ASUS Scammed Us
Summary
TLDRThe video script details a frustrating experience with Asus's warranty service, where the company attempted to charge the customer $200 for a minor repair unrelated to the original issue. The customer, who had sent in an Asus ROG Ally for a thumbstick problem, was met with claims of 'customer-induced damage' and a demand for payment, despite the joystick being covered under warranty. The situation escalated with Asus implying the device might be returned unassembled if the fee wasn't paid. The video also highlights similar experiences from other customers, suggesting a pattern of potential mishandling by Asus's service center. The customer's meticulous documentation and persistence eventually led to a resolution where Asus replaced multiple components of the device, including the motherboard and joysticks, without charge. The video concludes with a warning against purchasing Asus products due to their poor customer service and warranty practices, and an encouragement to report such issues to authorities for potential policy changes.
Takeaways
- 💸 Asus attempted to charge the customer $200 for a minor repair unrelated to the original issue.
- 🔍 The customer's original problem was not addressed; instead, Asus identified a different issue and sought payment for it.
- 📸 The customer had meticulously documented the condition of the device before sending it in for repair.
- 💬 Communication from Asus was one-sided, with no option for the customer to respond directly to emails.
- ⚖️ Asus's warranty process appears to be non-transparent, with customers feeling pressured into paying for unnecessary repairs.
- 📉 The customer experienced a significant time pressure to accept the repair terms or risk receiving a disassembled product.
- 🚫 Asus's warranty policy contradicts itself, providing legal grounds for customers to dispute charges.
- 📉 The customer's device had multiple defects, which Asus eventually repaired under warranty after a dispute.
- 📝 The customer received a hard copy of the repair report only upon the device's return, with no online version available.
- 🤔 Asus's response to The Verge regarding the SD card reader issue was evasive and failed to confirm a hardware fix.
- ❌ The customer's experience led to a strong recommendation against purchasing Asus products due to concerns over warranty service quality.
Q & A
What was the main issue the customer faced with their Asus Rog Ally?
-The main issue was a non-functioning left joystick on the X-axis, which began drifting, causing the mouse cursor to move on the desktop.
What additional problems did the customer experience with their Asus Rog Ally?
-Besides the joystick issue, the customer also experienced a non-working micro SD card slot and a battery that lost 8% of its lifespan in just one year of light use.
What was the customer's complaint about Asus's warranty service?
-The customer felt that Asus tried to charge them $200 for a repair unrelated to the original warranty claim, did not address the actual problem they sent the device in for, and the process felt like an extortion attempt.
How did Asus respond to the customer's RMA for the defective thumbstick?
-Asus initially claimed the product was out of warranty or had customer-induced damage, and they wanted to charge the customer for a repair that was not even requested.
What was the customer's strategy when dealing with Asus's customer support?
-The customer acted as an uninformed user, which is part of their normal testing for warranties, to see how the company treats less informed customers and if they can stand up for themselves.
What evidence did the customer gather before sending the device in for repair?
-The customer carefully photographed and documented every corner of the device, took high-resolution photos and microscope shots of the PCBs and connectors, and logged any damage to the plastics and screw heads.
What was the final outcome of the customer's dispute with Asus?
-After a series of back-and-forth communications and disputes, Asus finally agreed to repair the joystick issue without charge and replaced several components of the device, including the motherboard, both I/O boards, and both joysticks.
What was the customer's advice for anyone sending a device in for repair?
-The customer advised removing the SSD and any passwords from the device before sending it in for repair to prevent data loss and to avoid any potential claims of customer-induced damage.
What legal actions can a customer take if they feel they have been treated unfairly by a company like Asus?
-Customers can file complaints with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which can lead to significant fines for the company if found guilty of unfair or fraudulent practices.
What was the conclusion the customer came to regarding Asus's warranty service?
-The customer concluded that Asus's warranty service was unsatisfactory and advised against purchasing Asus products if customer service and potential warranty support are important considerations.
What steps did the customer take to hold Asus accountable for their actions?
