Team-BHP - Implications of getting a laptop from abroad
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Hi,

I intend to purchase a laptop for personal use from UAE and bring it back with me to India. With regards to the same, I was wondering:
  1. What are the warranty implications? Will the service centre in India accept the laptop for any repairs / replacement in case of an unfortunate event?
  2. What are the customs implications? Will I need to pay customs duty if I am carrying the laptop on my person with an additional work laptop that is provided by office?
  3. Is there anything else that I need to be aware of? Gotchas, etc.?
Looking forward to your inputs / ideas / suggestions on the same.

PS: The laptop that I'm eyeing is an HP Envy 16 (i9, 16gigs, RTX-4060) which is currently not available in India.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sankdadevil (Post 5727059)
I intend to purchase a laptop for personal use from UAE and bring it back with me to India. With regards to the same, I was wondering

1. Purchase global warranty (https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/bpr01266)
2. Refer this thread Link

Quote:

Originally Posted by sankdadevil (Post 5727059)
Hi,
I intend to purchase a laptop for personal use from UAE and bring it back with me to India.

I got my previous laptop (Lenovo) from US. Purchased from their official site, got it delivered to my cousins place and my mother in law carried it along with her (Unboxed).

1. This had warranty applicable in India. I didn't use it, but when it eventually conked off 3 years later, the service center did say it would work here. Am not sure on that though.
2. Unbox it and carry it in your laptop bag. Won't have issues with customs. My cousin brought a tab few months back and the couple had multiple laptops, tabs and phones.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sankdadevil (Post 5727059)
I intend to purchase a laptop for personal use from UAE and bring it back with me to India... Is there anything else that I need to be aware of?

There are some maybe minor issues to think about. Windows laptops sold in UAE has all language/regional options (and the physical keyboard) set to that geography. Some of these you might be able to change, but some are impossible to. Investigate the regional, language, number formatting, currency and other locale-specific settings that are available and that you need. Also the keyboard layout and look & feel of the laptop.

For example, the "Windows Display Language" cannot be changed with the basic Windows Home license (you need to upgrade to Professional for that).

I had purchased a Dell laptop from the US when my cousin got it for me. You will have to make sure it is unboxed and show that it is used.
He did not have issues at the customs.

Dell also transferred the warranty from US to India based on email from my cousin to them. And I was able to utilise the warranty for some issues too.

I dont think it is a problem to get a laptop from US to India, just make sure you either have global warranty or it can be transferred to India.

Earlier, carrying 2 laptops would be tricky and would be target for customs upon arrival. I have had to pay a nominal customs import duty (no qualms there) when I got a new laptop for my dad few years back.

Things have changed now. When flying out to the US earlier this year, I was carrying 2 laptops - personal and work. Thought of getting them declared at the customs on my way out to avoid any issues upon return. The custom officials refused, saying no one bothers about phone and laptops now. Having 2 laptops is pretty common use-case (at least in Bangalore).

Quote:

Originally Posted by sankdadevil (Post 5727059)
Hi,

I intend to purchase a laptop for personal use from UAE and bring it back with me to India. With regards to the same, I was wondering:
  1. What are the warranty implications? Will the service centre in India accept the laptop for any repairs / replacement in case of an unfortunate event?
  2. What are the customs implications? Will I need to pay customs duty if I am carrying the laptop on my person with an additional work laptop that is provided by office?
  3. Is there anything else that I need to be aware of? Gotchas, etc.?
Looking forward to your inputs / ideas / suggestions on the same.

PS: The laptop that I'm eyeing is an HP Envy 16 (i9, 16gigs, RTX-4060) which is currently not available in India.

For Question No.1, The answer should be No Coverage. You may have to ship the laptop (at your expense) to UAE, get it repaired and then pay them to ship it you in such an event.

This is what I could find on HP's site. https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/bpr01266

What is covered by HP Global Warranty
HP Global Warranty covers HP products at the level of standard warranty offered in the country in which it is used. For example, a product purchased in country "A" and moved to country "B" receives the current warranty coverage provided by country "B" (if that product is marketed or supported in country B).

Dell (for that matter) explicitly mentions this in their website that if any models are not available in the country you are in, it has to be send back to the original country from where it has been bought for repair. Was planning to get an Alienware from UK and this was a deal breaker.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sachinayak (Post 5727733)
The custom officials refused, saying no one bothers about phone and laptops now. Having 2 laptops is pretty common use-case (at least in Bangalore).

