Will installing a new hard drive void my warranty?

No, it will not, as long as you do not damage any components in the process of replacing the drive. Have a look at Page 37 of your User Manual. There are detailed instructions there; the process is simple and should only take you 10 minutes or so.

Best of luck!

--Travis

I was told today by Apple support that I have voided the warranty on a 13 inch Macbook pro (bought Sept 2009) by installing another disk. I actually put a smaller one in as the one that came with the machine was noisy - I wanted to check it was the disk and not the fan making he noise. I called Apple to see if they would ship me a new disk and they refused and just said I'd have to go to an Apple store to get it changed, and by the way you've voided the warranty but 'I won't record it'. I said, why do you have instructions for users to change the disk and memory and he said, that's for after the warranty runs out!

I'm disappointed they won't mail me another drive - as a business customer who recently bought two Macbook Pros and a Mac Mini, and other stuff over the years I can't afford the time to visit the store twice in a day as you have to leave it with them. It took me 10 mins to change it myself.

Hi xtrailer,

Might I also add... hold onto the HD that came with the unit and keep it handy. I've heard of some stories in deal with Apple Authorized Service Providers where they would give the owner a hard time with 3rd party parts.

While there's nothing preventing you from upgrading the HD, that memo didn't apparently doesn't get delivered to everyone.

The drive I've put in actually came out of a Mac Mini - but presumably it's still an alien species as far as Apple is concerned. (The Mini is a bit more fun to upgrade by the way.)

Just for reference, the noisy drive from the Macbook now sitting in an external enclosure is a 250GB 5400 rpm disk from Toshiba. The quiet one that came from the Mini is a Hitachi 5400 rpm 120GB unit, and the one I put in the Mini is a 320GB 7200 rpm Western Digital.

Maybe I'll try a larger drive but as I mostly use desktops and don't need a high capacity portable my inclination is to try a solid state disk at some point.

Stamford, you will not void your warranty by replacing your HD. The replacement HD will not be covered under the Apple warranty and if any damage is done during the replacement process, that damage will not be covered. If you run into a problem with the computer later, there might be difficulties in diagnosing the problem, because Apple usually wants the computer returned to an "out of box" condition, to verify any modifications are not the cause of the problem. So, I would second the recommendation of keeping the original drive, you could install it into an external enclosure and use it as a backup or secondary drive.

Hi Stamford, and others following this thread and question.

I just called Applecare myself to enquire about this issue, as there has been substantial confusion on the forums in the last couple days about it.

The rep that I spoke with confirmed that upgrading the HDD and RAM on any MacBook Pro manufactured after the Late 2008 models will NOT void the warranty or Applecare, unless damage is done to the unit in during the upgrade process. I let him know that there has been some confusion here on the forums about this issue because of conflicting reports coming from Apple itself. He responded by again confirming that user-replacement of a HDD or RAM in a MacBook Pro will not void the warranty.

Stamford, your warranty should be intact. If someone on the phone at Apple tells you that you've voided your warranty in the future, I suggest that you ask to be transferred to their supervisor.

--Travis

Stamford wrote:
I wanted to check it was the disk and not the fan making he noise. I called Apple to see if they would ship me a new disk and they refused and just said I'd have to go to an Apple store to get it changed, and by the way you've voided the warranty but 'I won't record it'. I said, why do you have instructions for users to change the disk and memory and he said, that's for after the warranty runs out!

I'm disappointed they won't mail me another drive - as a business customer who recently bought two Macbook Pros and a Mac Mini, and other stuff over the years I can't afford the time to visit the store twice in a day as you have to leave it with them. It took me 10 mins to change it myself.

Apple doesn't consider the HD a DIY service part, from what I can recall during my time at AppleCare they never have. Minus the exception to backed logged service parts during the infamous "Seagate drive crash in the first gen MacBooks." The only machine that qualifies for DIY replacement over the phone is for the Mac Pro. Your options for a portable is mail-in or carry-in service to an Authorized Service Center or Apple Retail Store.

Look at this way, when you're hanging out at the store waiting for the machine you can read over the terms and conditions of the limited warranty! 🙂

Go with Travis A. on this one. If an Apple person gives you a hard time, point to the bold text in the earlier quote from the manual:

WARNING: Apple recommends that you have an Apple-certified technician install replacement drives and memory. Consult the service and support information that came with your computer for information about how to contact Apple for service. If you attempt to install a replacement drive or memory *and damage your equipment*, such damage is not covered by the limited warranty on your computer.

No damage, no void...if you didn't damage your equipment, there's no grounds for voiding the warranty.

AppleCare has been pretty consistent about this over the years for me. I have sent in laptops with 3rd party RAM and HD upgrades and never been refused service when it was Apple's part at fault. One time I got the laptop back with a note basically saying "We tested our components and we think it's the 3rd party RAM, so we made no repairs." I turned around to the RAM vendor, got the RAM exchanged under the vendor's lifetime warranty, and that fixed the problem.

(By the way...since all the reputable Mac RAM vendors offer a lifetime exchange, there is no reason to buy RAM from a vendor that won't give you that. The only differentiator is that some vendors also offer advance exchange, which is really nice because they'll send you the replacement without waiting for your part to reach them.)

JasonFear wrote:
Apple doesn't consider the HD a DIY service part

That is incorrect. I know you worked at AppleCare but you're wrong on this point. If you look in Apple's manuals for the current MacBook Pros...

http://manuals.info.apple.com/enUS/MacBook_13inch_Late2009UG.pdf

...in the clearly labeled Chapter 3, Boost Your MacBook, Apple writes, "*You can upgrade* the hard disk drive in your MacBook. *When you open* the back of your MacBook..." I don't know how that statement can be in any way be construed as "not user-replaceable." Apple's lawyers would not have allowed this language in the manual if it was not user-replaceable.

I'm sure you were correct about the older PowerBook/MacBook Pro Aluminum case, where RAM was considered user-replaceable but HD was not (and the HD was much harder to get at). But things have changed, ever since the replace-in-60-seconds HDs of the white MacBooks.

'Look at this way, when you're hanging out at the store waiting for the machine you can read over the terms and conditions of the limited warranty!'

I'll bet they don't make their larger business customers hang about all day in retail stores. A day of my time is worth let's say $600 - so maybe I can take an invoice along...

I've just got an email to ask about the support call so I'll say there seems to be conflicting info about the DIY disk change and warranty.

'in the clearly labeled Chapter 3, Boost Your MacBook, Apple writes, "You can upgrade the hard disk drive in your MacBook.'

Yes indeed, but I think the point is that this is unrelated to the warranty discussion in that strictly they can say that changing any component yourself could void the warranty. In practice, they are unlikely to do so if you don't mess it up. What we're looking for here is a statement that 'DIY disk or memory change will not void your warranty' but you can see why they can't say that as it would probably open them to all sorts of idiots taking the back off with a can opener.

I'd just like them to have a bit of flexibility for people like me.