Warranty when a custom firmware is installed
Warranty: two positions and what follows from them
This is the question we get more than any other. The answer has two parts, and both are worth knowing in advance.
What happens technically
After a correct return to the factory firmware, no signs of a custom software install stay in the system. The firmware leaves no traces and does not void the warranty by itself. The rollback is done from the general settings section with one button, factory builds are taken from the stock firmware page.
What the manufacturer says
Bitmain takes a different position and you need to know it: installing any unauthorised third-party firmware counts as grounds for refusing warranty service. On top of that, the protected Bitmain firmware of recent years deliberately blocks a rollback to earlier versions, which is exactly what started the whole story with unlocking boards over UART.
These two positions do not contradict each other. The first is about what is visible in the system, the second about how the manufacturer treats the fact itself.
| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| ASIC under warranty, broken | Return it to stock before going to the service centre |
| ASIC under warranty, working | Decide what matters more: the gain now or a quiet warranty |
| Warranty has run out | Question closed, install it without worrying |
| ASIC is being sold | Return it to stock, the buyer sleeps better that way |
Our practical advice
New hardware in its first warranty period we usually suggest leaving alone, especially if it was bought against a specific payback calculation. The firmware is not going anywhere, and arguing with a service centre over a dead hash board is no fun at all.
On hardware out of warranty and on used units the question settles itself: there the firmware is a way to give the ASIC its economics back.