ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Hero / Dark Hero Shutdown on Sleep Issue, Temporary Solution

[NYDave]

I just upgraded from the ASUS ROG Crosshair Hero VII (X470) to the Hero VIII (X570) and, after just a few weeks, started having the same occasional shutoffs on sleep that many others reported with both the VIII Hero and Dark Hero models. When sleep works as expected, the power button will flash and the PC will wake with mouse/keyboard input. When the malfunction occurs, the power light will go off, the keyboard will briefly flash when a key is hit, and the computer will not restart until the physical power switch on the power supply is cycled.

Because so many are experiencing this issue with no help from the manufacturer, I wanted to share my temporary solution. I'm still pursuing this with ASUS though I have little faith -- so far three employees with limited technical knowledge have told me to return the brand new board for repair despite the fact nearly all the people who have done so have gotten their boards back unrepaired (no problem found) or received a replacement board that exhibits the same issue.

Here's my setup:

* ASUS ROG X570 Crosshair VIII Hero (Wi-Fi) ATX Motherboard
* AMD Ryzen 9 5900X CPU
* ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 240 AIO Water Cooler
* ASUS NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti TUF (TUF-RTX3080TI-O12G-GAMING) GPU
* Kingston FURY Renegade 128GB (4x32GB) 3200MHz DDR4 CL16 RAM (KF432C16RBK4/128)
* Crucial P5 Plus 2TB PCIe 4.0 3D NAND M.2 NVMe Gen 4 (CT2000P5PSSD8)
* SAMSUNG 980 PRO SSD 2TB PCIe M.2 NVMe Gen 4 (MZ-V8P2T0B)
* Corsair RM1000x 1000 Watt Gold Power Supply

I've tried all the suggestions from ASUS and other users, including:

* Fresh BIOS install (versions 4304, 4201, 3904, 3801) and reset of all BIOS settings
* Default (non-DOCP) and DOCP memory settings
* ErP set to Disabled, S4+S5, and S5
* Windows 10 Pro and 11 Pro (including a FRESH install of Windows 11 Pro)
* Uninstalled/reinstalled Armoury Crate and reset RGB settings (one user swore by this)
* Disconnected all non-essential USB devices

Because I need to be able to access computer remotely, turning off the PC when not in use is not an option for me. I also don't want to leave the PC running all the time. My solution was to disable sleep entirely and have the computer Hibernate instead after 60 minutes idle, and wake by either by keyboard/mouse input or WOL magic packet. So far the only downside is a slightly longer recovery on wake (15-20 seconds instead of 1-2). Here's exactly what I did:

In Control Panel->Hardware and Sounds->Power Options:
1) Select Balanced plan settings
2) Select "Change plan settings" and set "Put the computer to sleep" to "Never"
3) Select "Change advanced power settings" and under "Sleep" set "Hibernate after" to 60 minutes (or your desired sleep time)
4) Apply, go back to "Power Options," select "Choose what the power button does," and set "When I press the power button" to "Hibernate"
5) Under "Shutdown settings" check "Hibernate" box and uncheck "Sleep" box

In BIOS, I reset to defaults, re-enabled DOCP, and set up APM as follows:
* ErP Ready: Disabled
* Restore AC Power Loss: Last State
* Power On By PCI-E: Enabled
* Power On By RTC: Disabled

So far all is working perfectly -- even my Veeam backup software is waking the computer for nightly backups.

Hope this helps, and if you have any more information on the issue, I'd appreciate it!

[NYDave]

Update: The problem has gotten worse, and now the computer will not wake properly even after hibernating. I have been in contact with ASUS since the problem started (about a month now) and the experience has been horrific. 24-72 hours between each repetitive, useless response. They completely ignore the information I provide and the questions I ask, and keep asking me the same basic questions and suggesting the same useless, overly generic fixes. They admit there's a known issue, but they refuse to tell me what the issue is and how it would be addressed in a new/repaired motherboard (most people report the problem eventually comes back). Also, they keep offering an advanced replacement but then the next person responds, asks for the same serial and shipping address, and then nothing.

NYDave wrote:
I just upgraded from the ASUS ROG Crosshair Hero VII (X470) to the Hero VIII (X570) and, after just a few weeks, started having the same occasional shutoffs on sleep that many others reported with both the VIII Hero and Dark Hero models. When sleep works as expected, the power button will flash and the PC will wake with mouse/keyboard input. When the malfunction occurs, the power light will go off, the keyboard will briefly flash when a key is hit, and the computer will not restart until the physical power switch on the power supply is cycled.

