HP warranty - advised to buy replacement

[enjay]

Our admittedly-elderly core switch has developed a hardware fault. HP have said the model is end-of-life and offered us a functionally-equivalent switch, however the model they suggested is not equivalent. I pointed this out, and they responded saying there isn't an equivalent switch in the upgrade path (whatever that means) and we will therefore have to buy a replacement which matches the spec of the current one. Has anyone else experienced this? I haven't checked but I'm sure HP sell a switch which matches the features (they're not that unusual, after all), so why aren't they providing one?

[Fazza]

Because it's End Of Life meaning the warranty is pretty much finished as it has reached the of it's lifetime.

 

"HP typically supports products for 5 years after the End of Sale (EoS) date, during which standard Hardware Limited Warranties and existing contract services remain valid. After the End of Service Life (EOSL) date, on-site repairs, software updates, and spare parts become unavailable, with some exceptions for commercial, best-effort support"

[enjay]

Ah, I didn't realise the lifetime warranty had an end date! It looks like that's only on switches purchases since 2019 though, and this is older than that. Our switch model went end-of-service a few years ago, apparently.

[Fazza]

Most of our switches are HP because of the Lifetime Warranty and then in the last few years we kept on hearing about issues like what you're having so as part of a wireless network upgrade we're not long automatically looking at HP PoE switches and looking at some cheaper brands instead as the 'lifetime' warranty with HP is not as good as it used to be.  Get in touch with HP and see what they say but don't hold your breath!

[DalekSec]

Quote

they responded saying there isn't an equivalent switch in the upgrade path (whatever that means)

 

My guess is that range of switch they don't make anymore, to explain in car terms, its like going to upgrade your Ford Mondeo, realising they dont make Mondeos anymore so you have to get another simular model that does the job 

[enjay]

4 minutes ago, Fazza said:

we're not long automatically looking at HP PoE switches and looking at some cheaper brands instead as the 'lifetime' warranty with HP is not as good as it used to be.

 

Same here. We're buying Unifi now, and are in the process of swapping out our Meraki switches for Unifi (buying new Unifi costs less than 2 years of Meraki licences, so it's an easy decision). Once I've done all those, I may well swap the HPs too for consistency, but that would cost actual money.

[enjay]

Just now, DalekSec said:

 

My guess is that range of switch they don't make anymore, to explain in car terms, its like going to upgrade your Ford Mondeo, realising they dont make Mondeos anymore so you have to get another simular model that does the job 

 

You're right and you're wrong. HP don't make that model any more, but the lifetime warranty should mean they replace it with a functionally-equivalent alternative - like a "new for old" cover on a washing machine, to continue the domestic examples. HP are claiming there is no comparable model, which is the bit I find unlikely.

[DalekSec]

1 minute ago, enjay said:

 

You're right and you're wrong. HP don't make that model any more, but the lifetime warranty should mean they replace it with a functionally-equivalent alternative - like a "new for old" cover on a washing machine, to continue the domestic examples. HP are claiming there is no comparable model, which is the bit I find unlikely.

 

I'm not wrong i just didnt explain that bit  

 

Yes they will supply you with a modern comparable model, but speaking from experience it wouldn't surprise me that the line was completly killed off.

 

Back to the car analogy, there isnt a Ford Mondeo function-equivalent now, you'd have to get a Kuga which is a cross-over thus is not a comparable model if you need a sedan. 

What model of HP Switch is it?

[Fazza]

2 minutes ago, enjay said:

HP don't make that model any more, but the lifetime warranty should mean they replace it with a functionally-equivalent alternative - like a "new for old" cover on a washing machine, to continue the domestic examples. HP are claiming there is no comparable model, which is the bit I find unlikely.

 

It's what they used to do!  We had a 10/100 switch fail (this was around 10 years ago now) and it was replaced with a 10/100/1000 one as the 10/100 hadn't been made in years!  It's why (up until now) have always purchased HP switches as the cost was justified with the genuine lifetime warranty, times change and HP have altered it so it's not as good as it was.

