How long is the warranty on common things — a plain reference

Your washing machine, your phone, your laptop. Every one of them came with a warranty, and you almost certainly do not know how long any of them last.

Nobody hands you a single reference when you buy the thing. Warranty lengths are scattered across a dozen websites, written in dense legal language. By the time something breaks, you are digging through email folders and a drawer of paper manuals.

A warranty is a simple promise: the maker will repair, replace or refund if the product fails within a certain period. That period varies wildly by category, and the fine print determines whether the promise actually holds. Here is a practical map.

Consumer electronics — phones, laptops, tablets, cameras

Most phones, laptops and tablets carry a one-year manufacturer warranty from the date of purchase. That covers defects in materials and workmanship — anything that goes wrong through normal use without external damage.

What this does not cover: cracked screens, liquid damage, battery wear. Those are separate accidental-damage plans (AppleCare, Samsung Care, their equivalents) — paid add-ons.

Business laptops (ThinkPad, Dell Latitude) sometimes carry two to three years. Camera bodies often get two years in Europe, one elsewhere. Refurbished devices may get only 90 days.

Rule of thumb: one year, with the battery treated as a consumable and often shorter.

Home appliances — washing machines, fridges, dishwashers, ovens

This is where the range is widest. Large appliances often have a split warranty structure:

• Full unit: typically one to two years of standard cover.
• Key components (compressor, motor, drum): up to ten years, but only if you registered the product within the first few weeks and sometimes only if you signed up for a parts-only plan.

The long component warranties are real, but they are also the thing most people miss because they sit in a registration email nobody reads. The two-year statutory right against the seller (in the EU) is your safest bet regardless of registration status.

Small appliances — kettles, toasters, coffee machines — tend to carry one to two years depending on the brand and the market. Cheap ones may only get twelve months; premium brands stretch to two.

Furniture — sofas, mattresses, tables

Furniture warranties are the least standardized category, and the range is enormous:

• Mattresses: anything from two to twenty years. The longer warranties are usually for manufacturing defects (sagging beyond a certain depth, splits in the cover) — not for normal softening over time, which is expected.
• Sofas and upholstered furniture: typically two to five years on the frame and one to three on the fabric or upholstery. Again, this varies heavily by brand.
• Flat-pack and budget furniture: often one to two years, sometimes only ninety days.

If you buy furniture second-hand, the manufacturer warranty usually does not transfer unless the terms say so. Your statutory rights against the seller do not apply in private sales.

Tyres

Tyres carry a workmanship warranty — usually one to five years — covering defects like separations or bulges. Wear-and-tear, punctures and impact damage are excluded; road-hazard protection is a separate purchase.

Cars

New cars typically carry three to five years bumper-to-bumper. Extended warranties sold at the dealership are insurance products, not part of the manufacturer's terms.

What statutory rights stack on top?

Here is the part most people miss: a manufacturer warranty is not your only cover.

In many countries, you have a statutory right against the seller — not the manufacturer — that the product will be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and match its description. This right exists independently of any warranty the maker offers.

• The EU requires a minimum of two years for faulty goods, though some member states give more.
• The UK's Consumer Rights Act gives buyers up to thirty days to reject faulty goods for a full refund, and up to six months to presume a fault existed at the time of purchase.
• The US has no general federal minimum warranty length — state law varies, and the Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act sets disclosure rules rather than minimum terms.

These rights apply to consumer purchases from traders, not to private sales. And they are not the same thing as a manufacturer warranty — they run against the seller, not the maker, and they are not voided by an expired manufacturer warranty.

Your statutory rights do not depend on keeping a warranty card. They depend on proving you bought the product — which is why the receipt matters.

Why a tracker saves you from blind spots

Knowing the warranty length is the first step. Knowing when your specific product's warranty expires — and having the proof ready when it matters — is the second. That is exactly what wrnty does: it keeps a record of each product, its purchase date, the warranty length, and the expiry date, then reminds you before anything goes out of cover. It is one tool among many; a spreadsheet or a labelled folder in your email inbox works too, but a dedicated tracker means the reminder comes to you instead of the other way around.

When something breaks, you will need your proof of purchase within minutes, not hours — and if the warranty has already expired, you will want to know whether a statutory right or an accidental-damage plan still applies. Our guide on what counts as proof of purchase walks through exactly what the claim desk will accept and what to do when the original receipt is gone. And if you already have a system for tracking your purchases, our guide on warranty gotchas and fine print covers what to look for before anything breaks.

How do you actually use this?

Put the product in your hand, open the box, and check three things:

1. What does the manual say? Write down the length.
2. When did you buy it? That is your start date — the warranty almost never backdates.
3. Do you still have proof of purchase? Receipt, order confirmation, bank statement — pick the one that will survive longest.

Record those three facts. Set a reminder before expiry. Move on. You do not need a perfect system; you need a reliable one.

How long is the warranty on each category?

Here is a plain summary of the typical manufacturer warranty by category. These are ranges, not promises — always check the specific product's documentation.

And remember: these are the manufacturer's terms. Statutory rights against the seller may give you additional cover in many countries, and they do not expire when the manufacturer's warranty does.

If you are unsure whether anything you own is still under warranty, the fastest way to find out is to look at what you have recorded — or, if you do not have a record, to start one now. Every product you have bought recently that came with a warranty is worth capturing while the receipt is still in front of you.