Anyone else ever done this?

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Prototype

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After buying a new electrical appliance / piece of equipment, removing the cover, making a note of all the part numbers of all the major IC's and looking up the datasheets? Most of the time I have been lucky in finding data on most devices, but there have been one or two instances where I cant find much information at all. It is very interesting to read up on some of the information especially on SoC's I have only found one detailed data sheet on an SoC though However things like memory, codecs and supporting devices are not hard to find information on.
 
Nigel Goodwin said:
So you don't like warranties?, as you void it on everything you buy.
Click to expand...
Simply opening something up does not void the warranty (at least in the UK / EU), no matter what a seller or manufacturer may claim.

It's only if damage is caused by your actions that the warranty is affected. Even if you repair something yourself or have it independently repaired, the original warranty still applies to any unaffected parts.

eg.

What invalidates a warranty or guarantee? - RetailADR

www.retailadr.org.uk
 

Which isn't really what that misleading article says - and why pointlessly cause yourself masses of work, and potentially having to take legal action, for no point whatsoever?.
 
With so many things in our throw-away society using custom chips, having MCUs with code-protection, and no schematics or other technical data available from the manufacturer, the exercise is of dubious merit. The furthest I think I'd go if persuaded (unlikely) would be to photograph the interior of an appliance, particularly any pcb, so that if a part/component failed I'd at least have a value/serial number to use in sourcing a replacement.
As above, I do download/read any user/service manual.
 
shortbus= said:
Oh, your supposed to read those? I always thought they were just for shipping protection, to keep the item safe during transit.
Click to expand...

I recall a contributor to Radio Electronics (not sure if Don Lancaster? ) that worked in a big hospital, in maintenance of all type of machinery / instruments related to medicine. He claimed that his reputation for knowing everything was due simply to reading the manuals from a to z.
 
when i was in the Army as a calibrator RTFM was a requirement. every military calibration manual has the same "STEP 1", and that's"Read the whole manual before proceeding." when the time came for evaluations once a year, if you started connecting stuff up before reading the whole manual, you were flunked for "failure to follow instructions".
 
Nigel Goodwin said:
So you don't like warranties?, as you void it on everything you buy.
Click to expand...

I don't know a single person who has ever made a "warranty" claim back to the manufacturer. Sure, I've returned stuff that didn't work or failed quickly to the retailer but, I don't recall ANY of them asking if I took the back cover off. I can't imagine any clerk even caring if I would say, "I opened it up and nothing looked unusual."

I suppose you follow the instructions on Advil bottles, Shampoo bottles, Speed Limit Signs, ... (anyone want to add to the list?) - what a boring way to live.
 
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Nigel Goodwin said:
So you don't like warranties?, as you void it on everything you buy.
Click to expand...

If if does not have a "warranty void if seal is broken" sticker anywhere, then I'm not really bothered. I only take a look under the cover, I don't start dismantling it. There are gadgets which I am afraid to remove any screws from though, my camera for starters for fear of putting the sensor out of alignment and have loads of loose buttons flying everywhere.. A set top box with four screws holding the cover on though, not a problem.
 
gophert said:
Sure, I've returned stuff that didn't work or failed quickly to the retailer but, I don't recall ANY of them asking if I took the back cover off.
Click to expand...
maybe not, but i've seen stuff come in under warranty, that's been tampered with (had wiring cut or components pried off the PCB) just so the person could return it and if the clerk tried to power it on, it wouldn't work. some retailers just do the swap or cash back without even bothering to turn it on. knowing the manufacturer would reject the warranty claim, we usually charged the store for the repair.
usually Sony wouldn't allow the service center to do repairs, so we had to ship product back to Sony. Sony uses a very thin coating of black paint on cover screws, and just removing the screws once leaves metal showing, and often they base their warranty claims on whether it looks as if the unit had been opened.
 

I did warranty repairs and claims for decades, I've no idea how you've never had occasion to make a warranty claim?, perhaps you're just incredibly lucky.
 
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