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5K iMac SSD upgradable?
- Thread starter vmflapem
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No. It's a proprietary PCI-e SSD.
Yes. Practically any hardware failure on your iMac during its 3 years will be more expensive to repair than the cost of AppleCare in the first place. Best to have peace of mind over that period.
I wrote a guide on the to upgrade the hard drive to a SSD on the 27-inch iMac slim.
[doublepost=1469748633][/doublepost]https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...e-in-your-27-imac-slim.1979747/#post-23059457
[doublepost=1469748978][/doublepost]AppleCare doesn't cover accidental damage so I wouldn't recommend it.
[doublepost=1469748633][/doublepost]https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...e-in-your-27-imac-slim.1979747/#post-23059457
[doublepost=1469748978][/doublepost]AppleCare doesn't cover accidental damage so I wouldn't recommend it.
1) Guide not applicable if it's SSD only.
2) Bitterly difficult to do.
3) If there's any sign of tampering, your warranty is void.
4) If you think that pulling apart and sticking back together a brand-new glued £2000 iMac is an option to seriously consider, just to save a few hundred bucks, then I think your priorities might be wrong.
Not sure the laws in the UK but in the US it is illegal for them to refuse warranty work even if you opened it as long as you did not break it yourself and it was a manufacturers defect. They just put the stickers there to scare you. I've opened many apple products and they've never had a problem, also I've never broken them either. In my 2011 iMac after I replaced my CPU they still replaced my faulty hardrrive. Simply knowing your rights and being assertive usually avoids any problems. http://motherboard.vice.com/read/warranty-void-if-removed-stickers-are-illegal
Adding memory, a new CPU and a different drive on your own bypassing the apple "tax" can save you a lot. Just be sure you know how to do it. Don't let people scare you. For heavens sake people used to solder their own computers a significantly higher costs that today's iMacs in the 70s for fun. Now people are afraid of stickers, some weak glue, and a plug and play connector. I've opened a repaired a 5k it's easy as pie.
I would not describe it as easy as pie. People need to think carefully before trying a DIY fix on an iMac. I bought the idea that I could do it and killed mine. It's tricky. Makes more sense to let a dealer do it, unless a person is a trained tech. Glad it worked for you.
1. Guide is applicable if it's SSD only. All you need to do is buy a hard drive cable for the iMac. Apple Part #: 923-00092
iFixit sells that cable for $19.95
2. The upgrade is not difficult at all. The display is literally held into place by double-sided tape.
3. Upgrading it yourself does not void the warranty.
4. Is $650 only a few hundred bucks?
[doublepost=1469761761][/doublepost]
I have done this upgrade myself and the only "hard" part is cutting the double-sided tape. Once that's one, the rest is easy.
Also, when I said "hard" in this case, I mean tedious rather than difficult.
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I can't believe what I'm reading. If you've ripped apart your iMac and there is evidence of this, Apple completely reserve the right to permanently void your warranty. A third-party SSD in a brand-new iMac might just be a small indicator of that.
You really are utterly out of touch.
You're acting like the only reasonable thing to do after buying a brand-new 5K iMac is rip it to smithereenes to save some cash on storage.
We're not talking aftermarket RAM here. And fitting aftermarket RAM will not void the warranty as Apple deem it to be user-upgradable.
Apple has to follow the law and the law said specifically that using aftermarket parts does not void the warranty.
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Oh great! Yeah we'll just go into an Apple Store and say that. "Oh the law says that". Perfect! Problem solved! Well that was easy to avoid an out of warranty cost!
What law? Which country? Plus it would not as black and white as that. No way in a month of Sundays.
Apple reserve the right to void the warranty if they deem that non-supported parts are fitted. So do all other OEMs. Most all-in-ones or ultrabooks have warranty void stickers inside. You can't get in without breaking them.
Good luck arguing that through your consumer rights. They'd tell you exactly where to go.
You're giving incorrect advice to the OP. Your wild claims means the onus is on you to disprove this.
People here on this forum have been taking in their computers with aftermarket parts (ie. Data Doubler) in for warranty.
Apple doesn't really care as long as whatever you did didn't cause the issue with the computer or prevent Apple from performing the repair.
If, for example, while installing the data doubler, you accidentally broke the connector on the logic board, then Apple can void your warranty.
This is all spelled out in the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.
