Product Life Cycle Policy

	Factory Technical/Phone Support	Preventive  Maintenance	Calibration	Repair/Parts
Phase 1	Y	Y	Y	Y
Phase 2	Y	Y	Y	Y
Phase 3	Limited Support Reasonable effort technical/phone support based on available documentation and expertise.	Y	Y	Reasonable Efforts Repair parts may have long lead times, be expensive, or be used/reconditioned; repair dependent upon the availability of pre-owned/repaired parts. Repair may or may not be possible, and/or may take longer than usual.
Phase 4	Limited Support Reasonable effort technical/phone support based on available documentation and expertise.	Y	Y	No Repair Parts Due to the lack of parts, repair of this equipment may no longer be possible.

Phase 1: In Production/Full Support 

Products in Phase 1 are in full production, under warranty or out of warranty depending on timing, and… 

• Service support options for hardware and software are available. 
• Hardware and parts are available. 
• Software updates to the current production version are available. 

Phase 2: Out of production/full support

Products in Phase 2 are out of production, under warranty or out of warranty depending on timing, and…

• Service support options for hardware and software are available, but could be limited in special cases.   
• Hardware and parts are available.  
• Software upgrades to the current production version are available.  Software updates will be available for safety and data integrity issues ONLY.
  

Phase 3: Out of Production/Reasonable efforts support

Products in Phase 3 are out of production, out of warranty, and…

• Service support for hardware and software will be provided on a reasonable efforts basis. 
• Hardware and parts are available on a limited basis and may be available only as used or reconditioned.
• Software upgrades to current production version are available on a limited basis. Software updates will NOT be available. For safety and data integrity issues, customers will be notified. Technical support assistance will be limited but offered on a reasonable effort basis.

Phase 4: Discontinued Product

Products in Phase 4 are out of production, out of warranty, and…

• Repair service, manufacturing, and engineering support are NOT available.
• Hardware and parts are NOT available.
• Software upgrades to current production version are available on a limited basis.
• Software updates are NOT available.
• Technical support assistance is unlikely to be available but will be offered on a reasonable effort basis.

 Additional Information

In all phases, Instron Professional Services can perform verification services as long as necessary equipment and gear is available. Occasionally, support can be provided to “special Phase 4 systems” through custom arrangements and agreements with the Instron service organization.  No engineering or manufacturing support is available for these systems. 

Every software product has a unique version number. The version numbers have two parts: Major Version Number and Minor Version Number.
e.g., Version 1.3 = Major Version is “1” and the  Minor Version is “3”

A software “upgrade” will correspond to the change in the Major Version Number of the software.
e.g., Upgrade = Move from Version 1.3 to 2.1

A software “update” will correspond to the change in the Minor Version Number of the software.
e.g., Update = Move from Version 1.3 to 1.5

An "update" is a broadly released fix for a specific problem or problems used to improve or to fix a software product function while an "upgrade" is broadly released with an increase in functionality.

Accessories such as grips, fixtures, extensometers, etc. are not covered in this table. Your frame may be fitted with accessories that fall into a Phase 3 or 4 category. Whenever in doubt, we ask that you reach out to your local Sales Representative for clarification.