Concept · iOS
WServer: keeping every warranty, claim and repair in one place
A smaller iOS concept for tracking product warranties, contacting support and getting help from other owners.
20222 min readiOSContent designAdobe XD
Overview
A friend bought a phone, found a manufacturing defect and was told at the shop that it wasn't covered. That made me wonder how many people really know what their warranty covers. WServer keeps the purchase date, expiry date and support options for each product in one place, and adds a forum where owners help each other. It was a short project, so this is a compact write-up.
- Problem: Warranty terms are scattered and unclear, so people find out what is covered only when a claim fails.
- What I did: A survey, three interviews with 18 to 30-year-olds, then an iPhone prototype in Adobe XD.
- What I found: Most respondents knew after-sales services existed, so the app focuses on keeping track of them, not on explaining them.
Problem and research
People know warranties exist, but they lose track of them
I surveyed people about the products they buy and their after-sales experience, and I interviewed three people aged 18 to 30. In the survey, 91.3% said they had heard of after-sales services, and 76.5% preferred shopping for tech gadgets over cosmetics. So awareness wasn't the problem. My research question was whether people know what voids a warranty and how often they check it.
My point of view: a tech-savvy student who buys a lot of gadgets needs one place to manage their warranties, because after-sales support feels unimportant at the checkout and only matters when something breaks.
What the interviews showed
Nobody tracked their warranties. They checked only once something broke.
Actually, I don't keep track of any of this, because most of the time we go for a warranty claim when a product has a defect. That's when we check if it's still covered.
P3, master's student, 25 Recently, I went to replace my laptop, but the warranty period was over. I couldn't replace it.
P2, master's student, UK Warranty terms are the hardest information to find and read.
When it comes to the warranty information, it comes on a tiny paper in tiny letters, and you don't even take the time to read it.
P1, student, 18
Three Zoom interviews, March 2022. Quotes lightly cleaned from the transcripts and anonymised; words in square brackets are mine.
Decisions
The product, not the paperwork, is the main unit of the app
Instead of filing receipts, you add a product by scanning it or searching for it. Each product then gets a card with its purchase date, expiry date and warranty status, and the list can be sorted and filtered by expiry. The product page puts the next action first: an extended-cover option, contacting the manufacturer, and a map of service centres.
I added a forum because a lot of problems don't need a claim at all. Owners of the same product can share photos and fixes. The trade-off is moderation, which a real version would need to plan for from the start.
Why a forum, and why it needs care
People already fix small problems online, but don't fully trust forum answers.
At some point, they are not the guys that have the most knowledge about this thing. So they will be good, but not the best.
P3, master's student, 25
Three Zoom interviews, March 2022. Quotes lightly cleaned from the transcripts and anonymised; words in square brackets are mine.
Validation and reflection
How I'd validate it, and what I'd change
I wrote three usability test tasks: sign in with any method, check the expiry date of a pair of AirPods Pro and find more information about them, and send a message in the forum. The next step is to run those tasks with five people and measure completion and time on task. I'd also check whether people actually come back to the app before a warranty expires.
Looking back, the brand names in the screens (Apple, Xbox, Google Nest) are only illustrative, and the project has no affiliation with them. A real version would need to import receipts automatically, because typing in every purchase is the step most people would skip.
Research data
Full research data
The survey and interview data from this short project (2022).
Survey: shoppers and after-sales services4 charts
Interviews: three people aged 18 to 303 participants, 5 findings
Interview participants
n = 3
P1
- 18
- Finished school, starting university
- India
- Researches every purchase
P2
- Master's student
- UK
- Shops monthly, including electronics
P3
- 25
- Master's student
- Buys mostly online, compares sites
From the interview introductions. P2's age wasn't recorded; the proposal says all three were 18 to 30.
More from the interviews
Warranty cards and dates get lost.
Sometimes I misplace the warranty card. I lose the box after a couple of months.
P1, student, 18 Actually, it's hard to [remember] the date.
P2, master's student, UK Extended warranties exist, but registering for one is a chore.
You have to buy the thing, then scan the [bill], upload it to their website, and then wait two or three days for the confirmation. I think it is a total hectic process.
P1, student, 18 Claims left people without a timeframe or a clear answer.
They didn't explain what has to be done, or they didn't give me a timeframe of when it will be done.
P1, student, 18 When I went to the store for replacing the product, they were like, it was my fault.
P2, master's student, UK Product information is everywhere; after-sales information isn't.
There's a plethora of information about the product, about the features. But the information about after-sales service, if I bump into an issue, is very scarce.
P1, student, 18 All three said a tool that tracks warranties would help.
In two of the interviews I put the app idea forward myself before they agreed, so this is weak evidence.
In my opinion, it will be very good if there is an app for tracking the warranty.
P2, master's student, UK
Three Zoom interviews, March 2022. Quotes lightly cleaned from the transcripts and anonymised; words in square brackets are mine. Recordings and full transcripts are not published.
Want to talk about this project? Get in touch