14 DAY TRIAL // If you’ve purchased new electronics in the last decade, you've probably notice that most of them come with tamper-resistant stickers that are supposed to alert the manufacturer should you make any “unauthorized” modifications to the product.
What most of the buyers don’t know is that these warranty-void-if-removed stickers are actually illegal, according to the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act of 1975, but this still isn’t stopping some manufacturers from using them anyway.
Case in point is Microsoft, the Redmond-based software giant that is still shipping new devices with the aforementioned sticker, although it’s very clear that they’re illegal and they shouldn’t block users from making any modifications that do not affect the functioning of the device.
The recently launched Xbox One S has such a sticker, and as reported by Vice, Microsoft placed it on a clip that keeps the case in place in order to be sure that, once buyers attempt to open the device, its engineers know this and refuse to honor the warranty (see the photo attached to article, courtesy of iFixit following their latest teardown).
Specifically, by placing such a sticker on the device, Microsoft not only forbids buyers to make any internal changes to the device but also forces them to repair it only in its own service centers. If unauthorized repairs are performed, the warranty is automatically lost, Microsoft warns, and the documentation clearly refers to as forbidden to any attempt to “open, modify or tamper with” or repairs “made by anyone other than Microsoft.”
The FTC, on the other hand, clearly states that these stickers are illegal and adds that customers can make modifications to their purchased products if they don’t break anything. And in the case of the Xbox console, this is quite a common thing, as many users update their hard-disks, but believe they lose their warranties because of opening the device. In reality, however, their warranty still exists because a new hard drive doesn’t affect the console in any way.
“The stickers could be deceptive by implying consumers can’t use parts the warrantor doesn’t pre-approve, which violates the anti-tying provisions of MMWA,” Frank Dorman, a spokesperson for the Federal Trade Commission, is quoted as saying by the aforementioned source.
Third-party repairs won’t void your warranty
And what’s more, if the manufacturer refuses to honor the warranty if any modifications were made to devices, they must prove that these changes affected the functioning of the product. Customers have no obligation in this case, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act states.
Here’s an excerpt from the law, which explains that the warranty is void only if the manufacturer can prove that third-party modifications broke down the device:
“The performance of the duties under subsection (a) shall not be required of the warrantor if he can show that the defect, malfunction, or failure of any warranted consumer product to conform with a written warranty, was caused by damage (not resulting from defect or malfunction) while in the possession of the consumer, or unreasonable use (including failure to provide reasonable and necessary maintenance).”
Microsoft hasn’t yet offered a statement on why it is still using warranty-void-if-removed stickers despite the fact they’re already flagged as illegal, but manufacturers will most likely continue to put them on their devices as many customers aren’t aware of when their warranty is void and when it is not.