Local SSD upgrade - opinions?

[dndlnx]

So this guy says he'll do it for ~$80, and claims it wouldn't affect my extended warranty. I would be providing him with the SDD, and optical drive rack.


He is with an Apple authorized service provider. If he's for real, it'd be nice because I wouldnt have to take out the SSD to get repairs, or if I sold the computer.

What do you think, is it worth it? Do you think he's telling the truth? Am I better off doing it myself?

 

[Meyvn]

So this guy says he'll do it for ~$80, and claims it wouldn't affect my extended warranty. I would be providing him with the SDD, and optical drive rack.


He is with an Apple authorized service provider. If he's for real, it'd be nice because I wouldnt have to take out the SSD to get repairs, or if I sold the computer.

What do you think, is it worth it? Do you think he's telling the truth? Am I better off doing it myself?

Apple won't support the SSD itself, obviously.

But other than that:

1. Is he doing it at the ASP, on the books? Will there be a record in-house of him doing it at work?
2. Are you receiving an invoice from him?

 

[movieboy23]

I would pay $80 for it. Opening up the iMac and installing an SSD, even on the new iMacs, is quite laborious and there's a lot of potential for things to go wrong if not done properly. Even if the person is not doing it on the books, he has nevertheless had experience with these machines and also has the appropriate tools to do the job right. The added fact that he's an ASP really makes this a no brainer, IMHO.

 

[dndlnx]

I just don't want to be refused service for everything else, because a third party component was put in. If I can bypass this, by going through a Certified Tech it would be nice.


No clue about the procedure, or if its on the books. I've never even been to an ASP. I think I'll at least get an invoice. Judging by his response to my inquiry, seems like they do this kind of thing often....but these are good questions to ask him.


Worst I can do is play the innocent customer who got duped. But if anything did go wrong, he might be the one I took it to anyway!

I'm actually more concerned for the next owner of the machine, if I sell it next year.

 

[Hellhammer]

So will you get an official invoice from the store, stating that the procedure was done by an Apple certified tech and will not affect your warranty?

 

[dh2005]

I'm not saying the dude's untrustworthy, but sometimes people in smaller, independent computer businesses can be a little overconfident. You need to remember that, although he's Apple-certified, he's not a direct employee. He won't necessarily know all there is to know.


Not exactly the same, but I offer this by way of illustration:

Last year I bought an OEM copy of Windows 7 for my Mini from a small computer store in the student district of Manchester. I asked the guy whether I could install it onto another machine at a later date and he said, "sure. When you get rid of the Mini, uninstall Windows 7, phone Microsoft and give them a sob-story about how you built the machine from components, the motherboard's died and yadda-yadda-yadda... and they'll give you a new registration key".

They didn't. They told me, "sorry, sir. It's OEM. One licence, and no entitlement to tech support". And I lost £85.

Think how much you'd stand to lose if your iMac went tits-up and the dude was wrong...

... personally, I wouldn't do it.

 

[Meyvn]

The bottom line is, if this is on the level, if you can verify his claims, if you'll get a legitimate invoice, your warranty on the machine itself should not be violated. Apple simply won't cover the SSD itself, since they didn't sell it to you.

I work at an Apple Specialist (basically the equivalent of a privately-owned Apple Store). I've dealt with a lot of certified technicians both as a customer, and working alongside them. I can tell you, most of them, as long as you're nice, and they're not having some kind of horrible day, are willing to work with you as far as your AppleCare warranty is concerned.

They're not going to stiff you because they see an aftermarket SSD is installed. They're not insurance adjusters, trained to scrupulously screw you out of your money. If you bring in your machine for some work and it doesn't demonstrate obvious negligence (which it shouldn't, if this is on the level), your warranty on the machine and the rest of its components should be fine.

If, however, this guy *isn't* on the level, it could pose problems. At my job, we receive machines occasionally with aftermarket RAM, for example, installed improperly. Customers (or "their techy friend") have jammed it in the DIMMs, broken some pins, and act like nothing is wrong.

In summary:

Find out about the questions I mentioned before.

Check with Apple to see if this is, in fact, an Apple Certified Technician, working at an ASP.

http://www.apple.com/buy/locator/service/

If it is, go for it. Why pay gobs of money when you don't have to?

 

[twentytwo22]

I'm not saying the dude's untrustworthy, but sometimes people in smaller, independent computer businesses can be a little overconfident. You need to remember that, although he's Apple-certified, he's not a direct employee. He won't necessarily know all there is to know.


Not exactly the same, but I offer this by way of illustration:

Last year I bought an OEM copy of Windows 7 for my Mini from a small computer store in the student district of Manchester. I asked the guy whether I could install it onto another machine at a later date and he said, "sure. When you get rid of the Mini, uninstall Windows 7, phone Microsoft and give them a sob-story about how you built the machine from components, the motherboard's died and yadda-yadda-yadda... and they'll give you a new registration key".

They didn't. They told me, "sorry, sir. It's OEM. One licence, and no entitlement to tech support". And I lost £85.

Think how much you'd stand to lose if your iMac went tits-up and the dude was wrong...

... personally, I wouldn't do it.

I'm surprised you didn't get a new key from Microsoft. I've heard people have this on lockdown. Just say that the motherboard and hard drive died and you just replaced them in the same machine and it won't take your old key. Bingo.