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Does putting in a new hard drive drive void the warranty?

philipdistefano

philipdistefano

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 18, 2009
19
0
I just got a new Unibody 15" MacBook Pro and I would like to put an SSD in it. I've read on iFixit that it won't void the warranty to open up the bottom of this thing and install the drive myself (as long as I don't mess anything up), but I'd like more opinions on this.

Thanks!
 
No it does not. Have fun with your new SSD.

Lemme guess, it's the Intel X25something one right? Everyone gets that one.
 
swish2351 said:
No it does not. Have fun with your new SSD.

Lemme guess, it's the Intel X25something one right? Everyone gets that one.
Click to expand...

Dunno yet, I'm probably going to take the X-25M G2 out of my desktop and put it in here to tide me over until the new wave of SSDs come out later this year. I hear the X-25M G3 will be bigger, faster, and cheaper, and I can't argue with that. If I were to buy one right now, it'd be the OCZ Vertex 2. Anand says it's the fastest MLC SSD he's ever tested, and his benchmarks prove it. Shame it's 100 GB.
 
philipdistefano said:
Dunno yet, I'm probably going to take the X-25M G2 out of my desktop and put it in here to tide me over until the new wave of SSDs come out later this year. I hear the X-25M G3 will be bigger, faster, and cheaper, and I can't argue with that. If I were to buy one right now, it'd be the OCZ Vertex 2. Anand says it's the fastest MLC SSD he's ever tested, and his benchmarks prove it. Shame it's 100 GB.
Click to expand...

Sorry to interrupt, but do you know when the Intel X25-M G3 will be released?
And when was the G2 introduced?

I am considering buying one, but if the G3 is worth the wait, I'll get that one. :)

PS: I live in Europe, if that makes a difference.
 
Hey, people, no offense but it does void warrenty.
However, the funny thing is, I replace my HD with larger capacity, brought it to apple to fix the motherboard, and they didn't care at all.
Well, maybe I didn't have any problems with HDD at all, but think about it.
Would Apple say "Hey, you replace the HDD on your own! We will never fix your computer, ever!"
 
seong said:
Hey, people, no offense but it does void warrenty.
However, the funny thing is, I replace my HD with larger capacity, brought it to apple to fix the motherboard, and they didn't care at all.
Well, maybe I didn't have any problems with HDD at all, but think about it.
Would Apple say "Hey, you replace the HDD on your own! We will never fix your computer, ever!"
Click to expand...

Don't post wrong and misleading information or your "opinions" on what might happen.
 
seong said:
Hey, people, no offense but it does void warrenty.
Click to expand...

... or read page 36 of the manual. I guess not many people read them nowadays.:D

Edit. The caveat is basically if you mess up your installation, your warranty is void. So don't sneeze during the installation procedure.
 
Okay guys, bad news. I just showed that official Apple warranty page to a Mac genius and their response was along the lines of: "Nothing in the MacBook Pro is user replaceable because it's unibody, therefore, that document doesn't apply because it is talking about user replaceable parts."

Not only can you not change the hard drive without voiding the warranty, you also can't change out the RAM.
 
philipdistefano said:
Okay guys, bad news. I just showed that official Apple warranty page to a Mac genius and their response was along the lines of: "Nothing in the MacBook Pro is user replaceable because it's unibody, therefore, that document doesn't apply because it is talking about user replaceable parts."

Not only can you not change the hard drive without voiding the warranty, you also can't change out the RAM.
Click to expand...

Yea, then why does the user manual that comes with the unibody computer show you in detail how to open the unibody machine and replace these parts ? Does Apple want to show the customer in their user guide how to void warranty ?

He's BS-ing you. Talk to the store manager, make an effort to have the troll fired.
 
philipdistefano said:
Okay guys, bad news. I just showed that official Apple warranty page to a Mac genius and their response was along the lines of: "Nothing in the MacBook Pro is user replaceable because it's unibody, therefore, that document doesn't apply because it is talking about user replaceable parts."

Not only can you not change the hard drive without voiding the warranty, you also can't change out the RAM.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't take the word of just one Mac genius over Apple as a whole. As has already been pointed out, instructions are in the user manual. Apple wouldn't provide such instructions if they didn't expect users to follow them. I'd trust only Apple's official publicly-stated policy on such matters, rather than the word of one employee who may not know what they're talking about, as in this case. If the employee can provide an official statement in writing from Apple to support their claim, that would be different. Ask the employee to prove what they say. They can't.
 
philipdistefano said:
Okay guys, bad news. I just showed that official Apple warranty page to a Mac genius and their response was along the lines of: "Nothing in the MacBook Pro is user replaceable because it's unibody, therefore, that document doesn't apply because it is talking about user replaceable parts."

