Support for Avid S6 and S4 is changing, effective 1st April 2024. Here’s how, and what owners, sellers and buyers will need to know.
In recent weeks Avid announced new rules around Hardware Support Contracts – and the changes are subtle, yet significant. For simplicity, we’ll look at the changes through the prism of support for Avid S6, but it’s important to remember that it applies to every Avid hardware product; surfaces, HDX Cards, interfaces, MTRX…
For some S6 owners – the ones who always keep their Avid hardware fully covered by support contracts – there will be no impact whatsoever, other than a feeling of security and solidified value of their equipment in the used market. Theirs is the behaviour that these changes are designed to encourage and reward.
For those who don’t renew annual support for Avid S6, or at least not always, for every module – there are some fundamental changes which will have an impact.
The background. Support Contracts and Reinstatement
Before looking at the changes to support for Avid S6, it’s useful to set the scene around Avid Support Contracts in general, and the terminology around them, such as ‘lapsed’ and ‘reinstatement’.
When buying a brand new Avid S6, each and every module comes with a 1 year Avid Advantage support plan included. More specifically, the level of support is ExpertPlus including Hardware Coverage, and means that every module is eligible for advance replacement in the event of failure.
The contract start date is generally around the invoice date from the Avid reseller to their customer. Some resellers will build, test and commission consoles, and complete all the registration process as part of that service. As a result, the contract date might vary by a few days from what the customer might expect.
At the end of year 1, and every subsequent year, support for Avid S6 can be renewed, either for another year or multiple years (common in large broadcast installations with fixed budget cycles). Cost to renew support for an M40 Master Touch Module (the main CPU and screen) is $1,200 – or equivalent in other currencies – at the time of writing.
Each additional fader, knob, process, joystick, post or display module costs between $200 and $260 per module, depending on the type. As an overall desk, annual support for a 24 fader, 5 Knob S6 M40 with Displays would be $4,280.
Over a 10 year equipment lifespan (where year 1 is included), this $38.5k total support cost is often among the first to be cut when market conditions are as tough as they have been in recent years. Many users will conclude – understandably – that they’re highly unlikely to spend $38k or more on out-of-warranty repairs during the life of their console, therefore the support costs don’t stack up.
So it’s not uncommon for S6 owners to renew support on just the MTM, covering the console’s all-important CPU against failure. They may cover nothing else, or perhaps just a core of mission-critical modules, to reduce the overall cost of support.
Some will allow the support to lapse entirely after year 1, either with no intention of continuing, or with a view to perhaps restarting support in the future (Reinstatement).
Similarly, buyers of hardware in the secondary market (used desks) will often reinstate support for consoles where support has lapsed under the previous owner.
And it’s here, the future ability to reinstate lapsed support, where the changes have an impact.
Reinstatement
Until now, all original and secondary-market S6 owners could reinstate lapsed support for Avid S6, regardless of the length of time since the previous contract ended. There was, however, a penalty (or a reward and incentive to renew annually, depending on your point of view) of 25% on top of the support cost, for the first year of reinstated support. Using the previous example, that 24 fader M40 console annual support would rise to an initial $5,350 for reinstatement once lapsed, rather than the $4,280 cost of extending support before the contract end.
And so, to the changes:
Change 1: Reinstatement fees are rising from 25% to 35%
For hardware which is eligible for reinstatement – and that’s not all hardware anymore (more of which in a moment) – the reinstatement fee rises from 25% to 35%. This takes that example 24 fader M40 console support reinstatement we looked at above from an initial $5,350 to $5,778.
If less than 60 days has passed since the contract expired, Avid will consider this a grace period. The contract can still be renewed, without any additional reinstatement fee, provided that the new contract’s start date is made continuous with the previous contract’s expiry date.
But there’s more, and here’s where the changes begin to bite a little harder.
Change 2: Reinstated contracts must cover 2 years
For hardware under a support contract which has lapsed, by more than the 60 day grace period, but less than 2 years, that support contract is eligible to be reinstated. The new 35% reinstatement fee will apply, and the new support contract must be taken out for 2 years.