Again, I said 'reserved the right' to void the warranty. That means Apple could have voided it for a data doubler if they wanted to. You're right in that they frequently won't. They're a great company.
You're wrong if you think that means it's risk-free.
There's definitely a risk, since Apple virtually made the iMac sealed. While iFixit has some nice guides and even tools to help with the project, its not something for the faint of heart. Given that I spend over 2k for my machine, I'm not ready to take that risk. Maybe after the warranty and I'll take it to an authorized apple dealer, so they'll have to fix any issues they create
You're absolutely right. When giving buying advice I definitely think it's best to go by the letter of the law when it comes to warranty. Get AppleCare and the best specs you can afford -- if something goes wrong, they'll fix it.
Apple does not 'reserve the right' to violate the law.
This is going by the law.
There's a big difference between replacing a corrupted drive with a non-OEM one and immediately ripping apart your brand-new iMac to do an upgrade which isn't officially supported or warranted by Apple.
No way in heck would any legal person side with you, if you whacked in an SSD after taking a crowbar to your newest glued all-in-one desktop, and Apple reserved the right to service your machine.
In fact I challenge you to find a situation where this was legally overturned, excluding valid consumer law situations (wherein there was a documented manufacturing defect but Apple refused to sort it).
Absolutely nothing in the law says: "yeah you're fully obliged to rip open your iMac even though Apple tell you not to. Come back to us if you get in trouble!" You couldn't be more wrong if you think that's the case.
That's why there are terms and conditions. In purchasing a machine you agreed to those terms. Your countersuit would immediately be thrown out in court.
4. What is not Covered?
(c) operating the Covered Equipment outside the permitted or intended uses as described by the manufacturer in the user manual, technical specifications or other published guidelines for the Covered Equipment, or...
(d) service (including upgrades and expansions) performed by anyone who is not a representative of Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider (“AASP”);...
(vii) Preventative maintenance on the Covered Equipment; or...
8. Limitation of Liability
8.1.1 IF YOU ARE A CONSUMER, NOTHING IN THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS SHALL LIMIT OR EXCLUDE OUR LIABILITY FOR BREACH OF ANY TERM IMPLIED BY STATUTE.
THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS SET OUT THE FULL EXTENT OF OUR OBLIGATIONS AND LIABILITIES IN RESPECT OF THE PLAN;
OP:
Lots of gobbledygook in this thread, but the simple answer is:
NO.
It's not "upgradeable" in a practical sense of the word.
It -can- be done, but the "blade drive" itself is all-but unobtainable, and the installation process is quite difficult even for someone skilled in such things.
If you find yourself running out of storage space, easiest way to "boost" the space up is to buy an external USB3 SSD, and just plug it into the back.
Lots of gobbledygook in this thread, but the simple answer is:
NO.
It's not "upgradeable" in a practical sense of the word.
It -can- be done, but the "blade drive" itself is all-but unobtainable, and the installation process is quite difficult even for someone skilled in such things.
If you find yourself running out of storage space, easiest way to "boost" the space up is to buy an external USB3 SSD, and just plug it into the back.
The older "fat" iMac was easy as pie..
The new one is more delicate setup, but doable for sure..
If you feel confident, and have experience with fiddling the insides of a computer, just go for it.
Otherwise, just go with the USB3 SSD..
For the Apple Care..It all depends..
In Finland, the home insurance covers it all..
Accidental damages also.. So no point for Apple Care here.
The new one is more delicate setup, but doable for sure..
If you feel confident, and have experience with fiddling the insides of a computer, just go for it.
Otherwise, just go with the USB3 SSD..
For the Apple Care..It all depends..
In Finland, the home insurance covers it all..
Accidental damages also.. So no point for Apple Care here.
Let's look at this.
That's right. The law is the law.
So, if you install third party components and damages your computer due to faulty installations or faulty parts, that is not covered under warranty.
In other words, if you broke it, it's your fault. That's pretty reasonable.
That is reasonable. And that is always applicable.
However it doesn't mean "go ahead with any modifications you want; providing you don't damage it, you'll be fine".
In a Consumer Alert issued by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the agency confirmed that “The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act makes it illegal for companies to void your warranty or deny coverage under the warranty simply because you used an aftermarket part.”
That's only in the US though, it wouldn't apply for global warranty. So feasibly something could be serviced in the US but not in Europe?