Stand Down those Sharpies or Void Your Warranty
Stand Down those Sharpies or Void Your Warranty
Posted 09/09/2010 at 6:20am
| by Paul Lilly
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Fair warning folks, if you write on your hard drives with a permanent marker, you may be blacking out the warranty. Take it from Scott (last name withheld) who wrote to The Consumerist complaining that his HDD warranty is now void for having written on it with a Sharpie.
Scott claims the serial numbers on his SATA hard drives weren't being recognized by Seagate's online RMA system and so he called them instead. He was then asked to provide a sales receipt and a photo of the drives.
"Thank you for the pictures," Seagate responded in an email. "Unfortunately, I am unable to read the serial number for either drive, and the writing on the one drive would void any warranty for that drive. If you can please send more clear pictures, I will do my best to have this issue resolved."
Scott didn't upload any pics to The Consumerist, but he insinuates the markings aren't any worse than the ones repair shops put on HDDs to keep from getting them mixed up.
This is not the actual drive Scott tried to RMA. It is, however, an old hard drive we had laying around, and though as some readers have pointed out we didn't use a Seagate unit for this shot, we can assure you that the marker is a genunie Sharpie.
Has something like this ever happened to you? Post your RMA stories, good or bad, in the comments section below.
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leorick
September 11, 2010 at 5:53am
i have a small pc repair shop and i always use masking tape and pentelpen for marking anything from drives to cards :D
nikki_gx
September 10, 2010 at 9:41am
One trick I use when writing on parts with a sharpie - put a piece of scotch tape and write on the tape.
Blues22475
September 10, 2010 at 8:00am
You shouldn't write on the drive, I do hope they're referring to the metal casing. I always write on the empty white spaces on the label itself (not covering serial numbers or any important information). This is used for information purposes (to identify a customer's hard drive and other pertient information).
This could be like one of those things that void warranty that is kinda stupid like when you open up a pc case. I've had to open one voiding the warranty when a customer brought it in (thank god that really wasn't an issue).
Athlonite
September 10, 2010 at 5:17am
I bet if you go read the Seagate TnC's for their warranty you'll not find any reference to writing on a drive with a sharpie as a cause to Void the warranty as long as it's not on the PCB side you should be fine sorry seagate but you full of shit read your own terms of warranty before spouting rubbish
dank
September 09, 2010 at 10:45pm
Before someone blasts me for being totally unrelated, the article tells people to comment on their bad RMA experiences.
I picked up the Corsair Voyager 8GB when it was brand new for around $100. It worked for a couple weeks and then it started generating a crazy amount of heat and would stop being recognized and soon stopped working altogether. So I got an RMA. They did not cover any shipping. It takes just under a month to get a replacement drive. It does the same thing within the week. I do the exact same thing again (including paying shipping) and its another month before I get my jump drive. And of course, it does it again. I call and ask for their surviver series, which they wont give me because it costs $20 more. I ask about the money I spent on shipping, and the fact that I bought an expensive jump drive and hadn't gotten any use real use out of it for 3 months. nope too expensive. I warned that I would not purchase any of their components again, that I built custom systems at a local computer shop. nope. I asked for the slower USB readout model, or just anything that would work, and they sent me the readout model. it was bloody slow. To this day they have lost a lot of business with me, all because they wouldn't compensate my trouble with a small upgrade.
Oh yeah. it took a month to ship that thing out too.
A-Data sent me a couple of bad sets of 4GB kits once(1 out of 4 sticks tested good) but after ignoring my email (I said my issue, provided all my information, and they requested all the information i already sent them a few days later, I gave them the same ultimatum and they did not respond) sent them back to newegg (learned my lesson with the whole Corsair incident.
I'll stick with returning to newegg from now on.
I know corsair usually makes a pretty solid product but there is no substitue for a respectable amount of customer service.
NoCtrl
September 09, 2010 at 4:45pm
You should have written Seagate on the hard drive with the Sharpie.
DarkMatter
September 09, 2010 at 4:31pm
Isn't the serial number embedded in firmware and don't THEY (Segate, Western Digital, et al ) have the means of extracting that data with narry a spin of the platter ? I call shinanigans !!!
DarkMatter
September 09, 2010 at 4:31pm
Isn't the serial number embedded in firmware and don't THEY (Segate, Western Digital, et al ) have the means of extracting that data with narry a spin of the platter ? I call shinanigans !!!
