apple certified repair in NYC for Mini RAM upgrade

[wfriedwald]

can anyone recommend an Apple Certified / Authorized Repair Center in New York City to do the RAM upgrade on the new Mac Mini? I already have the RAM chips here.

(Yes, I know, it's theoretically possible to do myself, but after watching several videos detailing how it's done - it involves taking the whole machine completely apart, bit by bit - I think I'm better off paying someone who knows what they're doing!)

One friend recommended the Rossman Repair Group, and they seem great, but they are proudly "non-authorized." They quoted me an estimate of $75-$100 to do the upgrade.

The Best Buy "Geek Squad" IS certified, but they will not take this individual job, I have to buy a service contract for the computer, which they tell me is $200 per year. (that doesn't seem like a good deal, especially when I already have AppleCare.)

any other suggestions? I will keep dialing!

w

 

[F-Train]

Apple has about eleven stores in New York and I gather that you have figured out that they won't do this job. I will be very surprised if you can find an Apple authorised repair centre that will install RAM that Apple has not supplied and certify this as an Apple approved job.

You may find that your best bet is to hire somebody, anybody, who is competent to do the work, keep your original 8GB of RAM, and if necessary have it reinstalled if you have a problem that requires AppleCare attention to the mini's circuitry.

 

[wfriedwald]

thanks! I found a sales & repair operation called MICRO CENTER
https://www.microcenter.com/site/customer-support/help.aspx

they have three locations, they say they're an official apple repair center.
they seemed to be very familiar with the upgrade, like they've done it before.
the price they quoted was $30, which is pretty good.

the only drawback (NOT a deal-breaker) is that although they have three locations, none of them is particularly convenient to me (in Upper Manhattan): Brooklyn, Flushing, & Yonkers are all more than an hour away.

so far they (Micro Center) seem to be the leading contender.

definitely will save the original RAM chips, will not throw them away!

w

 

[F-Train]

As you say, not convenient, but the price is right. Louis Rossmann has over 700,000 YouTube subscribers; not a surprise that he wants quite a bit more.

 

[Mr_Brightside_@]

As you say, not convenient, but the price is right. Louis Rossmann has over 700,000 YouTube subscribers; not a surprise that he wants quite a bit more.

yeah but there's no way he personally is doing a RAM install.

 

[F-Train]

yeah but there's no way he personally is doing a RAM install.

Precisely. I wonder what his cut would be and how much he'd pay the guy who would actually do the work.

It's amusing that Rossmann's operation quotes $75-$100, no firm price, on a job this cut and dried. For this job, the quote works out to at least $225 - $300 per hour, assuming that they're careful and take their time

 

[philipma1957]

Precisely. I wonder what his cut would be and how much he'd pay the guy who would actually do the work.

It's amusing that Rossmann's operation quotes $75-$100, no firm price, on a job this cut and dried. For this job, the quote works out to at least $225 - $300 per hour, assuming that they're careful and take their time

they should break only 1 in hundred if techs are good.

maybe 1 in 200. I broke 1 of 500 and I am not sure I broke it. the ram pin clip simply broke off with very little pressure. Since I have done hundreds of lap tops and 450 to 550 mac minis with 1 breakage.
I am good at it. So charging 100 is a good profit margin should cover any and all broken repairs.

 

[Juggar]

$75 to $100 is fair, considering the risk they take upon themselves. $30 is an amazing deal, borderline not worth my time if someone came to me and asked me to do it.

You might want to make clear you want the original RAM back, just to be clear. I could see a lot of places keeping the old RAM unless specifically told you want it back. Its worth $40-50.

 

[ablatt]

thanks! I found a sales & repair operation called MICRO CENTER
https://www.microcenter.com/site/customer-support/help.aspx

they have three locations, they say they're an official apple repair center.
they seemed to be very familiar with the upgrade, like they've done it before.
the price they quoted was $30, which is pretty good.

the only drawback (NOT a deal-breaker) is that although they have three locations, none of them is particularly convenient to me (in Upper Manhattan): Brooklyn, Flushing, & Yonkers are all more than an hour away.

so far they (Micro Center) seem to be the leading contender.

definitely will save the original RAM chips, will not throw them away!

w

I have used these guys in the past.

https://www.yelp.ca/biz/new-york-computer-help-new-york-6

 

[F-Train]

$75 to $100 is fair

What is fair about a price range, which is inherently based on the premise that there are variables, on a job that has no variables? This is like somebody telling you that they'll charge you $7.50-$10 to use a dipstick to measure the amount of oil in your car. Yes, changing the RAM on a mini is more complicated, but there are no more variables than using a dipstick to measure oil.

We're talking about New York. The price isn't $75, it's $100, if not more by the time you get out of Louis Rossmann's space in a very expensive part of town. That $100 works out to at least $300/hr.

Rossmann? He'll be elsewhere making a YouTube video bashing Apple, which, whether you agree with him or not, is in fact how he makes his living. It sure isn't from changing RAM on a Mac mini, except for whatever cut he takes from the guys who do the actual work.

Micro Center's $30/hr works out to about $100/hr. I don't know what's amazing about that. Apparently Micro Center, a pretty established business, thinks that it's making money if it bills out its employees' time at that rate. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if Micro Center quoted me $50. At $30, maybe I'd be inclined to be a repeat customer.

 

[Ramias]

I was nervous too about doing it myself. If you have seen the various videos and threads here where people have done it... and a few have caused damage, perhaps you can learn from that and give it a shot.

Though I’d be more hesitant if I had the 2TB model... I did it on my i7/512gb model.

 

[dogslobber]

thanks! I found a sales & repair operation called MICRO CENTER
https://www.microcenter.com/site/customer-support/help.aspx

they have three locations, they say they're an official apple repair center.
they seemed to be very familiar with the upgrade, like they've done it before.
the price they quoted was $30, which is pretty good.

the only drawback (NOT a deal-breaker) is that although they have three locations, none of them is particularly convenient to me (in Upper Manhattan): Brooklyn, Flushing, & Yonkers are all more than an hour away.

so far they (Micro Center) seem to be the leading contender.

definitely will save the original RAM chips, will not throw them away!

w

You say NYC but you say the NYC location are inconvenient for you? Where are you really located? An hour of travel in NYC is not really that much given some people commute 2 hours each way to NJ or CT.
[doublepost=1544936611][/doublepost]

I was nervous too about doing it myself. If you have seen the various videos and threads here where people have done it... and a few have caused damage, perhaps you can learn from that and give it a shot.

Though I’d be more hesitant if I had the 2TB model... I did it on my i7/512gb model.

It really was easy if you have all the tools. Make sure you have the tools per ifixit then do it and it will be a great feeling and revelation about how straightforward it is. Just watch out for the power on LED cable which is tricky.