Bought this laptop 1.5 years ago really only used it for a year because I was having so many issues with the charging etc.
Eventually a part of the charging port that was supposely to be inside the computer (yup!) fell off so I can't charge the bloody laptop. Brought it to HN and was quoted $340 to get the part and fix the thing!
I personally think that its a bit excessive. But at the mean time its a completely fine working laptop minus the fallen out part!
What do my fellow ozbargainers think?
yer legit your rights as a customer to be able to get it fixed for free regardless of having a extended warranty or not. Go watch the show on youtube or somewhere called "The checkout" you might have to keep pushing to get it fixed for free but by rights i think they have to do it for you without charging you~
I think this is the way to go; rather than clowning around with a soldering iron etc. I've done a fair bit of voltage hard-mods and the like, and let me tell you DIY PCB fixing is not for the faint hearted.
I can tell you from experience that ASUS will NOT come to the party and repair free of charge out of warranty. They also consider their manufacturers warranty as being from date of manufacture, not date of purchase.
They also consider their manufacturers warranty as being from date of manufacture, not date of purchase.
Not if you have the receipt on you.
I had a power board fail in my old laptop (Compaq - purchased 2005) which required a full motherboard replacement, this was covered by the extended warranty that I bought. The quote may be not too far fetched if it requires a motherboard replacement. Maybe contact Asus directly to see what they say. But yes, you would not expect a laptop to merely last 18months
But yes, you would not expect a laptop to merely last 18months
Our BenQ cheapie from 2007 is still going strong, aside from a HD failure a few years ago. But then, it's rarely left the house since 2011.
My Feb 2013 Acer, on the other hand…crapped itself last month.
Under the Australian Consumer Law, you are entitled to a warranty for a "reasonable" period, which in the case of a laptop is likely to be up to 2 years.
The alternative is to buy a power port off ebay and try and solder it on yourself. A bit tricky and sometimes it doesnt work.
I bought it off JB actually. I have contacted ASUS but they quoted only 1 year warranty - I understand my right under the Australian Consumer Law but not sure how should I go about telling them that lol.
easy
log a job, get a number, get a supervisors name
state clearly your case and then off to fair trading
Well I guess talk in a reasonable tone. Ask the manager how long he would expect a >$600 laptop should work with no issues. Then explain to him that you haven't even owned your laptop for 2 years yet and the part is already broken before a reasonable amount of time.
Ask if he is able to repair the laptop for you under consumer law that the laptop was not fit for purpose.
If all fails, do what tonyjzx said haha
ASUS - ROCK SOLID*, HEART TOUCHING.
*not very solid.
http://www.jbhifi.com.au/documents/corporate/43_2012-01-06_1…
JB have it in their terms- so they will send it off to be "Assessed".
As the charging port is often a part that is placed under excessive strain/pressure through people extending their power lead and charger to the max. Sometimes someone can also trip over or kick charging lead accidentally, also putting the charging plug under undue strain. I am not saying that you have had this happen, just pointing out that this is very common, and the trouble for you is that JB HiFi or any other computer retailer would be aware of this issue. In saying that you can always try going down the Consumer Law path, who does not ask, does not get. I also have this model laptop, am very happy with the mix of performance/portability/battery life, you would have to spend over $600 to get similar new. If all else fails, get a quote from a small or local computer repairer, look in your local paper, should be a relatively easy and inexpensive fix if it is ( most likely ) the charging plug which is soldered on to a circuit board. Just checked for this model on ebay, none listed for Aus, good sign it's a good model that people are happy to keep and not sell of. Good luck and post your fix
The fact is that it broke due to wear and tear, and it won't be the only thing that's worn. If you repair it, it won't be long before something else goes wrong. Your battery life has degraded with use, you keyboard, your hinge/latch, etc. The fact that it happened quickly with your unit may be a case of you being an inexperienced laptop owner, a heavy user, or bad quality unit. In any case, it's much better practice to buy a new laptop (with an extended manufacturer warranty this time!)
Now - as you're in the market for a new laptop, I would recommend something with a new-generation "Haswell" chip in it. (Core iX 4xxx). Contrary to popular belief computer performance doesn't simply slowly get better over time. It gets better by generational changes in hardware that occur about once every two years. The new generation was announced just a few weeks ago, and a few laptops with the new chips are already for sale. These chips have really brilliant battery life (30-50% better), great graphics performance, and they're built for Windows 8 - so they have things like instant on/off, connected standby, etc. They are the reason, for example, that the new Macbook Air has a 15 hour battery life.
Not all the Haswell chips are out yet, so you may need to hold off for a few weeks or even some months for certain types of machine (e.g. tablets). You might also find bargains on non-Haswell machines. If they do the job for you, they'll be fine - but the price will likely continue to drop on them for a while as the new stock arrives.
I would also suggest buying one with an integrated SSD or MSATA SSD/HDD combination for the best performance. I really like units with high pixel density screens - you can look at the MacBook Pro Retina for an example of this. You should try to be comfortable with the unit you buy in terms of screen, keyboard, and touchpad quality - make sure you get the chance to test one out before hitting buy.
