Does anyone know any definitive answers on the subject? Some say since you don't remove any warranty stickers that it does not. Others say that once you open it it does. What is the final verdict?
Does anyone know any definitive answers on the subject? Some say since you don't remove any warranty stickers that it does not. Others say that once you open it it does. What is the final verdict?
Not in my experience.If the technicians find out, then say goodbye to your warranty.
Well said. I think a lot of the time, if someone has been told differently in store, the staff member has simply made an assumption based on myth. This happens all the time... Supermarket workers who believe that all brands are the same only packaged differently... Casino croupiers who believe in crackpot betting systems... Staff are often the worst offenders of believing in common myths.I don't care about the opinions of people in the street, or apple geniuses because they are simply opinions, however well informed and any prior decisions, for example if a genius has already voided someones warrantee, that does not make it legal.
Staff are often the worst offenders of believing in common myths.
Sorry to resurrect this old thread but there was no point in creating a new one. I've looked all over the web and there does not seem to be a definitive answer, therefore I just used my informal legal nouse and read my applecare warrantee and the warrantee that came with my imac.
The purpose of this is to see if adding an ssd to a 2011 imac would void the warrantee.
OK, so I have scoured every point in the supplied Apple Care warrantee and there is nothing at all that talks about voiding the warrantee, and nothing in the original booklet.
THEREFORE, I'm pretty certain that, in Australia at least if my imac died due to natural causes, for example the HDD stopped working, then I cannot see how Apple has a leg to stand on with regard to voiding the warrantee.
I don't care about the opinions of people in the street, or apple geniuses because they are simply opinions, however well informed and any prior decisions, for example if a genius has already voided someones warrantee, that does not make it legal.
As far as I can tell there is nothing anywhere that explicitly states that opening the mac voids the warrantee and there are no stickers on it.
So why is there these mythological pontifications all over the web with contrary opinions. In fact just the fact that there are all these opinions with no one cutting and pasting any actual terms, just goes to show that ones warrantee would not be voided.
The only thing that came anywhere close is a clause that excludes any user added parts from warrantee which is obvious. But they don't say that doing so voids the warrantee on the rest of the machine, just that the new part is not covered. That could be read, and I'm sure would be able to be argued in a civil court if need be, that it is implicit that modding your mac that does not affect the rest of it, does not void the warrantee.
what say ye?
EDIT: just found this which is pretty unequivocal
Unauthorized Modifications
All unauthorized modifications will void the Apple One-Year Limited Warranty unless it is clear that there is no relation between the modification and the product failure. Any modification that permanently alters the basic module and makes it unfit for the module "exchange pool" will void the Apple warranty. For example, attempts to rework the power supply at the component level will void the warranty on an Apple product.
Link
Sorry to resurrect this old thread but there was no point in creating a new one. I've looked all over the web and there does not seem to be a definitive answer, therefore I just used my informal legal nouse and read my applecare warrantee and the warrantee that came with my imac.
This warranty does not apply: ... (g) to an Apple Product that has been modified to alter functionality or capability without the written permission of Apple
All of this!!! It amazes me how no one seems to take the simple step of reading the warranty when it comes to this topic!
Apple hardware warranty from 04.10.2011 (taken from http://www.apple.com/legal/warranty/)
This warranty does not apply: ... (g) to an Apple Product that has been modified to alter functionality or capability without the written permission of Apple
I think the working is rather clear. It may be that your Mac is older and thus a different warranty applies to it.
There are two points of view here - legal, and what actually happens.
Legally
If you make any modifications yourself, Apple will void your warranty. The exception is if there is no possibility of your modification causing failure. However, this is almost impossible, since if you have opened it, how are they do know that you haven't caused the problem? If you installed an SSD, and your HDD died, you could have shorted something, damaged a connector or anything.
As a general rule of thumb, if you repair it yourself, be prepared to lose your warranty, even on unrelated things.
What actually happens
The technician will most likely use common sense. If you install and SSD and your wi-fi stops working, they probably wont care. If, however, you install an SSD and the screen develops a flicker, then there is a good chance you caused it, so they'll probably charge you.
The exception is if you go through any "warranty void" stickers (on the iMac, these are on the CPU heatsink, and the shortest "long" screw holding the MLB in (left hand side)). If these are damaged, you will have no warranty left. End of story.
Yeah that's a good find, I have not seen that before. However it's not particularly clear what they mean by 'modified' considering that it is designed to take an SSD. I think I'd be pretty happy to argue this point in a civil court if it came to that, and I'm pretty sure I'd win. If Apple wanted to make it watertight then it would have been very easy for them to do so, therefore I'd have to go with 'modified' as meaning actually change the blueprint design, like maybe adding an SSD when it was never part of the original design and therefore could cause airflow issues.
Agreed about destroying warranty void stickers, that's a given.
About 'what actually happens' and 'legally' we are back to the area that I'm talking about in my original post, you are just giving your opinion which is as worthless as anyone else's.
Also... if you compare item's (f) and (g) above in the limited warranty, item (f) covers this exact topic, so (g) covers something other than what we are discussing here... most likely things like adding another port or cutting new exhaust vents.
All of this makes it pretty cut and dry to me... Opening and upgrading your iMac will not void the warranty, if you damage something while in there the damage will not be covered.
As you can see, Apple makes it VERY clear that any specific damage caused by non authorized personnel (the customer) will not be covered by Apple, it says nothing about voiding the entire warranty.
Also... if you compare item's (f) and (g) above in the limited warranty, item (f) covers this exact topic, so (g) covers something other than what we are discussing here... most likely things like adding another port or cutting new exhaust vents.
All of this makes it pretty cut and dry to me... Opening and upgrading your iMac will not void the warranty, if you damage something while in there the damage will not be covered.
Don't ever assume company policy = the law, no matter what font they use to express themselves.
...I am siting the info that either came with my new 2012 27" iMac (in the tiny booklet that is nearly impossible to read), or info off of Apple's Support page...
From the booklet:
...to an Apple Product that has been modified to alter functionality or capability without the written permission of Apple...
...unauthorized modifications....
All of this makes it pretty cut and dry to me... Opening and upgrading your iMac will not void the warranty, if you damage something while in there the damage will not be covered.
...One could say ...
... Read the warranty and judge for yourself.