JB Hi-Fi Refuse to Return GoPro

Mostly Melbourne on 21/01/2016 - 14:11
Last edited 21/01/2016 - 14:44

So I bought a GoPro Hero4 Silver a week ago from JB, the salesman suggested me to buy a $100 Lexar together with it, which I refused and ended up buying from Amazon, awaiting for delivery at the moment.Let's assume I didn't buy this card for argument sake.

I used the GoPro last weekend with my Sandisk Ultra 32G microSD which is not on the GoPro Recommended SDCard list. This Sandisk was used on my other GoPro Hero3+ Silver with no problem. However the new camera had issue with this SDCard, producing SDcard error multiple times and lost the data. However I do not have any other card to test whether it's the card's fault or the camera's.

Decided to go into JB store today and told the staff this issue, they insisted to not giving out any return or replacement for the GoPro because my SDcard is not on the list and I did not purchase the card from their store, and they refused to test the camera themselves claiming they do not have any sdcard to test.

I've checked JB's policy

  1. It does not say that the SDcard(accessory) needs to be one of the officially recommended (note it's recommended, not mandatory) list ones.
  2. It does say that it is JB or the manufacturer's responsibility to check if the product is faulty, rather than that the customer needs to provide their own "officially recommended" sdcard to test with.

What are your thoughts?

General Discussion

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Comments

  • RockyRaccoon on 21/01/2016 - 14:32
    +3

    Why are you not waiting for the card you ordered?

    That way you don't waste anone's time. If then it doesnt work then go back to JB.

    Now if JB doesn't help then, come back and ask for help.

    • Mostly Melbourne on 21/01/2016 - 14:35

      So if i didn't buy the lexar, I can't go to JB for the potentially faulty camera then?

      • Settero on 21/01/2016 - 14:38
        +1

        key word is potentially…
        if you are using a sd card that is not on the recommended list , and there is a sd card error… its probably the sd card.
        thus i side with jb on this…

        theres a god damn recommended list… does this not lead you to believe that sd card errors are common with non compatible cards ?

      • RockyRaccoon on 21/01/2016 - 18:43

        The problem isnt the camera its your ability to comprehend what people say to you.

        I can fully appreciate what the JB staff went thru.

        You Keep quoting one part of the manual, with regard to a type of memory card, while you fully well know the card you are using isnt compatible. And its clearly explained on their website.

        The issue is you think the Camera is faulty when it could well be the memory card.

        Many products have manuals written 3-6 months before the product is released. Its manufacturing lead times, So the website is going to be more upto date.

        To REPEAT what I said. You wont bloody well know if its faulty if you use the wrong card. When you get an approved card and the camera doesnt work, then you can get it replaced.

        Sounds like you have had buyers remorse and just using this as an excuse to do that.

  • spackbace on 21/01/2016 - 14:38
    +6

    What are your thoughts?

    Given you won't wait to receive the recommended card, it seems like someone who is having buyers regret, or has found it cheaper, and is desperately wanting to offload it.

  • [Deactivated] on 21/01/2016 - 14:41

    Ask to try out your card on their display GoPro? Have you tested your card on another device (camera, laptop, etc) to determine if the card is not faulty?

    • Mostly Melbourne on 21/01/2016 - 14:43

      The card has no problem whatsoever with my other GoPro Hero3+ Silver. Reformatted on the Hero4 Silver and has constant issues

  • spackbace on 21/01/2016 - 14:52

    You have less than 3 months from purchase to enact this:

    JB HI-FI or the manufacturer will determine, at no cost to the customer, whether the product is faulty and the cause of the fault within a reasonable time frame. In the event of a fault and if the product is determined faulty through no fault of the customer, then the customer can request an exchange or refund of the original purchase price.
    Alternatively, customers can request repair free of charge in accordance with the manufacturers warranty

    Wait for the recommended card, and if it still doesn't work, then you go get your refund.

    It's like putting regular fuel in a diesel car and complaining it doesn't go anymore…

  • Ryanek on 21/01/2016 - 14:56
    +3

    You want to return an entire GoPro because it does not work an old (non-recommended) SD card? You serious?

    I say, make the most of your gear and follow the manufactures recommendation! It's like complaining my old lawn mower used leaded petrol, why does the newer model need unleaded? Geez.

    • Mostly Melbourne on 21/01/2016 - 15:17

      Well, technically the GoPro Hero4 Silver manual specifies its requirement being "minimum class 10 or UHS-1" which my older SDcard is.

      So the analogy is more like the car manufacturer requires a 91 minimum, which is what i put in my new Volkswagon, however it turns out that only 98 can achieve its claimed emission standard.
      I go back to the car dealer and they 1. refused to check the car, 2. asked me to empty the tank, go buy some 98 from the Shell next door, or preferably some petrol station the dealer have vested interest in(buying from JB store in this case).

      Oh, and it turns out that the car manufacturer cheated the system in the end. My car is indeed faulty.

      • spackbace on 21/01/2016 - 15:28

        But going from the list that you linked to in your post, all the cards are Pro and Extreme cards, ie 90Meg/sec etc. Yours is 1/3 of that speed. No wonder its stuffing up!

        • Mostly Melbourne on 21/01/2016 - 15:44
          +1

          I acknowledge the fact that my Sandisk Ultra Class 10 is not on the recommended list. However
          1. It does comply with the manufacturer's minimum requirement of Class 10 (writing speed 10M/sec)
          2. I do not possess any of the recommended card.

          Question is
          Am I obliged to acquire one of the recommended card from JB or any other source in order to test out the camera I purchased from JB is faulty?

