Apple Restricts Hard Drive Replacements on New iMacs

[Elliott]

You shouldnt HAVE to buy Apple Care just to get peace of mind, so after gouging you for the cost of a machine you then have to spend another ?150 just so you arent stuck with a useless machine when it inevitably breaks. My old PC was nearly 5 years old, a part breaks and if its out of warranty i can go buy the cheapest relatively specced peice of hardware.

All-in-ones are in a completely different class from towers. All-in-ones are far more akin to notebooks, and the engineering of the iMac reinforces that fact. The HDD breaking is?honestly the least of your worries. There are far more expensive components in that iMac that are completely irreplaceable by the user. Replacing the HDD in one of these just means you might have to do some terminal hacking to control the fan speed.

Paying ******** for warranty is smart? Ok, no comments necessary. They made this stuff right for you. They care for you.

And Macs do not break anyway, because they're pricey and that must mean quality. Or you're using it wrong.

/s

If you're going to have the machine for more than a year, then yes, AppleCare is a smart investment. Would you get an extended warranty for a laptop? If yes, then you should get an extended warranty for an all-in-one. If no, well, good luck to you.

[theclueless]

if it is by apple, then it is standardized; hail the almighty jobs and his ability to bend standardization to his will

[TheLegendOfMart]

All-in-ones are in a completely different class from towers. All-in-ones are far more akin to notebooks, and the engineering of the iMac reinforces that fact. The HDD breaking is?honestly the least of your worries. There are far more expensive components in that iMac that are completely irreplaceable by the user. Replacing the HDD in one of these just means you might have to do some terminal hacking to control the fan speed.

Theres no reason for it to be Aluminium unibody, Apple could have put a removeable back panel for access but then Apple have always been form over function. Most notebooks apart from Apple have removeable panels to get access to Ram, HDD, Wifi card etc..

[Elliott]

Theres no reason for it to be Aluminium unibody, Apple could have put a removeable back panel for access but then Apple have always been form over function.

Wow, it has nothing to do with the unibody enclosure and everything to do with parts being non-standard shapes and sizes. Just as an example, the graphics daughterboard looks nothing like what you'd put in a standard tower. The only similarity is that it's connecting into a PCI slot.

Did you even read the original post?

They changed the power connector to non-standard one. I was saving up for a mac so it would have been a Sandybridge one i bought......

It's the temperature sensor, not the power connector. In other words, you can still run the iMac. The fans will just be going at full blast.

[TheLegendOfMart]

Wow, it has nothing to do with the unibody enclosure and everything to do with parts being non-standard shapes and sizes. Just as an example, the graphics daughterboard looks nothing like what you'd put in a standard tower. The only similarity is that it's connecting into a PCI slot.

Of course it does, they make sacrifices so they can make it ".....ohhhhhhhh LOOK AT THE SHINY SHINY". I accept that the GPU isnt a standard GPU just like notebooks but notebooks have replaceable CPUs, RAM, PCI-E slot for different types of cards, HDD, Optical Drives, etc.. Apple dont allow you to do it so they can make it thin.

[techbeck]

Poor Apple users. Buy the extended warranty...Apple Care...and waste even more of your money. I NEVER EVER buy extended warrantys for personal. Why? Because of the HD, video, nic...in a PC goes bad, I can fix it myself for cheaper than a warranty. Sad part is, this wont steer people away from buying Apple/Macs. They see shiny and like a deer in the headlights...

Just another way for the greedy Apple to get more money. Now people are going to get worried and spend more money buying Apple care. Apple is laughing their asses off on the way to the bank and people are just taking it.

[SummerWolf]

I'd love to see where you got this information from. Generalise much?

Pretty much. iMacs aren't cheap!

Fair enough, I generalised in that comment, but I know quite a lot of Mac owners and when asked if they mind the extra cost of Apple hardware products, they don't seem to care. Either it's because they like the brand so much they're willing to fork out that little bit extra, or some other reason. One example is a friend of mine who isn't loaded, yet has a 27" iMac with bluetooth keyboard, Magic Trackpad, Time Capsule and a Magic Mouse. I honestly don't know where this money is coming from but it does go to show the kind of dedication Apple consumers have.

I have a Mac mini myself, along with a Magic Mouse but that was as far as I was willing to go. Beer money, y'know?

[Rudy]

Of course it does, they make sacrifices so they can make it ".....ohhhhhhhh LOOK AT THE SHINY SHINY". I accept that the GPU isnt a standard GPU just like notebooks but notebooks have replaceable CPUs, RAM, PCI-E slot for different types of cards, HDD, Optical Drives, etc.. Apple dont allow you to do it so they can make it thin.

Unibody MBP's RAM and HDD are user serviceable so I'm not sure what your problem is :/

[Elliott]

Of course it does, they make sacrifices so they can make it ".....ohhhhhhhh LOOK AT THE SHINY SHINY". I accept that the GPU isnt a standard GPU just like notebooks but notebooks have replaceable CPUs, RAM, PCI-E slot for different types of cards, HDD, Optical Drives, etc.. Apple dont allow you to do it so they can make it thin.

