With the two-year extended period, the 13th and 14th-gen Intel Core processors are now covered by warranty for a total of five years.
This decision follows reports of technical issues related to these processors, which caused sudden crashes and critical error screens, commonly known as the “blue screen of death” that unfortunate Windows users may encounter unexpectedly (or more often when there’s a global incident happening).
In an update on a community forum posted in July, Intel identified that a microcode algorithm is causing elevated operating voltage, which in turn leads to instability. The company said it would roll out a firmware update to PC and motherboard manufacturers sometime this month, although it will not benefit consumers with already damaged processors.
Intel also expressed via the forum update its commitment to supporting users experiencing instability with the affected processors, and the decision to extend the warranty is seen as a way to bolster and maintain customer confidence with the brand. The company has laid out guidelines for customers on how to contact the appropriate customer support/service to receive assistance on the issue.
The Intel 13th-gen Intel Core desktop processors were introduced in September 2022, while the successor 14th-generation was first announced in October 2023, with the complete processor lineup unveiled in January of this year.