MSI Cards and their MSI Factory Seal Sticker

legcramp

[H]F Junkie
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Messages
12,397
Hey guys, any of you guys own MSI cards with the "factory seal" sticker on one of the four screws holding the GPU have any experience with MSI warranty service after removing this sticker?

Reason is I have an MSI card and could potentially see myself removing the heatsink to replace paste/thermal pads and would need to remove this sticker. I am in the US and the sticker is not the "void if removed" kind but just "factory sealed" variant.

Thanks!
 
It's a deterrent to keep people from wrecking their expensive cards. Nothing more. There is nothing "illegal" about it though. It simply can't be the basis of a warranty denial in the US. If you physically damage the card they are going to politely tell you to pound sand regardless of any sticker.
 
Nothing on that page says anything about stickers. It's referring to specific written warnings from manufacturers that directly contradict the FTC.
You must have been reading a different article. If you require further reading, then check the FTC link in it.

"
  • This warranty does not apply if this product . . . has had the warranty seal on the [product] altered, defaced, or removed."
 
Last edited:
You must have been reading a different article. If you require further reading, then check the FTC link in it.

"
  • This warranty does not apply if this product . . . has had the warranty seal on the [product] altered, defaced, or removed."
The actual text is the problem. It could say “warranty void if rainbow unicorn farts released from box” and it would be just as prohibited by the FTC. It’s the statement itself that is the problem. Just as the multiple other examples which you are ignoring clearly demonstrate.

Again nothing illegal about the sticker itself.
 
It might be prohibited but the issue is how many people are actually going to follow through with a lawsuit if they get denied?
This is true though I've personally been in the situation twice and the mere mention of the warranty act in a written response has generated the "as a one time courtesy" reply both times. The simple fact that we are discussing this demonstrates the effectiveness of the stickers as a deterrent. There are in fact quite a few people in the world that have absolutely no business touching the naughty bits of something like a GPU. Stopping them from ruining their equipment and submitting a false warranty claim (which the rest of us absorb the cost for) can only be a good thing overall.

Let the stickers scare the lemmings. The rest of us simply need to be armed with knowledge of both the hardware and the laws (at least in the US) governing the commerce of such.
 
This is true though I've personally been in the situation twice and the mere mention of the warranty act in a written response has generated the "as a one time courtesy" reply both times.

I had a better experience with XFX support when the fans died on my R9 280x, they came right out and said warranty stickers were not valid in the US. They gave me the option of just sending out a whole cooler+fan assembly and letting me change it myself and the warranty was still fine after the fact. The card lasted another several years before it packed up and they sent me out an RX 570 as a replacement, which was nice. The R9 280x always ran stupid hot, even with the new fans. I have a feeling it just suffered thermal death.

Really wish XFX still made Nvidia video cards, I would have gone with them when I got my GTX 1070 Ti.
 
https://www.racedepartment.com/threads/hardware-nightmares.194188/#post-3322384

You guys may want to go read my recent experience with PNY..a U.S based manufacturer.
Oh!... and for the record, they denied warranty on a brand new factory sealed card because they stated it wasn't purchased from one of their approved vendors.
Who here checks an approved vendor list prior to buying a videocard?
 
https://www.racedepartment.com/threads/hardware-nightmares.194188/#post-3322384

You guys may want to go read my recent experience with PNY..a U.S based manufacturer.
Oh!... and for the record, they denied warranty on a brand new factory sealed card because they stated it wasn't purchased from one of their approved vendors.
Who here checks an approved vendor list prior to buying a videocard?
I think a safe way to avoid issues like that is buy cards with a transferable warranty or ones that don't require a receipt for warranty claims. I think MSI and gigabyte are good about that sort of thing and base warranty on manufacture date in absence of proof of sale.
 
I haven't had any experience having to RMA the card after removing the sticker when taking the card apart for watercooling, but I've been told by their customer support that it was fine and that the sticker was pretty much there to discourage people who didn't know what they were doing. I've done this with 2 MSI cards and made sure to contact their customer support beforehand to get it in writing that they will still honor their warranty if I went through with it.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top