-The customer documented their entire experience, including all communications with Asus, and sought legal advice to understand their rights as a consumer under warranty laws.
Outlines
😤 Asus Warranty Issues and Customer Complaints
The first paragraph details a customer's experience with Asus's warranty service, highlighting an attempt to charge $200 for a repair that was not part of the original claim. The customer alleges that Asus did not address the actual problem with the device, which was a thumbstick issue, and instead identified a different issue (a broken connector) that was not present when the device was sent in. The paragraph also mentions a Reddit post about Asus demanding an exorbitant repair fee for a minor scratch on a video card, and other similar incidents shared by viewers, suggesting a pattern of problematic warranty practices by Asus.
📸 Documenting the Warranty Process
The second paragraph outlines the process the customer undertook to document every aspect of their device before sending it in for repair. This included high-resolution photos, microscope shots of PCBs and connectors, and logging any damage. The customer also removed their SSD to protect personal data and tested Asus's repair process by not disclosing all issues with the device, expecting Asus to identify them independently. The paragraph follows the timeline of the RMA process, from initial troubleshooting to Asus's claim of out-of-warranty damage and the customer's subsequent frustration with the lack of transparency and communication.
💸 Dispute Over Unnecessary Repair Fees
The third paragraph describes the customer's dispute with Asus over the charge for an LCD module replacement that was not requested or needed. The customer expresses frustration with Asus's tactics, which they perceive as manipulative and akin to extortion. The paragraph also discusses the customer's attempts to dispute the charges and the pressure applied by Asus to accept the quote, including threats of returning the device disassembled if the customer does not agree to pay.
🕒 Timeline of RMA and Communication with Asus
The fourth paragraph continues the timeline of the RMA process, detailing the customer's attempts to dispute Asus's claims and the company's responses. It includes the customer's strategy to mimic an uninformed and frustrated user to test Asus's customer service. The paragraph also highlights the contradictions in Asus's communication, such as the requirement for a quote acceptance within three days but a threat to return the device unrepaired after five days if no action is taken.
🔍 Inspection and Repair Report Analysis
The fifth paragraph discusses the inspection and repair report provided by Asus. The customer notes that Asus replaced multiple components, including the motherboard and joysticks, which were under warranty. The paragraph suggests that Asus may be conducting a soft recall of certain components, replacing them as a matter of course when a device is sent in for repair. It also touches on the Verge's inquiry into Asus's handling of SD card reader issues and the company's evasive response.
⚖️ Legal Considerations and Advice for Consumers
The sixth and final paragraph addresses potential legal avenues for customers facing unfair warranty practices. It suggests filing complaints with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and highlights the need for more vocal consumer dissatisfaction to prompt policy changes. The paragraph concludes with a strong recommendation against purchasing Asus products due to the company's poor warranty service, as experienced by the customer, and a call for industry reform.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Warranty Claim
💡Customer Induced Damage
💡RMA (Return Merchandise Authorization)
💡MicroSD Card Slot
💡Joystick Drift
💡LCD Module Replacement
💡Cosmetic Issues
💡Manipulative Repair Process
💡Legal Rights
💡FTC Complaint
💡Asus ROG Ally
Highlights
Users reported being charged $200 for a minor repair by Asus, unrelated to the original issue.
Asus allegedly failed to address the primary problem users sent their devices in for repair.
The claim that Asus attempted to 'scam' customers by charging for unnecessary repairs.
Users experienced Asus threatening to send devices back unassembled if they did not pay the fee.
Multiple instances of Asus identifying 'customer-induced damage' without clear evidence.
Asus warranty issues are widespread, with numerous users reporting similar experiences.
Asus's warranty process is seen as manipulative, pressuring customers to pay for repairs quickly to avoid disassembly.
The Asus Rog Ally device had multiple issues including a non-working micro SD card slot and joystick drifting.
Asus's response to an RMA claim included an unnecessary LCD replacement quote, which the user disputed.
