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Apple Voiding Smokers' Warranties?
Slashdot ^ | 11/21/9 | Soulskill

Posted on 11/21/2009 1:59:29 PM PST by Clint Williams

Mr2001 writes

"Consumerist reports that Apple is refusing to work on computers that have been used in smoking households. 'The Apple store called and informed me that due to the computer having been used in a house where there was smoking, [the warranty has been voided] and they refuse to work on the machine "due to health risks of second hand smoke,"' wrote one customer. Another said, 'When I asked for an explanation, she said [the owner of the iMac is] a smoker and it's contaminated with cigarette smoke, which they consider a bio-hazard! I checked my Applecare warranty and it says nothing about not honoring warranties if the owner is a smoker.' Apple claims that honoring the warranty would be an OSHA violation. (Remember when they claimed enabling 802.11n for free would be a Sarbanes-Oxley violation?)"


TOPICS: Technical
KEYWORDS: apple; applecare; applewarranty; healthnazis; pufflist; smoking
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To: rlmorel

Shouldn’t be too hard to disprove. Help yourself:

I took my mid 2007 apple macbook (black) into the Jordan Creek Apple Store in West Des Moines, Iowa, on Saturday, April 25th, because I had been experiencing some issues with it overheating, and figured the fan was bad. After some initial testing, they took the computer in for work under my Applecare plan, which has over a year remaining on it.

Today, April, 28, 2008, the Apple store called and informed me that due to the computer having been used in a house where there was smoking, that has voided the warranty and they refuse to work on the machine, due to “health risks of second hand smoke”.

I see no reason to doubt it.

But then, I don’t own APL or have an axe to grind either way.


41 posted on 11/21/2009 3:37:19 PM PST by jessduntno ("Concentrated power has always been the enemy of liberty." - Ronald Reagan)
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To: Ruy Dias de Bivar
That because a smoke particle will crash a disk drive head even a sealed mini winny type in a modern ps if it gets’ in...
42 posted on 11/21/2009 3:40:20 PM PST by tophat9000 (Obama plans to fix America like he fixed his dog)
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To: tophat9000

Never woked on a smokers PC, but I have worked on their sewing machines , and they are nasty. They have a yellow coating on them that runs off when you spray a cleaner on them, and they stink. They are a pain in the butt to clean up, I would imagine the new computer machines being used by women now are susceptible to some nasty board problems.


43 posted on 11/21/2009 3:52:40 PM PST by Venturer
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To: WVKayaker

“Get a Mac and you’ll never go back!”

Not always. I’ve been a Mac user/owner for the last 9 years. I started working on a PC earlier this year and just recently bought a Windows laptop. When I originally bought the Mac I thought that eventually software availability for the Mac would rival that of Windows. There’s definitely more out there but it’s not even close. Macs aren’t perfect. My battery was recalled. I replaced the replacement and it still runs so hot I can’t actually work with it on my lap. The kids at the Apple store act like they can’t help me. For years my machine has had trouble waking up from sleep. It freezes up and won’t even shut down. About two years ago it slid about 4 inches onto a carpeted floor and the hard drive was DOA. The guys at the Apple store couldn’t do a thing. Macs are pretty, sure and they are definitely useful in certain environments but blanket statements like above are more marketing than reality.


44 posted on 11/21/2009 3:56:11 PM PST by Bookbuck
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To: Clint Williams

I would say that the Apple Store here is deciding things on their own and until I hear from Apple themselves about this I won’t believe this one. We have a friend who smokes who has never had this problem getting his Apple fixed so I don’t understand this one?


45 posted on 11/21/2009 4:01:07 PM PST by chris_bdba
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To: tophat9000

Ask a painter what it is like to paint the inside of a smoker’s house.


46 posted on 11/21/2009 5:05:48 PM PST by Right Wing Assault (The Obama magic is fading.)
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To: Clint Williams
I would never buy an Apple.
I might be a great computer, Like Subaru or Volkswagen might be great cars but i would not be caught dead using or driving either one.
Thats just me though....
47 posted on 11/21/2009 5:09:51 PM PST by mowowie
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To: Clint Williams

14 years ago when my daughter had a baby, she came to visit, the baby was 5 or 6 days old. When grandma finished holding her, I got up to take her from her. My daughter came over first and sniffed my shirt (I was a smoker at the time)

I told her that her behavior was insulting and that if she wanted her daughter to have a grandpa she’d better quit acting stupid. She did quit acting stupid after that encounter.

I never smoked around any of my grand children, I’d go out side to smoke when they were here visiting.


48 posted on 11/21/2009 5:28:27 PM PST by Graybeard58 ("Get lost, Mitt. You're the Eddie Haskell of the Republican party." (Finny))
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To: Clint Williams

Used to be that people were polite enough to not say anything about the way people and their things smelled. Then, folks began to feel free to mention the way people smelled. Now, it is apparently alright to be righteously indignant about the way peoples things smell.

Dear God, what happened...


49 posted on 11/21/2009 9:19:38 PM PST by ProfoundMan (Time to finish the Reagan Revolution! - RightyPics.com)
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To: jessduntno

When I see an official policy from Apple, I will believe it.

Otherwise, is is Internet BS.

Just my opinion.


50 posted on 11/21/2009 9:39:34 PM PST by rlmorel (We are traveling "The Road to Serfdom".)
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To: Bookbuck
Not always. I’ve been a Mac user/owner for the last 9 years.

