Rob, Actually the -only- reason my friend took his mini to the Apple store was because I used to listen to the MacCast (maccast.com), this podcaster spent quite some time digging into Apple's actual policies, both published and on the ground from listener feedback. On that basis I told him his broken DVD drive should still get attention despite his self-inflicted damage. So if its a subject you care to research thoroughly, you'll find that my one data point is not statistically unusual.
(these days MacCast is more iCast, and having no iDevices beyond an iPod nano, I've stopped listening) On Dec 3, 12:01 am, Rob Ross <[email protected]> wrote: > On Dec 2, 2010, at 12:22 AM, Phil wrote: > > > On Dec 1, 9:09 pm, Rob Ross <[email protected]> wrote: > > (snip) > >> Anyone that upgrades their hard drive is voiding their warranty, although > >> lots of people do it. > > (snip) > > >> Rob > > > I have to disagree; Apple have always had a policy that you can > > certainly change HDD as well as memory, and indeed other things, the > > only provisos being: that any damage you cause in the process will > > void the warranty on the damaged part only; that non-Apple parts are > > not covered; that consequential (post--upgrade) damage to the computer > > as a result of the upgrade is not covered. > > The issue is not well specified, and I suspect this is on purpose. In > general, the prevailing "wisdom" has been : if the user guide for the product > has instructions on how to replace something, then it's considered a "user > replaceable" part. However, the disclaimers in the guide and license make it > possible that if you do replace something, and you later have a hardware > problem, it's possible they'll say it is not covered because you failed to > follow the instructions in the manual and have voided your warranty. (The > actual text in the guide is something like : "Failing to follow the > instructions may void your warranty" ) > > What has been "user replaceable" has been very much dependent on the specific > model. Most of the consumer Mac Books have had user replaceable hard drives. > Most of the Mac Book *Pro* line have not; only since the late 2008 models > (unibody) have internal hard drives been considered "user replaceable." > > The warranty policy has also been implemented very inconsistently. Read the > Apple discussion board for a variety of user experiences in replacing hard > drives, having issues, taking them in to Apple for repair, and having a > variety of outcomes, from no problems at all, to Apple technicians telling > them they can't service the product because they've replaced a > non-serviceable part and therefore are no longer covered under warranty. > > > > > I've seen this in practice - when undertaking a warranty repair on a > > friend's Mac Mini, Apple charged for replacing a plastic part damaged > > by him when taking it apart to upgrade the memory but otherwise > > honoured the warranty (faulty DVD drive). > > Well, ok, you have one positive data-point. But again I suggest you read the > Apple discussion boards for a full range of user experiences. > > Rob -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Java Posse" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/javaposse?hl=en.
