If you haven't decided on an HTC One M9 yet, HTC has yet another reason to buy one: the company is offering customers its "Uh Oh Protection" program, which guarantees a free replacement for the device if anything bad happens to it within the first 12 months.
The Uh Oh program is actually an extension to HTC's previous program called "HTC Advantage," which would fix customers' broken screens. That program must have worked quite well for HTC if the company is now willing to not only double up the time period that HTC phone owners are eligible for the free replacements, but also expand what it covers from replacing just the screen to replacing the whole phone.
The Uh Oh Protection includes one free replacement if the phone received water damage, has a cracked screen, or if you switch carriers. The last one especially could be appealing for people who like carrier freedom. HTC makes the switch seamless by replacing your phone if you're moving from a GSM carrier to a CDMA one, or if you switch to a carrier with incompatible bands.
Customers who didn't take advantage of the program in the first 12 months can still get a $100 credit towards the purchase of a future "HTC One" device.
“With the HTC One M9, we didn't stop with creating an award-winning smartphone and amazing user experiences. We created an innovative new program that ensures the best phone on the market stays that way," said Jason Mackenzie, president of HTC Americas. “We want our customers to have the confidence to use their new HTC One and the peace of mind that HTC has your back if something unfortunate happens to it."
According to a Google Insights survey conducted in March 2015 with people who had damaged their phones, 69 percent of respondents had damage in the past 12 months, 47 percent spent $100 on repairing their phones, and 25 percent of them stuck to using their damaged phones.
If an HTC One M9 owner wants to take advantage of the Uh Oh program, all he has to do is call a toll-free number and talk to a customer representative, who will check the phone's identification number to make sure it's still active. Once the phone has been verified, HTC will ship a free replacement smartphone overnight, along with an envelope for the old unit. The phone owner will have to ship the old unit to HTC within 20 days.
Follow us @tomshardware, on Facebook and on Google+.
