04-05-2023 05:44 PM - edited 04-05-2023 06:15 PM
I have normally regarded Asus as a brand with a good reputation for quality and support. And my previous main PC system, with an Asus motherboard and GPU, has run for 12 years without an issue. Because of that, I have liked to choose to buy Asus parts over other brands. However, my latest experience with Asus has been completely different, and I’m still left without a usable motherboard 2.5 months after my purchase.
In this message, I'm going to start with the issue with my motherboard, and a request to replace it. I'll then follow it up with an explanation of the disastrous customer service I've received in the wake of the RMA replacement I did receive.
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I recently received a replacement Asus ROG Strix X670E-A Gaming Wifi motherboard through RMA, due to the one I purchased from the store having a list of issues, the most severe of which was that it would power off randomly. Those issues are talked about in more detail in this thread I made a while ago.
I haven't yet installed the replacement motherboard. And because of potential further complications with this motherboard, I would like to be allowed to send it back and to pay the difference in cost to receive an Asus ProArt X670E motherboard, instead. I’m also willing to pay the return shipping for this motherboard to do this. The reason for my request is that, after the litany of issues I had with the X670E-A Gaming Wifi motherboard, and while the motherboard was with Asus for the RMA, I learned about the Intel i225 network adapter issues. The ProArt escapes the issues with its 10G ethernet adapter.
Whether the issue will be fixed in the future is a big unknown. The latest driver that was meant to address it hasn't solved it for many people, and Asus notes for the driver say that it is only meant to “mitigate” the issues people experience, and not outright solve them. And the latest driver trades that mitigation by disabling energy-saving feature. Some people say that limiting their internet to 1G stops the issue – but that is not a solution and I didn’t buy a 2.5G ethernet motherboard to be capped at 1G. Some people claim their particular issues went away after they changed their network switch. But this isn't reliable, and there's a lack of verifiable data as to what conditions those people have - what speed their network is running at, and what testing they have done since changing their switch. Some people claim they've restrained the issues by disabling IPv6 (which is not a practical solution). Many people believe the issues will not be fully fixed in the future because they’re hardware-based.
At the forefront of my decision to build a new PC now, and to buy high-end parts for it, was peace of mind and posterity of performance. But I have had anything but peace of mind since building my new system. I’ve spent so much time troubleshooting the motherboard I sent in for RMA that I’ve effectively paid more-than double its MSRP for it. And that doesn’t include the money spent on energy running two PCs while one was on the fritz, the loss of positive productivity due to the time spent dealing with its issues, and the value of the stress it caused. And in the time since I ordered parts to build the new system and received the RMA-replacement motherboard, the price on the RAM I bought decreased by $85 USD. So, I’ve paid an ultra-premium, without getting the earlier use I was paying for, and while incurring costs and stress that shouldn’t have been there no matter what time I bought at. Thus far, that motherboard has created a nightmare for me, being like falling into a hidden hole and breaking one’s limbs in the fall.
And now I don’t want to live the next couple of years or so, until I upgrade to internet speeds higher than 1G, in worry and uncertainty about whether the network adapter will work properly when make the move. And I won’t be able to solve a potential future issue by buying an add-in network card, because my extra PCIe slots on the X670E-A Gaming Wifi are already dedicated for a sound card, which I use to connect music production interfaces to, and planned USB-4 expansion. In general, it is unacceptable for me that I would have to wait years to discover whether the ethernet adapter on the X670E-A Gaming Wifi motherboard would turn out to be a problem, and that creates an inescapable cloud over things for years, which on its own would be an experience-souring drain of energy and attention that completely isn’t worth it.
I was going to make a forum post about this while my faulty motherboard was still at Asus' service centre, before it was sent back to me. But, in character with all the other perfect disasters surrounding my original motherboard, Asus' support forum was locked for posting at that time, as it was being migrated to the new forum software. And the new forum came online a couple of hours after I received an email saying that my RMA was completed and a motherboard was being sent back to me.
I believe my request is a reasonable for the reasons I laid out in this message.
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Now, I'm going to mention the continuing frustrations with Asus' customer support. And I wasn't going to make a public post about any of this, before this happened.
