According to PCWorld the FTC sent letters to ASRock, Gigabyte, and Zotac, warning them that they may violate the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. This federal act oversees consumer warranties and is administered by the FTC. They have 30 days to review their policies and comply.

While the specific concerns vary by company, the FTC reminded the three companies that they can’t, for example, place stickers on laptops cautioning consumers that opening or repairing the laptop violates warranty policies. They cannot state or imply that their products can only be repaired via an authorised service from the company.

In the letter sent to Gigabyte, the FTC said that its staff is “concerned” by the Gigabyte written warranty, which includes the phrase: “If the manufacturing sticker inside the product were removed or damaged, it would no longer be covered by the warranty”.

ASRock’s warranty policy is more specific, but the FTC’s letter to the company also criticised it: “Manufacturer’s warranty will be null and void if products are modified, damaged or otherwise tampered with, for example, the outer case is opened or additional optional parts/components are installed/removed.”

Staff would also be “concerned” if the companies denied warranty coverage based upon the statements by the three companies. While the language is somewhat passive-aggressive, the FTC also clearly states that the violations may result in legal action.

Asus, the subject of a series of videos by GamersNexus for its warranty practices, was not named.