That 24 fader M40 contract then becomes an initial $11,556 to put back under lapsed support. However, the new support contract will last for 2 years, after which it can be renewed as normal.
Change 3: Lapsed support can never be reinstated if the prior support contract expired more than 2 years ago.
If an S6 is not currently under support, and the last contract expired more than 2 years ago, it can never be put back under support.
Not for the newly-increased 35% reinstatement fee, not for 2 years. Not at all, ever. If any of the hardware develops a fault at any point in the future, it will require out-of-warranty repair. Advance repair options are also available for out-of-warranty critical hardware, presumably at greater cost.
The small print
The changes above are the headline news. There is some small print in the recent policy changes. None of it is hugely important, but in the interests of being thorough, here it is:
- Support contracts cannot be re-instated for hardware which is within 9 months of reaching its End of Support date. End of Support dates are usually 5 years after a hardware product has stopped being sold (the Final Sale Date).
- There is a 45 day waiting period after the start date of reinstated support before coverage becomes available.
- Any support cases which were created for failed hardware prior to the start of a new support contract may remain liable for out-of-warranty costs.
What does this mean to owners, sellers and buyers?
It would be simple to say, if possible, keep your Avid control surface – every single module – under support. Worst-case, don’t leave it 2 years to reinstate a lapsed contract. However, if this news has inspired you to do just that from now on, it may already be too late. These changes are retroactive in nature.
If the decision not to renew support for Avid S6 was made 3 years ago, with an expectation that support could be reinstated in the future: That is no longer the case, any modules not covered today, and which haven’t been for 2 years or more, can never be put back under support. 2020 and 2021 COVID lockdowns saw many studios relocate to simplified home setups, with consoles mothballed and support not renewed. If those contracts weren’t subsequently reinstated, they never can be.
For anyone selling or buying a used S6, this conversation needs to be had. Buyers can no longer assume that they will be able to put a console under a support contract if it isn’t already. If the last contract ran out over 2 years ago, they can’t.
Many sellers are selling because the S6 no longer reflects their specific needs. They’re reducing the number of studios, repurposing a mix room to ADR, moving to S1 and Dock. There’s a good chance that the S6 they’re selling has been removed and stored, so it’s important for the buyer to check the status of support, the last expiry date, and to consider the age of the console.
The simple truth is that Avid hardware which is – or was recently – under support is now potentially more valuable than hardware that isn’t.
What about software support and updates?
In the context of Avid control surfaces such as S6 and S4, it’s vital to make the distinction between Hardware and Software support plans.
Hardware support plans offer warranty repair and/or advance replacement of faulty modules which are under their cover. Conversely, any hardware faults outside of a Hardware plan would need to be fixed via non-warranty, chargeable repairs.
A console which is not under hardware support can still be covered with a software update plan.
Meaning that the lack of a hardware support plan does not prevent a console MTM from being kept up-to-date with the latest software versions.
The policy changes outlined above apply to Hardware Support. Avid’s software-only plan for control surface MTM’s are unaffected by these changes. All S6 and S4 owners are still able to buy the following plans:
| 0541-60109-08 | Avid Advantage, S6 M40 Master Module, ExpertPlus Renewal |
| 0541-60275-08 | S4 ExpertPlus only Renewal |
| 0541-60108-08 | Avid Advantage, S6 M10 Master Module, ExpertPlus Renewal |
What can Resurface do to help?
We have contacted the sellers of every Avid S4 and S6 currently available on the site, and the status of the support for each of those consoles is now in the listing detail. Going forward, this will be a critical piece of information for every listing of a current Avid product.
If you are an Avid hardware owner, the status of your support contract (and if it has lapsed, when it lapsed) can be found in your Avid account.
Resurface have used and ex-demo modules available individually. Being highly modular, there are consoles which have been expanded, split, reduced. Orders have been changed last-minute leaving resellers with excess modules. If no modules are currently listed, get in touch and we can contact our extensive network to find unused and unwanted stock.