Quite relieved to hear this, since I'm about to confirm with my brother my import of a laptop, a phone, a pair of headphones, a tablet, a smartwatch :p

I've got my Asus laptop from abroad and it came with international warranty. Same for apple and a few other brands. So you need to check which brands offer international warranty and buy the ones which do offer it. Also be careful about what keyboard it comes with, my previous laptop had a German keyboard, which was QWERTZ instead of QWWERTY.
That was a fun learning curve:)

I live in Dubai and very often (2–3 times per year) take laptops and iPhones to friends and family. The laptops I have bought by default carry international warranties (IBM, HP, and Dell). I have bought these from Carrefour and Sharaf DG. Ensure you activate the warranty online if it asks for it and keep your bill handy (take a picture and send it to your email). No one in customs bothers these days with 2-3 phones, 2 laptops, and 1 tab. If you carry gold ornaments or gold bars, then you are in soup. I have landed in all possible airports i.e. Kannur, Mangalore, Goa, Bangalore, Mumbai, etc. to name a few and there were no problems with any customs checking in.

I just got my New Laptop from UAE last week. Its a Lenovo Legion i7 13th gen RTX 4060 and the only thing which I made sure was that it had International Warranty. Some of the models are available with just regional warranty. So make sure the one you are eying on has one. The only con which I am facing is the Arabic keyboard which is included with the English one

How much discount you got purchasing laptop from UAE vs India ? From my experience, the deals you get during BBD & Great Indian sales cannot be matched while purchasing hardware from retail stores like Virgin & Jumbo. However if they also give sale then its a different story.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doge (Post 5729216)
I've got my Asus laptop from abroad and it came with international warranty. Same for apple and a few other brands. So you need to check which brands offer international warranty and buy the ones which do offer it. Also be careful about what keyboard it comes with, my previous laptop had a German keyboard, which was QWERTZ instead of QWWERTY.
That was a fun learning curve:)

My google search landed me here.

Can someone please help me here?

Issue:​
I currently own a Lenovo LOQ gaming laptop purchased in Qatar, but there’s no official Lenovo support here—no dedicated .QA website and no option for warranty extension. When I checked with Lenovo India, they confirmed they cannot provide extended warranty, repairs, or any service for a laptop bought in the Gulf region due to different part numbers.

What I'm Considering:​
I’m thinking of selling my Lenovo LOQ (which still has 6 months warranty) to a local buyer in Qatar (I’m getting a good price) and instead purchasing an Asus ROG Zephyrus laptop with Asus Premium Care (APC).

I found that Microless offers laptops + warranty extensions, and I’ve heard Asus Premium Care provides global coverage. However, when I contacted Asus customer support, they couldn’t provide any concrete details and just told me to check with retailers.

What I Need Help With:​
Does Asus Premium Care (APC) truly offer global warranty coverage?
What are the actual benefits and pricing of APC?
Has anyone here used APC for an ROG laptop and can confirm if it's worth it?
I work as a flight engineer and frequently travel between countries, so having reliable global support is a must for me—unlike Lenovo, which has region-restricted service.

Any insights would be highly appreciated!

Quote:

Originally Posted by tosharUAV (Post 5945171)
What I Need Help With:​
Does Asus Premium Care (APC) truly offer global warranty coverage?
What are the actual benefits and pricing of APC?
Has anyone here used APC for an ROG laptop and can confirm if it's worth it?
I work as a flight engineer and frequently travel between countries, so having reliable global support is a must for me—unlike Lenovo, which has region-restricted service.

Any insights would be highly appreciated!

Asus Premium Care does offer International Warranty, so does Acer with its International Travellers Warranty, most brands do offer the same but be careful to get the invoice in hard copy and warranty certificate or documents or get the warranty registered on their website, as I had a tough time with an Asus Laptop bought from Oman which had international warranty.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tosharUAV (Post 5945171)
I currently own a Lenovo LOQ gaming laptop purchased in Qatar, but there’s no official Lenovo support here—no dedicated .!

Asus does offer global warranty. You have an option to buy an extension directly from the laptop and I also confirmed my laptop's warranty by calling the asus india helpline, i beleive they asked for my serial number to check if I have coverage here and I did.


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