The only difference with a unibody enclosure on the iMac is that you have to take off the LCD panel to get to the components (and you actually had to do the same thing for the last-generation iMacs that weren't unibody). I doubt it had very little bearing on making the temperature sensor connector non-standard considering that my Late 2009 unibody iMac has a standard temperature sensor connector.

I know the CPU is socketed in the iMac, but I've never seen anybody replace it and I doubt you can. As for RAM, easily replaceable. There are no extra slots for extra PCI-E cards. Optical drive is replaceable. Hell, the HDD is replaceable. You'll just either have to live with a jet engine in your room or control the fan speed yourself. Honestly, if you managed to open the iMac yourself, installing a little software hack should be the least of your worries.

Poor Apple users. Buy the extended warranty...Apple Care...and waste even more of your money. I NEVER EVER buy extended warrantys for personal. Why? Because of the HD, video, nic...in a PC goes bad, I can fix it myself for cheaper than a warranty. Sad part is, this wont steer people away from buying Apple/Macs. They see shiny and like a deer in the headlights...

Just another way for the greedy Apple to get more money. Now people are going to get worried and spend more money buying Apple care. Apple is laughing their asses off on the way to the bank and people are just taking it.

I love that everybody's comparing an all-in-one to a standard PC tower. Definitely the same thing. Nothing different between the two. Nope. /s

Honestly, if you're going to compare the iMac to something, compare it to a notebook. It's much more akin to one.

[saxondale.]

Pretty much. iMacs aren't cheap!

Fair enough, I generalised in that comment, but I know quite a lot of Mac owners and when asked if they mind the extra cost of Apple hardware products, they don't seem to care. Either it's because they like the brand so much they're willing to fork out that little bit extra, or some other reason. One example is a friend of mine who isn't loaded, yet has a 27" iMac with bluetooth keyboard, Magic Trackpad, Time Capsule and a Magic Mouse. I honestly don't know where this money is coming from but it does go to show the kind of dedication Apple consumers have.

I have a Mac mini myself, along with a Magic Mouse but that was as far as I was willing to go. Beer money, y'know?

Well from my own personal experience working at one of the biggest apple shops in the world, many people see the iMac as a long term (5+ years) investment. Many people have had a very poor experience with brands such as dell, hp, sony etc and feel that the extra ? is worth it. Pretty much every time i sell an iMac, i hear stories about how long they've been saving up, but i do get customers that don't get phased by the price tag, not even slightly.

By calling everyone that owns an iMac rich, is a silly comment.

My stand point on the situation:

Sucks for geeks

Most people won't care

[SummerWolf]

Hey, cut me some slack here, I did say "most people". My views are a tiny bit hampered by the people that I know. Kinda shot myself in the foot there seeing as we're all filthy poor students (most of whom have indeed been saving up - even I did).

Comment retracted.

[.Neo]

Honestly, if you managed to open the iMac yourself, installing a little software hack should be the least of your worries.

Can't say I agree with that. Like you said, the 2009 and 2010 iMac models with the exact same Unibody design don't require a non-standard temperature sensor, so why the 2011 model suddenly does is completely beyond me. Having to regulate the fans yourself is a pain, not to mention risky.

[techbeck]

I love that everybody's comparing an all-in-one to a standard PC tower. Definitely the same thing. Nothing different between the two. Nope. /s

Honestly, if you're going to compare the iMac to something, compare it to a notebook. It's much more akin to one.

Ok, fine. My notebook and Netbook I can replace the hard drive, memory, display...and pretty much everything except the mobo. (I can replace the mobo...just normally more expensive and not worth it after a year or two)

There...better? Same thing as I said before....Apple is screwing the customers and the customers lube up and take it. Its stupid really. Like Apple doesnt have enough money already and now they are bleeding more.

If people want to live in ignorance and denial...thats fine. I will stay on this side where the sun is still shining.

[+Heartripper Subscriber¹]

Hell, the HDD is replaceable. You'll just either have to live with a jet engine in your room or control the fan speed yourself. Honestly, if you managed to open the iMac yourself, installing a little software hack should be the least of your worries.

The point is, the extra temperature sensor isn't needed, on my pc i can read the temperature from my hdd without needing two more pins. They did this only to lock down the hardware, so they can rip monies from you also after you purchased the mac.

[Rudy]

Ok, fine. My notebook and Netbook I can replace the hard drive, memory, display...and pretty much everything except the mobo. (I can replace the mobo...just normally more expensive and not worth it after a year or two)

There...better? Same thing as I said before....Apple is screwing the customers and the customers lube up and take it. Its stupid really. Like Apple doesnt have enough money already and now they are bleeding more.

If people want to live in ignorance and denial...thats fine. I will stay on this side where the sun is still shining.

You can do the same thing with a Mac :/ Just like your PC don't expect the company to honor the warranty after you replace something major like the display ;)

[Elliott]

Can't say I agree with that. Like you said, the 2009 and 2010 iMac models with the exact same Unibody design don't require a non-standard temperature sensor, so why the 2011 model suddenly does is completely beyond me. Having to regulate the fans yourself is a pain, not to mention risky.

