Acer laptop
Story with bitter end
Here goes small personal rant. After having my first laptop (HP) just for 10 months I was asked if I could sell it to my girlfriend brother as he wanted laptop, but refused to go and buy one for himself. So I pack it, sent it to him, went for shopping and I bought new shiny Acer Aspire 5512WLMi, best part of it was 1st April. It did cost me £700 which as many pointed out was lot of money, but it was packed with cutting edge technology at that time:
- Intel Pentiun M processor 740 (1.73GHz, 533MHz FSB, 2MB L2 cache)
- ATI Mobility Radeon X700
- 80GB HDD
- DVD- Dual double-layer (one of the first on laptops)
- Standard 512MB RAM, which I upgraded for 1GB
- 15.4” WXGA CrystalBrite LCD (crystal screen just started to be added to laptops)
- Bluetooth and wireless 802.11b/g
- Card reader
- Build in TV tuner with 2 remote controllers (1 big for full functionality and 1 small very useful for presentations that could be hidden in PCMCIA card slot)
I made first mistake at shop that I did not check quality of the product properly there and just home discovered I had dead pixel on the screen. No big deal. After two months I got first, vertical strip of lighter colour. After quick phone call with support I send it back to manufacturer and got it back in 2 weeks, which wasn’t so bad. According to report it was just loose chasing, I just do not understand why they changed whole screen as after return from repair there was no dead pixel, so they must change it whole.
One year passed without any accidents, but then I noticed that hinges started to crack. Made a phone call to support which was longer then my first as when you outside of warranty you no longer first priority. Laptop been sent for repair, after week I received report from them that yes hinges are cracked and need replacement. According to them damage been done by inappropriate use of device. Inappropriate use of device?! Are you kidding me? Unlike some of the fellow students I took great care of it since day one. The laptop was handled with care, I even bought neoprene sleeve for it and there was not a one scratch on it. Well, I paid for repair let their comment pass by.
On the second year “shit hit the fan”. For two or three weeks network adapter was giving me trouble with connection and it was affecting whole machine. It developed some strange dual personality. There was profile one that had network capability (sometimes connection may not work) and profile two that would not recognise network adapter at all. I made a call to Acer support, spoken to one of their engineers and got advice to buy PCMCIA wireless card. Of course it did not work. So I had to pack laptop and send it to them for repair. It took 2 weeks to get repair report which basically stated what was wrong and how much it will cost me. It was then I learned that it is not just simple replacement of broken module, but whole motherboard which will cost me £350. After giving permission for repair I was assured it will take only few days maximum one week. After first week I called in to be told they waiting for motherboard to be delivered. On the second week they told me component arrived and they are repairing. On 3rd week the person contradicted information given previously and told me they still waiting for component. On the 4th week support assistant couldn’t found any record about repair, after demanding to speak with supervisor record was found and I been assured I will get repaired and delivered in next 3 days. Laptop did arrive in these 3 days. However I couldn’t believe what I seen. My laptop in mint condition with no scratches had scratches all over the outside section of monitor. I made a call to Acer and asked what the hell happen. Support was so nice as to patch me directly to engineer (this wouldn’t normally happen if you ask them). Engineer was happy to tell me that my laptop was already repaired and I should receive it shortly. I told him I had it in front of me and there are scratches on it which haven’t been there before repair. He denied any damage and after speaking with superior they offered to replace chasing for me. There was a catch, I need to pay for currier delivery. After paying £350 for repair plus previous currier charges and under pressure from school to have laptop (you need it if you do not want to wait for university technician to sort out any missing software or configuration issues maybe in 2-3 weeks when your assignment is due now ) I had decide to leave it be.
I was hoping that no other ill thing can happen to my laptop. I was wrong. Now in 3rd year of using it, graphic card started to cause trouble. After nearly 2 months it finally gave up on me. I was using this laptop for work so I was looking for quick solution of the problem. I took it down to local repair shop (no repair – no fee) where they had look at it and told me that laptop needs motherboard replacement as graphic card, as unlike on other machines, is melted into motherboard. All hopes vanished and I thanked the guys and took it home. Now it is sitting on the self and waiting for me to either put it on ebay (sale it for parts) or throw it into trash.
If it was only my suffering I may think that it was just unlucky coincidence. However the other 2 classmates had they own share of trouble with Acer too. To put the final nail to the coffin of my confidence of Acer products, here is one. My old HP laptop in hands of my girlfriend’s brother is still happily “ticking”; and it did not see a repair shop at all. My decision for the future, never-ever-ever buy another product by Acer.