Does opening and upgrading the 2017 iMac affect AppleCare+ "accidental damage" coverage?

[mj_]

I have a 2017 iMac with AppleCare+ coverage until April 2021. From what I can tell I get two incidents "accidental damage" included:

AppleCare+ for Macs also includes two incidents of accidental damage for a lower service fee than you would pay for an out-of-warranty repair. If you damage just the screen or the Mac’s enclosure, it’s $99, and all other damage is $299, plus tax.

Source: https://www.macworld.com/article/3227045/applecare-warranty-faq.html

I know that by opening the iMac and upgrading the hardware I void my regular warranty, however I'd like to know whether or not this also includes aforementioned accidental damage clause. I theory, two things could happen:

1. I damage my iMac while attempting to upgrade the Fusion Drive to an all-SSD setup
2. The upgrade goes well, however something else completely unrelated to my upgrade breaks in the future.

Given that my regular warranty has been voided by the SSD upgrade would either of these two incidents be covered under the "accidental damage" clause and allow me to get the iMac fixed for $299 plus tax?

 

[redheeler]

https://www.apple.com/legal/sales-support/applecare/applecareplus/docs/applecareplusmacus.html

Given that my regular warranty has been voided by the SSD upgrade would either of these two incidents be covered under the "accidental damage" clause and allow me to get the iMac fixed for $299 plus tax?

Apple's answer is no.

 

[mj_]

Thanks! I was looking for those terms but couldn't find them.
Seems that opening and upgrading is specifically excluded under Section 3.1(h):

(h) to repair any damage to Covered Equipment (regardless of the cause) if the Covered Equipment has been opened, serviced (including for upgrades and expansions), modified, or altered by anyone other than Apple or an authorized representative of Apple;

Thank you for pointing me in the right direction.

 

[ZipZap]

If you open the device and make a change you have voided AppleCare. There are not 1/2 way provisions making the + somehow different. Is there an Applecare+ for iMac?

 

[mikehalloran]

AppleCare or AppleCare+ and eligibility depends on the date you bought the hardware. Best way to go to support and check by entering your serial number.

Apple has made it unnecessarily complicated in 2019.

 

[ZipZap]

You cant open an iMac and expect the warranty to remain intact. The only allowed change is memory cards.

 

[Fishrrman]

Like ZipZap says...

If you open it, and break something, YOU are going to pay for the repair.
That also "breaks" AppleCare.

 

[ZipZap]

This is the only downside of the iMac. I got a refurb so I could get more horsepower, for the money. I don't expect to ever have to open my iMac Pro. I will make apple clean the fans periodically so that I don't see the dust through the screen. This was a problem with my previous Late 2014 iMac. Actually its a problem for tons of older iMacs. I had no idea at the time because Apple made little effort to disclose it. I believe they are being sued over it.

 

[mj_]

Yeah, I got that, thanks. I was hoping that maybe opening it might not void the accidental damage provision of AppleCare+ but since it's specifically excluded I am going to refrain from doing so.

I'll just keep using it for now, and should it get too slow before its warranty expires in April of 2021 I'll simply get a SATA III SSD and external USB-C enclosure for the time being, and then replace the internal HDD with said SATA SSD once it's out of warranty. That should be the most cost-effective way.

Chances are that I might not even have to do that at all because the only time I really notice the slow spinning drive is during updates and reboots. Once it's up and running and has all the applications in RAM it's as snappy as can be.