Because so many are experiencing this issue with no help from the manufacturer, I wanted to share my temporary solution. I'm still pursuing this with ASUS though I have little faith -- so far three employees with limited technical knowledge have told me to return the brand new board for repair despite the fact nearly all the people who have done so have gotten their boards back unrepaired (no problem found) or received a replacement board that exhibits the same issue.

Here's my setup:

* ASUS ROG X570 Crosshair VIII Hero (Wi-Fi) ATX Motherboard
* AMD Ryzen 9 5900X CPU
* ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 240 AIO Water Cooler
* ASUS NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti TUF (TUF-RTX3080TI-O12G-GAMING) GPU
* Kingston FURY Renegade 128GB (4x32GB) 3200MHz DDR4 CL16 RAM (KF432C16RBK4/128)
* Crucial P5 Plus 2TB PCIe 4.0 3D NAND M.2 NVMe Gen 4 (CT2000P5PSSD8)
* SAMSUNG 980 PRO SSD 2TB PCIe M.2 NVMe Gen 4 (MZ-V8P2T0B)
* Corsair RM1000x 1000 Watt Gold Power Supply

I've tried all the suggestions from ASUS and other users, including:

* Fresh BIOS install (versions 4304, 4201, 3904, 3801) and reset of all BIOS settings
* Default (non-DOCP) and DOCP memory settings
* ErP set to Disabled, S4+S5, and S5
* Windows 10 Pro and 11 Pro (including a FRESH install of Windows 11 Pro)
* Uninstalled/reinstalled Armoury Crate and reset RGB settings (one user swore by this)
* Disconnected all non-essential USB devices

Because I need to be able to access computer remotely, turning off the PC when not in use is not an option for me. I also don't want to leave the PC running all the time. My solution was to disable sleep entirely and have the computer Hibernate instead after 60 minutes idle, and wake by either by keyboard/mouse input or WOL magic packet. So far the only downside is a slightly longer recovery on wake (15-20 seconds instead of 1-2). Here's exactly what I did:

In Control Panel->Hardware and Sounds->Power Options:
1) Select Balanced plan settings
2) Select "Change plan settings" and set "Put the computer to sleep" to "Never"
3) Select "Change advanced power settings" and under "Sleep" set "Hibernate after" to 60 minutes (or your desired sleep time)
4) Apply, go back to "Power Options," select "Choose what the power button does," and set "When I press the power button" to "Hibernate"
5) Under "Shutdown settings" check "Hibernate" box and uncheck "Sleep" box

In BIOS, I reset to defaults, re-enabled DOCP, and set up APM as follows:
* ErP Ready: Disabled
* Restore AC Power Loss: Last State
* Power On By PCI-E: Enabled
* Power On By RTC: Disabled

So far all is working perfectly -- even my Veeam backup software is waking the computer for nightly backups.

Hope this helps, and if you have any more information on the issue, I'd appreciate it!

[NYDave]

Update. The problem got worse and eventually the board wouldn't wake from hibernation, same power issue: Power supply needed to be turned off and on to restart. ASUS completely dropped the ball on my case. After over a month, with 24-72 hour delays between each useless reply, often with a new person who wouldn't bother to read the case notes, I was told they identified the issue. I said this is great and I need two things: An explanation of the issue so I could be confident it won't occur in a new board and a NEW advance replacement board as my defective board was only weeks old. The next new person didn't know anything about the issue and said the replacement board would be re-certified. When I said that was not satisfactory and I still needed to know the root cause of the issue, I was told to just return the board if I could. I explained that because ASUS dragged their feet for over a month I was past the return window. However, I called Amazon and explained, and they agreed to take the defective board back past the date and without the original box -- THAT'S customer service. I have since purchased an MSI Meg 570S Ace Max and I am thrilled with it. Equal or better performance in all tests, better build, less bloatware, and more m.2 slots as a bonus. As an IT consultant who builds and advises on 3D modeling and photogrammetry hardware, stability is critical, and if after a few weeks of stress testing this board continues to function this well, I will no longer recommend ASUS to my clients because of the lack of customer service with a widespread and well-known defect.

[Jiaszzz_ROG]

Hello, NYDave.

