Device Maintenance Protects Your Business When Devices Go Down

Unexpected surprises are welcome in many areas, but not when they affect the devices that keep your business running. A single unplanned issue can disrupt anything from one employee’s productivity to an entire workflow, and few can afford that kind of interruption. This is where a maintenance contract for your devices can play a role… getting you back up and running quickly and inexpensively.

What is a Hardware Maintenance Agreement?

A technology device maintenance agreement is a hardware support contract between a service provider (often a device manufacturer or technology vendor) and a customer to provide maintenance, repair, and support services for certain technology devices. These agreements cover ongoing service for hardware such as computers, servers, networking equipment, or other specialized devices. Here’s what’s typically included:

1. Regular Maintenance and Repairs: The agreement usually covers routine inspections, cleaning, software updates, and troubleshooting. It also specifies how repairs and replacements will be handled.
2. Response Times and Support Levels: Agreements often outline service levels (SLAs) for response and resolution times. These can range from same-day repairs to next-business-day support, depending on the plan.
3. Preventive and Predictive Maintenance: Advanced agreements may include proactive measures, such as monitoring device health, to prevent issues before they occur.
4. Replacement Parts and Equipment Upgrades: Some agreements include parts replacements as part of the service, while others might offer a discount. Upgrades may be included, depending on the contract level.
5. Remote Support and On-Site Visits: Many agreements offer remote support to quickly address software or system issues and on-site visits for complex issues that require in-person support.

These agreements are commonly used by businesses to ensure consistent performance, minimize downtime, and keep devices operational without the need for in-house IT expertise.

Hardware Maintenance Agreements Improve Device Uptime & Provide Cost Predictability

Handheld computers , tablet PCs and label printers are essential to your operations. When they go down, production goes down and the flow of information stops.

Faster Repairs: Many maintenance agreements, such as the OneCare agreement offered by Zebra Technologies, will guarantee repair times in the SLA. For example, you may receive a guarantee of 3-day repair, which means that your devices are prioritized over other devices not covered under agreement.

Cost Predictability: A Maintenance agreement can also help you with predictable costs, since when purchasing the agreement, you are covering future replacement parts and labor. These services and parts can be extremely expensive when purchased a la carte, and it can be frustrating for the customer to be hit with surprise bills.

By purchasing a service level agreement at the same time you are purchasing the device, you will receive much better pricing than you would ultimately spend for spare parts and labor. Even if you neglected to buy the support contract at time of original device purchase, there are 3rd party service providers which offer maintenance agreements for your AIDC devices.

Maintenance Agreement Example: Zebra OneCare

Looking for an example of a contract maintenance agreement? Zebra Technologies offers warranty service agreements under a program called Zebra OneCare . As you can see from the chart below, there are a number of different options, each offering a different level of benefits. For example, while OneCare Special Value offers response time of 5 business days from device receipt, One-Care Select can offer same day shipment of a ‘like new’ replacement device, which comes as close as possible to eliminating your down time.

Your CSSI rep can work with you to determine how your business needs map against plans such as Zebra OneCare in order to help you select the right program. The more time-critical your operations, but faster response time will need to be to support you.

Speak to CSSI to Purchase or Renew Hardware Maintenance Agreements

Do you have a hardware maintenance contract in place for your critical mobile devices and computer hardware? CSSI can help you to explore your options and select the right program to offer you protection and peace of mind. Speak to CSSI to discuss device maintenance agreements.

FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions About Hardware Maintenance Plans and Zebra OneCare

Q: How is Zebra OneCare different from Zebra’s standard manufacturer warranty?
A. Zebra’s standard warranty only covers manufacturing defects for a limited time. OneCare goes well beyond that: it adds coverage for normal wear and tear, and on most tiers, accidental damage (drops, spills, cracked screens). It also bundles in things the standard warranty doesn’t touch at all — ongoing software and security patches (including LifeGuard for Android), live technical support, and expedited device replacement, so a business isn’t left covering repair costs or downtime out of pocket once the warranty period ends.

Q: What do businesses actually get with a OneCare plan?
A. Every OneCare tier includes repair coverage for normal wear and tear, device diagnostic tools, firmware and software updates, and access to live-agent phone support. Depending on the tier, businesses also get accidental damage protection and faster device turnaround — from standard depot repair up to same-day advance replacement with a pre-configured “like new” unit. The pitch for OneCare is really about turning repair costs from unpredictable, one-off expenses into a fixed, budgeted line item.

Q: Which OneCare tier makes sense for my fleet — Special Value, Essential, or Select?
A. It comes down to how fast you need a device back in an employee’s hands and how much you want to spend upfront. Special Value (SV) is the budget tier, with roughly 5-business-day depot turnaround and accidental damage as an add-on rather than standard. Essential sits in the middle, with 3-business-day turnaround and accidental damage included. Select is the premium tier, offering same-day replacement shipment and 24/7 live support, which suits businesses running mission-critical devices (like scanners on a warehouse floor) that can’t tolerate downtime. Zebra also offers an On-Site plan and a software-only Technical and Software Support (TSS) option for businesses with different needs.

Q: Does OneCare cover accidental damage, like a dropped scanner or a cracked screen?
A. Yes, on most tiers. Essential, Select, and On-Site plans include accidental damage coverage standard. On the Special Value and TSS tiers, it’s available as an optional add-on rather than built in. Given how often handheld computers and scanners get dropped in warehouse, dock, and field environments, this is usually the coverage that delivers the most value for AIDC deployments.

Q: Is a OneCare plan worth the added cost compared to paying for repairs as they happen?
A. For most fleets, yes — the value is in predictability, not just repair savings. A single out-of-warranty repair, or worse, a device replacement, can cost more than a year of coverage, and that’s before factoring in the lost productivity of a worker without a working device. OneCare converts those unpredictable costs into a fixed, budgeted expense and, on the faster tiers, minimizes the downtime itself through expedited replacement. Zebra frames this as shifting a business from “reactive” repair management to a “proactive” maintenance model with defined service levels.