Users advised to remove SSDs before sending devices for repair to protect personal data.
Asus's warranty investigation revealed a pattern of replacing motherboards and thumbsticks under warranty.
The claim that Asus may be conducting a 'soft recall' of certain components without active customer outreach.
Asus's customer service is criticized for being unresponsive and not addressing customer concerns adequately.
Users experienced a lack of transparency and clarity in Asus's communication regarding warranty repairs.
Legal advice suggests that Asus's practices may be in violation of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.
The recommendation to avoid purchasing Asus products if customers value good售后服务 (after-sales service).
The call for customer vocalization and potential policy involvement to instigate change within Asus's warranty service.
Transcripts
and they wanted to charge us
$200 for that D also they never
addressed the problem we sent it in for
only that thing that they decided to
find connector broken also don't know
what that's reference no idea what that
means everything there were no broken
connectors when we sent it in system
noise okay don't know what that means
yeah Gap abnormal what does
mean it felt like Asus tried to scam us
when they tried to charge us $200 to
repair something we didn't even claim as
damaged in a warranty claim this was
sent back in it's our Asus Rog Ally to
repair a thumbstick problem and somehow
that turned into Asus saying that LCD
needs to be replaced even though the
joystick is covered under their repair
policies and what's better still is it
felt like Asus was threatening Us by
saying we'll send the device back
possibly unassembled if you don't pay
this fee it honestly felt like an
extortion attempt where they're like if
you want to see your beloved Asus Al
working again pay us
$200 for something totally unrelated to
the actual warranty claim you had when
we sent this into Asus the screen was
working they said that the reason they
were rejecting the claim is because
of
this can you see it can you do you have
the zoom lens on we might need a t you
know what let's let's bring this down to
the microscope I'll show you the
damage we're going to find the damage
I've got the Ally here let's adjust the
microscope so where is the
damage
oh oh there it
is
that's
$2 and we're not alone in this and we
have evidence as always just this week a
user post on Reddit noting that Asus
demanded $3,758 Canadian dollar to
repair a 490 video card which the user
paid $ 2,799 CAD for the reason for the
repair was a scratch in the housing of
the connector not burning not melting
not fracturing literally a scratch the
same problem we had with our Ally this
sounds like policy as quickly as
possible here are examples from our own
viewers who have emailed us March 26th a
viewer emailed us claiming AC's cracked
the chassis of their laptop when it was
sent in for repair the user has
documentation reporting this March 13th
a viewer emailed us stating that their
new video card exhibited instability
Asus replaced the device with a
different damaged refurbished device
February 19th a viewer emailed us where
Asus rejected a motherboard RMA for
quote unquote customer induced damage
the user believes Asus damaged the board
very first the user emailed us telling
us about an Asus arm for a motherboard
which Asus remotely diagnosed as having
memory issues Asus later quoted the user
$190 for the repair of the $210
motherboard citing quote unquote
physical damage after previously
diagnosing a memory issue December 21st
user emailed us telling us about how
their laptop was stuck in RMA hell for
over a month December 7th a user emailed
us where Asus quoted them
$2,658 to repair a laptop the laptop is
one of asus's special ones that ships
with liquid metal pre-installed by Asus
the liquid metal leaked user States they
never opened the system and Asus denied
the claim and demanded money to fix it
and we have at least one 100 of these
emails over the past several months
alone and this is a list we're showing
now from May 2023 alone last time we did
this with Asus featuring damaging
devices and for repair and returning
them stating that 109° for GPU hotspot
is normal uh it's not and more and Asus
clearly has a warranty problem and today
all of that is what we're talking about
but we are fortunate enough to have our
own experience with it and it wasn't a
good one we sponsored our own undercover
warranty investigation if you want to
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our other items so now one year later
almost exactly since we last talked
about asus's issues with its
motherboards at the time and then its
warranty practices stemming from all
that where we had attorney Vincent
Augusta on the show to talk about some
of his interpretation of it we are back
to blow the doors back open about what
it's like to really be a customer of
Asus this is our Asus Rog Alli Z1
extreme we've had it for about just