So, what Mac have you been using for nine years?

51 posted on 11/22/2009 1:03:31 AM PST by Swordmaker (Remember, the proper pronunciation of IE is "AAAAIIIIIEEEEEEE!)
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To: ~Kim4VRWC's~; 1234; 50mm; 6SJ7; Abundy; Action-America; acoulterfan; Airwinger; Aliska; altair; ...
Another post about the FUD about Apple not fixing smoker's Macs... PING!

So far, there is only one source for this claim... and no corroboration.


Mac no smoking plan Ping!

If you want on or off the Mac Ping List, Freepmail me.

52 posted on 11/22/2009 1:07:09 AM PST by Swordmaker (Remember, the proper pronunciation of IE is "AAAAIIIIIEEEEEEE!)
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To: Proud_texan
Kinda what I’d expect from a company with Al Gore on their board.

In this case, that would be iGore.

53 posted on 11/22/2009 1:12:26 AM PST by Fresh Wind ("...a whip of political correctness strangles their voice"-Vaclav Klaus)
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To: Alex Kida

I no longer smoke inside my apartment. When I did, it was usually at my desk, and yes, it got pretty nasty. Even with fans and an air filter in the room. I shudder to imagine how bad the worst of those smokers’ computers can be.

We’re not talking about the kind of second-hand smoke smell you get on clothing. We’re talking about thick goo that sticks to fan blades and goes where the air from the cooling fans goes — pretty much by definition the parts that most need cooling, CPUs and their heat sinks. Dust sticks to the goo, and compressed air won’t blow it out.

The Apple warranty, like most, does not cover damages due to “abuse” or use in “extreme environments.” Arguably, heavy enough smoke to coat all the interior components qualifies. Keep in mind that the “Apple says” is based on two individuals at two Apple stores out of the millions of Mac-owning smokers, so this isn’t cause to fly off the handle.


54 posted on 11/22/2009 1:26:29 AM PST by ReignOfError
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To: Clint Williams

In my 25+ years in the computer business, I’ve cracked open thousands of computers.

Computers from people that smoke REEK! Even when I was smoking it was unpleasant. It is a really foul stench. Blowing it out helps tremendously.

The second worse? Computers that smell like Curry.

In no way did I think I was being harmed in the process.


55 posted on 11/22/2009 3:51:59 AM PST by Malsua
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To: jessduntno
You get an apple, you get the support you deserve...it all comes with that very special liberal care...

Yep, you are far better off with those staunch conservatives Billy Gates and Mike Dell. Unfortunately, when there is a problem each often blames the other and you get to play ring-around-the-rosy.

56 posted on 11/22/2009 5:14:36 AM PST by Mind-numbed Robot (Not all that needs to be done needs to be done by the government)
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To: jessduntno

Wow! Very first post and already an Apple-bashing post... and all with zero evidence.

Kind of funny how I know Apple users who are smokers, one who is a heavy smoker, who never had a problem getting warranty work done (what very little has been necessary - but that is another thread).

The 9th Commandment of God is “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.” This includes passing on unverified information or accusations intended to disparage the reputation of a person or entity.

The only way Apple could void the warranty in relation to smoking would be if the smoke somehow gummed up the workings in question. For example, nicotine on the CD/DVD lens will cause the device to stop working correctly.

And any warranty related to cosmetics of the machine would be in question as well.

But again, before passing judgment, one might want to hear all the facts - and the record does not bear out the accusations posted.


57 posted on 11/22/2009 6:11:31 AM PST by TheBattman (Pray for our country...)
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To: sergeantdave

You might be right, if the accusations are factual, and the evidence supports it... But for every case (one so far) that this accusation is made, one could point out 10 or more that contradict that complaint.


58 posted on 11/22/2009 6:13:13 AM PST by TheBattman (Pray for our country...)
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To: Hot Tabasco

Windex works if the coating of cigarette crap hasn’t been there too long, or isn’t too thick. I helped clean up a house several years ago that had been owned and occupied by a lifelong chain smoker. Windex just made yellow sludge just as the previous poster described. Rubbing Alcohol helped quite a bit. The walls also had to be scrubbed before repainting. Was absolutely disgusting.

And people intentionally coat the inside of their lungs with that crap... then wonder why they lose lung capacity, develop Emphysema or even cancer...

But for now, this is mostly a free country... Just don’t ask me to pay for smoking-related problems and I won’t ask them to pay for issued related to my weight.


59 posted on 11/22/2009 6:17:00 AM PST by TheBattman (Pray for our country...)
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To: Alex Kida
You were saying ...

If the user is a heavy smoker the entire inside of the machine is coated with goo.

You would think that smokers would consider -- also -- the goo that gets inside of them, inside of their lungs and the chemicals that gets jacked around their own "system" (i.e., inside of themselves)... LOL..

I don't have any feelings of concern or sorrow for these kinds of smokers and what they do to their computers. I've seen it with a relative and the heavy smoking around their computer, the ashes, the absolute mess. I would have hated to get into that Windows laptop that they had. I would just throw it away and get another. It was an absolute mess.

Sorry..., absolutely no concerns for these smokers and their computers...

60 posted on 11/22/2009 8:22:13 AM PST by Star Traveler (The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is a Zionist and Jerusalem is the apple of His eye.)
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