although they are designed to last as long as possible, they will not last forever. Hard drive failure is most commonly a mechanical failure due to mechanical components wearing out through normal use.

More rarely, hard drives can also fail prematurely due to defect in manufacture, or because of the conditions which they are subjected to such as bumping / dropping / excessive heat etc. A defect in manufacture will most often be detected within the first year of use.

Because of the delicate nature of all hard drives, it is critical that data be backed up regularly in the event of hard drive failure. Seagate offers an extensive line of drives intended for backup and with bundled backup software. Visit the Seagate Warranty Validation page for more information.

Seagate stands behind all of our quality products and will replace a drive should it fail due to a defect in manufacture within the products' warranty period.

Any of the following conditions would make a drive ineligible for warranty replacement:

• The warranty period has expired.
• Seagate / Maxtor External products which have their cases disassembled and/or opened.
• Any drives which have been disassembled.
• Drives with signs of physical damage.
• Drives which have been dropped or otherwise abused and have internal damage.

 To find the warranty period on replacements, please see our Warranty Services Page or contact Seagate Support.