When I sent in my faulty Asus X670E-A motherboard for RMA, it had some rubber m.2 spacers applied to it. They are the "bundled rubber for m.2 backplate" on page 2-8 in the X670E-A's manual, and the "bundled rubber for m.2" on page 2-10 of the manual.
The Asus X670E-A Gaming Wifi replacement motherboard which I received back from Asus as a warranty replacement didn't come with those spacers. I can't install my m.2 drives until I have them, which means I can't assemble my PC until I have them.
I contacted Asus support about this a week ago, and was told they will be sent to me and I'd receive an email about it in the next 24 -48 business hours. Nearly a week later, I haven't heard anything about it. So, I contacted Asus support just now to ask what the status is ( chat file N2303046056), and the reply I got was that Asus doesn't have any inventory of them to send me, and doesn't have a part # or a 3rd-party reseller for them.
So, Asus didn't bother telling me that, and just let me sit around not using my motherboard, waiting on Asus to reply with information about sending me those parts? What is that?
Asus support told me the best option for me is to return the motherboard and get a replacement. I received the motherboard directly from Asus. So I asked how I can return it to Asus for a replacement. No solution was offered.
Yet I require those spacers so that I can install my m.2 drives properly. Because the Asus support rep couldn't offer me a solution but wanted to find a way to end the chat, they offered to send another request to Asus inventory to ask about them, which will take another 24 - 48 business hours. But if Asus doesn't have them, or even a part # for them, then that's a futile gesture and one that will only waste more of my time while I sit with. So, this support rep tried to send me on a futile wild goose chase that would leave me with more time wasted while not being able to use my new PC, and obviously more frustrated. When I pointed that out to them, that, according to their own claims, that would be a pointless exercise that would create an endless loop of futility, they replied "The only solution is to check the facility and waiting for 24-48 business hours".
The experience of my purchasing this motherboard purchase and the subsequent support from Asus I'm receiving has been an unbridled disaster, costing me an enormous amount of time, frustration, and also costing me money. I bought my original new Asus motherboard and other PC parts for my new PC build on January 18, and it's now April 5, and, due to Asus, I still don't have a usable motherboard or ability to use my new PC. What is your solution, Asus?
04-06-2023 01:47 AM
Hello, @Astroplane
We are now verifying the information with the relevant departments based on the case number N2303046056 you provided.
I apologize for keeping you waiting, and I will leave a comment or PM you once I receive any updates.
Thank you.
04-10-2023 12:30 AM
Hello, @Astroplane .
The relevant department has confirmed and arranged to send the bundled rubber for the m.2 backplate and the bundled rubber for the m.2. Additionally, they have tried to contact you over the phone for assistance.
Could you please let us know if you have received any phone calls from the relevant personnel or received the parts?
Thank you.
04-10-2023 12:59 AM - edited 04-10-2023 01:22 AM
Hello Jiaszzz,
Hearing that the missing rubber spacers will be sent to me is at least something, so thanks.
I haven't received any phone calls from Asus. They must have the wrong number recorded. I've had to correct them multiple times regarding that, and also regarding the spelling of my name, which keeps appearing incorrectly on my support case emails, even after I've corrected Asus on it.
The quality of the phone line when calling Asus support is terrible, and I always have to spell my name and address out one letter at a time for the support reps, and then always have to correct something / some things when they spell it back to me. I hope that they have my address stored correctly. I will PM you with its correct information to make sure Asus has it correctly.
In all honesty, Asus should have customer name, address, and phone number information stored in a persistent account, so that those things don't need to be given all over again each time the customer contacts Asus support. It takes a lot of time to do that when it needs to be spelled out one letter at a time, and that is also more costly for Asus as their reps spend more time on each call.
BTW, the motherboard replacement I received from Asus has some scratches on the heatsink. Since the motherboard was sent back to me in the same box I sent the malfunctioning motherboard to Asus in, I assume the replacement motherboards aren't stored in factory boxes, but are bulk motherboards on a shelf that they're pulled from - and maybe when pulling one out of the shelf the underside can scrape against other motherboards they were leaning against. I hope it's a brand-new motherboard, and not a refurbished one. The factory plastic seals were on the various parts of the motherboard, and that suggests to me it might be an unused motherboard.
