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[cable2]

Hi,
I have seen a fair number of problems / Issues on this forum addressed by using fun_plug software.  There have also been a few comments regarding possibly invalidating the warrantee on the DNS-320.  Since the fun_plug software is stored on the hard drive and to my knowledge does not modify any of the hardware / firmware, the question is, will installing fun_plug on this NAS invalidate the warrantee or not?

[franksetank]

i believe so.

[cable2]

Hi,
Thanks for your response, franksetank, but I guess I was looking for the opinion of one of the moderators perhaps, who could speak with some offical authority or perhaps someone who has actually run up against some warrantee problem after installing fun_plug.  If there is someone in either of those catigories, perhaps they could please speak up.  Thank you.

[franksetank]

i don't know for sure but i believe that i read somewhere that beta firmware and mods end your guarantee.
but maybe send javalaywer a PB because when should know here, he is.

[domovoy]

Read the warranty fine print  . Of course any modification (fun_plug is a modification) will void the warranty.

[albert]

Fonz Fun-Plug (FFP for short) is NOT a firmware mod but an addon (firmware extension), it will not void the product warranty. These extension are software packages that get written to the harddisk not flash ROM as in the case of firmware.

[cable2]

Hi,
Albert, I actually think you are 100% correct, as was implied in my original post, otherwise, the term "modification" could be interpreted as almost anything from adding a hard drive to putting any software of any kind on that hard drive.  This would logically mean that any use of the device voids the warrantee....good for Dlink perhaps, but hard to flush by a judge.   The problem is that to help clear up this confusing issue as demonstrated by folks "beliefs" and "thoughts", is some at least, semi-official response from on of the moderators.  Unfortunately, we are now into the weekend and are unlikely to get any response until the weekend passes, if then.  Perhaps, we can be patient. 

[albert]

In a way D-Link actually "endorse" the use of FFP as without the part whereby the official firmware launch the FFP start-up script, ie. fun_plug, running of any additional software under FFP will not be possible.

[cable2]

Hi again,
Well I have to assume the Dlink folks have had plenty of time to check out this issue and there is a choice being made not to respond one way or the other. I think that we can safely assume that using fun_plug has no impact what-so-ever on the device warrantee.  I think it would have been nice to simply say that, but I guess I can think of a couple reasons why they would not want to acknowledge this issue.  I would also guess that it is now quite legitimate to post questions regarding the installation and use of this supplemental software.  Have a great day, thanks for all your help.

[ECF]

Any modification to the system will void the warranty.

[cable2]

Hi,
Thanks for responding, ECF.  Unfortunately, your response is just unclear still and does not address the issue of fun_plug, as it is my understanding, it resides solely on the hard drives which are user installed.  Perhaps, you could briefly explain what part of "the system" is modified by fun_plug if that is really what you are saying.  Thank you very much for your time and consideration. 

[JavaLawyer]

The law is rather clear on this issue. The litmus test for determining breach of warranty is a balance between the warranty literature for the product and intended use of the product. In this instance, the intended use of the product is determined by the product manual, marketing material, advertisements, other collateral material, and the industry standard use for similar consumer grade products.

If, for example, D-Link included functionality in a product specifically intended to install third-party applications/add-ons with no counter language or clause explicitly or implicitly dissuading the use of non-D-Link software, then one could strongly argue that installing a third-party software product would not constitute a breach of warranty.

I should also put out there that "system modification" is a highly ambiguous term at best. If a product is used for its intended purpose, then one could argue that the system is not modified, since a system modification would require a non-sanctioned use resulting in a deviation from the product's intended purpose. This is a rather liberal interpretation of system modification. You will have to look at D-Link's definition of system modification or the industry standard definition if no D-Link definition exists. This argument (under U.S. law) falls under the legal doctrine of an implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose.

Since I have not read the DNS-320 warranty language, nor have I examined all of the DNS-320 literature pertaining to third-party add-ons in sufficient detail, I'm not in a position to pass judgement one way or the other. I'll leave that for you to decide.



My arguments presented in this thread are intended for discussion purposes only and are not intended to be relied upon for rendering legal decisions for determining in-warranty versus out-of-warranty use of the DNS-320

[ECF]

Well if the mod only resides on the hard drive and you had an issue with the units hardware if you removed the drives it would not be modified, therefor the warranty would still be affective. If you are referring to warranty support with software issues D-Link would be unable to assist you as it would no longer be running the D-Link software and running third party software which is not supported by D-Link. Hope that clears it up some.    

[cable2]

ECF,
Thank you and Javalawyer for your responses.  I had a feeling, that with a bit of logic and reasoning time, that an intelligent and coherent response would be forthcoming.  Thanks to both of you for clarifying this issue and clearing up the apparent misunderstandings.  Have a great day.