Microsoft"s brand-new Xbox One S - which began shipping earlier this week - has a sticker on it that"s designed to let Microsoft know if you"ve opened up the console. It shares this characteristic with its predecessor, the Xbox One.
When removed or altered, Microsoft may void your warranty. If the company does this, it violates the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act of 1975. The law says that a company can"t force a customer to use certain parts or certain repair shops in order to keep the warranty active.
Of course, the warranty says that it doesn"t apply if the console is "opened, modified, or tampered with", or "repaired by anyone other than Microsoft."
In a statement to Motherboard, Frank Dorman, a spokesperson for the Federal Trade Commission, said, "The stickers could be deceptive by implying consumers can’t use parts the warrantor doesn’t pre-approve, which violates the anti-tying provisions of MMWA."
It"s the combination of the wording used in the warranty and the sticker that violates the law. After all, just because certain wording was used, that doesn"t mean that if you take your Xbox One S into a Microsoft Store to get it fixed, it"ll turn you away. It simply means that it may try.
Source: Motherboard