power connector pin broke on my G53jw

[Retired]

Where the cable plugs into the laptop, the central pin in the jack broke off into the power cord... now, I cannot charge (or use) my computer.

I am wondering if others have seen this problem.
What can I do to fix this?

[cl-Albert]

Glad to hear that worked out Peregrine and thanks for letting us know.
Unfortunately, it's not always easy to know what is going on in a larger company, but expect we would try to keep our customers happy whenever possible.

Just for the record I didn't get involved with your RMA at all, so that appears to just be the normal service at the U.S. office right now.
From what I've heard though if the DC jack damage is more severe and requires more parts to replace, there may be some charge by the repair department, so experiences can vary from case to case and customer to customer for this issue.

Edit: Forgot I did drop repair an email about it, but didn't think they were paying attention. Neverthelesss, don't think they would have charged for the DC jack replacement this time either way.

[btk131]

Buying an Asus was the most frustrating experience I ever had as a consumer. First they denied me a rebate for $100 that I rightfully was due. Asus claimed that I hadn't sent in a UPC code from the box. However, THEIR OWN WEBSITE had a scanned copy online of the UPC code I sent, as well as the receipt and other materials. Amazon instead opted to credit me $100 out of their own pocket.

I then had the broken adapter issue three times during the warranty period. I saw the warning signs early, and invested in a Square Trade warranty. When the broken adapter happened a fourth time, Square Trade reimbursed me for the full amount.

I am a serious gamer, and I spent serious money on my G53. I later took my Square Trade reimbursement and bought a high-end HP. It's not exactly a gaming laptop, but its GeForce GT 650M gets the job done. When Asus withheld that $100 from me, it was blatant thievery. I always had to worry if I would break my damn computer by even picking it up. Great processor, great video card, great RAM... all rendered useless by shoddy work. I can't possible see doing business with them ever again, which is a shame because I was ecstatic when I first got the G53.

[cl-Albert]

Thanks for the reality check btk131 and sorry to hear your experience didn't turn out better.

Although there are limits to what we can do, we'll try to help out with whatever issues we can here on the ROG forums.

[Zygomorphic]

@Peregrine, good to hear that you had a better experience. I don't work for ASUS, but I would like to hear more success stories, since this issue does seem to be pretty common. However, it does appear that on the later G5X models, the issue has been corrected.

[Peregrine]

I've called Asus support twice now and had good experiences both times. I was only worried this time because the person I
talked to called it CID.
Pretty pleased now though. Shocked they replaced the keyboard without me even asking.

[n3tninja]

I have my G53 for almost 2 years with NOT even one issue. There was one tiny problem with the powerplug getting hot 2 weeks in and not charging, I got that replaced by another exact used power adapter (FROM ASUS) and ever since no problems ever.

I think the power adapter shipped with the g53 causes the problem, I don't know why or how. Ive been thinking, my hot power
plug would have destroyed my pin eventually.

Also another note, I have a HEXAGONAL pin rather than a round cylindrical pin. Maybe the hexagonal pin is more sturdy.

[mr_chun]

Unfortunately, I'm having similar issues. This is the second time for me, and the first past the one year warranty period. Two questions before I pick up the phone and try to talk my way into getting a fix.

1) If the laptop were under warranty, would I be allowed to remove the HDD temporarily to make backups without voiding the warranty? If I'm claiming defect, I don't want to mess around under the hood if I normally wouldn't be allowed to

2) If I lose the argument, how much is this going to cost me? I've got the G53SW. Would they just solder a new pin onto the mobo or would they replace the mobo entirely, as they do under warranty? I've got to imagine the former is significantly cheaper to do.

I don't want to be that guy that shys away from ASUS because of this, but it really does suck. I can't afford to replace the mobo once a year if that's what it comes down to. I love this laptop, and I'd hate to lose it after only 14 months of use. Especially when I'm posting this from my six-year-old Macbook.

[NoukNouk]

*sighs* I had the same issue on a G74sx. Had to send the laptop 1000 km away. But I was lucky, it was pretty quick. Only a week. Got a new battery as well. The computer was still under warranty. Pfew. I have this computer since february 2012. So I assume it's a common issue. 😞 Otherwise,, it's a great laptop.

[zeronical]

Hi,

I purchased a refurbished G53SX just over a year ago and was unaware of the connector pin issue until it broke and I found this forum. My laptop unfortunately only had a limited 1 year warranty due to it being purchased as refurbished. I have been extremely careful with the laptop but it didn't appear to make much difference. The connector pin broke and was lodged in the plug when I removed it. I have just initiated the RMA process and it looks like I will have to pay to have it repaired despite it being an obvious design flaw on ASUS's part.

This whole process has been very disappointing as an ASUS enthusiast. I have guided family members and friends toward ASUS computers after being thrilled with mine. Depending on how this turns out, I hope I haven't misguided them into buying from a company that conducts themselves like this (not solely my experience, but after reading through this forum, the overall handling of this issue)

I understand that it is a risk buying refurbished, but I would argue that aside from this fatal failure, I have had absolutely no trouble with the laptop. It is unfortunate that with the reduced warranty and this design problem it will cost me to fix a problem that wasn't my fault. I hope that due to the recurring nature of this flaw with other customers, they might not charge me for the repair. However I seriously doubt that will happen.

I will provide updates of my experience with ASUS for other customers in similar refurbished predicaments.

[cl-Albert]

Sorry to hear that you ran into that problem and were you told the DC jack needed to be replaced or the entire motherboard needs to be replaced?
Last I heard it can make a difference for our repair to cover it, but not sure what the situation is right now.
If you are getting charged for a DC jack replacement, send a PM to me at cl-Albert with your rma number and I can double-check with repair if this is correct, otherwise, you may want to continue working with customer service/repair for a resolution.