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How Sony, Microsoft, and Other Gadget Makers Violate Federal Warranty Law (vice.com)
Reader citadrianne shares a Motherboard article: There are big "no trespassing" signs affixed to most of our electronics. If you own a gaming console, laptop, or computer, it's likely you've seen one of these warnings in the form of a sticker placed over a screw or a seam: "Warranty void if removed." In addition, big manufacturers such as Sony, Microsoft, and Apple explicitly note or imply in their official agreements that their year-long manufacturer warranties -- which entitle you to a replacement or repair if your device is defective -- are void if consumers attempt to repair their gadgets or take them to a third party repair professional. What almost no one knows is that these stickers and clauses are illegal under a federal law passed in 1975 called the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act . To be clear, federal law says you can open your electronics without voiding the warranty, regardless of what the language of that warranty says.
the more annoying thing is, that for a device this expensive, the warranty is only 1 year long. apple even tried to bring that crap to EU. fortunately, apart from UK, the whole EU has 2 year warranty on everything.
The manufacturers are not implying your warranty evaporates if you break the seal. It's more that you will never succeed in convincing them that you did not cause the problem at that point.
In a more extreme example, would you want to be a manufacturer and honor a warranty on a (spinning) hard drive with a broken seal?
The Daddy casts sleep on the Baby. The Baby resists!
Raise your hands (er, leave a comment) if you routinely void warranties! :-)
Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
Shocked, I tell you, shocked. (Maybe I shouldn't have touched the mains.)
Shocked, I tell you, that corporations would try and bypass federal law to avoid losing money. SHOCKED.
I mean, we all know corporations are all sweetness and light, concerned first and foremost with providing quality products to consumers, and not with squeezing every nickel and dime out of them, sending them to mandatory "third party" arbitration that favors them, and generally treating customers as disposable whenever possible.
Boy, I'm glad I don't live in a world like that, where corporations routinely bribe public officials and get away with it, because it's called "lobbying".
Mr. Hu is not a ninja.
This is addressed in the article. All that shit is illegal, too
Of course..they make ham radio equipment...and some hams are real DIY. So their warranty is quite liberal in you can attempt to fix it yourself. They'll even send you parts if its something simple. Of course...we say MFJ stands for "Mighty Fine Junk"...and most stuff arrived pre-broken. But you can crack it open and they will still honor a warranty.
Whenever car dealers pull this shady shit, get them to write it down on paper (or record it voice).
Then apply your small claims court to the problem and notify the parent manufacturer. There are substantial liabilities for this foolishness.
..don't panic
I bought another car recently, and the finance guy was giving me a line of bull, saying I had to buy their fucking maintenance package or my warranty would be void immediately.
I made that mistake once. And by mistake, I mean that I bought the car after getting a line of bull from the finance guy. Now, if I get a line of bull from the finance person, I don't buy the car from that dealer. I also make sure the sales person knows why they just lost a commission.
With the disclaimer, the parking lot operator is responsible for providing a space suitable for parking. If you show that cars parked there were burglarized 46 times in the past six months, the place isn't suitable for parking and the operator may be liable.
Without the disclaimer, a customer may say "when I pulled in, there was an attendant who pointed to an open spot. I reasonably expected the attendant to keep on eye on the cars, so the operator is liable for any burglarly". The attendant may have been off duty later that night, when there were fewer customers. The sign, and the back of ticket, inform you that the attendant is not a 24/7 security guard.
What leads to to believe they're not the same person?
Then apply your small claims court to the problem and notify the parent manufacturer. There are substantial liabilities for this foolishness.
That seems like a lot of trouble, especially if you know enough not to be scammed in the first place. Also, I didn't know Small Claims court could help if you didn't suffer any damage because you knew better.
One would think that in that case, complaining to the FTC, to the BBB, on Yelp, or to the Attorney General of your State, would be better.
This is an extremely limited and inaccurate view of the Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act.
First, this details what a FULL warranty is, and does not supersede state laws or the FTC's addressing of antitrusts.
Furthermore, the following law clearly states that they CAN detail the limitations of the warranty. https://www.law.cornell.edu/us...
Which would be nice if only Apple would offer authorization for third parties, but no longer offer that certification. So if you didn't have a third party authorization before a few years back, tough luck.
As a former repair-tech (non-Apple) myself, I would opine that managing a network of third-party repair centers when you already have a Retail presence in all, or nearly all, states in the U.S. that includes repair services, makes absolutely zero sense, economically.
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Unfortunately, so many "warranty" decisions are discretionary, and there are lenient techs (and tech-managers!) and dickish ones. Apple's U.S. hardware warranty for MacBook Pros implicitly ALLOWS for things like a swapped-hard drive WITHOUT voiding the warranty, if the "repair" did not cause any damage
This issue came up when the first Mac minis came out, and people wondered whether they could upgrade the RAM in them without voiding the warranty, because there was no obvious way to open the case (Paint-Scrapers, FTW!). Apple was more or less "forced" to actually release a statement that said, in effect "As long as you don't mess anything up while you're doing it, you won't void your warranty."
So, if you got a Warranty Claim denied just because a User-Replaceable HD was replaced, and you did so using Apple's Instructions (like the ones provided on page 37 of this MacBook Pro manual), and the replacement part and procedure didn't cause any ancillary damage, then you needed to escalate that warranty claim up the food-chain. Because that does NOT appear to be actual "Policy".
But people are people, and some people are just dicks...
Complaining to the manufacturer can be effective as well. If they hear complaints like this, eventually they could revoke the dealer's license to sell new [insert manufacturer here] vehicles. See how well that would go over when the dealer can't deal those cars anymore.
"Don't meddle in the affairs of a patent dragon, for thou art tasty and good with ketchup." ~ohcrapitssteve
If you get an apple device repaired at a third party that is not an AASP and you then take it into apple and they see it has third party parts in it, they will refuse to even look at it. In most cases. Mostly for idevices, but can extend to computers.
1.10.6 Disclosure of Unauthorized Modifications. During the service ordering process, you must notify Apple of any unauthorized modifications, or any repairs or replacements not performed by Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider (“AASP”), that have been made to your product. Apple will not be responsible for any damage to the product that occurs during the repair process that is a result of any unauthorized modifications or repairs or replacements not performed by Apple or an AASP. If damage results, Apple will seek your authorization for any additional costs for completing service even if the product is covered by warranty or an AppleCare service plan. If you decline authorization, Apple may return your product unrepaired in the damaged condition without any responsibility.
That's a Warranty condition. Doesn't mean that Apple won't repair as NON-Warranty.