This is a look back in history. The events happened about a year ago and have been resolved since that time. Apple’s response at the lower levels was completely unacceptable.
Quotes are taken from what I wrote at the time in these two threads at http://www.dslreports.com:
http://www.broadbandreports.com/forum/remark,13716128
http://www.broadbandreports.com/forum/remark,13769295
The story begins when I take my Mac Mini to the Genius bar at an Apple store…
I installed a gig of RAM in my Mini more than 4 months ago. The hard drive recently stopped working, and so I took it to the Apple store where I bought it. The back was apparently not snapped all the way closed, so the genius asked if I had opened it. I told him that I had and he immediately said that opening it could ‘zap’ the computer. I told him that I was very careful, and that the machine has functioned flawlessly for months. He told me he’d have someone look at it, but not at the genius bar.
I just got this email from him today:
—
Dear (Removed),(Removed), enclosed is your quote to complete your repair.
As I explained to you at the bar when you brought your unit into the store, the Mac Mini has no customer installable parts.
Since the unit was opened, this unit is now OOW.
After reassembling & testing the unit, I confirmed that the HD & optical drive need to be replaced. Since this is not a covered repair, I have not taken out the media currently stuck in the optical drive.
Current Quote:
661-3438 (Drive, Combo, 24X, Slot Loading) $165.52
661-3439 (Hard Drive, 40 GB, 2.5″, 4200 rpm) $198.96
S1490LL/A (HARDWARE REPAIR-LEVEL 1) $90.95
Total Cost of Repair: $455.43If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call: 305-234-4565 (Option 5).
Sincerely,
Nestor A. Gonzalez
Mac Genius
Apple Store – The Falls
8888 SW 136 ST, Suite 450
Miami, FL 33176
305-234-4565
—-I did not think that I was invalidating the warranty when I installed the RAM, as the Mini is just a computer. I was under the impression that any cosmetic damage, or damage as a result of me having opened the unit would not be covered. This is not the case. If the unit is opened, then the warranty is no longer valid. It is simply assumed that you broke your machine.
Please understand that if you open your Mini your warranty is void.
I emailed back and asked to have the computer returned to me unrepaired. I am perfectly capable of fixing the problem myself and for much less. I just thought that I was under warranty. I did not ‘zap’ the machine by opening it.
Another member of DSLReports mentioned that the policy was such that you can add RAM and the machine will still be under warranty as long as the installation has not caused any damage to the machine.
The problem I have is that they are just saying that since I opened it, the warranty is void. They have not given me any explanation as to why it happened, or how I could have caused it. It seems strange that it would suddenly break months after I opened it. I hadn’t opened it since.
The machine saw a lot of disk activity as I constantly had it shuffling files around between machines on the network. My theory is that the hard drive overheated, and that was the cause of the problem.
If the reason Apple is telling me I am out of warranty is because they have found something that I did wrong, I would be on their side. The fact that they are just telling me I am out of warranty because I opened the computer is upsetting. I was under the impression that the Mac Mini was just a compact computer, and not a product like an iPod built of non-standard parts.
I will likely just have to fix the machine myself. What troubles me is how the employee at the Apple store at the Falls is dealing with this matter. I am also pretty sure that the optical drive is not broken. This unfortunately has me very upset with Apple. The Mini is not my first Apple. I have an iBook G4 that I absolutely love. That machine went through two bad hard drives that Apple sent me. They also once sent me the machine back with a slower processor. Despite those experiences with Apple, I still stuck by the company and bought a new machine. I also recently purchased Tiger (which I absolutely love). I really do not want to be upset at Apple.
Whenever I work on any computer I am very carefull. There was no exception when I worked on the Mini.
One thing that really had upset me at the time was that there had been a report in MacWorld about this very issue. The author had confirmed with sources at Apple that simply opening the machine does not invalidate the warranty.
Nestor Gonzalez from the Apple store sent me this email to let me know that as requested the machine had not been repaired and was waiting at the store for pickup.
Dear (Removed),
You may pickup your unit at your earliest convenience. I have
cancelled the repair and the diagnostics fee has been waived.I have reassembled your unit, it boots fine to a known good external
Firewire HD.
1. Internal HD does not show up in System Profiler or in Disk
Utilities.
- HD needs to be replaced.
- There is a possibility that the Main Logic Board’s ATA connector
is bad. This cannot be known until a new HD is installed & tested.
2. Since I did not open the optical drive to take out the stuck media,
I have not confirmed whether or not the optical drive needs to be
replaced.
