IS OTHER RAM COVERED BY APPLECARE????

[bigben334]

can somebody tell me, if i buy ram from datamem.com or crucial.com or anywhere else, is it still covered by applecare or no??? wat if i get the original samsung one from datamem, is that covered because it is wat apple uses or wat??? thanks a bunch!

 

[JeDiBoYTJ]

AFAIK, only what the computer was registered as the day it was bought is covered by AppleCare.

 

[CanadaRAM]

can somebody tell me, if i buy ram from datamem.com or crucial.com or anywhere else, is it still covered by applecare or no??? wat if i get the original samsung one from datamem, is that covered because it is wat apple uses or wat??? thanks a bunch!

No, only what you buy from Apple is covered by Applecare.

BUT: Third party RAM from a good vendor will have a lifetime warranty, which is better than you will get from Apple.

I suggest that you keep your original Apple RAM so that you can reinstall it in the machine if you ever have to send the machine in under Applecare: That eliminates Apple's contract service people from playing silly games blaming warranty failure on your 3rd party RAM.

Thanks
Trevor
CanadaRAM.com

PS. Please don't use ALL CAPS in your titles. Thanx

 

[bigben334]

ok....

thanks for the info.......also, how long does applecare for the powerbook last and do i have to buy it with my powerbook purchase or can i wait a year until my initial 1 year warranty is up and then get the extended coverage? thanks

and also, is it easy to just pop ram in and out or is it a timely, tedious project, thanks again

 

[Abstract]

JeDiBoYTJ is correct. Everything you put on a system purchase order, lets say a Dual 2.7GHz PowerMac + 23" Cinema Display + extra RAM, is covered by Applecare if you buy Applecare on the same order as the computer, display, and RAM. Exceptions include iPods and other Mac computers/laptops. You'd have to get a separate Applecare for those.

If you buy a PowerMac, 23" ACD, and extra RAM, but purchase AppleCare 3 weeks later, your AppleCare will only cover the computer. You can buy AppleCare within 1 year. After 1 year, you can't buy it anymore.

@bigben334: Yeah sure, you can switch the RAM out before you send it into AppleCare, but what's the point? If your PB screws up and you need to send your PB in, you won't be penalized or have your warranty voided if you have 3rd party RAM in there (eg: Crucial, OWC, etc). They will still service it for you. They just won't replace your RAM if it's faulty. The 3rd party vendor, say Crucial, will replace it. You would need to contact Crucial to have your Crucial RAM replaced if you got faulty RAM, not Apple.

 

[yg17]

thanks for the info.......also, how long does applecare for the powerbook last and do i have to buy it with my powerbook purchase or can i wait a year until my initial 1 year warranty is up and then get the extended coverage? thanks

and also, is it easy to just pop ram in and out or is it a timely, tedious project, thanks again

AppleCare is 3 years from the purchase date of your computer, and you can purchase it within the 1 year warranty period. Whether you buy it with the computer or wait until the last day doesn't effect when AppleCare expires.

 

[JeDiBoYTJ]

thanks for the info.......also, how long does applecare for the powerbook last and do i have to buy it with my powerbook purchase or can i wait a year until my initial 1 year warranty is up and then get the extended coverage? thanks

and also, is it easy to just pop ram in and out or is it a timely, tedious project, thanks again

1 year warranty on everything. not sure if you can buy applecare after... i dont see why not

its not too difficult to put ram in. flip it over, unscrew the plate, the hardest part is dealing with the 2 layers of ram. the top one flips up so you can reach the bottom one... you'll see when you do it. its not hard, just push it until it clicks, close it up, turn the PB on and cross your fingers that you dont have bad ram

 

[CanadaRAM]

@bigben334: Yeah sure, you can switch the RAM out before you send it into AppleCare, but what's the point? If your PB screws up and you need to send your PB in, you won't be penalized or have your warranty voided if you have 3rd party RAM in there (eg: Crucial, OWC, etc). They will still service it for you. They just won't replace your RAM if it's faulty. The 3rd party vendor, say Crucial, will replace it. You would need to contact Crucial to have your Crucial RAM replaced if you got faulty RAM, not Apple.

You have far more faith than I have, my friend.

There have been numerous posts on Macintouch and other boards (perhaps on MR as well) where Apple service centres are sending the machine back unrepaired, with the RAM in a baggie and a note saying "Bad 3rd party RAM" --- regardless what the original problem was.

This is sloppy or fraudulent practice on the part of the service organizations Apple contracts with, but there have been enough similar incidents reported all across the US that it is not worth the hassle. (One poor sod even had this trick pulled on him when his machine was configured with 2 Gb BTO original RAM from Apple).

The second reason not to send your machine in with *any* 3rd party upgrades is that you may not get your RAM (or hard drive or PCI card) back if the Apple service centre swaps out your machine for another one. This has happened to customers of ours with other brands of machines. (Note to Canadians... avoid FutureShop "service" like the plague...)

 

[Mechcozmo]

They think my PowerBook was a stock model, but after I showed them System Profiler they fixed their database. (It is BTO but with extra RAM, non-Apple)