I apologize for your awful experience.
The settings you made in your initial posting of this article include turning off ErP and the power option settings, which appears to be a solution to the issue. I'm not aware what modifications you made thereafter that led to the behavior returning to the problematic range.
If you have any additional inquiries, kindly describe the issues you are now running into, and I will help you out with a response and confirmation.
Sorry again for the inconvenience caused.

Thank you.

[NYDave]

I'm sorry, but your reply (while likely well meaning) is an example of the horrible experience I've had the past 5-6 weeks. I explained in the very post you are responding to that setting ErP to "Disabled", "S4+S5," and "S5 only" made absolutely NO difference. In fact, this advice was given to several users here only for them to report the same. I think a single user said it fixed the issue, but I also recall they came back to say they were mistaken and the issue persisted. Please don't provide this incorrect advice to people with the same problem -- it only wastes their time, gives false hope, and delays finding an actual resolution. I've already returned this board to Amazon, who took it back after the return period and with no box -- THAT is customer service. Please try again for those who come later with this same issue. I have found about a hundred cases of people reporting the same problem, here and on other popular tech forums. Most people who sent their boards in got them back unrepaired (no problem found), and those who received replacement boards found the problem returned over time. Even your own support finally admitted to a known issue but then never explained what it was or how it was addressed. It's obviously a defect in the design (perhaps a bad cap, solder joint, VRM, or other component that fails over time). ASUS must do better for other customers, but as for my company, we and our clients are moving to MSI. An occasional defective board is one thing. A board with an obvious design flaw and NO corrective action from the manufacturer is another. The complete lack of reasonable technical support over a 6 week period where we operated in good faith to work through the issue is unforgivable.

Jiaszzz@ROG wrote:
Hello, NYDave.

I apologize for your awful experience.
The settings you made in your initial posting of this article include turning off ErP and the power option settings, which appears to be a solution to the issue. I'm not aware what modifications you made thereafter that led to the behavior returning to the problematic range.
If you have any additional inquiries, kindly describe the issues you are now running into, and I will help you out with a response and confirmation.
Sorry again for the inconvenience caused.

Thank you.

[MadGoat]

I myself am having this exact issue with a now 2 week old board. Asus, we know this isn't your new AM5 platform that you have probably dedicated all your resources to at this point but please don't smear your name in the industry over this. You know as well as I do that enthusiasts talk and the community will rise up if you don't take care of this. I'm sure Gamers Nexus would love to investigate this issue and the lack of customer support. Please stop screwing around your customers and fix this issue. 

[Tcollins]

I bought a brand new ROG Crosshair VIII Hero-Wifi at the beginning of the year completed my new build about a month ago and within a week I started getting the occasional issue where I would have to power cycle my PSU to wake up from sleep. I read every thread I could find online and tried all the suggested fixes. Updated Bios again and reinstalled win 10 pro. Nothing seems to work at this point it has gone from happening every couple times to 9 out of 10 times. It has even happened after manually shutting down. Now I have no choice but to buy another mobo just to regain my sanity. Unfortunately its going to leave a lasting scar on Asus products for me. I am now past the 30 return policy and wont be able to get any refund at all. For a premium priced mobo this is insane that I am out all that money and now have to find another brand board that fits my needs. Not to mention all the time wasted and having to basically restart my entire build. I hope more people bring awareness to this issue and Asus's deliberate ignorance in fixing the problem.

[MadGoat]

MANY of us in the same boat. I'm sorry to hear it as my situation is VERY much like yours and I am also outside of my return window as I had to wait for my processor that took forever and a day to arrive. I really wish ASUS would push this to a higher priority within their team. They think AM5 bugs are a priority while most of their customers are still on AM4. 

ASUS: Push this to a higher priority! You are going to make what could be a "blip" into a lasting WOUND!  

[Tcollins]

From what I read there is no software solution and its most likely a defective transistor on the board. I have had Asus/ROG products for years and this might be the final straw for me! Outside of never shutting my computer off or putting it to sleep this mobo is now useless. Was reading that people even RMA'd their boards and got either a used or "fixed" board which may or may not fix the problem. I wouldn't be happy going through all that and getting a used/refurb board with a 50/50 chance it resolved the problem especially since my board is brand new. Just Crazy!

[Browneagle]

On no - my Dark Hero has been doing this for the last month now too.  I have tried all of the fixes above

Did anyone find out the root cause?  Is returning the Motherboard the only option?