According to Apple support rep, upgrading mac mini voids warranty

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
I just got off the phone with a Apple support rep and he said that mac minis are not ment to be upgraded and upgrading it yourself voids the warranty even the extended warranty.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 5
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Se7enwolf View Post


    I just got off the phone with a Apple support rep and he said that mac minis are not ment to be upgraded and upgrading it yourself voids the warranty even the extended warranty.



    You can upgrade anything you want as long as you don't break it in the process. Changing the hard drive in a Mac Mini will *NOT* void any part of your warranty if you do it correctly.
  • Reply 2 of 5
    nvidia2008nvidia2008 Posts: 9,262member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Se7enwolf View Post


    I just got off the phone with a Apple support rep and he said that mac minis are not ment to be upgraded and upgrading it yourself voids the warranty even the extended warranty.



    I think you need to clarify. Changing RAM will not void the warranty, changing anything else will. But of course, if you change those other things, if you do it right and don't leave any "evidence" of any damage, warranty stays intact. It's a risk, for one to consider.



    If anyone has heard otherwise officially, do let us know.
  • Reply 3 of 5
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,479moderator
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Se7enwolf View Post


    I just got off the phone with a Apple support rep and he said that mac minis are not ment to be upgraded and upgrading it yourself voids the warranty even the extended warranty.



    Well, Apple says otherwise:



    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=13946



    "You may install memory (RAM, VRAM), and other customer-installable parts without voiding your Apple warranty."



    The wording in their warranty document is the following:



    "If you open your Mac mini or install items, you risk damaging your equipment,

    and such damage isn?t covered by the limited warranty on your Mac mini."



    MacWorld confirmed this with Apple:



    http://www.macworld.com/article/1520...10handson.html



    "On that note, Apple?s policy on upgrading the Mac mini yourself has always been that as long as you don?t break anything in the process, your warranty is still valid. I confirmed with Apple that this is, indeed, still the case with the newest Mac mini."



    Some reps will rightly recommend against upgrading the machine because you can of course damage a great number of things trying to replace the hard drive in the new Mini and they won't know for sure if the damage was caused by a fault of the product itself.



    I know a number of people who have spilled drinks on their machines and tried to claim a motherboard failure on PC warranties. Apple has to cover themselves from this kind of expense.



    Naturally if the reps promote upgrading your own machine then any idiot is going to think they can take apart their Mini and remove the motherboard without consequence in order to save some money on a hard drive upgrade from Apple. Apple don't even offer 7200RPM upgrades in the non-server model so you'd have to do it yourself.
  • Reply 4 of 5
    If it can be upgraded then why wont Apple do it themselves in the stores? They told me that they even have upgrade parts for it in the systems because its not to be upgraded.
  • Reply 5 of 5
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,479moderator
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Se7enwolf View Post


    If it can be upgraded then why wont Apple do it themselves in the stores? They told me that they even have upgrade parts for it in the systems because its not to be upgraded.



    It takes too long in store. If they only got stock Mac Minis for example, it would take 30-45 minutes to upgrade the hard drive for each one. It's easier to ship upgraded models to the store. That would have been the case with the RAM in the old ones too but now it's easy so they will be able to RAM upgrades in store no problems. The RAM upgrade process in the new one is the best I've seen in any machine ever made, I just wish they'd done the same with the hard drive.
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