The point is, the extra temperature sensor isn't needed, on my pc i can read the temperature from my hdd without needing two more pins. They did this only to lock down the hardware, so they can rip monies from you also after you purchased the mac.

I don't disagree, but we honestly have no idea why Apple chose a 7-pin connector. It's a little ridiculous to just jump to conclusions that Apple is just trying to screw customers. Honestly, the average customer can't even replace the hard drive themselves anyway, so I don't see why they would do that just to screw customers. The profit they'd gain from replacing customer hard drives out of warranty would probably be completely negated by the R&D and supply chain changes it took to get a hard drive manufacturer that used these 7-pin connectors anyway.

A much more likely scenario is that they're using those extra 3 pins for something.

Ok, fine. My notebook and Netbook I can replace the hard drive, memory, display...and pretty much everything except the mobo. (I can replace the mobo...just normally more expensive and not worth it after a year or two)

There...better? Same thing as I said before....Apple is screwing the customers and the customers lube up and take it. Its stupid really. Like Apple doesnt have enough money already and now they are bleeding more.

If people want to live in ignorance and denial...thats fine. I will stay on this side where the sun is still shining.

If you're going to stretch it that far, then technically you can replace all those things in an iMac if you know where to order the parts.

[.Neo]

There...better? Same thing as I said before....Apple is screwing the customers and the customers lube up and take it. Its stupid really. Like Apple doesnt have enough money already and now they are bleeding more.

Funny thing though is that Apple can't and doesn't get away with anything. If my iMac breaks down in its second year without owning AppleCare Apple can't just hide behind their one-year warrantee policy. There are laws in place in the European Union and thus the Netherlands which state that it's reasonable to expect that an iMac (or any piece of hardware) should last longer than one year. I know quite a few cases where people got free replacements or repairs in their second year of owning an Apple product without purchasing AppleCare.

[Darth Radeon]

Milton: That's the last straw..

The mentality of Apple is totalitarian and I had great respect for the iPod because it was an amazing device but it appears I'll only stick with their PMP devices.

[.Neo]

I don't disagree, but we honestly have no idea why Apple chose a 7-pin connector. It's a little ridiculous to just jump to conclusions that Apple is just trying to screw customers.

I'm not putting it beyond Apple either... Up until now there has been zero need for this, so why there suddenly is now remains the big question. If the company really doesn't do this to screw the customer over they wouldn't ask obscene amounts of money to replace faulty HDDs. Now they're pretty much forcing you to do so.

[Digitalx]

more like this is why we have pc's so we can service our parts as we see fit when and how we see fit.

[Phouchg]

Funny thing though is that Apple can't and doesn't get away with anything. If my iMac breaks down in its second year without owning AppleCare Apple can't just hide behind their one-year warrantee policy. There are laws in place in the European Union and thus the Netherlands which state that it's reasonable to expect that an iMac (or any piece of hardware) should last longer than one year. I know quite a few cases where people got free replacements or repairs in their second year of owning an Apple product without purchasing AppleCare.

Exactly.

Two year warranty is mandatory by EU laws for most electronics.

The shop where I bought my laptop and parts for desktop, gives even three year warranty without any additional cost for most parts (including hard drive). Further than that I got even longer manufacturer warranties for RAM and PSU. Without overpaying a cent.

Apple got this laughable 1 year. With their careful engineering and quality expectancies.

[SaltLife]

According to this

https://discussions.apple.com/message/12477454?messageID=12477454

All you need is this part to use a dif hdd

https://www.applecomponents.com/items/0000004398/cable-temp-sensor-optical/?pn=1

But damns, according to one of the guys seems real hard to take apart...

[Gocom]

Exactly. Two year warranty is mandatory by EU laws for most electronics.

I believe that .Neo wasn't actually referring to manufacturers' warranties, but to customer protection act and manufacturing defects. Within at least some countries in EU, manufacturers can not hide behind a specific manufacturer's warranty, for example Apple Care, nor you need a one to get a replacement. Every product has to meet a reasonable life expectancy and lasting performance.

[TheLegendOfMart]

If you're going to stretch it that far, then technically you can replace all those things in an iMac if you know where to order the parts.

They arent easy to get to though, I cant say all, but most modern notebooks have one or more flaps that allow you access to all the parts you would want to replace yourself like memory, hard drive, etc.. the last notebook i owned had 1 big removable flap at the bottom giving me access to GPU and CPU as well as everything else. There is no reason not to have user accessible ports like that other than they dont want to ruin their crappy unibody marketing ploy.

more like this is why we have pc's so we can service our parts as we see fit when and how we see fit.

The Mac is a PC though, its not some special device no matter what Apple would have you think. While they dont use off the shelf components they are your standard PC fare.

[.Neo]

I believe that .Neo wasn't actually referring to manufacturers' warranties, but to customer protection act and manufacturing defects. Within at least some countries in EU, manufacturers can not hide behind a specific manufacturer's warranty, for example Apple Care, nor you need a one to get a replacement. Every product has to meet a reasonable life expectancy and lasting performance.

Precisely. Apple's one-year warrantee means absolutely jack here in the Netherlands.