Modifications that void your warranty

In addition to being a 'computer guy' for most of my life, I have been involved in street racing for over 20 years. This is of signifigance due to warranty simularities.

I have dealt with auto dealers trying to refuse warranty service several times. I became familar with the Magnuson-Moss Act of 1975 which applys to consumer products. In general it prohibits a company from requiring you to use thier repair service or thier parts. It also requires a company to prove that a modification caused the failure. The automotive world is familar with the Magnuson-Moss Act and its implications. It is a constant battle between those that mod new cars and the dealers/manufacturers.

I have noticed this is relatively unheardof in computer circles. I had reason to use past experiences last year when I was dealing with Averatec about a keyboard failure.

They told me at first I was going to have to pay for a new keyb because I must have spilled something into the old one. I had not spilled anything into it and ask them to provide evidence of damage due to misuse. In the next email they ignored my request for evidence and stated that they were not required to honor my warranty because I had upgraded Ram and the 'warranty' sticker was broken. In my next reply I sent them a lenghty letter detailing the Magnuson-Moss Acts protection of consumers and specifically that they could not legally require thier customers to use them for service. I also mentioned that I was probably not the first person that has run into this with them and it might make a great basis for a class action law suit. My keyb was replaced under warranty.​

IMPORTANT-That said there are many things to consider before you decide you can just run out and rewire your notebook.

-First is the fact that the company has posession of your computer and you will probably not get it back until things are resolved. Even though you have the law on your side you will probably be fighting an uphill battle.
-Next is you will most likely be talking to people who have never heard of Magnuson-Moss. This means that they will have to talk to 2 people who will have to talk to 2 people until someone gets a clue or makes a decision. This could take some time in a large company.
-You will also have to deal with cause of failure. (I will use cars here as the types of relationships are easier to see in that arena)

It is most likely an impossible battle if a modified part directly interfaces with the failed part. ie- If you add a more aggressively timed cam shaft and blow the engine there is pretty much no way you can claim that under warranty. Aftermarket exhaust however does not cause your fuel pump to go out. The problem here is that if a company says your mod directly contributed to the problem you are pretty much stuck. They will do so if there is any way they can.​

This is of real concern in notebook computers because they are essentially one system.
-Last but certainly not least is the issue of stickers. A company cannot legally void a warranty because a sticker is cut/removed. However there is a huge gray area and some interesting issues regarding stickers. One example is the main sticker on Viking RAM. If you remove the sticker on a RAM module you will not be able to get that RAM covered under warranty. They will refuse to fix/replace because the sticker has the information about the modules that they require for warranty replacement.​

To head off the flamers I know there are work arounds as well as instances where unrelated parts can actually affect each other. I intended to address the honest people trying to get the service/parts they are due.

This post is just an FYI and stepping off point for someone willing to learn more and spend more time than me. In the future they might make dealing with these companies easier on the rest of us.

Some links for your amusement:
Basic Description
the FTC's guide on Warranty Law
What Kingston Technology has to say

Know your rights and expect fair service.
Good Luck

 

Stickers sure, but some companies will not honor a warranty if you replace the heat sink thermal compound with a non OEM product, and most if you upgrade the processors. There are others but these are usually the major two I see on these boards.

 

The thermal compound is a prime example.... they can not legally void the warranty if you choose non OEM. This especially true if you use one with better than OEM specs as there is no way they could demonstrate the new compound caused a failure. As far as the processor ... much harder battle, also anything that fails in a notebook could be blamed on excessive heat due to the new proc.
It is a huge gray area and this battle is more often won by the one with the most knowledge and not by the one who is right. I am just hoping to get more peeps to learn and maybe help a couple out.

 

I thought that you can't change anything other than the Memory, Ram or DVD Drive if you want to keep the warranty

 

On macbooks the only thing you can change is the RAM, the hard drive and the battery, and on macbook pros the only thing you can change is the RAM and the battery. But I wouldn't want to anyway...changing out the hard drive would mean opening up the keyboard and taking the whole **** thing apart.

It really depends on the manufacturer.

 

This was the point of my whole post above. It does not depend on manufacturer. They can not legally void your warranty for using non OEM parts. Theoretically you could change all the components of a notebook except the case and the screen and if your screen died they would have to honor it under warranty. It is not usually worth the battle and more often than not the burden is usually on you to prove your mod did not cause the damage instead of the other way around.

The main gist of my post is this: Companies are bound by law when it comes to warranties. They can not just willy nilly decide not to honor them because you chose to change something you own and have every right to change. It all depends on the reason for the failure. If you're driving down the road and your tires fall off- warranty. If you jump 6 cars in your new volvo - SOL. The same applies if you decide to use locking lug nuts if they are properly installed. If the lug nuts did not cause the failure as you drove down the road then they are legally bound to honor the warranty.

Again for the flamers .... read and understand the entire post and yes I know that it is practically impossible to change everything except the case and screen, never mind it would be an impossible battle to prove that your mods did not kill the screen. Like I said this post is to share knowledge and perhaps give someone a little help if they have a company refusing to honor a warranty for an unrelated mod.