[Nexus 4 Original Android Development] zephiK:
Because Google/LG is taking it at a loss due to a customer's fault. There is a reason why when you unlock the bootloader, it does say that you will void your warranty upon unlocking the bootloader. Of course, with a Nexus device and it's stock images being available online (mirrored) you can always flash back to stock if you mess up and know how to (this is why I never endorse using toolkits because its asked very frequently on how to fastboot flash stock).

On the contrast, when you buy a phone from Samsung/HTC/Sony/Motorola/etc... depending what company it is they all have their own policy when it comes to altering your phone with custom recoveries etc. A company such as Motorola takes things like this VERY SERIOUSLY especially on the Verizon network. They charge you extra to fix your phone and will not fulfill the warranty.

For each flash a person does on their device, it is their fault. Not the developer's work or anyone else. Now if everybody messed up their phone and sent it back via RMA (which im sure most people do) or go through insurance fraud making up a lie pretending to be dumb and don't know what happened when they know what happened, they messed up their phone via wrong flashing or whatever the case may be. Who is coming out with a loss? that would be Google/LG unless they actually find out that he did indeed mess up the phone via unlocking bootloader and charge him extra or to not fulfill his RMA.

And no I can't brick my phone via flashing. I never have bricked one phone in my life because I am careful and I read ahead in advance before doing anything. I don't flash things blindly. If I encounter a problem, I solve it myself. I don't go straight to the Q&A section or call it a bug.

If I messed up my phone via a wrong flash, I wouldn't go crying to Google/LG and pretending I don't know what happened saying my phone just stopped turning on randomly. It's my fault and I need to accept it, not get a freebie exchange from them.

No offense taken. Insurance fraud is fraud and is illegal. It just sucks seeing companies taking this at a loss because someone messed up their phone for not taking the necessary precautions and doing silly things especially on a Nexus device which is so easy to fix up with fastboot but a large % of XDA just uses toolkits and unlock bootloaders then flash things without knowing what they're doing. They misconcept the idea of a non-bootable state and then saying its a brick when their bootloader and recovery works just fine?

As I already addressed above. I'm not perfect, but if I was to brick my phone. I will accept what I done and just rebuy another device, not fulfill fraud. I'm a honest person by heart and it is morally wrong. I wouldn't be able to go through the day knowing I lied to get a free replacement because of my screw up. No one is perfect, people do mistakes, learn from them. Getting a free replacement doesn't entitle you to learning from your mistake. Whatever you do in life has consequences, deal with them, not get a free pass. That's just my philosophy on ethics on lying to get a free replacement on a phone which the user messed up.

End of the day, people just need to be more careful and stay more alert on what they're doing and not use toolkits entitling them to a unlockable bootloader not knowing what they're doing when it is a pretty simple if they spent 20-25 minutes reading and doing it step-by-step. If someone has the time to flash roms and kernels, you have enough to read a simple guide. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know how to use adb, fastboot and recovery & bootloader mode. It really doesn't, just people are arrogant and want the quickest way getting to Point A to B and not knowing how they got there. But how do I get back to Point A? .. you get my drift.