Note 12 – Warranty

In general, Zebra provides warranty coverage of one year on mobile computing products and WLAN products. Advanced data capture products are warranted from 1-5 years, depending on the product. Printers are warranted for one year against defects in material and workmanship. Thermal printheads are warranted for six months and batteries are warranted for one year. Battery based products, such as location tags, are covered by a 90-day warranty. A provision for warranty expense is recorded at the time of sale and is adjusted quarterly based on historical warranty experience.

The following table is a summary of Zebra’s accrued warranty obligation (in thousands):


	Three Months Ended
	April 4, 2015			March 29, 2014
Balance at the beginning of period	$	24,666		$	4,125
Warranty expense		8,652			1,510
Warranty payments		(6,405	)		(1,673	)

Balance at the end of period	$	26,913		$	3,962