Does a new hard drive void my warranty?

[h1kar1]

well I have just upgraded to a WD 320

Any how first let me say it does not consume more power then any other 5200rpm drive the 7200rpm drives use more you will not notice a battery power diffrence switch between 5200rpm drives


Well an apple store will not swap any 3rd party hardware but they will suggest taking it somewhere else a 3rd party apple store they will do it there.

From my understanding if someone (3rd party apple store) does the work they are guaranteeing there work ie if they brake it now apple.

so something brakes during the install its on them. if you do it and brake something apple will not fix it. that is what there getting at and if you put something in your macbook pro and that hardware is the cause of somthing else braking they will not fix it or at least charge you for it.

FYI if you do the work your self there is no telling ie apple don't know who did the work 3rd party apple authrized place or not.

any how i my self put my old drive in a safe place and will just put it back if i need a repair

also someone stated there are stickers in side.
there are none..

but there is a thin paper ribbon cable from your HD to the board that goes across the top of your HD which is stuck to it. (tip use a credit card to pry it apart slowly)

 

[Csmitte]

That is simply not true.

Thank god you posted these I was starting to lose faith. Replacing the MBP HD does not void your warranty unless you break something, If you have absolutely no technical experience then I would say don't replace it, but if you have a semblance go for it. I can accomplish this in less than 20 minutes.

 

[zioxide]

It looks like people are STILL wondering if replacing the hard drive in a Macbook is allowed under warranty.

Apple Instructions for DIY HD Replacement

Well, given that they provide this information, I think it pretty safe to say that it is OK to install a HD upgrade yourself...

Folks, it can't get any more obvious than this. Rather than quote what someone told you at a store or over the phone, why not just READ the document that tells you how to replace your hard drive?

Everyone is talking about the Macbook Pro, not the regular Macbook.

 

[GoxKok]

Ok so Im super pumped about buying this new HD and this thread has gotten me very excited. Two questions:

1. How is the ribbon connected to the HD? How hard is it to separate it and how should I go about reattaching it to the new HD?

2. Is there any clue as to when this HD is coming out in March?

3. How would I go about purchasing the HD? Does it come in an external enclosure that Ill have to remove? Do I buy it online?

Thanks for the help!

 

[Csmitte]

Replacing the RAM does not void your warranty but replacing the hard drive will. Also, if you wait until the end of the month, Toshiba are releasing a 9.5mm 500GB SATA notebook hard drive.

what he said! HOWEVER it only voids it if you break something...

 

[McGiord]

After reading some of the postings, I understand that Apple's written instructions are only for the MacBook, not for the MacBook Pro.

The way I see it is that is very unlikely that a HDD will burn your computer unless there is something wrong with it, anyone had experience a HDD burning a computer?

What extra power will demand the 500 Gb HDD you mention in some of the posts, will it cause a potential risk? Same question for the heat it will generate?

From my experience when a HDD dies it just dies and don't create any collateral damage.

Most of the times when you experience a fatal failure in a Mac is due to something that will cover, it will be so well known that they will not even investigate or waste time doing an autopsy, they will just repair it or replace it.
________
Toyota Corolla Spacio

 

[deadpixels]

as one mentioned already in the thread, you do not have to replace back to the original HD to get warranty as Apple has no way of knowing if you change it yourself or had it done by an authorized center.i ordered yesterday a WD passport 320gb and will change the HD in my MBPro myself and put my internal in the WD case for extra storage. my laptop is still i its one year warranty period (ends in march) and i'm confident Apple with honor the warranty even with the new drive inside. i can just say i had it done abroad somewhere i guess.

 

[nickXedge]

I know I already posted about what I heard when speaking to a Tech on the phone however today I went to the genius bar!

He told me that, as many of you have already said, upgrading your HDD yourself does not void your warranty. Obviously if you break something, you're screwed.

You don't need to swap it out with the original if you ever need service, they simply do not cover problems originating in your new hard drive and they don't cover the hard drive itself.

Everything else is still covered. He told me I should be able to do it myself without a problem and rarely do they find that upgrading the hard drive is cause for problems with the computer and the warranty in the future.

I know it's been said a million times over, but I am just adding myself to the list of people saying:

Upgrade your hard drive yourself and do it with confidence! Unless you personally break something while doing it, you are perfectly in the clear! Enjoy!

 

[applehotdog]

i also asked over the phone about this, and i was told that unless i break something in the process, it shouldn't be a problem for me to replace the hard drive.

 

[Vanarak19]

WRITING is the only thing that matters here, everything else is just individual experience.

if you dont have it in writing, your best of switching drivers before warranty work. Sure, this guy had this experience, and this other guy had this experience...

but it all depends on who, and what kind of mood theyre in looks at your machine.

If i didnt have it in writing, i would never assume it didnt void the warranty.

 

[Mackan]

It looks like people are STILL wondering if replacing the hard drive in a Macbook is allowed under warranty.

Apple Instructions for DIY HD Replacement

Well, given that they provide this information, I think it pretty safe to say that it is OK to install a HD upgrade yourself...

Folks, it can't get any more obvious than this. Rather than quote what someone told you at a store or over the phone, why not just READ the document that tells you how to replace your hard drive?

Rofl. But yeah, like someone already pointed out, the thread is essentially about replacing the HDD in a MacBook Pro, not the MacBook. You fall into the category who doesn't read threads?

There is no official Apple document on how to replace a HDD in a MBP.

 

[mrtekkid]

Update

I just phoned the Apple Yorkdale Store here in Toronto.

The official word from their genius bar is that they WILL NOT install 3rd party hardware in my laptop.

It seems like I will have to install the new HD and RAM myself.

Has anyone here done it themselves? I have never replaced the RAM or HD of a laptop computer and am a bit concerned with the difficulty of doing so.

Hey man.... there are a few tutorials on youtube to walk you through it in case you are feeling up to it....

http://youtube.com/watch?v=btTlpqOLDes
http://youtube.com/watch?v=iZWowErZNPo

That is just one... of the many... search for more if you want

cheers!

 

[dergaderg]

replacing the HD

i replaced my macbook harddrive a few years ago, it failed and apple replaced for no cost

 

[frolician]

There is no official Apple document on how to replace a HDD in a MBP.

(no longer true) http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3419