The HTC Uh Oh Protection plan has been a big selling point when I talk to people in the market for a new smartphone. The plan requires the purchaser to invest zero dollars for 12 months of protection and if you don’t use it HTC will give you a $100 credit towards your next HTC purchase.
When I watched Google announce the Nexus 5X and 6P they mentioned the Nexus Protection plan that covers a phone for 24 months. Immediately I thought, “Wow! That plan is better than HTC’s Uh Oh Protection.” So I had to do a little comparison for myself to see who was really offering the best protection plan for the price.
Here’s What You Get:
HTC Uh Oh Protection
- Replacement warranty for 12 months from date of purchase
- Plan includes replacement for one claim
- Covers broken or scratched screen
- Covers water damage
- Covers carrier switch
- $100 credit for not using Uh Oh during the 12 month period
Nexus Protect
- Replacement warranty for 24 months from ship date
- Plan includes replacement for up to two claims
- Covers broken screen
- Covers spills
- Covers drops
- Plan transfers with phone if sold
Here’s what you don’t get:
Both protection plans have pros that increase the value of having such coverage. I like that Nexus Protect allows the warranty to follow the phone if it is sold to a new owner. The benefit of such transfer really goes to the new owner, because they are getting a replacement warranty and didn’t have to make an initial investment like the original owner did. We’ll get more into that shortly.
HTC is promising to give customers a $100 credit if they don’t use Uh Oh Protection while the Nexus Protect plan does not offer a similar perk for taking good care of the device for twice as long as HTC’s plan.
HTC Uh Oh Protection
- Non-transferable
- Lacks worldwide availability (US & Mexico only)
- Can’t submit multiple claims
Nexus Protect
- Does not offer $100 credit or any perk for not filing a claim
- Lacks worldwide availability (US only)
Here’s what it costs:
After doing the math, one plan starts to sound way better than the other and if you’re unfamiliar with the costs of each plan you’ll have to keep reading to understand what I mean.
HTC Uh Oh Protection
In the beginning, HTC trialed a protection plan called HTC Advantage when the HTC One M8 was announced. Any One M8 purchased in the US had a 6 month window for replacement if the screen broke. With the launch of the HTC One M9 and the success of HTC Advantage a better deal was brought to the table called HTC Uh Oh Protection. For any purchase of a new One M8 or One M9 before February 29, 2016 from any retailer, HTC would honor the Uh Oh Protection plan.
And guess how much it costs? Nothing… Zero dollars… Free!
That’s right, if a user breaks the phone, drops it in the toilet, or changes carriers HTC will replace it for free. That means there isn’t a cost up front and no cost to process a claim.
The one time a customer would need to provide financial credit is if the user wanted HTC to overnight a replacement phone. The users would have to provide a credit card for HTC to place a hold on $599 while the switch from broken phone to new phone is made. That’s just insurance for HTC, but the funds on hold would be released when you return the old phone to HTC.
Nexus Protect:
Google’s protection plan will cost users $89 on the front end of a Nexus purchase, but that’s not all. For each claim (up to two) made during the 2 years of coverage, the user will have to fork out another $79 for a replacement device.
That’s a total of $168 out of pocket to replace a Nexus phone.
As if paying more money when your phone breaks isn’t hard enough to swallow, Google says it’s partner that replaces the damaged phone has the option to send you a new, refurbished, or re-certified phone of like kind and quality.
Ouch. Really?
For someone to pay $168 after the initial cost of the phone, that replacement phone better live up to the money invested. At least, getting a sub par replacement would make me feel ripped off and on the short end of the stick.
Here’s where you can get it:
HTC Uh Oh Protection
The purchase of any new HTC One M8 or One M9 in the US or Mexico before February 2016 qualifies for HTC Uh Oh Protection; in stores or online. A new discovery for me was the HTC One A9 will only have Uh Oh Protection if it is purchased at HTC.com before April 19, 2016 and delivered to an address in the US. The latter time frame makes me wonder if HTC will offer HTC Uh Oh with the 2016 flagship.
Here’s a list of eligible HTC products covered under HTC Uh Oh Protection.
Nexus Protect
This protection plan can only be applied at the point of sale when purchased by customers in the US on Google’s website.
It’s worth pointing out that Google gives the user 30 days to reject the warranty plan for a full refund of $89 and after 30 days the user can request a prorated credit. If the new phone is returned then the warranty will be reimbursed along with the cost of the phone.
Here’s which is better and why:
$89 dollars will offer a Nexus user the opportunity to file a claim for a replacement phone for up to 24 months, but it will cost and additional $79 to actually get that replacement phone in your hands.
For only the cost of purchasing the HTC One M8, One M9, or One A9 you are entitled to a replacement if the screen breaks, gets damaged by water, or if you decide to change carriers. There’s no extra cost and that makes this plan the best offer out of the two in my opinion. These days I’m too frugal to be wasting money on a protection plan that ends up costing me more money when I actually need to use it.
Conclusion:
When I first heard about Nexus Protect I was a little jealous that Google could offer a replacement for up to 2 years when HTC only covers a 12 month period. Then I investigated both plans to see which one had the best bang the buck and in my opinion HTC wins hands down. I still appreciate that the Nexus Protect plan transfers with the phone if it is sold to another user, because it gives the seller some more leeway when it comes to listing the device for sale. However, the original owner forfeits the initial investment of $89 for the coverage.
HTC boasts they’ll replace your One M8, One M9, or One A9 without the need for any justification. Heck, they even want you to share your story using the Twitter hashtag #HTCUHOH. You can read user’s horror stories HERE.
As for the Nexus plan, there’s some pretty detailed exclusions in the fine print like “repair or replacement necessitated by acts of God” and any damage due to a “riot”. Read the rest of the crazy exclusions in the terms and conditions listed in the source below. It seems like one would need to have a pretty good explanation to get their Nexus phone replaced using the coverage they PAID EXTRA FOR.
So which is better in your opinion? I tried to keep it pretty fair while doing my research, but the further I dug the Nexus Protect plan just didn’t sound all that it was cracked up to be.
Do you pay for insurance through your mobile carrier? The last time I had insurance on a phone was when I had the HTC HD2. I did have to use it when my screen stopped responding to touch after 16 months. And I took excellent care of this phone. In fact, I never dropped it on a hard surface only on carpet once or twice.
Sources:
HTC One M8 & M9 Uh Oh Protection Terms and Conditions
