PHN16-71 I want to upgrade my laptop but I'm not sure about the warranty limitations.

HeinzDBV09 · March 24

I want to update my laptop componentes its an Predator PHN16-71. But i'm not sure about it because if two points:
1. Will the warranty get expired cause I open the laptop?
2. The components I have are from my previous computer, an Helios 300 laptop that its motherboard just get damaged. It probably was because a fall (A very bad one that didn't do anything during like 3 months ), or the ram or ssd.

[Edited the thread to add model name to the title]

Jack22 · March 24

@HeinzDBV09

You can open the laptop and the warranty will not get expired until there are no parts gets damaged.

If any part is damaged because of fall than it will not be covered under Acer warranty

HeinzDBV09 · March 25

Duplicated. Please read under this comment :D

HeinzDBV09 · March 25

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1332533#Comment_1332533

So I can upgrade my new laptop without problems, but if I manage to damage something, then the warranty won't apply. But if it's a malfunction from fabric then… it will? How do they get to know every case?

deepakthepathak · April 3

Actually, Acer service is super poor. Like in my case, the service centre said that I cannot install SSD by myself and also said that I'll have to buy the SSD from them, and they will install it (market SSD price + installation charges under warranty). They were offering old generation SSD with max 1TB capacity (ofcourse old gen SSD won't work on my PHN16-71).

I asked to Acer live support, and they said that I can install any compatible SSD by myself, and the warranty won't get expired. I did that.

After few months, I realised that my laptop CPU overheats at 99°C. I reached to the same service centre from where I purchased the laptop. They refused to help due to the fact that I didn't purchase and install the SSD from them.

Here is the video proof of that:

https://www.reddit.com/r/IndianGaming/comments/1doverk/acer_india_service_experience/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Later I reached to Acer support and after many weeks they provided an agent who came, reset my PC and left (ofcourse I had done clean install earlier to fix the issue, but that overheating isn't any software issue). I had to install all the drivers, software by myself. And yeah, that didn't fix the issue.

My laptop still lags at HEVC 4K 12Bit footage. The PC gets underclocked when reaches over 90°C which causes slowing down of the editing software I use (and games).

IF YOU WANT TO KNOW THE ANSWER OF YOUR QUESTION:
Ask your near reachable Acer official service centres about this. If they allow you, just ask them to write this on a paper and give a signature to it. So that, you can use it as a proof in future if a mad salesman says, "The warranty is void!".

StevenGen · April 3

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/722713/phn16-71-i-want-to-upgrade-my-laptop-but-im-not-sure-about-the-warranty-limitations

I've got the same PHN16-71 laptop, I suggest that you first phone Acer Tech Support in your country and ask them about ram and M.2 SSD upgrades and if you can open the back cover of this laptop without the warranty being voided.

The PHN16-71 is a tricky laptop to open as its got a separate thin long CAP DECO panel (see caption below) that sits at the back of the laptop that after you have uncrewed all the screws, this panel needs to be unclipped carefully first before you can remove the back cover and gain access to the internal parts, but if you force this panel it will break, so be very careful before you open this back panel cover.

I have opened the back cover of my PHN16-71 many times as Acer Australia in my neck of the woods allows uses to upgrade this laptop with ram and different M.2 SSD drive upgrades.

Just asa guide, this is what I've done to my PHN16-71-50JG laptop that is an i5-13500HX cpu with the RTX4050 gpu and the i5-13500HX and the i7-13700HX cpu both have a ram speed limit of and tested to 64GB @ 2x 32GB DDR5-4800MT/s CL40 type ram (Intel's theoretical limit is 128GB, so and if you want to go above 64GB, get advice from a ram manufacturer(s) or read articles on the web). Also note that the PHN16-71 fitted with the i9-13900HX cpu has a limit ram speed of the DDR5-5600MT/s CL46 type ram.

The PHN16-71 laptops M.2 SSD1 and SSD2 slots are both Gen 4 x4 lane type slots that you can upgrade with either a 1TB or 2TB or a 4TB or even an 8TB M.2 SSD drives as the windows hard drive capacity is dependent on the drives format which this laptop runs on the GUID (GPT) which has a limit of 8 petabytes (1 petabyte = 1000TB) so you will never ever reach that limit. Btw, I'm using the Samsung 990 Pro NVMe + Heatsink type drive and it works perfectly and very speedily. If you want a good guide on all tested M.2 SSD, look at this Tom's Hardware SSD Benchmarks Hierarchy 2025 and decide for your self which drive suits your needs. Good luck and hope this helps you out.

CrystalDiskMark Benchmark test for the 1TB Samsung 990 Pro + Heatsink M.2 SSD drive in my PHN16-71