Warranty / Apple Care - question

Hi everyone!

Set the case there is a problem with my MBP and I have to send it in for repair. What´s the official way how to deal with after market upgrades then? What if I personally upgraded to 2x2 Gb RAM and don´t even own the original 2x1 Gb any more? And what if Apple not only has to repair my MBP but instead replace it with another unit in exchange. How will take care for my 4 Gbs RAM then? Will they exchange it, do I have to fear this will be forgotten? Or do I even have to keep the original 2 Gbs which came with the MBP? The same question goes for an after market hdd upgrade btw. so please consider this, too.

Bonus question would be: since I don´t have to break any "warranty void if removed"-stickers when I exchange the hdd in a MBP by myself and further more suppose I don´t damage anything and everything works fine, how could Apple then tell me my warranty is gone when I return a MBP (i.e. for repair) with another hdd installed as the one originally bought with the MBP?
Sure one could say "because there is a different hdd installed now...", then suppose I´d change it back before return...
Sorry for being so picky about that "hdd-MBP-don´t-exchange"-thing, but I hate the idea paying someone 60 Euro for just changing the drive which is a piece of cake actually... And everyting around a MBP is pricey enough tbh.

 

I haven't owned in Apple product in about 10 years so I could be totally off base, but I'll share what I do with Dell...

I remove any aftermarket upgrades and send it in without them... So it usually goes back RAM and HD free to them. That way I don't have to worry about it getting taken out and forgotten to be replaced or anything else...

They should have plenty of spare parts lying around to test it with...

 

Generally speaking, Apple won't void your warranty just because you have changed your hard drive yourself.

The warranty voiding issue would happen if you attempted to replace your hard drive yourself and damaged the machine; the damage done would not be covered, and you'd run the risk of having your warranty voided because of how you caused the damage.

I've never heard of a scenario where someone sent in the MBP for repair and was told their warranty was void just because they had replaced their hard drive.

As far as your other question; it probably depends on the nature of the repair.

If you've added extra RAM, you probably don't need to worry about it (if the problem isn't with the RAM, they aren't probably going to take it out and replace it).

However, it's probably a good idea to hold on to the stock hardware; at least the RAM. You never know what might happen in an individual case, and it also is a good idea anyway to have your original RAM so you can rule out RAM as a problem.

-Zadillo

 

Thanks to both of you guys. But this still confuses me a bit, suppose this: Something (say logic board) gets broken and I am forced to send to whole MBP in. Personally I´d keep it with what frazell said and remove all the after market upgrades first (RAM & hdd). In my personal experience RMA-people aren´t really well known for smart behavior; won´t they just go mad about stuff is missing etc?
On the other hand I just can´t imagine the other way around to be more wise and sending back the MBP fully pimped with 4 Gbs and hdd... I just like to hear some word about this from someone who was already forced to send in an upgraded MBP for repair.

But for keeping the obsolete 2x1 Gb sticks, I really don´t know about this. Yes Sir, money is an issue over here.

 

Well, again, it's up to you. I wouldn't worry about the hard drive (if you upgrade the hard drive, I wouldn't worry about removing it or replacing it before sending it in for service..... although of course, make sure to backup any data).

Personally I've never heard of anyone having their RAM stolen or replaced when they send a machine in for repair, but I guess it wouldn't be impossible. This is I think where it would still be worth holding on to the original RAM. I think the piece of mind of being able to send it in with the factory RAM would be worth more than whatever you might get selling it.

If this was an ongoing problem, you'd hear about it - lots of people upgrade their RAM, and if lots of people were getting their upgraded RAM stolen or lost or replaced without their consent, you would hear tons of complaints about it.

-Zadillo

 

This is kind of convincing, I think. Thank you.

 

I never send in HD's. Most tech center have a tendency to wipe things clean as a test. That way you do not have to worry about your data, and/or passwords stored on the HD.

The first up grade I do is replace the HD to a 7200rpm drive. Up time is useless if your waiting for programs to load 70% if the time. I always save the original though.