Thinkpads Forum

What would void your laptop warranty? Example, using OEM upgrades not done by the company.... etc

The warranty says it covers defects. So, if something you do breaks it, it's on you. If you're reasonable, and put in RAM, or another hard drive, or a different card in a slot, those things should all work and be expected to work, and not damage the machine. (Newer ThinkPads do check the PCI ID of cards and give an 1802 error on unrecognized devices.)

If you put in a card and it doesn't work, don't expect Lenovo to get it working. If it breaks the machine, remove the card and Lenovo will likely cover it.

If you tweak the system board by soldering in a new (imaginary) pin-compatible video chip, you're on your own.

so basically, if i want the warranty, i need to give it back to them just like they gave it to me.... meaning im gonna have to hold on to all my original parts, say the HDD, the RAM etc if I ever upgrade them.... and put the pieces together if i wanna claim the warranty on it right?

That's what I would do. Further, I would hold back any removable parts they don't need to fix even if they did ship originally, especially the hard drive, battery and any device in a bay. You shouldn't have a problem if you leave third party RAM in place.

IIRC, they recommend you keep your hard drive if they won't need to use it.

I am very interested in this topic as well.

I would like to buy a thinkpad here in the US, where I live most of the time, but would like to change my keyboard to a German one. Would that violate the warranty if I do it by myself? Or could I bring thinkpad and German keyboard to the local thinkpad store so that they change it? Would that keep the warranty?

Thanks for your help.

MCheiron

RAM, keyboard, hard drive, battery, multibay devices are all things you can change and upgrade on your own, and it won't void your warranty. But anything done on the motherboard, or with the LCD in principle can. It doesn't mean that it will automatically void it. Say that you upgraded the LCD and everything works fine, and a month later your hard disk dies. Any technician understands that there's zero connection between the two, and will likely honor the warranty on the hard disk.

You can find more information on which devices can be replaced in the Hardware Maintenance Manual of your specific model ThinkPad. It is a PDF file with specifications, troubleshooting, removal instructions, parts list and so on.

These parts are called Customer Replaceable Units (CRU) and replacing these parts with Lenovo approved parts will not void your warranty. But if you plan to replace them with aftermarket parts, then you have to put them back prior to servicing.

To answer the OPs question, what would void the warranty:

1. Installing/replacing non-CRU parts not done by an approved service center (i.e. CPU, LCD).
2. Installing/replacing CRU parts with non-Lenovo approved parts (i.e. AC adapter, battery, hard disk).
3. Flashing the BIOS/EC with a non-Lenovo approved release.

Maybe others could add more ideas?