under one year actually and we've bought
two of these now the other was the
non-extreme device in just one year
since purchasing our Z1 Extreme has had
the following issues the micro SD card
slot never worked and seemingly burned
itself out the left joystick on the
xaxis stopped working and began drifting
which you can see in some of our footage
showing mouse cursor movement on the
desktop and the battery has already lost
8% of its lifespan in just one year of
extremely lightweight use that's a lot
of problems in one year and two of those
are inarguably not our fault in fact
they are so not our fault that Asus has
made fixes for them part of their
explicit warranty coverage so anyway we
sent the Ally in and before we did
because it seems like hundreds of you
have complained to us about having
similar issues we decided to carefully
photograph and document every single
corner of our device and also get the
internals of it documented in addition
to super highresolution photos we also
took microscope shots of the pcbs the
connectors we logged the level of
stripping on the screw heads and we
logged any damage of our own to the
Plastics we also removed our SSD because
our advice to anybody sending a device
in for repair of any kind is to remove
the drives this was also a good test of
asus's processes and competence here's
the timeline first we filed an RMA for
the defective thumbstick and this part
is critical we did this anonymously they
didn't know who we were we're just a
normal customer uh and we also did not
tell them about our broken micro SD card
slot which again as a reminder that is
an Asus problem not an us problem so
that's important to the story because we
wanted Asus to discover it on their own
if they were going to Discover It here's
how all this went down first we did some
troubleshooting locally and swapped the
thumb stick between our Z1 non-extreme
and our Z1 extreme we found that this
fixed the issue indicating a defect in
the PCB or the stick itself so that's an
easy repair for them we then swapped it
back to the original state and our issue
matched this one described on Reddit on
April 8th we contacted asus's customer
support we told them only that the left
stick doesn't work here's our exact RMA
form Patrick filled this out I asked him
to pretend to be a relatively uninformed
customer who only knows enough to know
that the joystick isn't working right
this is part of our normal testing for
warranties so rather than acting as
patient and well-informed customers
leading them to the answer we act as an
uninformed user who is normally patient
at first but becomes frustrated as the
company genuinely becomes frustrating to
deal with because that seems fair uh so
that's our process and normally our view
is if the company can survive that it's
kind of like a thermal torture test it's
like if it can pass this test it can
pass anything uh and we just keep the
bar as long as it's sort of reasonable
but frustrated that's the max we'll dial
it up to these days for these tests now
Asus asks you to write your operating
system password and BIOS password in
plain text in their RMA form uh they do
suggest that you just wipe those
passwords instead though so instead of
doing something insane like writing a
password on a piece of paper going in
the mail we ensured no passwords were on
the device At All by removing them from
bios and also taking the SSD out Asis is
very clear in these things as well they
say quote Asus is not responsible all
caps to you or any third party for loss
of data including during the inspection
process this is another reason to remove
the SSD Asus doesn't guarantee they say
the original parts which would include
include the SSD again another reason to
remove it Asus also tells you not to
send in the device with anything that
you might want back because they'll
throw it away they actually explicitly
say that they will quote not be returned
to you not that they might not be
returned but straight up that they won't
be returned so fair enough they warn you
we kept the box in the accessories we
then fabricated a signature for our
undercover Alias Pat stin operating in
conjunction with agent be sturk both
have been on the job job for about a
decade now and we sent it in with a
simple note that said left stick is
broken and only goes up and down that
seemed sufficient without being
belligerent or overly annoying on April
9th we packed the box and shipped it to
asus's spec Asus provides an R checklist
they ask you to wrap the device with a
few inches of bubble wrap pack it in a
box with an air gap then pack that box
in a box we think that's great they also
provide a shipping label which is good
as we'd have dinged them pretty hard for
that since it's ultimately their fault
the device is going back anyway we
dropped the device off on April 9th and
by April 16th it was at the RMA Center
Asus emailed us on April 18th and this
is when the problems began and they told
us that they were testing the device