Many of the best laptops on the market today are usually listed here by Microsoft: http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/list/ThemeID…
I would suggest keeping an eye out for these machines at your local retailer, then checking OzBargain for a good deal on one that you think looks appealing.
So yes, buy a new laptop, buy it with an extended warranty, and be sure to report any problems with the unit before the warranty expires :)
If you don't get any joy from JB… Since you'll be tossing it anyway, there a couple of things you could try.
a. Look for a second hand one on ebay.
Depending on the price + postage, you may consider it worth it to either swap the entire mainboard, or just the power socket. Find someone with a reasonable amount of soldering experience, as you really have to take your time. Often the amount of heat required to remove the plug, is the more than it takes to melt it. :-/ Even if you don't care about melting the old plug, too much heat too fast can damage the mainboard. (Resoldering the new plug in is much easier.)
They even sell broken ones on ebay you could get a good socket from. Cheaper the better. I mean, who cares if say, the screen is busted - great - you won't have many other bidders to fight with. Doesn't have to be the same model either - just one with the same power socket. If you're not sure, you can usually find pics online of most laptops, showing sockets, etc. Or find laptops that use the same power supply. (Look the power supply model up online, and it will list every model it powers.)
You may or may not need to buy some "torx" screwdrivers to open the laptop. Look online (youtube maybe) how to open your model. Even if you don't find a video of the exact model, watch video for other models to give you an idea what to be aware of - like discharging static first, and how to safely remove/connect ribbon cables.
b. If you do know someone that with soldering experience… maybe ask them to remove the power socket and solder a short extension directly onto the motherboard. Go somewhere like Jaycar, buy a power socket to suit the laptop power supply plug for a few $, 10cm of flexible wire, and some heatshrink. Should cost less than $15. If it works, great. If it doesn't, you haven't lost much to find out.
If you don't know anyone with soldering experience, find somewhere online to ask. Maybe there's a suitable forum here - or on Whirlpool. (Explain what needs doing in your first post and where you're located. No sense paying $50 postage.)
Oh - and they probably quoted $340, because they intended on just replacing the entire mainboard.
Five bucks + post whadaya reckon OzB's?
They also have power boards for a reasonable $37 but didn't find one specific to U31f.
Another $25 on that recurring soldering station deal, could be a cheap fix!
Well there you go. The power socket on my Dell laptop isn't even the same as other Dells, which is why I suggested a broken one from ebay.
Is it just the power socket that broke off?? I can understand why they would charge that much if it is. It's such a pain in the butt to pull apart a laptop to that degree and then you either have to repair/replace broken PCB or replace the socket. I did many of them when I worked in a computer repair shop. Such a horrible horrible job, with more screws than you can poke a stick at
Oh and double check the warranty on your laptop. The sticker on my ASUS says 2 years Australian Warranty and 1 year international.
Can you buy another and return the faulty one with the new reciept?
I doubt you could get the same laptop model today. Also they may record the serial number on the receipt. Plus you end up with two laptops!
Just buy extended warranty from Asus… then return it under that warranty. Will cost $108 to get the laptop fixed.
http://www.asusnotebook.com.au/online/21173_ASUS-Extended-1-…
They will check the serial codes and find out.
Check the serial and find out what exactly?
Oh sorry, I misread that as buying a new laptop and sending the old one in. That is very generous that the manufacturer lets you take out extra warranty cover after the original warranty has expired, well after the original purchase and with the risk that the product could have serious problems already(like this machine).
Most manufactures do let you do that. I've done it with HP and Dell before, but not ASUS.
i suspect you can only buy the warranty WHILE THE UNIT IS STILL UNDER WARRANTY
if you buy it when its warranty is over its like buying car insurance when the crash has already happened
You suspect incorrectly
you can buy extended warranty after the laptop's original warranty has already lapsed?
i someone dont think thats correct but would like to be corrected
surely then Asus must be the only manufacturer who does this
Matt, isn't it time you made an offer?
As has been said many times you are covered under Australian Consumer law the difficult part is getting retailers to accept that….keep pushing and document everything.
Don't buy an extended warranty you are already covered
Similar to this from the Consumer Affairs website
"However, it is reasonable for Danny to expect more than two years’ use from a $6000 TV. He is entitled to a repair, replacement or refund from the store"
http://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/shopping/warranties/warranty-…
Hi opt, that issue easy to fix ( if you know how to ). I would:
-Search for youtube to see if any1 post a video of how to open that laptop
-Or patiently unscrew it to the bear MB.
=> then wield the loose bit back on MB.
How do i know this i done with my old laptop b4, n it last 7yrs still it's completely out of date for what i was doing at the time. I can even do it for you free if you are live near my town.
All the best
Tell HN that you would expect a high end laptop to last longer than 1.5 years and that you want them to fix it for free. There was a flyer somewhere explaining your rights.