HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted January 15, 2020 HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted January 15, 2020 I have mentioned that Med-El had a 5 year warranty on upgrade kits in the US. That has changed. Now upgrade kits are under a 3 year warranty. This is in line with the other brands in the US. @Melissa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Percy Posted January 15, 2020 Report Share Posted January 15, 2020 That doesn’t make any sense. The upgraded processor is still brand a new processor just like if an individual was receiving it as their original processor. To change the warranty just because we already have a different processor doesn’t seem right in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted January 15, 2020 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted January 15, 2020 @Percy I do not know why the warranty on upgrade kits changed. It is my upgrade year, so I reached out to my CSR and asked questions about upgrade kits and warranties. I have an awesome CSR, and he sent me attachments to read. I noticed this change in warranty. Since I have mentioned on HearPeers that Med-El was the only brand in the US to offer a 5 year warranty on upgrade processors, I wanted to let members know about the change. It seems that all 3 brands now have similar warranties in the US. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa Posted January 15, 2020 Report Share Posted January 15, 2020 Cochlear has a 5 year warranty (talked to rep) and so does Med El for new patients according to customer service person. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted January 15, 2020 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted January 15, 2020 Yes processor kits connected to surgeries are 5 years. Until this month Med-El future upgrade kits were also 5 years. That is what has changed to 3 years. Both other US brands offer 3 years for upgrade kits at this time too. Melissa 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marv Posted January 19, 2020 Report Share Posted January 19, 2020 Believe it or not, having a superior warranty was one of the reasons some of us picked for going with Med El. Just the other day I read something on this site about Med El having a better warranty, and commented to my wife that that was one reason I picked Med El. Jewel 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted January 19, 2020 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted January 19, 2020 @Marv I liked the idea of another 5 year warranty on upgrade kits. But I did not know about that when I selected Med-El. I naively assumed all 3 brands offered similar warranties. During my decision making time, I knew about the 10 year warranty on the internal and about the 5 year warranty on the processor kit I received at activation. After already having Med-El CIs, I learned that the other 2 FDA brands had 3 year warranties on upgrade kits. I found out because students needed replacements and their CI processors were already out of warranty so it was complicated to get their processors fixed under their insurances. I asked my CSR and learned that (at that time) Med-El had 5 year warranties on upgrade kits. I felt lucky. This is my upgrade year and as it turns out, Med-El US just changed the warranty on upgrade kits to 3 years. I have learned that activation kits and upgrade kits change quite frequently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travel Posted February 20, 2020 Report Share Posted February 20, 2020 Bummer on upgrade kits changing from 5 to 3 year warranty! If I recall the insurance they sell is very pricey. Feel like they kind of have you over a barrel. Since the CI is critical for us to hear, it would be scary to not have it under warranty. I know the other CI companies are 3 year warranty, but that was another reason to feel good about Med El. On another note, for most health insurance, is it 5 years to qualify for a processor upgrade? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted February 22, 2020 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 22, 2020 @Travel Our health insurance may cover repairs after the warranty expires. Fingers crossed. Insurance companies vary in approving new processors. I will learn how my insurance handles this very soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travel Posted February 22, 2020 Report Share Posted February 22, 2020 Keep us updated if your insurance upgrades your processor at the 5 yr mark. Next year will be my 5th year. Can't believe it's been that long already! So thankful for my hearing with my Cochlear Implant. Truly a miracle!! My employer's insurance is a high deductible plan. In a few months I will need to make a decision on how much money to have deducted for my next year FSA. Knowing if my insurance will cover a processor upgrade next year would help me in determining my FSA deduction.... But sometimes it's best to not poke the bear in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted February 23, 2020 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted February 23, 2020 @Travel I will let you know how my insurance handles the new processors. I am still undecided between Rondo 2 and Sonnet 2. Still learning from other users. If I do choose Sonnet 2, I will not process the insurance claim until ASM 3 is active in the US. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne WGC Posted April 5, 2020 Report Share Posted April 5, 2020 Mary Beth—Went with Sonnet 2’s EAS hoping for better hearing in noise. My Opuses and Rondo 1’s were 6 and 7 years out before I could get insurance approval! Just noticed the change in the warranty. . Disappointing to say the least. Please clarify/explain your statement about not filing your insurance claim until ASM 3 available in the US. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted April 5, 2020 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted April 5, 2020 @Anne WGC Congratulations on your upgrade! How do you find the Sonnet 2 compared to your OPUS2/RONDO1 processors? My comment is just my thoughts about what works best for me. I did not like the adjustment from using Sonnet 1 in ASM 1 to using Sonnet 1 in ASM 2. I had to get used to the Sonnet all over again. Two adjustments just because ASM 2 was not released in the US when Med-El released the Sonnet 1 here although the Sonnet 1 was released in Europe with ASM 2 active. I had no choice about this because that was the timing of my surgery and activation but I promised myself never to choose to upgrade to a processor in the future until the features that go with the new processor are also available in the US, like in Europe. Right now Sonnet 2 with ASM 3 is released in Europe. Sonnet 2 is still using ASM 2 in the US. So it is just my personal preference to reduce the number of adjustments required when upgrading processors. If I can wait until features are all approved in the US before upgrading, I will opt to do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne WGC Posted April 6, 2020 Report Share Posted April 6, 2020 I understand! Hope I don’t have that much of an adjustment from ASM 2 to 3. Who knows? I just got my new equipment and some new mapping. Was to go back in three weeks for more tweaking and the pandemic struck. Can’t see much of a difference as to hearing in noise etc. at this point but was warned that with EAS (new to me) improvement could take a while. Need to work with Audi more. She is new to me but very experienced. I met you some years ago at an assistive listening session with Jeff Campanya (sp?) in Raleigh. Your experience and willingness to share have helped me often! When I see your name I pay attention! Thank you! Mary Beth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HearPeers Heroes Mary Beth Posted April 6, 2020 Author HearPeers Heroes Report Share Posted April 6, 2020 @Anne WGC I loved Jeff Campagna’s hands on hearing workshops! I wish Med-El US would bring them back! Sorry I didn’t recognize your name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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