S4 and waranty voiding

DJ Life & Community General Discussion
1

S4 and waranty voiding

I’ve just had an interesting email from NI in answer to my question …

What happens if something breaks in my S4 after I install another manufacturers fader.

Sorry to say this guys you are on your own, they do not repair anything without a warranty, and they do not sell spares or even hold stock of them. You can’t even offer them money to repair it … so I say again … YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN.

They categorically stated that I should not under any circumstances open up the S4.

They went on to say, if anything should go wrong with a unit, (sticky fader, broken pot) they will repair it without question … as long as the user hasn’t opened it.

So, referring to Smittens latest blog entry, it should be amended to say, along with voiding the warranty there’s no way to repair the S4 and no way to source the parts …

…and as yet, no one has any idea of the longevity of the unit, you may need a new “something” next year because of wear and tear … and you won’t be able to get one from NI or anyone else.

Perhaps Elliot should offer a free repair service for all the innobender equipped S4’s.

I honestly think this is not a wise upgrade, unless that is you have a spare $900 lying around to buy a replacement S4. Leave the innofaders to the real scratch mixers with user serviceable faders.

Flame me if you want, but I reserve the right to say “I told you so”, when something breaks and you can’t get it fixed. In fact i reserve the right to fall off my seat laughing at anyone who ignores this BIG problem and voids their warranty.

Guys remember this forum is full of kids just starting out, they all believe the hype, many think it’s the gear that will make them better DJ’s and most suffer from some form of Gear Acquisition Syndrome … so bear this in mind when telling people to mod their S4’s.

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i dont see a problem as everywhere it is clearly stated that you loose your warranty with all the consequences..

3

loosing a warranty on a DJM, or a VMS, or a DDM or practically anything else isn’t such a big deal as there’s always a helpful technician somewhere with access to a parts list as long as you pay him for the work and the parts.

THERE IS NO SUCH PARTS LIST FOR THE S4, and they won’t be making one happen soon.

So if you break it, (even if it’s not your fault) you will not be able to get it repaired ANYWHERE !

That’s one hell of a consequence for something that feels a bit better.

The kids out there need to realise that modding the S4, could mean buying a new one if something like a fader or pot fails a few months after modding.

Stick to adding new faders inside mixers with user serviceable parts … or wait until Elliot strikes a deal with NI to get support for the S4 (somehow I doubt that will ever happen)

4

Who is Elliot?

5

The whole DJ scene has been built on the backbones of people losing their warranty.

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^^this!

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Warranty = Repair = Replacement of Parts.

No Warranty = None of the above.

  • I see no issue here.

  • I see no problem with NI’s stance on not touching S4s that break if you void your warranty whether the malfunction is due or not due to the Innobender upgrade. Thats how a warranty works with pretty much every product in existence.

-I see no issue with SmiTTTens excellent tutorial and his EXPLICIT warning about voiding your warranty.

  • And i see absolutely no connection with Elliot Marx who is simply making an awesome product that people can “choose” to use or not.

From my limited experience with Elliot and from the what my friends likes TeLLy says Elliot Marx seems like one of the real good guys in the industry.

Whether this is a “wise upgrade” is for the user to decide. Everyone is adult enough to know the facts and the risk because they have been explicitly stated in MASSIVE RED LETTERS ON THE INSTALL TUTORIAL VIDEO

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Is this Elliott?

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LOL, honestly Smitten made it super clear that you’ll be voiding your warranty. Also when it comes down to it, I bet this community will find a source for parts. We’re freakin’ awesomez!

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Even with the it will void your warranty comments in the blog post and this post there will still be some idiot that tries to do the mod, breaks something and claims they didn’t see or understand the this will void your warranty bit.

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My point ..almost.

There are lots of kids on this forum who (and I’m being kind) need instructions to tie their shoe laces. Saying this device will change your world, or such like will encourage many to rip open their S4’s to fit the innobender.

Whilst on other equipment this is not a problem, and in many cases it’s a necessity, NI have stated they will not sell parts to the public.

It needs to be said in 150 point, no spare parts …including those things we haven’t seen break yet, long term button pressing may snap a circuit board, which would be covered under said warranty …

The innobender maybe the first mod suggested on this beast of a machine, i am sure it won’t be the last.

Is it really worth the risk? It’s a $900 gamble.

I’m all for modding, i’ve built quite a few controllers myself before settling on an S4 … but always to kit where the parts were either cheap enough to replace or easily changeable … minimising cost & risk.

11

why do you bother so much about other peoples money? if some ppl think they need the mod, they know they will void the warranty. and they’re probably aware of the risk.

if you dont need this mod or you just dont want to void your warranty, it’s cool, but i don’t understand why you rack our brain over this..

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What part of this:

And this:

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is ambiguous. No matter what your age the message is clear. There is no wiggle room here.

I simply do not get this thread at all.

13

couldn’t you just heat the glue of the sticker with a hair dryer or steamer, then replace the sticker when your done? If your going to replace the fader anyway, it’s worth a try…

14

Its a pretty gnarly sticker dude. I think it would be noticeable as it would not stick back perfectly . I tried getting mine off and its stuck with super-glue or some such stuff.

Worth a try before you just stick a screw-driver through it though.

15

The point he’s trying to make is that it is a lot more serious to void the warranty on something that has NO PARTS AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC.

My DJM500 is well out of warranty, but when I dropped my bag on it and broke a fader earlier in the year it was no hassle to order a spare on ebay and replace it. This isn’t possible with the S4 [and, i assume all NI hardware?]. That’s a pretty important point to have clear before you start messing with your stuff.

16

…and i would agree with that. It is very serious if you break your S4 with no warranty.

This is not wholly true.

No they do not sell spares but, they do have a repair system in place should you break something under warranty. They do have spare parts but they only fit them under warranty.

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So… the thread is worthwhile?

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Chaps, I have been reading this thread with interest but feel that any comments I make will lead to a discussion that will become progressively more heated. If JSM would like to share the NI e-mail in it’s entirety, I will consider talking to the DJTT editorial team about including it, or a link to it in the original article.

19

Not really because you dont get repairs without a warranty if you broke it. Thats a given. Everyone knows this if they read their warranty.

The Manual for every piece of NI hardware states:

“hardware contains no user-serviceable parts.”

It must be sent back to NI for repair with the Sticker which is is technically called the “Name Plate” intact.

The same sticker exists on:
S4
Maschine
Audio 8
X1
(and i guess everything else)

If you tamper with that sticker they wont repair it.
NI will repair items after the Warranty has “run out” but not if it has opened up and all those stickers are placed so that you cannot open it up unless you tamper with the sticker.

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The OP’s got some odd obsession with this. Anyone not completely void of grey matter understands that they’re on their own when modifying a product, no matter what it is. Its very odd that you think Innofader should take the responsiblity for something you choose to do yourself of your own free will. What kind of world would this be if K&N had to repair my car because I improperly installed their cold air intake? A world without aftermarket products I suppose. Leave the modding to those who are willing to take the risk and stop loosing sleep over what people do with their own property.
More whining with some mild insinuation of Elliot being some kind of con man who lives off the tears of children with broken S4’s here…