diy hdd installation -- applecare rep says it voids laptop warranty?

[futoko]

Just got off the phone with AppleCare. Amongst other things, I asked if installing a new HDD in a laptop voids the warranty. He said that I have to have Apple or an Apple-certified technician perform the HDD swap to maintain the warranty on the laptop itself.

He also said the new drive would not be covered, which I understand. But I thought HDD replacement by the user would NOT void the warranty over the rest of the laptop. I've read it on several message boards. Is there something about new Macbooks? Did the policy recently change? I don't want to void any warranties, but I also trust myself to be more careful than someone at the Apple store/Genius bar. I just want to do it myself.

Any comments or experiences with this situation?

 

[dquattlebum]

As far as I know, if you have the unibody macbook you can change the HD and the warranty on the Laptop will be fine, they just won't cover you if the HD you put in fails but everything else will be covered.

 

[paolo-]

It's covered, I even double-checked on that one

http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/MacBook_13inch_Aluminum_Late2008.pdf

page 34.

 

[futoko]

Thank you, especially for the link. If instructions are in the manual, you have to figure it's something they allow without voiding the warranty. I wonder why that AppleCare rep said that... I'm not convinced the Apple "experts" really know what's going on all the time. A store rep told me that the microphone on the Macbook was the speaker. I said, "No stereo?" She replied, "Nope." I couldn't believe it, so I researched it online and found out the speakers were under the keyboard.

 

[FieryFurnace]

As far as I know, if you have the unibody macbook you can change the HD and the warranty on the Laptop will be fine, they just won't cover you if the HD you put in fails but everything else will be covered.

I was always thinking that even on a plastic MB you can change the HDD without voiding the warranty.

 

[GfulDedFan]

I was always thinking that even on a plastic MB you can change the HDD without voiding the warranty.

You are thinking correctly. It is true that the RAM and HDD on the black & white polycarbonates are user upgradable.

 

[jwksmith]

It's covered, I even double-checked on that one

http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/MacBook_13inch_Aluminum_Late2008.pdf

page 34.

Note - this actually says that if you damage the computer while replacing the HDD, the damage is not covered by warranty. So they recomend having an apple tech do it.

So BE CAREFULL !