Companies Can't Legally Void the Warranty For Jailbreaking Or Rooting Your Phone (vice.com)

Reader Jason Koebler writes: Manufacturers that threaten to void the warranties of consumers who jailbreak or root their phones are violating federal law.
Under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act of 1975, manufacturers cannot legally void your hardware warranty simply because you altered the software of an electronic device. In order to void the warranty without violating federal law, the manufacturer must prove that the modifications you made directly led to a hardware malfunction.
"They have to show that the jailbreak caused the failure. If yes, they can void your claim (not your whole warranty—just the things which flowed from your mod)," Steve Lehto, a lemon law attorney in Michigan, wrote in an email. "If not, then they can't."

Comments

United States

[quenda]

It would not hurt to mention the country in the summary, even if this is a US-centric site.
The author appears to be unaware that laws are not the same in all countries.

It would be interesting to compare, as most developed countries have a warranty by law (statutory) that cannot be disclaimed.
The US has implied warranty , but that does not cover failures if it works at first??

The Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act offers the cop-out of letting companies choose a full or limited warranty. So guess what Apple does? Do many US companies offer a full warranty? So what's the point? It seems Apple/Samsung just needs to say the magic words limited warranty and do whatever the hell the want.

Re:United States

[AmiMoJo]

The UK has great consumer protection laws in this area. Basically you can claim any time during the product's expected life. Say you buy a microwave oven and it dies after 4 years, typically courts find such appliances should be expected to last 8 years. The shop you bought it from (not the manufacturer) either has to repair it or offer you a partial refund based on the use you have had out of it (50% of expected life = 50% refund).

Presumably this isn't limited to mobile devices

[Anonymous Coward]

For years we've seen posting by people who chose to use operating systems other than the one provided with the computer they bought. When hardware had issues, the computer vendors invariably claimed that the hardware must have failed because the customers weren't running the preloaded Windows.

Expanded by 16 CFR 700.10

[raymorris]

Your analysis of the statute is excellent. However, the code of federal regulations extends it a bit.

See 16 CFR 700.10 - Section 102(c).
https://www.law.cornell.edu/cf...

Quoting the Code of Federal Regulations:
--
such provisions are deceptive under section 110 of the Act, 15 U.S.C. 2310, because a warrantor cannot, as a matter of law, avoid liability under a written warranty where a defect is unrelated to the use by a consumer of âoeunauthorizedâ articles or service.
--

The phrase " warrantor cannot, as a matter of law, avoid liability ... where a defect is unrelated to the use by a consumer of âoeunauthorizedâ articles or service" may apply.

The quoted CFR text is saying why a manufacturer may not void a warranty due to repair by unauthorized service centers, or using unauthorized parts. The text itself does *not* limit the "cannot, as a matter of law" to only unauthorized parts, though, and it could well be argued that "unauthorized firmware" is an "unauthorized part" which may not void a warranty.

Re: Fuse

[ArmoredDragon]

It doesn't matter if knox fuse is blown, all that does is void the warranty for knox. If however your USB port breaks (as is typical with even the expensive samsung shit) and you're rooted, they can't deny the claim to fix the USB port.