they said the turnaround would be 7 to
10 days the same day Asus emailed us
with this quote we would like to inform
you that your product in is out of
warranty or judged as customer induced
damage C thus the repair charge shall be
applied our service center will contact
you with more detail there was no way
for us to respond to this they don't
have an option to reply and in fact the
email was sent from a no reply mailbox
which if you reply to it gets bounced as
uh failed descend so this it's
particularly frustrating just because we
knew there was no customer induced
damage we had documented every aspect of
the device before sending it in uh and
yet we had no way at that time to
dispute the claim we just sat and waited
on April 19th only a day later we
received a more detailed email it said
quote received your unit at a repair
center with signs of damage which is not
covered under the manufacturer's
warranty so strike two and this is
starting to feel like the new egg
motherboard story they sent us a list
referring to notebooks monitors video
cards and motherboards for examples of
customer induced damage none of which
are an asus's ally and all of which are
completely irrelevant and they basically
just said there's customer damage and to
us the lack of transparency here and the
lack of information is an immediate red
flag where as a customer it feels like
you're getting fleeced for money for
something that you sent it in with one
problem and now it's suddenly got all
these new problems you never noticed or
heard about and it just feels like a
scam so it's certainly structured to
encourage acceptance from people who
don't know better and from people who
feel time pressure because they put you
under a lot of time pressure to agree to
all this quickly lest you receive the
device back in pieces and we wondered
what the damage could be so Asus sent us
this photo of the uh damage you might
not be able to see it again we had to
check our own photos to make sure they
didn't cause it but that microscopic D
was in fact from us and they wanted to
charge us
$200 for that Den we didn't even ask
them to fix that part we didn't even
notice that part that's how small it was
also they never addressed the problem we
sent it in for only that thing that they
decided to find to us in combination
with the emails from our viewers and
with the recent story about that video
card with the insane charge related to a
similar problem uh it feels like an
intentional attempt or a policy to
mislead the customers into a position
where they'll pay for a service they
don't need and it's you're really stuck
if you don't know what you're doing as a
customer uh and if you're not willing or
not sure you can stand up for yourself
because they're trying to sell an
unneeded fix and if Asus is worried
about losing money on every Ally because
they have to replace the entire
motherboard and two thumbsticks then
maybe this would be a way to help cover
the cost we don't know their motives but
if I were to try and think through
reasons why you would do this thatd be
the first one I would assume now back to
the email nowhere in it did Asus say it
would fix the thumb stick for which we
sent the device in the best part is that
in the background of asus's own photo of
damage our own RMA form can be seen with
the words detailing the completely un
address thumbstick issue Asus said the
quote was delivered for an LCD module
replacement at
$98.59
labor for that was $60 and shipping was
20 because now they're claiming there's
customer induced damage which means that
they can try and scam us out of another
20 bucks for shipping instead of being
forced to eat the cost for their own
stick defect that started this whole
thing so that's a clever way to avoid
paying the shipping cost there's some
tax in there too totaling 191
buck47 at this this stage they finally
gave us the option to pay reject or
dispute and once again nowhere in there
did it mention the original issue or the
micro SD card issue that we knew existed
but wasn't disclosed quote please be
advised that if payment is not received
for repairs to the unit the unit will be
sent back unrepaired and may be
disassembled the liquid damage May
prevent our repair team from
reassembling the unit for return where
did the liquid damage come that like
came out of nowhere unless the repair
technicians are drinking a little bit
while they're working on it that would
actually explain a lot that might that
might explain most of this but the we'd
assume that the liquid damage thing is
part of some form email that they just
send to anyone but that doesn't make it
okay it states the liquid damage in a
very matter OFA way and we think that is
manipulative and accusatory and this
entire email reads to me like if you
ever want to see your ally again pay us
uh
or it'll will throw it through the
window on your bed in pieces next time
that the Godfather I think that's what
that was now we have a number of legal
questions about this and so I connected
with Lewis Rossman to ask if he knew
anyone who could help inform us and
educate the audience on your rights as a
consumer for warranties Magnus Moss for
example is one of the commonly cited act
uh and what else you might be able to do
it sounds like we're going to have a
part two to this and it'll be a pretty
interesting one but for now we need to
finish these emails so in the meantime
the rest of asus's email said this quote
please note that if no action is taken
with this quotation your product will be
returned to you unrepaired after five
business days from the invoice date end
quote however Asus also says that
acceptance of the quote is required in
three days and that the quote is only
vowed for 4 days this creates intense
pressure for the customer to accept
because delays could result in a
disassembled box of scrap being returned
in the mail Asus also doesn't even
guarantee it'll work they say quote any
outof warranty repair fee prescribed by
Asus and accepted by the customer is
non-refundable and does not guarantee
that repair is can to be made continuing
the timeline we didn't respond for a few
days on April 22nd we received a
reminder that the invoice has been
outstanding for two days now Asus again
warns that the device will be returned
unrepaired if we don't respond within
five total days even though the device
has defects that Asus caused with its
own component choices there is no
presented option to reject the
unnecessary paid for repair and accept
only a free repair covered under their
own explicit policy fortunately because
their warranty policy is written and
they are contradicting themselves
customers have some pretty substantial
legal ammunition to be used against Asus
and we'll talk about that more in a
little bit on April 22nd we issued an
RMA dispute the dispute only allows 100
characters so you really don't have much
room to defend your case we tried to
send more detail but a 100 character
limit is pretty strict to fully test
Asus our dispute was written with the
tone of a frustrated uninformed customer
so it's intentional to read like this
and we accused Asus of breaking our
screen because their quote indicated a
screen replacement despite us sending it
in with a functioning screen the same
day Asus responded to the dispute with
this quote our service team found Case
Dent on your unit the screen works fine
however in order to replace the dent
case the whole LCD screen needs to be
replaced as it is directly connected to
the case they are a whole part physical
d damage is excluded from the standard
warranty coverage if you would like to
proceed with service payment is required
or we can proceed warranty repair for
card reader joystick issue only and
ignore the dent if you do not care about
end quote on April 24th we sent another
frustrated email in reply and rejected
the screen replacement the same day Asus
sent us a second reminder that our RMA
will be automatically rejected if we
don't pay up immediately that this
dispute we filed didn't pause the
process of rejecting the RMA because it
hadn't been paid for yet is insane it's
manipulative it is overbearing and it
applies a huge amount of pressure to a
legitimate customer to capitulate and
pay less they risk receiving a device
unrepaired and potentially disassembled
10 days in Asus finally answers our
question we've had this whole time they
say they'll repair the joystick and
confirm that it doesn't require payment
they say quote we have reach out to our
repair team to request partial repairs
ignoring the Case Dent end quote after
Asus told us this we received another
email that states this quote we received
your service cancellation on your
pending repair we will proceed with
returning your unit to you unrepaired
end quote and the RMA number that they
showed in this email was the only one we
were ever issued there were not separate
RMA numbers for the outof warranty and
in warranty repairs it's now unclear to
us as customers what the hell Asus is
even going to do at this point it's
Schrodinger's RMA the device is both
repaired and unrepaired as long as you
don't open the box we ignored that email
and we replied to the one prior that
told us theyd fix the joystick we
replied with a simple okay as there was
no call to action and no questions the
next day ASU said this quote our team
has indicated that they are able to
proceed with the repairs of your product
and ignore the Cosmetic issues as such
we discarded the quotation and you will
receive a system generated cancellation
response which should be ignored as
repairs will resume now as a reminder
this came after they sent that response
so we were in a period of confusion for
about a day finally on April 26th Asus
says it generated a shipping label for
return we're still not sure if they
fixed anything at this point April 29th
it ships and on May 4th it's delivered
to us Asus provided this hard copy of
the repair report there was no online
version of this made available to us
which means that this is the first time
