Summary
- Google now offers new Pixel device owners the option of a 2-year extended warranty plan with a one-time payment.
- The new 2-year coverage plans range from $99 to $279, depending on the Pixel model.
- In another key change, Google is switching from Assurant to Asurion as the coverage provider for Pixel devices.
Protecting your newly purchased smartphone goes beyond just attaching a screen protector or a case. Smartphone manufacturers like Apple and Samsung already offer extended warranty plans for their devices. Google has a similar extended warranty plan for its Pixel lineup of products, known as Preferred Care. However, Pixel smartphone owners can only get coverage by making monthly payments, while Samsung and Apple’s offerings also provide a one-time payment option. Thankfully, Google is now looking to rectify this limitation in Preferred Care.
Related
What is Preferred Care for Pixel devices?
Preferred Care for your Pixel hardware saves you from an eye-popping bill during an unfortunate incident
Google’s Preferred Care US support page has just been updated sometime in the past couple of days, highlighting a couple of changes. First and foremost, Pixel smartphone owners will now be able to get a Preferred Care plan for 2 years by making a one-time payment. Previously, users could only get Preferred Care for Pixel phones in monthly installments. While a 2-year coverage plan did exist, it was only available for Fitbit models.
Here are the prices of the 2-year Preferred Care plans for Pixel phones:
- Pixel 9, 8: $159
- Pixel 9 Pro, 9 Pro XL, 8 Pro: $249
- Pixel 9 Pro Fold, Pixel Fold: $279
- Pixel 8a: $109
- Pixel 7a: $99
- Pixel 7 Pro: $199
- Pixel 7: $149
The monthly payment plans (up to 60 months) for the same list of phones are as follows:
- Pixel 9, 8: $8/month
- Pixel 9 Pro, 9 Pro XL, 8 Pro: $12/month
- Pixel 9 Pro Fold, Pixel Fold: $15/month
- Pixel 8a: $6/month
- Pixel 7a: $5/month
- Pixel 7 Pro: $9/month
- Pixel 7: $7/month
Another crucial change is coming to Google’s Preferred Care
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On top of the newly added 2-year plan, Google’s support page now says it will partner with Asurion to cover repairs for its Pixel devices, replacing the existing insurance provider Assurant. A note on the support page says the following:
Important: If your device is shipped on or after February 24, 2025, your Service Contract Provider will be Asurion Warranty Protection Services, LLC, or one of its affiliates.
Google also notes on the same page that Assurant will remain the service contract provider for devices shipped before February 24, 2025. You can look closer at Asurion’s terms and conditions for Preferred Care here.
As we reported a couple of days ago, Google is readying a new “Your Devices” page to give you instant access to all the relevant details about your Google devices. Although this page isn’t live yet, we’ve learned it will provide info on IMEI, subscriptions, and methods to contact Google support, among other functions. Crucially, we learned that this page will also let you initiate repair requests for Pixel devices.
It’s this repair aspect that makes us think these newly uncovered 2-year Preferred Care plans are, at least in part, related to the Your Devices page. With that being said, these are likely two separate developments occurring around the same time, and we may be reading too much into them.
In any case, new Pixel owners will welcome the ability to get a 2-year extended warranty plan for their Pixel phone in one go, rather than paying for coverage every month. It also helps that you end up saving some money with this 2-year, one-time payment option under Preferred Care. Unfortunately, the new 2-year coverage plan isn’t live for Pixel smartphone purchases on the Google Store yet. But since the support page has been updated already, it shouldn’t be long before the option appears.