          And let's assume if I
          1. proceed to buy a lexar from JB on the spot,
          2. open the package,
          3. use it tested out that it indeed is the camera at fault.
          Then JB agrees to replace my faulty camera, however they are now under no obligation to refund the redundant Lexar because it would be a "change of mind" and "used" merchandise.

        • spackbace on 21/01/2016 - 15:47
          +1

          @sharkroman:

          Just stop… you acknowledge the recommended list of cards, yet you seem to refuse to actually use a card off that list. Why?

          Oh, and stop choosing to skip the vital info in the manual:

          The card must have a minimum rating of Class 10 or UHS-I, and a capacity up to 64GB. Visit gopro.com/support for the list of GoPro-tested microSD cards.

          You spent what, ~$300 on the GoPro, yet you want to get away with using a $20 card? Why didn't you just get a $100 'action cam' then?

  • ykwon10 on 21/01/2016 - 15:01
    +2

    Is this one of those joke posts?

  • jatcave on 21/01/2016 - 15:03
    +1

    I had a similar problem. Ultimately, it was the card. Got a faster card… no problem. If you don't use the recommended cards, it's not going to perform well in the better settings. The petrol analogies above suit this situation well.

  • dazweeja on 21/01/2016 - 16:08

    Put it this way - you have presented no evidence for the staff at JB to even suspect that the product they have sold is faulty. You have not even described to them a scenario where you were using the product in a way recommended by the manufacturer and it didn't work. When you can do this, by all means take it back. But, as others have said, I think you'll find that your card is just too slow.

    • Mostly Melbourne on 21/01/2016 - 16:15
      +1

      Well, with the Hero4 I can show on site that it produces SDerror. Taking out the card, put in my other GoPro, reformat it, run for a few minutes, no problem.
      I ask JB to test if the camera is faulty, they refuse to test because they don't have a test sdcard.

      Thank you for your comment though, I do need to demonstrate to them that my other GoPro can run fine with this card. Will do it tmr

      • keverns on 21/01/2016 - 16:56

        your comparing with a hero 3 that works with your card though.

        if you insist to use a non recommended card, i suggest you test your card their display model. or at least try a 'recommended' card in the hero4.

        but ultimately whats working in 3 may or may not work with hero4…why not wait for your amazon sd. if its such a rush should've bought the card locally.

        its almost like buying computer ram i.e ddr3 1600mhz vs ddr3 2666mhz, its going to work on particular motherboards rather than 'because its ddr3' and i expect it to work.

      • dazweeja on 21/01/2016 - 16:59
        +2

        Here's an idea - why don't you put your GoPro 4 into the lowest recording mode (WVGA on that model I believe) and see if the card works? Then if it works, increase to 720, 1080, etc. That might give some indication as to whether it's your card that just can't write fast enough.

        Edit: You might want to read this too: https://www.reddit.com/r/gopro/comments/2k0pyy/not_all_sd_ca…

        • Mostly Melbourne on 21/01/2016 - 17:03

          Thanks for the advice. And actually was how I found out the camera might be faulty, it produces SDcard error even at low bitrate.
          I have read the reddit thread, so I bought the lexar and a Sandisk Extreme just as plan B if the lexar has issues too(according to some user reports)

  • spackbace on 21/01/2016 - 17:23

    Reformat the card in the GoPro

    http://havecamerawilltravel.com/photographer/gopro-4-memory-…

    All of the cards that GoPro recommends with the new high resolution video modes on the new GoPro HERO4 Black and Silver editions are rated for writes speeds of 40MB/s or faster.

    .

    If you’re going with SanDisk, I don’t recommend their “Ultra” or “Ultra Plus” range of cards for GoPro HERO3 or GoPro HERO4 cameras. Despite being Class 10, many users have reported issues with the recording stopping prematurely (a problem I ran into myself).

    First page of Google results…

  • Nutrino on 21/01/2016 - 18:25

    If i was the sales person at JB, i would have called security.

    I've got a GO PRO 4 silver, i've got plenty of other devices that use SD cards. CARDS CAN BE DODGY!. For goodness sake STOP wasting peoples time.

    • whooah1979 on 21/01/2016 - 18:41

      isn't sd memory cards manufactured and tested like other flash memory, ram sticks, cpu and gpu? they're tested for speed. those that fail the higher speed tests are labelled and sold as cheaper items.

  • altomic on 21/01/2016 - 22:34

    petrol works fine in my 1965 VW beetle but not in my new 2015 VW beetle TDI!!!

  • timcc0208 on 22/01/2016 - 07:57
    +1

    Unreasonable customers
    Lucky I don't work in a retail sector to deal this issue daily :)

  • retailtips on 22/01/2016 - 08:08

    The recommended spec from the manufacturer are probably like the things with PC games : recommended 64go of graphic card.
    If you have a PC that match the recommended specification only, I bet you will not be able to play correctly, it will be very slow even with the low graphics and such.
    Manufacturer put the recommended spec as low as they can for you to buy the product.
    Maybe your SD card will work if you reduce the quality of the video.

    So yes, change your SD card, and it will work just fine.
    You said it yourself, it is already working but you have some issues in some cases. It's the typical signs of a slow SD card.

  • Woodyg22 on 22/01/2016 - 12:06
    +1

    GoPros are incredibly sensitive to using fast enough cards and you really do need to use the top ones. Your new camera would be pushing more data to the card than your old one (despite then being the same colour) as such you'd need a caster card than before!

  • punter1 on 22/01/2016 - 13:51

    Was it over 7 days when you tried to return it?

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