Arctic Liquid Freezer II Series - Product Defect, and how to order a Free repair kit from Arctic

Assuming you're an avid watcher of Gamers Nexus on YouTube, you may already have heard of the manufacturing flaw in the popular Arctic Liquid Freezer II CPU cooler that may cause potential performance issues down the road.

For those that haven't, the full story is here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHdEqWpexH0

Arctic discovered a defect in its Liquid Freezer II coolers that we've heavily reviewed (and generally recommended), and now, it is offering repair kits (or replacements) for anyone affected. The defect pertains to the gasket breaking down and causing gunk buildup, staining of the coldplate, and loss of performance over time. This didn't affect all units, but it affected enough for Arctic to be faced with a hard decision: Hide it or handle it right. Fortunately, Arctic chose to handle it right. Arctic is firm that this isn't a "recall," but it does have a procedure in place to repair affected units. This follows its previous actions to implement a 6-year retroactive warranty for its coolers.

Which products are affected?

Affected products first went on sale in May 2021. Those that shipped before May 2021 aren't affected.

How to Order a Repair kit

Visit the Arctic.de website
https://www.arctic.de/en/lf-service-kit

Fill in the form with your details, date of purchase and hit send. You don't need to upload any documents or Proof of Purchase.

You should expect to hear a response within 1 or 2 weeks, but it may be longer if Arctic is inundated with requests.

How do I repair it myself?

Gamers Nexus has a video with step-by-step instructions. Watch it here (timestamped 9:24). Arctic also has their own tutorial

You do not need any specialized tools — just have a Philips screwdriver handy and some paper towels to clean up any spills or leaks.

Am I still covered by the 6 year warranty? And what if I don't repair it myself?

You will still be covered by the 6 year warranty as usual.

In the event that you do not repair the product yourself, if the cooler fails due to this fault, you are still entitled to a repair or replacement of the product. However, this failure happens extremely slowly and it is likely you will just suffer a performance degradation rather than outright failure of the cooler — you may not even notice it happening until you paid close attention to your CPU's temperatures.

I don't want to repair it myself. Can I send it in for repairs?

You will have to ship your product to a service team in the United States or Germany. If you choose this option, Arctic will need the information and a photo of the motor code of your Liquid Freezer II and the invoice. The three-digit motor code can be found under the water pump.