- Currently it is not functional.Sincerely,
Nestor A. Gonzalez
ð Mac Genius
Apple Store – The Falls
8888 SW 136 ST, Suite 450
Miami, FL 33176
305-234-4565
I was getting pretty frustrated of fighting the fight by this time. It seemed like there was no getting the machine fixed. I was calm, but understandably upset.
Tomorrow, or next Monday I will pick the machine up and speak with the manager. I will let him know that there was information in macworld that confirmed that it was ok to open the machine. While the report does not necessarily make it so, I bought the Mac Mini based upon the understanding that I could install new RAM.
I will also contact macworld and ask them if they could get me in touch with their source. Then I will explain the situation to the source and see what the response is.
After that I will give up and just get a firewire hard drive (not from the Apple store) and enjoy the increased speed from the higher rpm drive.
I made a last-ditch effort. After this, I was going to give up. How could I, a simple consumer, win this fight. I knew that I was in the right. I had no desire to take advantage of Apple. Just one more try to get things put right!
I spoke to AppleCare and they also told me that the my Mini is to be considered out of warranty simply because I opened it. They reiterated, as Dv8or has said many times, that the machine was not designed to be opened or serviced by the user. Regardless of whether the upgrade is the cause of the problem, they will not honor the warranty.
I just emailed Mr. Frakes at MacWorld. He is the one who wrote this article:
»www.macworld.com/weblogs/editors···ndex.phpI told him what Apple is saying, and asked if he could either put me in touch with his source or help me out. I also pointed him to this thread here at DSLReports.com.
Mr. Frakes from MacWorld was the turning point. He kindly responded to my email.
Mr. Frakes from MacWorld responded to my email:
—
We were explicitly told by Apple executives that as long as you didn’t
damage anything during the process, installing RAM yourself will not void
your warranty.If I were you, I’d demand to talk to a supervisor or someone higher up. If
you really didn’t damage anything while upgrading the RAM, then your
warranty is still good.
—I have emailed him back asking if he could give one of the executives my email address or vice versa.
Now I felt hopeful again. It began to become apparent that Apple was having internal communication problems. I eagerly awaited Mr. Frakes’ response.
I decided to call Apple in the meantime.
I was forwarded to Patrick. He was very nice, but after thoroughly looking over my case, he told me that there was nothing that he could do for me.
I told him that it would be a good idea to notify MacWorld about this error, and possibly ask for a retraction. I also told him that there is a lively discussion going on here, and that it may be a good idea to have an official Apple representative stop by and state their position.
I am pretty upset as you can imagine, but see little that I can do from this point on.
Then I received another email from Mr. Frakes.
Mr. Frakes from Macworld emailed me back and said that they are looking into this matter. They are contacting Apple to figure out if there was a change in policy, or if some Apple service personnel is misinformed.
The next day I was contacted by both Apple and Mr. Frakes.
Today I was contacted by Apple’s Executive Relations department. They will indeed fix my Mac Mini. The person who I spoke to on the phone did not give me an official position; however, he said that Apple definitely needs to clarify their verbiage.
Later on in the day I received an email from Mr. Frakes, a journalist at Macworld. He said that Macworld contacted Apple, and Apple confirmed what is written in this article:
»www.macworld.com/weblogs/editors···ndex.phpThey also told him that they will be making sure that the service channels are aware of the policy.
It was extremely frustrating speaking with Apple about this matter; however, they have done the right thing. The problem seems to have been caused by one department not speaking to another, a corporate mis-communication. I have a feeling that Apple will clarify their policy internally, and others who find themselves in my position will have an easy time having their machine repaired under warranty (as long as they did not damage their machine when installing RAM).
I then wrote this rightfully praising Mr. Frakes.
I think that Mr. Frakes at Macworld deserves a lot of praise for helping out in this matter. He was extremely helpful, and likely the reason that Apple Executive Relations called me in the first place.
The Mac Mini was fixed under warranty and I picked it up shortly thereafter. I did not ask for any compensation or freebies because I was glad to have my computer back. I was disappointed that Apple did not offer me anything, as I had been through a frustrating ordeal. I was too tired to fight anymore.
Will I buy another Apple product? Maybe. Apple produces some very innovative cutting-edge products. They have an excellent sense of design, and I love OS X. This whole situation will definitely make me think twice about it, though.
Do not let this experience discourage you from buying Apple products, as it is not the norm at Apple. The reason I brought back this old bit of history is to illustrate how frustrating it can be to navigate the departments of such a large company to get a wrong righted.
Apple, thank you for doing the right thing in the end. Please let me know if you need another hard-working IT employee. 