in the entire process we have any
indication as what Asus actually did and
here's a quick clip of me and Patrick
trying to decipher what it means so
problems can't detect memory card that's
an issue we had uh I don't think we ever
told him about that we did not tell them
about the SD card connector broken also
don't know what that's refence no idea
what that means everything there were no
broken connectors when we sent it in
mechanical assembly problem uh maybe the
thumb stick system noise okay I don't
know what that means yeah Gap abnormal
what does we we had taken it apart
before so yeah but that was I don't
think I've like ever been more careful
with a disassembly and then action so
they say tape for system noise tape wait
okay we we'll inspect that and then Gap
abnormal mechanical myar for assembly
problem and for the assembly problem
they ex
exchanged the parts uh then they have
iob board for connector broken con for
connector broken this whole thing's a
con and then main board for can't detect
memory card wait what the so all of
these are the um in warranty repairs
that were done uh because we they have a
note here that we denied the uh the
screen replacement yes we denied the
unnecessary screen replacement so here's
the quick recap the motherboard both iio
boards and both joysticks were replaced
as part of the repair on the report
these are all marked as ecn which we
think stands probably for engineering
change notice this to us would imply
that Asus is replacing these components
as part of standard practice when any
Ally comes in from at least 2023 what's
really unclear is that their RMA
language says that it's covered under
for the Asus Rog Ally and it say
parenthetically 2023 that is not a model
that doesn't exist the only thing that
exists
is sorry some customer induced damage is
the RC71 l
uh there's no year signifier on it now
if we were to give them some leeway
maybe what they mean is manufactured in
2023 so it seems like they might be just
replacing all those boards or maybe
those within a certain serial range if
that's true it sounds like a soft recall
that should have probably been turned
into a real recall a long time ago or at
least done with active Outreach to the
customer now barely more than a week ago
The Verge directly asked Asus quote has
Asus actually found a hardware fix for
the faulty SD card readers if someone
rmas their Ali to Asus this way will
they get an SD card reader that no
longer fails to which Asus responded
quote our commitment is to assist all
customers effectively if any user
suspects they're encountering issues
with their products we encourage them to
reach out and make use of our RMA
process as needed they can expect us to
provide a suitable resolution in other
words um to translate corpo speak no
they haven't found a solution because if
they had they would have said yes it's
really that it's like it's as simple as
an if then statement if the answer isn't
equal to yes it is no it doesn't matter
what they say after that uh Asus did
fully repair our Ally that includes both
the stick issues and the unmentioned
micro SD card issue for now we'll see if
it fails again that required replacing
basically the whole system the Apu or
the so the Wi-Fi card all of the vrm
components all the mosat inductors
capacitors everything that's on the
board all of it was replaced and it was
only done after we fought them over a
manipulative repair process that in the
early stages of it up until we finally
got a resolution it feels like it tries
to guide customers into just accepting a
$200 fee for the world's tiniest plastic
divot to replace the board and the
sticks is most of the device in fact one
of the only things they haven't replaced
at this point is the screen which is
interesting because that's what they
were trying to charge us to replace so
those are some expensive repairs and if
Asus is having to do those repairs on
all 2023 allies it may explain why the
Ally X Hardware that they just announced
was announced at all and why Asus is
uncomfortably squirming in a new
interview with the Verge quote and while
Asus still won't admit that the Allies
SD card reader ever had any fault The
Verge says uh tells me it's the same
exact as the card reader it uses in its
laptop stps and says it doesn't believe
any issues actually had to do with
overheating the Alli X will have a
rearranged motherboard layout that
sounds like it'll move it away from the
system's vents sub quote of Asus to The
Verge they said we don't want people to
think that's what we had to do we had to
move things around the board to make
them fit it was is just like I can't
believe someone who works with the
company said that on the record and got
quoted that is probably the most
defensive response I've ever seen to
something like this in the Press they're
like yeah we moved everything and it's
not where the hot stuff is anymore we
were going to do that anyway we don't
want people to think we're doing that to
fix the issue because then like what
