After-sales service: response, warranty terms and service locations
SonoStar provides a full range of quality after-sales service for every ultrasound system sold — pre-sales consultation and demonstrations, training at handover and after-sales repair support. Through our subsidiaries and distributor network worldwide, professional engineers are available for guidance and technical support; the after-sales team offers round-the-clock, immediate service by telephone, fax, e-mail or an on-site visit, and confirms a service plan within 12 hours of a request being accepted. Complete systems (excluding consumables) carry an 18-month warranty or longer.
Three service commitments
From the demonstration before you choose to the repair years after the equipment is worn in, everything goes through the same after-sales desk.
Always-on, immediate service
The after-sales line and the engineers stay online and start responding as soon as a request arrives — no waiting for a scheduled slot and no being passed up a chain. Reach a person directly by telephone, fax, e-mail or an on-site visit, whichever suits you.
A plan within 12 hours
Within 12 hours of a request being accepted we give a clear course of action — remote guidance, return for repair or something else — together with an approximate turnaround, so that the equipment is not left out of use longer than necessary.
Pre-sales advice and demonstrations
Confirming specifications before you choose, demonstrating a sample unit and arranging a clinical trial also go through this desk. Clearing up what is uncertain before you buy saves trouble afterwards.
Warranty period and how costs are shared
Excluding consumables, complete systems carry an 18-month warranty or longer. Which costs apply is set out in the three cases below.
For a complex fault we first connect online to see what is happening, and anything that can be solved remotely is solved without sending the equipment back and forth.
When the warranty starts
We provide a warranty of 18 months or longer on all products sold, excluding consumables. If a product suffers damage from causes other than human action during the warranty period, we repair it free of charge and, once repaired, bear the shipping cost of returning it to the customer.
What the warranty covers is decided by the cause of the damage, not by how long ago the unit was bought: within the same period, damage caused by human action and a genuine failure are handled completely differently, as the table below shows.
| Case | Repair cost | Shipping |
|---|---|---|
|
Within warranty not caused by human action |
Free of charge | We bear the cost of returning the repaired unit to the customer; the customer bears the cost of sending the faulty product to us. If the product is dead on arrival — defective on delivery to the distributor or customer and still unusable — we bear the shipping both ways. |
|
Within warranty caused by human action |
Charged at the cost of parts and labour | The customer bears the shipping both ways |
| Outside the warranty period | Charged at the cost of parts and labour | The customer bears the shipping both ways |
To summarise the shipping policy: for a unit that is dead on arrival — defective within warranty and still unusable after delivery to the distributor or customer — we bear the shipping both ways. Within warranty otherwise, the customer bears the cost of sending the unit to us and we bear the cost of returning it to the customer. Outside warranty, the customer bears the cost of returning the equipment. For many years we have charged only the cost of parts and labour for repairs, with no separate labour or diagnostic fee itemized on top. Whether a unit is within warranty and whether the damage was caused by human action is confirmed to you directly after inspection by our after-sales staff, together with the basis for that conclusion.
How a repair request works
Four steps, each with a clear owner.
Describe the problem
Contact after-sales by phone, WeChat or QQ with the model, the date of purchase and what the unit is doing wrong; if you can film a short video, so much the better.
A plan within 12 hours
Our staff decide whether remote guidance will solve it or the unit needs to come back for inspection and repair, and tell you what to do next.
Inspection and repair
Damage not caused by human action within warranty is repaired free of charge; damage caused by human action or work outside warranty is charged at the cost of parts and labour, and we tell you the cost before starting.
Return the unit
Shipping is shared as set out in the table above; once repaired and re-tested the unit is sent back and can go straight back into use.
Reach the person responsible directly
Give the model, describe what is happening and send a video, and the engineer will get to the answer much faster.
After-sales hotline
Mainland-China line. The 400 number connects only inside mainland China — from anywhere else, call or message +86 13434822215 (same number on WhatsApp).
Answered during working hours; outside working hours, add an engineer on WeChat and leave a message, and you will get a reply the next day.
Repair engineers
These are mainland-China mobile numbers, reached by phone, WeChat or QQ. From outside mainland China, message +86 13434822215 on WhatsApp or send an enquiry.
Mr. Liang QQ 969110744 Phone/WeChat 18126867970
Mr. Wang Phone/WeChat 13824421226
Mr. Lin Handles repair liaison for portable and trolley ultrasound Phone/WeChat 18688472265
After-sales questions
These are the questions we are asked most, and the answers match the terms set out above.
How long is the warranty?
We provide a warranty of 18 months or longer on products sold; consumables are not covered. The exact start date is governed by the contract and the warranty card supplied with the unit.
Does a repair within warranty cost anything?
It depends on the cause. Damage from causes other than human action is repaired free of charge; damage caused by human action is at the customer's cost, charged at the cost of parts and labour with no mark-up.
Who pays the shipping?
For a unit that is dead on arrival — defective within warranty and still unusable after delivery — we bear the shipping both ways. Within warranty otherwise, the customer bears the cost of sending the unit to us and we bear the cost of returning it. Outside warranty, or where the damage was caused by human action, both the repair cost and the shipping both ways are at the customer's cost.
Can equipment still be repaired after the warranty ends?
Yes. Units outside warranty are charged at the cost of parts and labour, with the shipping both ways at the customer's cost. Before sending a unit in, it helps to contact an engineer by phone or WeChat with the model and the symptoms, so that the problem can be assessed in advance.
What is the fastest way to reach after-sales?
Call the after-sales hotline on 400-019-8196 (mainland China only — from elsewhere use +86 13434822215 on WhatsApp), or add a repair engineer on WeChat and explain the problem. Repair liaison for portable and trolley ultrasound is handled by Mr. Lin; for other models contact Mr. Liang or Mr. Wang.
Need a repair, or want to confirm what the warranty covers first?
Tell us the model, the date of purchase and what the unit is doing wrong, and our after-sales staff will give you a course of action within 12 hours.
Contact us Download product documents
