Will laser etching Apple gear void the

warranty?

The answer is NO.

Why?

Because Apple Computers legally wrote and stated it in their warranty contracts.

Why are we sure?

We sat down and very thoroughly read all related Apple's documentation,

over and over to be a 100% sure, and as if all that reading were

not enough we went to the source of all reliable answers regarding

Apple products: The Apple Computers Headquarters in Cupertino CA U.S.

This involved several, several calls to different people and phone reps in the company. 

According to the statement of one of the many Apple phone reps we spoke to:

For the purposes of warranty, Apple cares about the

internal components only: the hardware anything else

that does not affect the hardware and its performance

counts as scratches/wear and tear.

WE WOULD ALWAYS ASK TO EVERY REP AGAIN: "DOES LASER

ETCHING THE SURFACE OF THE DEVICE VOID THE

WARRANTY?"

THE ANSWER: "NO SIR IT DOES NOT. IF YOU SCRATCH

IT WITH BROKEN GLASS, REBARS,  LASER IT OR PAINT

IT WITH CRAYOLA IT DOES NOT VOID THE WARRANTY

AS LONG AS THE INTERNAL HARDWARE REMAINS

UNTOUCHED.

At that point we  realized were nearing the Apple

representative's limits in terms of patience, we thanked

him and called the next day (a different person

answered the phone of course).

The next day we had to ask the whole series of

questions to another representative with nearly

identical results: Laser etching does not void your

warranty.

Not satisfied with that, we called a third time and this

time  around, to our surprise we were the ones who had

to answer the questions.

So this Apple representative: Monica, seemed to know

where were was heading to and started asking me if I

was planning to etch it myself or have it etched, "I will

have it etched" I replied, she then asked me if I knew

what kind of engraver was going to  be used and if it

was mechanical or laser she then told me that she did

not think using a mechanical one was that safe and that

laser was in her own words:

"3rd party laser etching is

something Apple would visually disregard as long as the

device's internal hardware is intact, if the device was

never opened, anything else happening on the surface

counts as scratches or wear and tear, nothing else"

We thanked and told her we would acknowledge her help

online she then asked me if there were any further

questions at that time it was clear it was time to go.

This lady was always ahead of me and well she was

very very knowledgeable, my compliments. 

(Monica: you are very intelligent my compliments )

Again, not satisfied with that we made a total of 22 calls on

different dates and schedules and agents (to avoid

being confused with a telemarketer or a thinksecret

"spy")

Some people would avoid the issue all together and say

that they had to ask their manager or that we had to call

another number or would put us on hold (for a long

time) to always comeback and to their surprise, find us

patiently waiting for their answer, always to find the

same result after a lot of haggling and constant

references to the warranty and the powerful question

"Because, you do know the policies of the company

where you work don't you? I am sure that the people

that monitor your calls is sure about your knowledge"

after a short pause the rep would consistently

understand the hint and answer that laser etching only

the surface of the device does not void the warranty.

SO THERE YOU GO:

CONFIRMED STATED AND RATIFIED  BY APPLE

REPRESENTATIVES: LASER ETCHING THE SURFACE OF

YOUR APPLE DEVICES DOES NOT VOID YOUR WARRANTY

And if that did not suffice:

As added info we feel we MUST provide this recent

account of facts regarding a real life experience of a

father in the US whose son ' s ipod shuffle had been 

laser etched and after some time, in a completely

unrelated fashion the ipod headphone jack became

defective, then the father decided to take the device to

the store where it had been purchased,(due to the fact

it  was still under warranty) and try to exchange it, the

store employee saw the laser engraving and with an

alleged certain  level of negligence and ignorance

refused to exchange it claiming the warranty had been

voided, the father asked him why and the employee

found it difficult to justify his argument, so, the father

took note of the incident, went back home sat down and

did some thorough reading on Apple policies and

warranties, (both online and on paper) and wrote a

detailed letter to the store manager the manager read

the whole letter and  apologized for the employees

behavior, the father finally succeeded at exchanging the

defective device.

Now the important question:

Why did the father have to go through all this reading

and haggling for something he was had been entitled all

along?

The answer: Ignorance and negligence on behalf of the

store employees.

We feel you should not go through all this because, well,

nobody should, simply put.

The laser tattoo surface only changes are based on your

personal preferences and your devices and the lasering

is DOES NOT affect in anyway the internal components

of your device.

YOUR GADGET IS A GOOD YOU PAID FOR: YOUR

PROPERTY, NOT THEIRS.

The same applies to other devices owned by our clients,

a laser tattoo is their choice based on their personal aesthetic

preferences.

So, here are the links: