A standard laptop warranty covers defects in materials and workmanship and very little else. Apple, Dell and Lenovo all exclude accidental damage such as drops and spills, normal wear and tear, cosmetic damage, software problems and repairs by unauthorised shops, and Apple covers the battery only when it fails because of a defect. Accidental damage is what paid plans like AppleCare+ add.
The repairs small teams run into most, a cracked screen or a spill, are often the ones the warranty won't pay for, so it helps to know this before a laptop breaks. Below is what each maker excludes, how batteries are treated, why consumer law doesn't help a company, and what extended cover costs. Terms were checked on each maker's own pages on 29 October 2026.
What do laptop warranties exclude?
Laptop warranties exclude damage from outside causes (accidents, liquid, misuse, power surges), normal wear and tear, software, and repairs or modifications by anyone the maker hasn't authorised. The wording differs by maker, but the list is much the same.
| Maker | Excludes (in the maker's words) |
|---|---|
| Apple | "accident, abuse, misuse, fire, liquid contact", "cosmetic damage, including... scratches, dents", "normal wear and tear", batteries unless the failure is a defect, service by anyone not Apple or an authorised provider, unauthorised modification, removed serial numbers |
| Dell | "Software, including... the operating system", "External causes such as accident, abuse, misuse or problems with electrical power", "Servicing not authorized by Dell", "Normal wear and tear" |
| Lenovo | "loss of, or damage to, your data", "any software programs", "misuse, abuse, accident, modification... power surges", "damage caused by a non-authorized service provider", altered or removed ID labels |
| HP | "falls, impacts, spills, or general product misuse", "malware infestation or a viral attack", "Hardware wear and tear", "Unauthorized fixes and replacements" (from HP's explainer, not the legal text) |
Sources: Apple One Year Limited Warranty for Mac, Dell limited hardware warranties, Lenovo Limited Warranty, HP warranty explainer.
Apple also won't repair a Mac if it has information that the Mac was stolen, or if you can't show you're the authorised user, so keep the receipt with the laptop's record.
Are laptop batteries covered under warranty?
Laptop batteries are covered only when they fail because of a defect, not when they simply wear down with use. Apple excludes batteries unless the failure is "due to a defect in materials or workmanship" (Apple), and Dell gives laptop batteries a one-year warranty whatever the length of the rest of the cover (Dell).
AppleCare+ goes further: it replaces a Mac battery that holds less than 80 percent of its original capacity (Apple). On a laptop you plan to keep for three or four years, that's often the part that wears out first.
Does consumer law give a company more cover?
Usually not. The extra rights people often mention apply to consumers buying for themselves, and a laptop the company buys for work is a business purchase.
- UK: the Consumer Rights Act defines a consumer as "an individual acting for purposes that are wholly or mainly outside that individual's trade, business, craft or profession" (legislation.gov.uk).
- EU: the two-year legal guarantee is described as a guarantee given "to a consumer" (Your Europe).
- US: the federal Magnuson-Moss warranty law covers "tangible property normally used for personal, family, or household purposes" (FTC).
So for a company laptop, the maker's own warranty and whatever cover you buy is usually all there is. If a sole trader buys a laptop that's mostly for personal use, it can be different; check with the seller or a local adviser.
How much does extended laptop cover cost?
Apple publishes its prices, and the other makers mostly don't. AppleCare+ for a 13-inch MacBook Air (M4) costs $74.99 a year in the US, $84.99 for the 15-inch, and $129.99 for a 14-inch MacBook Pro (M5), from Apple's US store on 29 October 2026. With it, a repair for accidental screen or enclosure damage costs $49 to $99, and other accidental damage such as a spill $149 to $299 (Apple).
Dell's Accidental Damage service has no published price, covers one incident per contract year, and excludes theft, loss, fire, flood and intentional damage (Dell). HP and Lenovo sell accidental damage cover too, priced at checkout for the specific model.
Is extended warranty worth it for a company laptop?
Extended cover is most likely to pay off on laptops that travel and get handled a lot, because accidental damage is the repair the standard warranty won't cover. For a laptop that stays on a desk, the base warranty plus some money set aside for repairs may be enough.
For a sense of how often laptops break: Consumer Reports found that 16 percent of laptops owned by its members broke or stopped working as well as they should within three years, from 75,923 laptops bought new between 2019 and 2025 (Consumer Reports). That figure doesn't separate defects from accidents.
Whichever you choose, it helps to know when each laptop's cover ends, so a fault gets reported while the repair is still free. Our warranty check page links each maker's lookup, our guide to filing a warranty claim covers the claim itself, and AssetJay keeps each laptop's warranty date and reminds you 30, 7 and 1 day before it ends.
Free: Warranty Check by Serial Number
The official warranty check page for Apple, Dell, Lenovo, HP, Microsoft and ASUS, and where to find the serial number on each. No signup needed.
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