04-11-2023 11:12 PM
Hello, @Astroplane .
We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and appreciate your feedback.
It will be taken into consideration by the relevant departments for evaluation and reference.
Please note that we have specific regulations regarding personal information and information security.
Thank you for your understanding.
04-12-2023 11:05 AM - edited 04-12-2023 11:47 AM
Hello Jiszzz,
I received the parcel from Asus, which was shipped 6 days ago, today. However, it doesn't contain the rubber spacer for the first PCIe 5.0 m.2 drive, which is shown on page 2-8 of the X670E-A Gaming Wifi manual, as I carefully explained in the OP:
When I sent in my faulty Asus X670E-A motherboard for RMA, it had some rubber m.2 spacers applied to it. They are the "bundled rubber for m.2 backplate" on page 2-8 in the X670E-A's manual, and the "bundled rubber for m.2" on page 2-10 of the manual.
Instead, the parcel contains two packages of the rubber spacers that are shown on page 2-10 of the manual. Here's what was sent to me.
The rubber spacer shown on page 2-8 of the manual is different entirely, and is specific to the first PCIe m.2 slot, which has dual-sided thermal-pad support. This spacer is a mushroom-shaped rubber piece that slides into a notch in the backplate underneath part of the bottom thermal pad, to support and create proper top-thermal-pad contact for a single-sided m.2 drive.
Here is how the manual shows it:
Without this spacer for the main m.2 drive slot, I can't assemble my PC (which I have multiple m.2 drives for). So, the cavalcade of disasters with this motherboard is still unending.
From January 18, when I bought the Asus X670E-A, until today, is 84 days. That's 84 days, nearly a quarter of a year (and adding the time to send me another parcel will make it a full quarter of a year), since I bought my PC hardware that I haven't been able to use it. That's 84 days of devaluation of the 64GB DDR5 RAM I bought, which now costs $90 USD less than when I bought it to use nearly three months ago.
Imagine if you bought anything important that's supposed to be guaranteed to work immediately (a refrigerator, a car, a phone plan), and you still didn't have use of it a quarter of a year later because you were waiting on the manufacturer to fulfill the original purchase terms. Imagine you paid for landscaping, or home renovations so you could have your yard or house ready for an event, and the contractor still hadn't fulfilled the terms of the contract a quarter of a year after the work was supposed to be finished. That's fraud territory. And as I explained in the OP, this has cost me money in other ways, and also cost enough of my time troubleshooting to make at least the full cost of the motherboard. This is wholly unacceptable.
Simply supplying the missing part that shouldn't have been missing to begin with, for the motherboard that shouldn't have been faulty to begin with, isn't enough. Asus needs to make this up to me somehow. And making it up to me won't change that I'm going to post the full details of this experience around so that people know the experience I went through and what Asus' support is in its current state. But doing so will show that Asus at least understands the negative value it created in this case, and in the end took ownership of its mistakes. The alternative is showing that Asus doesn't care no matter how big the inconvenience and cost to a customer is.
04-16-2023 06:51 PM
Hello, @Astroplane
I truly apologize for the frustrating situation you're going through.
I have escalated your case and once again reported it to our local teams, as well as corrected the contact information.
May I ask if you have received any calls from the service center?
Thank you.
04-16-2023 06:57 PM
Hi Jiaszzz,
Thanks for trying to move the matter forward.
I haven't received any call from Asus' service centre about this matter, at any time.
04-25-2023 06:50 PM
Hello, @Astroplane .
I apologize for keeping you waiting.
It appears that our local team failed to reach you.
However, upon verification, we have already shipped the missing bundled rubber for the m.2 backplate to you on April 13 and have checked the logistics progress, which shows that it arrived on April 18.
May I ask if you have received it? Is it the correct accessory you need?
Thank you.
04-26-2023 12:12 AM
Hi Jiaszzz. Yes, I received the second parcel with the correct m.2 standoff. Thanks.