BlazePC
September 09, 2010 at 10:51am
The bigger question here is this, what's the big deal about a serial number not being clearly readable on the label - from a Sharpie or from whatever else - you guys (RMA dept) do realize that the serial number is stored inside the drive production parameters, right? And readable thru a gazillion different ways, am I wrong?
The whole story smacks of "boredom on Thursday, let's publish this..." type nonsense.
Jox
September 09, 2010 at 3:34pm
While it's true that the serial# is readable from the firmware, you need to be able to provide the serial# to the RMA department (over the phone or by email) in order to obtain an authorization number to even send it in. If you ship a drive to them without first obtaining this number, you will only find yourself poorer to the tune of your shipping fees.
The serial # tells the RMA department when the drive was manufactured, when it was sold, if there are any existing RMA tickets for the drive, if the warranty is expired or otherwise void. As long as the serial# is visible, there's no reason they should not repair a drive that is faulty and under warranty, but the number must be visible. To use this as an excuse not to repair the drive is very shady. I can understand not replacing it if it's marked or otherwise damaged, but repair should always be an option.
-Jox
Ashton2091
September 09, 2010 at 10:55am
Who in the hell is out there writing on their drives? Really? Not smart...even if you don't know the risks, which aren't real. It only voids your warranty...but still I would think you'd at least question it before doing it. lol, c'mon techs know that companies will use ANY excuse to void your warranty. DON'T WRITE ON ANY OF YOUR COMPUTER COMPONENTS.
lunchbox73
September 09, 2010 at 10:05am
The extra weight of the marker ink will cause the drive to be out of balance and make the drive head crash into the platters. I totally made that up. Seagate can use that if they want.
Caboose
September 09, 2010 at 8:48am
Really? You guys (commenters) did actually read the story right? You do know the difference between Western Digital and Seagate right?
MPC used an image of a Western Digital HDD with sharpie on it, because I'm sure they couldn't find one of a Seagate with sharpie scribbled on it!
It's no big deal. Let it go!
CleverBullet
September 09, 2010 at 8:44am
Why doesn't the dude photoshop the sharpie out of the pictures?
aaronj2906
September 09, 2010 at 7:58am
If that is the drive in question.... Why is the user trying to RMA a WESTERN DIGITAL drive through SEAGATE.
Maybe an insane qustion, but it stuck out to me immediately.
The Addictor
September 09, 2010 at 8:03am
The story in question is about Seagate. The prop that MPC used for the picture to cover the story is a Western Digital. They should have used a Seagate, but didn't. That is where your confusion is.
DarKarvin
September 09, 2010 at 6:55am
i have 6 drives in 3 raid0 arrays, after a..*ahem* little problem with a switched sata cable.. i use a silver sharpie to write on the sides and top...but in the black areas, i can't possibly see how this could affect, well, anything really.
Veen
September 09, 2010 at 6:48am
Yeah that situation is with Seagate, that is why I ALWAYS buy Western Digita, I have 7 and never had any problem!!!
aviaggio
September 09, 2010 at 6:36am
I'm taking a guess here, but perhaps the reason they won't honor the warranty is because they can't release the drive as a refurbished model if it's got writing on the housing?
Not that I think that's a legitimate reason, but it could be *a* reason.
steakkills
September 09, 2010 at 6:42am
But if they wanted to release as a refurb they could just make labels for refurb drives instead of them using the same label over and over again it might cost more but hey you know then there is no confusion then you know that you have a refurb drive instead of a new one that could help consumers find corrupt builders saying that they giv eyou a new drive but they arent
Caboose
September 09, 2010 at 7:43am
Seagate's referbished HDD's DO have a different label. The boarder is green and indicates that the drive is referbished.
See here: http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2008/09/340x_Seagate_Barracuda_7200.10_500GB_SATA_300_7200RPM_16MB_HDDmhxStandard.jpg
aviaggio
September 09, 2010 at 7:35am
They do put new labels on the refurbs. The problem is if you write directly on the metal housing. There is no way to remove it, nor can you cover it up.
nikki_gx
September 09, 2010 at 8:08am
Actually the metal housing is the easiest part to remove writing with a sharpie or other permenant ink marker. Isopropyl Alcohol will take the ink right off most surfaces, just put a little on a cotton ball and wipe clean.
OS-Wiz
September 09, 2010 at 6:31am
You guys are really starting to slip backwards, the complaint is with Seagate, but you picture a Western Digital drive ...
Natarrib
September 09, 2010 at 6:28am
Since when did writing in sharpie on a HDD void its warranty? I may be out of the looop here but thats a new one to me...What do you guys think..
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