Many EEE units carry stickers attached to their RAM door, indicating that breaking the sticker will void the warranty on the machine. Asus has since retracted this for certain territories, allowing users to upgrade their RAM without necessarily voiding their warranty. However, the position remains far from clear, as:
website FAQ still states that:
Customers disassembling the outer cases (including the keyboard) of Eee PC products or tearing off the warranty label is considered as customer induced destruction (CID), which will lead to voiding the warranty.
The warranty will not apply if:
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(c ) the warranty seals have been broken or altered;
Dear Valued Customer,
Thank you for contacting ASUS Customer Service.
My name is Christian and it's my pleasure to help you with your problem.
For this question, now we have the same policy in all the markerting. You can upgrade the EeePC memory by yourself. However, you should take your own risk as well. You will still have the warranty of your EeePC except for the memory issue. We will import a 1G memory upgrade plan in the future. And I think this is a more reliable way to upgade for your EeePC. Thanks.
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If having any problems, please don't hesitate to let me know. Let's discuss this issue together.
Thank you for using ASUS products and enjoying ASUS services!
Christian
ASUS Customer Service Center (Shanghai , China)
Eee PC News – Warranty Update
ASUS Computer International (“ASUS”) recently received feedback from one of its valued customers with questions concerning the purpose of a seal stating, “Warranty Void If Removed” over the access door to the single SODIMM slot on some models of the ASUS Eee PC. ASUS wishes to assure its customers that merely breaking or removing this kind of seal will not void the ASUS Limited Warranty. Although ASUS recommends that customers use ASUS-approved service facilities and components, ASUS is committed to honoring the terms of its Limited Warranty and making sure that its customers are free to make appropriate hardware and software modifications and upgrades, regardless of whether the service is performed by an approved facility, a non-approved service provider, or by the customers themselves. ASUS will replace the warranty label with a label to warn users that ASUS will not be responsible for the damage caused by improper hardware change.
ASUS is taking steps to make sure that the seals in question are no longer used in its products that are intended to be sold in any country where these stickers are not permitted.
ASUS has also modified its written Limited Warranty policies effective immediately to eliminate any provision stating that the ASUS Limited Warranty will be voided simply because the product is serviced by a non-ASUS-approved service facility, or if non-ASUS-approved components or software are installed or used. Current Eee PC customers are advised that ASUS will honor all other terms of its Limited Warranty and that it will not refuse warranty service simply because a customer has either broken a warranty seal, installed non-ASUS components or software, or because the customer’s unit has been opened or serviced by a non-ASUS-approved service facility or by the user.
ASUS customers are reminded that ASUS computer systems, like all other computer systems, contain delicate and complex components that may be easily damaged if not handled correctly. Also, ASUS systems are tested and certified for compatibility and performance to product specifications based on their original configurations using ASUS-approved hardware, components, and approved, factory-installed software.
As with all computer systems, some added hardware, components and software may not be compatible with the product. Also, as with all computers, attempts by persons who lack sufficient knowledge or who are not properly trained to upgrade, repair, or maintain the product’s internal components or hardware configuration, or the installation and use of non-approved or untested hardware components or accessories, may result in damage to the product or severe degradation of the product’s performance and functionality that may not be covered under the ASUS Limited Warranty. Also, as with all computer software, attempts to change, alter, or modify the factory-installed software may result in damage to the product or a severe degradation in the product’s performance or functionality that may not be covered under the ASUS Limited Warranty.
ASUS customers may contact ASUS Customer Service at: 888-768-3688 option 3 regarding ASUS Limited Warranty.
The position, therefore is still not entirely clear, as Asus' own documentation does not all tie together.
Asus has expressly confirmed that breaking the RAM door seal will not void the warranty in the following countries:
From rmrubin's post here
Today I contacted ASUS Notebook Support (510-739-3777 Ext. 5110) twice in order to confirm the details of my Eee PC 4G warranty. I talked to James the first time, and Clinton the second time. Both were very helpful and quick with the information needed to answer my questions. I was only asked for the serial number on my Eee PC. This is what I learned:
* 2 Year Hardware Warranty
* 6 Month Battery Warranty
* ASUS is not responsible for for software misconfiguration, such as troubleshooting an alternative operating system.
* ASUS Support will help you restore your Eee PC to its default Xanadros Linux state.
* Installing 2GB SO-DIMM will not void your warranty.
* Operating system and program disc writes, referred to by ASUS Support as “normal computer usage,” does not void your warranty. This means using swap, pagefiles, persistent system logs, programs that do heavy disc writes, and modern journaling filesystems like NTFS, ext3, and reiserfs will not void your Eee PC’s hardware warranty.
It was noted by ASUS Support that in the event of an SSD failure, they would have a difficult time actually finding the cause of the failure. In many cases it would be impossible. Also, in the case of 2GB RAM installation, you would return your Eee PC to ASUS with the original RAM SODIMM. ASUS Support, regarding the 2GB SODIMM: “We would ask you to send the Eee PC back like it originally came.”
I honestly think it’s insane to run a non-journaling filesystems on a laptop. The technology was developed to deal with precisely the type of situations a filesystem on a laptop will encounter, and both Microsoft and GNU/Linux builders have adopted journaling filesystems for primary storage use. If your SSD burns out because of heavy disc writes or first generation manufacturing defects, ASUS Support says they will take care of you.