Changing HDD or RAM in laptop, Warranty Void?

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Darwall

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#210345 23-Mar-2017 15:36

As laptops become more and more thinner the hard drives and ram trap doors are being removed.

There fore getting into the laptops to do upgrades/ repairs is becoming harder and you some times have to break stickers or seals.

Is this a sign for the times, that manufactures don't want people opening or customizing their tech?

More interesting, do manufactures determine you have voided warranty if you do change parts inside of the first 12 months.

I wonder if anyone out there has had any experience with sending a laptop or PC back and had a warranty voided because of this?

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mattwnz

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#1746490 23-Mar-2017 15:43

Laptops have never really been that upgrade. YOu could replace teh harddrive or ram, and maybe the video card, but that was about all. But Apples new ones you can't even do that. Companies are also now soldering things onto the boards. IANAL, but the instructions will tell you want you can upgrade, and how to open it up to do it. But maybe they require you use a qualified tech. . My last Dell allows you to add ram, and switch out the harddrive. I don't have a clue if doing so would void the warranty, but they do provide instructions. I do also have CGA coverage, which potentially overrides any warranty.

richms

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#1746533 23-Mar-2017 16:53

I made a mess of the clips on the cover of my HP spectre when putting a real wifi card into it. Was going to change the ssd at the same time but couldnt find info on if it was sata or pci so just left it as was.

Anyway, had warranty issues for something else and it was no drama, just noted that the clips for the panel were messed up and it had a different wifi card in it (swapped a 2x2 intel 2.4GHz n one for a 2x2 AC card)

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timmmay

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#1746535 23-Mar-2017 16:57

I put an SSD into an Asus. When the screen failed Ascent claimed I caused the damage, then relented and gave a partial refund. I wouldn't open up a laptop, buy what you need to start with.

richms

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#1746537 23-Mar-2017 16:59

Problem is they dont often have what you need. getting 1440p on a laptop without a gaming gpu is hard enough as it is, let alone worrying about the storage and the wireless capabilities - thankfully even low spec laptops now are coming with at least 2x2 ac as default in them.

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cadman

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#1746566 23-Mar-2017 18:25

timmmay:

I put an SSD into an Asus. When the screen failed Ascent claimed I caused the damage, then relented and gave a partial refund. I wouldn't open up a laptop, buy what you need to start with.

Clearly unrelated - I'd have held out for a full refund, going to the Disputes Tribunal if necessary. That disingenuous default position they took needs to be knocked on the head.

Darwall

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#1746808 24-Mar-2017 08:16

cadman:

timmmay:

I put an SSD into an Asus. When the screen failed Ascent claimed I caused the damage, then relented and gave a partial refund. I wouldn't open up a laptop, buy what you need to start with.

Clearly unrelated - I'd have held out for a full refund, going to the Disputes Tribunal if necessary. That disingenuous default position they took needs to be knocked on the head.

I wonder if that would hold up in a Disputes Tribunal, if a device has been tampered with by a non authorized person, doesn't that make the whole device void of any warranty? In America the "right to repair" movement is a good example with companies like Apple not wanting a bar of it. I guess that is the big question.

Electronic goods can be problematic, an example is buying a generic travel charger for your laptop and not the genuine one, if it sends poorly regulated voltage (due to a fault of its own) into your laptop and causes the motherboard to fault then the manufacture of the laptop has the right to void warranty based upon your decisions to do this, I imagine proving any of this otherwise is way above a judge who normally wont have the expertise to decided who is at fault.

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cadman

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#1747030 24-Mar-2017 13:31

Darwall:

cadman:

timmmay:

I put an SSD into an Asus. When the screen failed Ascent claimed I caused the damage, then relented and gave a partial refund. I wouldn't open up a laptop, buy what you need to start with.

Clearly unrelated - I'd have held out for a full refund, going to the Disputes Tribunal if necessary. That disingenuous default position they took needs to be knocked on the head.

I wonder if that would hold up in a Disputes Tribunal, if a device has been tampered with by a non authorized person, doesn't that make the whole device void of any warranty? In America the "right to repair" movement is a good example with companies like Apple not wanting a bar of it. I guess that is the big question.

Electronic goods can be problematic, an example is buying a generic travel charger for your laptop and not the genuine one, if it sends poorly regulated voltage (due to a fault of its own) into your laptop and causes the motherboard to fault then the manufacture of the laptop has the right to void warranty based upon your decisions to do this, I imagine proving any of this otherwise is way above a judge who normally wont have the expertise to decided who is at fault.

Forget the "manufacturer's warranty". Assuming the laptop in the scenario above was not for business use, the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 take precedence. The protections for the consumer within that Act are far more reaching than any warranty I've ever seen.

A big thing in the Act is what is "reasonable". Is it reasonable to refuse a repair on a screen fault when the HDD has at some point prior been replaced? Of course it's not. They're obviously unrelated. For a start the HDD is usually in a compartment and is a simple unplug and replace part.

The same goes for new motorvehicle warranties. They can't reasonably refuse to remedy an airbag light fault just because you've chosen not to have the scheduled services performed at an "authorised" Dealership. There may be some merit to the argument if the engine ran a bearing and it was found the wrong grade of oil was used.

timmmay

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#1747031 24-Mar-2017 13:40

Ascent claimed I could've damaged something inside the computer, which I guess is true. It's wrong, the problem was a poor design that wore out just before the warranty finished rather than just after, as it was probably designed.

I could've gone to small claims, but when I challenged them they increased their offer enough that it wasn't worth the bother. It wasn't enough to replace the machine with a new one, but my work happened to be selling old laptops, and I found a really good one for less than Ascent refunded.

Batman

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#1747061 24-Mar-2017 14:09

I do it all the time, never voided warranty. But i never damage anything

richms

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#1747163 24-Mar-2017 16:17

Really just makes me want to avoid ascent reading things like that.

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sxz

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#1747176 24-Mar-2017 16:39

Warranty maybe, CGA, certainty not, so long as you dont cause damage. Depends on the laptop of course - some are not designed to be user replaceable, in which case, don't expect to have CGA cover either.

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#1747177 24-Mar-2017 16:40

richms:

Really just makes me want to avoid ascent reading things like that.

OTOH if you have a business that is known to refund everything all the time then you go bankrupt. Sounds like they increased their offer and it's a pretty good compromise. Poor design is also not Ascent's fault, it's wear and tear.

timmmay

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#1747214 24-Mar-2017 17:21

Ascent were ok. They tried to fix it, including replacing parts, some they had to source overseas. They gave around a 2/3 refund and it was (from memory) a couple of years old. All in all, I may have been able to do a little better, but I think their offer was reasonable fair.