Not only can you not change the hard drive without voiding the warranty, you also can't change out the RAM.
Click to expand...

Sorry but you're wrong, just read pages 37 - 48 of the MBP user manual...
 

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That page from the user manual doesn't prove anything. What it proves is that Apple documented for users how to replace their harddrive, should they choose to. You shouldn't infer from that set of instructions that it won't void the warranty, because nowhere in that page in the last post does it state that.

I'm about to just call Apple about this.

edit: I will add that the page in the user manual that comes directly before the one that's been posted here (pg. 36) highly implies that the hard disk and RAM are user replaceable.
 
philipdistefano said:
That page from the user manual doesn't prove anything. What it proves is that Apple documented for users how to replace their harddrive, should they choose to. You shouldn't infer from that set of instructions that it won't void the warranty, because nowhere in that page in the last post does it state that.

I'm about to just call Apple about this.
Click to expand...

Apple Warranty: Installing Memory, Expansion Cards, User Installable Parts Does Not Void Warranty.

You may install memory (RAM, VRAM), and other customer-installable parts without voiding your Apple warranty.

Apple's warranty states:
"This warranty does not apply...if the product has been modified without the written permission of Apple..."

Adding memory (DRAM, VRAM) or other user-installable upgrade or expansion products to an Apple computer is not considered a modification to that Apple product. Therefore, it is not necessary to obtain Apple's written permission to upgrade or expand an Apple computer.
Click to expand...

From the user manual:
You can upgrade the hard disk drive in your MacBook Pro. When you open the back of your MacBook Pro, the disk drive is located next to the built-in battery.
Click to expand...

When the manual states "You can upgrade..." that proves that it's user-installable. A built-in battery proves that this document is talking about a unibody.

The employee at the store is absolutely wrong. Period.
 
philipdistefano said:
That page from the user manual doesn't prove anything. What it proves is that Apple documented for users how to replace their harddrive, should they choose to. You shouldn't infer from that set of instructions that it won't void the warranty, because nowhere in that page in the last post does it state that.

I'm about to just call Apple about this.

edit: I will add that the page in the user manual that comes directly before the one that's been posted here (pg. 36) highly implies that the hard disk and RAM are user replaceable.
Click to expand...

How can you say that?, if Apple say in the user manual that you can replace HD and RAM, and they put specific instructions for the procedure, then they're accepting that those are user replaceable parts.
 
Called Apple.

First line of support was doubtful, but she wanted to make sure so she put me in touch with a supervisor.

The official word is that you can replace the hard drive, and it will not void your warranty.

That said, if you have to bring your MacBook Pro to an Apple store for a genius appointment, I would highly suggest removing the SSD and replacing the original HDD and not saying a word about it, because it's obvious that the geniuses and all lower level employees do not know about this part of the warranty.

Thanks so much for all of your input guys, it helped while calling them. Trust me, I wanted to be wrong! :D
 
You called Apple and confirmed (via a Supervisor) that the warranty will NOT become void if replacing the hard drive, and then you suggest that someone take the time and possible chance of human error to change out the hard drive yet again before bringing the laptop to an Apple store (then change it back again after the repair) because - "The genius and lower level employees do not know about this part of the warranty"? Really? You're speaking for a lot of people and making assumptions that you shouldn't.

Poor advise, it's covered. If they give you static, simply tell the "Genius" to call Apple and confirm. No reason for the end consumer to assume further risk by continually opening the computer up for no reason. Many folks don't change out the parts themselves to begin with, so why go through unnecessary loopholes and possible further costs?

Leave it alone.
 
If i was to remove the super drive of my MBP and put a second hard drive in its place would that void the warranty?
 
philipdistefano said:
That page from the user manual doesn't prove anything. What it proves is that Apple documented for users how to replace their harddrive, should they choose to. You shouldn't infer from that set of instructions that it won't void the warranty, because nowhere in that page in the last post does it state that.
Click to expand...

I read your later posts but this is a big red logic fail. Why just hard disk and RAM ? Why didn't they document how to remove the motherboard or the DVD bay ?
 
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