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Will this third-party acquired Apple RAM be covered under warranty?

C

comics addict

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 16, 2013
624
40
I am about to get one of the new non-retina Macbook Pro, 13" 2.5 GHz Core i5, that comes stock with 4 GB ram but I got a seller through eBay that was selling a pair of 4 GB (for a total of 8 GB) ram modules for like forty bucks. The person was telling me that he got them from the higher-end model of the 13" that comes stock with 8 GB of RAM. Considering that is the exact same type of modules I would have gotten if I had my new notebook customize I went ahead and purchase them. For a 1600 MHz ram modules it was under the 60 price range that I seem to find online on average. So to finally ask the question, I was wondering if it would be covered under the Apple one year limited warranty (I also got the applecare extended warranty so this would end up being three years) since I don't think they discriminate wether I got it customized from the Apple Store or bought the stock model as long as I am under their warranty, am I correct ?

PS: I know I could have used a couple of more dollars and gotten a pair of modules with a "lifetime warranty" and all that jazz but I am tight on budget for these "upgrades" and would prefer to have a single company handle all repairs/support for my new mac computer since by the time it's warranty expires I might even sell the thing all things considered,so...
 
Your best bet is to hang onto the factory sticks and pop them back if the computer needs service. The odds of RAM failing are relatively low compared to more expensive components, generally, and keeping them around serves as a diagnostic tool as well.
 
simsaladimbamba said:
The third party RAM will only be covered by the third party, not Apple. The rest of the Mac will still be covered by Apple though.
Click to expand...

That is the thing, it's not "third party" ram per se. It's the exact same brand that Apple ships with their Mac notebooks. Hence my initial question.

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Asuriyan said:
Your best bet is to hang onto the factory sticks and pop them back if the computer needs service. The odds of RAM failing are relatively low compared to more expensive components, generally, and keeping them around serves as a diagnostic tool as well.
Click to expand...

Good advice indeed. Will do.
 
comics addict said:
That is the thing, it's not "third party" ram per se. It's the exact same brand that Apple ships with their Mac notebooks. Hence my initial question.

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Good advice indeed. Will do.
Click to expand...

That may be, but you did the replacing and good it via a third party, thus Apple is not responsible anymore. Apple does not know, what has happened to the RAM between manufacturing it and you buying it.
 
comics addict said:
I am about to get one of the new non-retina Macbook Pro, 13" 2.5 GHz Core i5, that comes stock with 4 GB ram but I got a seller through eBay that was selling a pair of 4 GB (for a total of 8 GB) ram modules for like forty bucks. The person was telling me that he got them from the higher-end model of the 13" that comes stock with 8 GB of RAM. Considering that is the exact same type of modules I would have gotten if I had my new notebook customize I went ahead and purchase them. For a 1600 MHz ram modules it was under the 60 price range that I seem to find online on average. So to finally ask the question, I was wondering if it would be covered under the Apple one year limited warranty (I also got the applecare extended warranty so this would end up being three years) since I don't think they discriminate wether I got it customized from the Apple Store or bought the stock model as long as I am under their warranty, am I correct ?

PS: I know I could have used a couple of more dollars and gotten a pair of modules with a "lifetime warranty" and all that jazz but I am tight on budget for these "upgrades" and would prefer to have a single company handle all repairs/support for my new mac computer since by the time it's warranty expires I might even sell the thing all things considered,so...
Click to expand...

No, Apple compares to what the machine was shipped with.
 
comics addict said:
Oh shuz, that really is a problem...:(
Click to expand...

Why is that a problem? Why not get proper warrantied RAM from Newegg or Crucial for the same price? 8 GB of 204-pin DDR3 SO-DIMM RAM can be had for less than 50 USD nowadays and replacing RAM does not void the warranty of the rest of the machine.
:confused:
 
simsaladimbamba said:
Why is that a problem? Why not get proper warrantied RAM from Newegg or Crucial for the same price? 8 GB of 204-pin DDR3 SO-DIMM RAM can be had for less than 50 USD nowadays and replacing RAM does not void the warranty of the rest of the machine.
:confused:
Click to expand...


Yes that'll have to do now apparently. :eek:
 
There are a couple scenarios I can think of that would come to play.

When I take my computer in for service, I have the store record my specs exactly as they are. Doesn't matter if anything is aftermarket, the important thing is you want a record.

Now if the RAM you purchased is Apple-branded RAM, you can always claim you purchased it and don't have the receipt. Usually it's easier for the store to just replace it if its defective than to try verify your claim. And this would come to play assuming your RAM is causing issues with your computer. I've never had an issue with third-party RAM when I have my computer in warranty service.

Even thought Apple has deterrents against self-service, they cannot legally disavow your warranty coverage unless they can prove it was your actions that caused the failure(i.e.: liquid damage, broken chips, etc.). I'm not an attorney, but this was explained to me like this.

I think you would have no issues and personally I would get third-party RAM since most companies have better warranty coverage than Apple. If Apple determines your computer failure is due to the RAM, they will let you know.
 
BeeJee said:
I wish this was the truth. I have already gone through 2 pairs of PNY 8GB sets, both lasted around 4 months. I'd never buy them again.
Click to expand...

This is why you should buy only from Crucial, Mushkin, G. Skill, or Kingston in terms of the third party RAM. Personally I've liked G. Skill. I've also used Crucial and Mushkin in the past. I've also used OWC but had issues with my particular model 5 years ago (DDR3 was new back then).

As for the original premise of the thread, always keep the original RAM. If they replace the machine wouldn't you want your RAM you paid for out of pocket back? They take the machine including the RAM you installed yourself. Let them keep their low capacity RAM and you keep your upgraded set to put in the new machine.
 
I have done some more research and does see even that they'll honor the warranty on these Apple RAM modules as said on their AppleCare protection plan. Wouldn't matter it seems if I had the receipt since it can count backwards to two years before the covered machine and it has to be used on said machine in order to be included. For anyone who is interested, it refers to the extensions within their warranty concerning some of their displays or routers.

http://www.apple.com/support/products/mac.html

I knew I had read it somewhere. What a relief. :)
 
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