FTC Threatens Legal Action Against Sony, Microsoft and others
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Neo Cyrus
About time. Now if it only gets enforced.
Humanoid_1
Yeah, some companies like those little stickers a little too much.
I had to break one on my MSI gaming laptop so I could upgrade it's SSDs and RAM for example...
A little research online found some responses from MSI in various forums regarding that issue amounting to "don't worry about the sticker, your warranty will be fine."
They should just not bother with them, than worry & waste people's time.
Irenicus
Note that this only applies to the USA. It's actually been illegal for years in some other countries.
NewTRUMP Order
Wish this covered, or maybe it does, the car companies. Ever look under your hood and see all those mysterious yellow dots, and lines and such marked all over the engine and the parts? I was told at the car dealership garage that's the equivalent of the void warranty stickers.
DeskStar
I guess if it is a vehicle that kinda makes sense if the warranty is still in place. Why would you take it to anywhere else than the dealership? Or a "certified" place to get them there services done.
Kaarme
I remember seeing those stickers over here even in new PCs/accessories, but I have no idea if they are legally binding. Although I think I remember reading already back in the late 90's or very early 00's talk about it, mainly that a PC case is meant to be opened since it's the only way to install some stuff, so it can't void the warranty. In any case I doubt the manufacturer would be willing to pay the bill if somebody wanted to install a better video card or a new HDD, so surely they would tell the customer to just ignore the sticker.
vbetts
Moderator
iFixit has a campaign against warranty stickers right now too because of all the FTC news!
OddGentleman
independent shop is less expensive. much less expansive in my country. And the dealership's statement that warranty is void if you don't service you car at their place is illegal and false.
schmidtbag
A bit of an odd mix of companies, considering how many others have been left out and/or are worse offenders than the ones listed.
To my knowledge it's been illegal in the US since the 70s, but nobody has bothered to take action with it until now.
Hyundai is a car company and they're listed in the brands mentioned (though, I'm sure it's not their automotive division).
EDIT:
Also, most car companies permit you to do whatever you want without voiding the warranty, that is, until there is reasonable evidence that your modifications have resulted in something failing. For example, if your check engine light goes on because you decided to modify the air intake and you damaged the O2 sensor as a result, the dealer doesn't have to fix your problem because you broke it. But if your transmission had an issue, that is still fixable under warranty since it is totally unrelated.
Fender178
Interesting never knew that this was an illegal practice. Now I understand why because it's ridiculous to void someone's warranty over breaking of a stupid sticker but I can understand if you did damage to the item while taking it a part that the warranty is voided.
They should go after Apple as well because they have similar practices if you open up your device it voids the warranty.
Yeah I did some reading into that before I opened up my MSI gaming laptop. With MSI the only way you void your warranty is if you caused any physical damage to the laptop when trying to open it up.
airbud7
http://beststickers.net/image/cache/catalog/products/stickers/bra_warning_white_01_a-1400x800.jpg
:D
chispy
Great news to hear , i remember a while ago i was refused an RMA of an MSI video card because i removed the sticker on one of the back screws holding the heatsink in place while taking it out , i had installed a full cover water block on it , but the memory of the card went bad and i had to rma. I was refused in grounds that i simply removed the warranty sticker 😏 . Guess that won't happen again now 🙂 , happy to hear this news.
schmidtbag
I'm not sure Apple actually does have these practices though, or at least they're less strict about it than you'd expect. Apple permits 3rd party repair groups without voiding the warranty, as long as they're licensed. From what I've noticed, Apple tends to only get fussy when it comes to non-Apple products. So if you add RAM that isn't Apple-branded, you might have a problem, but if you yourself replace a defective GPU with one that is Apple-certified, I don't think that voids your warranty. I could be wrong about this, though.
Females, or Wookiees with shaved arms and legs?:p
slyphnier
i get confused now
that sticker basically is for "tamper-proof" right ?
say if FTC win, there no more sticker in the product
then people basically can mod/do anything they want and they still get warranty ?
i bet those device maker will make more "evil" rule
like any slighest damage = no longer warranty
in that case, then sticker is much better, no?
well at least as long u got the sticker intact, they will honor the warranty within warranty period no matter what
schmidtbag
Yeah, this thought had occurred to me too. The sole purpose of the warranty sticker was to prevent idiot customers from ruining the product at the expense of the manufacturer. It's irritating for those who actually know what they're doing, but I completely understand why companies use them. It's difficult to guarantee a product's performance when people meddle with the product in ways it was never intended to, and without the sticker, it is too difficult to prove.
So in order for companies to save themselves from the idiots, I suspect that everyone now is going to lose, where warranties will be significantly crippled.
DeskStar
Sorry, but if I go blind mans shop of horrors with my Bentley and they mess up my oil change then yes I expect my dealership to not honor my/their mistake.
Common sense does dictate most in life and if you've got a warranty common sense says to make sure you're doing the right thing with the right people....illegal or not.
I'm sure the dealership has a lot more money and lawyers on stand by for just such occasions. Illegal practices......people get away with it every day.
JJayzX
Those lines/dots are usually marks to identify they have been torqued, checked and done. So basically he admitted they are a shitty place and do what they can to not do the work under warranty.
