[mothered]

@mothered Would The manufacturer know if the laptop is powered on, connected to wifi, etc?

They cannot track or monitor the laptop remotely purely from establishing an Internet connection.

Also is there a laptop manufacturer out there that is known to have a faster refund/claims process in a certain $ range? Curious

Every SE Is assessed on a case-by-case basis, and there's a lot of variables Involved which makes It very difficult to predict the duration of a given claim.

Obviously a high value laptop, will attract more attention to the point of a lengthy claims process. Not many companies write-off a few thousand dollars and Issue on the spot refunds.