[enjay]

4 minutes ago, DalekSec said:

 

Back to the car analogy, there isnt a Ford Mondeo function-equivalent now, you'd have to get a Kuga which is a cross-over thus is not a comparable model if you need a sedan. 

 

That's what they're saying, too. Our switch has 24x RJ45 ports and a module slot into which we've inserted a 16x SFP module. HP are saying they don't have any switches which can take this module, so we have to buy a new switch. I'd be a little surprised if they don't make hybrid RJ45 and SFP switches, but even if they don't, shouldn't the terms of the lifetime warranty mean they give me an RJ45 switch and an SFP switch instead?

[Davit2005]

42 minutes ago, enjay said:

 

That's what they're saying, too. Our switch has 24x RJ45 ports and a module slot into which we've inserted a 16x SFP module. HP are saying they don't have any switches which can take this module, so we have to buy a new switch. I'd be a little surprised if they don't make hybrid RJ45 and SFP switches, but even if they don't, shouldn't the terms of the lifetime warranty mean they give me an RJ45 switch and an SFP switch instead?

Think they have got a CX Chassis switch. Most of the focus now seems to be more powerful 1U switches for enterprise which Unifi have gone down with high density SFP 10/25/40/100g ports for core. It is the more layered approach for complex network layouts where you have core > distribution > access  (end devices).

 

We still get replacements for our 2650's which are at least 15 years old, occasionally we get a decent switch as replacement. Newer switches have limited but best to check the warranty as can be as little as 1 year.

Edited March 10 by Davit2005

[Bumhug360]

3 hours ago, enjay said:

 

You're right and you're wrong. HP don't make that model any more, but the lifetime warranty should mean they replace it with a functionally-equivalent alternative - like a "new for old" cover on a washing machine, to continue the domestic examples. HP are claiming there is no comparable model, which is the bit I find unlikely.

 

That HP don't exist anymore, they shifted all switches to Aruba (who they own) around 2015 and then recently renamed Aruba to HPE Networking (which is what they were originally called). Effectively the lifetime warranty program ended when they shifted everything over to Aruba, they still honour the warranty but as only if they have stock and its unlikely these days that you will get like for like and only be offered whatever refurb units they have on the shelf at the time

Edited March 10 by Bumhug360

[jmak]

I've always thought of lifetime as "until I die" or possibly "until whoever takes over from me dies" which essentially means until the end of time. 

I've come to realise that's probably unrealistic and for IT/network kit I'm now satisfied with "until the date I was told security updates would be available when I bought it". If I think that's unreasonable short I won't buy the product and if it's not receiving security updates I'll remove it from my network anyway.

[enjay]

32 minutes ago, jmak said:

I've always thought of lifetime as "until I die" or possibly "until whoever takes over from me dies" which essentially means until the end of time. 

I've come to realise that's probably unrealistic and for IT/network kit I'm now satisfied with "until the date I was told security updates would be available when I bought it". If I think that's unreasonable short I won't buy the product and if it's not receiving security updates I'll remove it from my network anyway.

When we bought the switch, "lifetime" meant the lifetime of the switch (or probably, lifetime unless sold to someone else). It's now "until we decide to stop supporting it", but they didn't change the definition retrospectively, so we should still be covered by the original meaning of lifetime.

[robintech]

Checked on hpe.com and still says  2105 for our lifetime warranty

[enjay]

I asked HP why we're not covered by the lifetime warranty. Their reply was:

 

As per the warranty policy,  this device holds a lifetime warranty (Standard Warranty - Wty: HPE Parts Exchange Support NBD Response / 9X5 | Ship To: GB | WTY End Date: 2112-09-04).
The alternative replacements in place of the original device, due to its End of Support nature and unavailability, may differ with respect to warranty based on the alternate switch's End of Support Date.

 

So, when our switch went EOL, they designated a different model as being its replacement. That model has also gone EOL, presumably after 2019, so this apparently means they don't have to replace our switch with anything at all.

 

I've had a look, and they really don't sell anything similar (at least, not under the HP name but I think there's a Juniper one which is comparable) so it looks like we'll either have to stack multiple switches to achieve the same thing or go to a different manufacturer.