exactly is the downside of people
thinking it was to fix an issue unless
maybe as said something contradictory to
that
prior I think they did actually that
might be the downside and if we hadn't
pushed back and we hadn't documented our
device carefully and exercised some
basic rights it is possible that Asus
could have Twisted this
and either made us pay 200 bucks or put
us in a position where as a customer you
feel like you have to the mark that Asus
used to justify a new screen was a side
effect of Us opening the Ally to remove
the SSD anyway because they say that
they can't guarante your data will stay
on there so claiming customer induced
damage for that Mark could be a
makeshift warranty void if removed
sticker without saying it in other words
the customer appears to have open the
device so reject the claim and if that's
the case
that's where Rossman thinks to quote him
it might be a way can you tell
Le said it uh to skirt the Magnuson Moss
act and we'll have more about that in
probably a part two where we're going to
be speaking with some experts on the
matter of all of this but for part one
couple takeaways first of all uh you can
file FTC complaints I've learned there's
a way to do this we will link the form
below for you some really basic stuff
you fill in but if any company Asus or
otherwise uh screws you in a warranty
process in a way which is unfair or
potentially fraudulent then there's
actually a form that from what Le
Rossman was telling me and from what
some of his associates will speak with
soon were telling me it sounds like the
FDC takes that very seriously now my
understanding is that the fine is up to
$37,000 per occurrence this whole
situation this is unbelievably
anti-consumer uh I at this point have
absolutely no tolerance for a Us's
Behavior with this stuff because last
year we covered it extensively if you
remember the end of that series it was
it was not quite positive but it was
going from extremely negative up to
neutral it was on an uptrend the reason
is at the end of the whole series asus's
then PR person sent me a 10-point plan
where they said here's what we're going
to improve Point by point and it
actually was pretty good and so at that
point we reported it we said this sounds
good but we don't know we need to wait
and see because takes time to roll all
these changes we'll have to revisit it
and test it again that PR person has uh
since uh quit their job and gone to a
different company that I as I understand
they uh like working for more which is
also telling for the whole Asus
situation and we are now one year later
Asus has had time to make these changes
and they're still doing the same
so you know at some point it
starts to look like it's policy and not
like it's oopsies we happen to screw up
on specifically your thing uh and so I I
think for
us my conclusion to this is pretty
simple first of all if you've had an
Asus warranty problem we want to hear
about it email us at tips tips Gamers
nexus.net we already have at least
dozens if not multiple hundreds of
emails from people uh but we'd still
like some more so send them over with as
much documentation as you have photos uh
that emails the chat logs if we use any
of it we'll redact it um we may contact
you so send that over to us and then
additionally my note to all of you
whether you buy motherboards or Allies
or whatever uh you know we've now seen
this in two areas of asus's devices
motherboards and allies that's what I
have personally experienced with them
there's plenty of posts online people
have laptop problems there's the video
card one that blew up in the news this
past week and I think my statement is
pretty simple if you value customer
service and you think you will ever need
help with a device don't buy
Asus unfortunately I don't know that I
have a recommendation for an alternative
for things like motherboards and video
cards I think what you do is you have to
buy the thing you think is the least
likely to cause you a need to have
support um but hopefully if enough
people are vocal about this and it goes
beyond sort of YouTube rage bait and we
can actually start getting some uh
policy involvement which is the reason I
contacted Lewis Rossman to talk to
people he knows hopefully there's actual
change here and I'm actually somewhat
optim istic about it because there's
some uh some people who who sound very
informed on all of this and like they
might be able to make something happen
uh in this industry as well as the one
they've already been working in so
that's it for this one unbelievably bad
experience with Asus if nothing else is
taken away from this take away that
asus's warranty service is absolute
trash in our experience and we cannot
recommend them if you think you will
ever need it so that's it for this one
thanks for watching sub subscribe for
more grab this shirt on store. gam
nexus.net if you want to support our
efforts directly and we'll see you all
next time
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