Intel has announced that it will extend the warranty on its 13th and 14th-generation Core processors in the boxed version by two years. The decision is due to a problem with failures and instability of the chips that has become public knowledge in recent months. It affects all models with a power of 65 watts and above. Intel processors traditionally come with a three-year warranty, which means that this is now extended to five years.
By mid-August, Intel will release a microcode update to address issues that have been causing unexplained crashes or blue screens of death (BSODs) during gaming and other workloads, presumably due to overvoltage. The issue can cause permanent damage to processors, and the microcode update won’t fix chips that have already been affected. That means owners of affected processors will have to return them for replacement. Units that haven’t yet exhibited the issue will be free of the problem once the microcode update is installed, the manufacturer says. It’s not yet clear whether currently functioning chips will be free of future crashes, but the extended warranty is likely intended to allay those concerns. Intel is also looking into how to easily identify failed processors.
An investigation has already been initiated, which may result in a class action lawsuit against Intel. The company has not yet shared details on how the warranty extension mechanism will be implemented – it promised to publish them later. Some models, for example, the Special Edition KS, have only a one-year warranty, which will now be extended to three years; Intel’s offer also applies to boxed models that are currently available in retail; the manufacturer recommended that owners of OEM systems contact their manufacturers – apparently, the burden of extending the warranty will be shifted to them. The company also emphasized that mass failures are not related to oxidation of contacts: this “minor” problem occurred in 2022 and was fixed in early 2023 – by early 2024, all questionable copies were withdrawn from the supply chain, although some may have remained in stores at that time.
Below is Intel’s statement on the warranty extension, originally addressed to the editors of the resource Tom’s Hardware.
“Intel is committed to providing support for all customers who have experienced or are experiencing instability with their 13th and/or 14th Gen processors during the exchange process. We stand behind our products and will share more details about the two-year extended warranty support for our 13th and 14th Gen Intel Core desktop boxed processors in the near future.
If you are currently or have previously experienced instability symptoms on a 13/14th Gen Intel Core desktop system:
Customers who purchased systems from an OEM or system integrator, please contact your system manufacturer’s support for further assistance; Customers who purchased a boxed processor, please contact Intel Customer Support for further assistance.
“Intel is also investigating options to easily identify affected processors in end-user systems and will provide additional guidance soon. We apologize for the support messages, as the final determination of the cause of the issue and its resolution was not straightforward.”
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