Apple, Dell and Lenovo Computer Brands
TEC Services is a manufacturer-authorized warranty repair center for the Apple, Dell and Lenovo computer brands. On-site service is provided at no additional cost for warranty repairs that are requested by UGA departments and other USG agencies in the local Athens area. Warranty repairs earn our highest service priority and are typically completed within two to three business days (average). The service cycle times can sometimes extend past two to three business days when we experience brief surges in service demand that normally occur at the beginning of Fall and Spring semesters.
As a strategic service partner of the UGA Bookstore, we provide warranty repair services for the computer brands sold by the Bookstore – Apple , Dell and Lenovo exclusively. Dell computers purchased at the UGA Bookstore come bundled with a three-year warranty (parts & labor) and three years of Complete Care®, a product protection plan that will pay the cost of repairing or replacing your Dell computer if it is accidentally damaged as a result of a fall onto a hard surface or malfunctions due to exposure to a liquid (beverage spill on a keyboard, for example). As a Dell authorized warranty center, TEC Services is equipped to provide warranty repairs for the three year period and can perform the repairs that support your Complete Care accidental damage plan. Also, if it becomes impractical to repair a Dell computer that is protected by Complete Care, we can facilitate the replacement of your system. The Apple computers that you purchase at the UGA Bookstore feature a one-year, parts and labor warranty; however, you have the option to extend your warranty by purchasing 1 or 2 more years of AppleCare®.
NOTICE: For students, faculty, and staff who plan on purchasing a Dell computer for their own use, please be aware that the source from which you purchase your Dell will affect the level of warranty service that is available from TEC Services. If you purchase your Dell computer from the following sources, the warranty will cover the cost of parts, but TEC Services must charge you for the cost of labor:
- Wal-Mart
- Best Buy
- Costco
- QVC
- www.Dell.com – Home and Home Office category only
We are able to offer our warranty repair services – parts and labor – for privately-owned computers purchased through the following sources:
- The UGA Bookstore¹
- www.Dell.com – all categories except Home and Home Office
1 - Dell computers purchased through the UGA Bookstore come bundled with Dell’s three year parts & labor warranty and three years of Complete Care.
What Your Warranty Covers:
In general, your computer warranty protects you against product workmanship defects that could have occurred during the manufacturing process. In short, the warranty will pay the cost of labor and parts for repairs related to the replacement of faulty hardware, unless the part has been identified as a Customer Replaceable Unit (CRU). A CRU is a computer part that Dell (and a number of other PC manufacturers) has deemed as replaceable by the computer owner – DVD/CD drives & memory units, as examples. Dell’s policy is to cover the cost of parts only for CRU-related repairs. Customers can elect for TEC Services to perform the labor needed to replace CRUs for a modest fixed fee, or they have the option to order and replace the CRU themselves. Apple Computer covers the cost of parts & labor for components that are customer replaceable. Labor expended in providing software-related services is not covered by your warranty.
TEC Services performs software-related repairs using a reasonable, fixed-fee labor pricing structure. Some examples of software-related repairs/services for which we must assess a labor fee are listed below:
- Installation of the Windows operating system and essential device drives onto a hard drive that was replaced under warranty. (Dell only) Apple pays for the installation of the MAC OS onto replacement hard drives for systems covered under warranty.
- Saving (or attempts to save) data files from a defective hard drive.
- Installation/reinstallation of user software applications.
- Elimination of computer viruses, spy-ware, and other harmful/undesirable software.
In the interest of shrinking the repair times for computers, TEC Services offers its customers the opportunity to pre-approve a Not-To-Exceed (NTE) labor fee for software-related services/repairs. The value of this pre-approved fee is that it will permit us to by-pass the sometimes lengthy estimate approval process (often in excess of two to three days) and proceed directly to the repair of your computer. In addition, you can also select the option of allowing TEC Services to purchase your system recovery disks (not required for Dell and Apple owners) from the appropriate computer manufacturer
in the event that the repair requires this software and you cannot locate your original system recovery disks.
To view a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) concerning the warranty repair programs for Dell and Apple as well as other related issues, please see our FAQs.
Computer Brands Other Than Apple and Dell:
If you own a computer brand other than Apple or Dell, our repair staff is not authorized to perform the necessary warranty repairs. However, for a reasonable facilitation fee of
$100, we can send your notebook computer to one of our approved service partners for the warranty repair. The typical repair time for a facilitated warranty repair is 7 to 9 business days. Our facilitation fee provides the following services:
- Initial diagnostic screening to assure that the notebook malfunction is a result of a defective hardware component. If the computer problem is a result of a software-related issue, TEC Services can perform the necessary repair.
- Packaging the notebook to industry standards and shipping it to the service partner using 2nd Day Air shipping priority.
- Tracking the progress of the repair while the laptop is at the service partner’s facility.
- Receiving the repaired laptop into the TEC Services’ facility.
- Conducting a performance check of the repaired system to ensure that the system performs to factory specifications and all customer-reported problems were addressed.
TEC Services can facilitate the warranty repair of the following computer brands:
- Toshiba
- Sony
- Gateway
- Hewlett-Packard (HP)
- Compaq