A customer was denied warranty for a desktop computer, in a major computer store in the UK, because he had deleted the pre-installed Windows OS and had Linux on it.

There was a time, many years ago, when this kind of practice was customary in many electronics stores. If you were a Linux fan and you wanted a new computer, you had to ask beforehand if installing Linux would break the warranty. Such stores were hard to come by, so this trend dissipated for a while and it basically entered the realm of urban myth.

Most Linux users today won't even give this issue a second thought. They know that the operating system is ignored for the warranty procedures, especially for hardware failures, and it would seem ridiculous to think otherwise. Why would a store care what OS you have installed on your computer or laptop, especially if it's broken? Who would make such a rule and why? It seems that there is at least one major retail computer store that still practices this and it's in the UK.

This is not a small computer store

The store in question is none other than Currys, a business that has more than 350 stores in the UK and Ireland and that's been around for more than 100 years. It's difficult to find alternatives or to avoid it when you really need something. The problem is that, besides size, the store also comes with some made-up rules that can be set despite their being in contradiction with the law, in this case the EU law.

"A policy which I believed was some kind of controversial fringe policy from way back in the days of Vista is still in place, and it's in place right here in the UK. Currys/PC World is totally overzealous with its GNU/Linux-hostile policy, which is almost definitely dictated by non-technical management, maybe in collusion with Microsoft."

"As it turns out - and this was confirmed to us by multiple people (in multiple PC World stores) after arguing for more than half an hour - once you install GNU/Linux (even if it's dual boot with Windows) no damage to hardware would be covered by the warranty (keyboard, screen, and so on)," writes Roy Schestowitz on his blog, who is also a tech journalist who focuses on open source and Linux.

The main problem is that this kind of behavior is actually illegal, especially in the EU. It doesn't matter what rules you establish as a store regarding the warranty. You could indicate in the warranty that turning on any device you bought voids the warranty and you could get people to sign it, and it would carry no legal weight.

If you are ever denied warranty just because you have Linux on your device, you should really know that it's usually not legal, especially in the EU. Make sure you ask beforehand when you buy a PC or a laptop if Linux will affect your warranty. It might influence your decision to do business in that store.

Update:

The company that deals with customer support for Currys has contacted us and they say that installing Linux on your machines will not invalidate the warranty.

@thesilviu Hi Silviu, I can confirm that the warranty of machines purchased from PCWorld is still valid if Linux is used. Many thanks. MB — KNOWHOW support (@knowhowtohelp) October 29, 2014