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stronzo · Mar 2, 2004, 07:58 PM

well, i woke up this morning and booted up my 15" al pb only to be greeted with a "No Airport card installed" message. hmmm, i decided to open it up and take a look. i was following the online guide on how to remove/install an airport card, but i accidentally skipped a rather important step and ended up breaking the little antennae cable thing. NOOOOOO!!

did i just void my warranty? will apple fix it? would it be possible to fix it myself? any advice appreciated.

ingeniero · Mar 2, 2004, 08:04 PM

Originally posted by stronzo:
well, i woke up this morning and booted up my 15" al pb only to be greeted with a "No Airport card installed" message. hmmm, i decided to open it up and take a look. i was following the online guide on how to remove/install an airport card, but i accidentally skipped a rather important step and ended up breaking the little antennae cable thing. NOOOOOO!! did i just void my warranty? will apple fix it? would it be possible to fix it myself? any advice appreciated.

Ouch...

if you pop the case yourself, it voids the warranty. Rather than notifying applecare, and being recorded as a void, I'd go to a local apple authorized repair depot and foot the bill.

stronzo · Mar 2, 2004, 08:27 PM

i didn't pop the case, i just took out the battery

pete · Mar 2, 2004, 08:33 PM

within an hour of getting my new albook, I tore that cable too. Mine was simply too short for it to reach properly and the connector just slipped off the cable when I tried to do it. I took it in to Tekserve and they fixed it under warranty in less than a day. Just FYI.

buddhabelly · Mar 2, 2004, 09:00 PM

Originally posted by stronzo:
i didn't pop the case, i just took out the battery

Opening the case doesn't void the warranty. There are user installable parts such as RAM and Airport cards. If it does, Apple sure didn't bother to mention anything in my airport card's literature, nor in my powerbook IRRC.

Link · Mar 2, 2004, 09:27 PM

Take it to an apple repair place, they should be able to fix the airport antenna no prob.

stronzo · Mar 2, 2004, 10:51 PM

okie dokie, smokie....just hope i don't end up paying $350 for it, lol

ibook_steve · Mar 2, 2004, 11:11 PM

Originally posted by buddhabelly:
Opening the case doesn't void the warranty. There are user installable parts such as RAM and Airport cards. If it does, Apple sure didn't bother to mention anything in my airport card's literature, nor in my powerbook IRRC.

Opening the case is different from installing RAM or Airport. Opening the case to do something with the antenna cable would void your warranty. You don't need to open the entire case to install RAM or Airport.

Steve

stronzo · Mar 3, 2004, 12:37 AM

the antenna cable is attached to the airport card. getting to the airport card by taking out the battery is all i had to do.

Melchizedek · Mar 3, 2004, 12:58 AM

Beginning on page 72 of my Rev. D Powerbook G4 manual, it describes the proper way to remove the bottom casing to replace the hard drive or install an airport card. So, I believe on the old models, it will not void your warrenty.

mrmister · Mar 3, 2004, 01:20 AM

But since he doesn't have an older model, this isn't all that relevant.

nobitacu · Mar 3, 2004, 01:20 AM

Don't worry dude, Apple Care will cover that.

Ming

James L · Mar 3, 2004, 07:10 PM

Hard drives were a user serviceable part in the TiBook series, they are NOT in the AlBook series.

RAM and airport...you take it apart to go in after anything else and you void your warranty!

vcutag · Mar 4, 2004, 11:09 AM

Originally posted by James L:
Hard drives were a user serviceable part in the TiBook series, they are NOT in the AlBook series.

RAM and airport...you take it apart to go in after anything else and you void your warranty!

Apparently you didn't read the original poster's replies?

You don't have to open the case to replace the Airport/RAM, there are hatches for them under the battery. Remove the battery, and hey presto, they're accessible without opening the case.

chipchen · Mar 5, 2004, 05:12 AM

typically, AppleCare does not cover that.. why? because it is user error and not a warranty problem. opening it and taking the card in and out doesn't void the warranty at all... but breaking a piece of it... that's something else.

BUT, it sounds like it's one of those things that vary... I'll tell you that the Apple Stores around here wouldn't even think twice about charging you for it... It's like if you bought a new car and you were checking out a piece and just broke it off... of course, it depends on what it is... but in this case.. the antenna is usually saudered to the logic board making it a logic board replacement.

good luck though.. hope it all works out. (best bet is to go to 3rd party authorized repair centers first as if you get rejected, there's no documentation... if you go to apple store first, they will document it.. and they'll make sure to document that it was user error.)

Detrius · Mar 5, 2004, 10:53 AM

Many pieces like this Apple doesn't ever have to know what actually happened with the part. Many parts we have to send back to Apple, but if it isn't a repairable part (or it would cost less to replace than to ship), then Apple doesn't want it back.

Having the antenna cable too short for users to safely maneuver with could be consider a design defect and therefore, we would have no problem replacing it for you.

For example: many TiBooks wind up with broken hinges where half the hinge just decided it didn't want to move any more. This would *definitely* be a manufacturer defect even though you could say that the user broke it by pushing too hard.

stronzo · Mar 5, 2004, 05:22 PM

ah, conflicting advice. guess i'll wing it. i'm gonna take it to a 3rd party authorized repair on monday and see what they tell me.

tooki · Mar 6, 2004, 02:31 AM

Originally posted by chipchen:
... the antenna is usually saudered...

s-o-l-d-e-r-e-d. soldered.

That said, most antenna connectors are not soldered to their cable, they are crimped on, which is why it is so easy to pull them off.

tooki