TravelMate off to Texas for warranty work

My P645-MG is off to Acer's warranty depot in Texas; the biometric finger print scanner no longer registers its existence in device manager. I suspect either a primary failure with the scanner or a connection issue between the scanner and mother board. The system is 22 months into its 24-month warranty, so I figured it should probably be repaired - plus one of the track pad button inputs seems variable (although I usually use an external mouse). The laptop is pristine. I hope it is returned in the same shape - and that the problem is actually fixed. Based on my phone experiences with Acer tech support, I believe I have reason to question that.

I wanted to report here about my experiences going through this process, and would certainly appreciate any similar experiences with Acer support or words of advice. I talked to Acer tech support support three separate times over this issue before realizing I had to ship it, and with respect to business machines, they seemed absolutely clueless. In every case, I had to explain what a biometric sensor was, and was often placed on hold often while they looked at their books to educate themselves. In most cases they said that they did not know what a TravelMate was. I was told by one tech to unplug and re-plug my PC - and I had to explain it was a laptop with a built-in battery. I was told by another that they don't support accessory plug-in devices and I had to explain that the sensor was a built-in part of the system. I had one tech start me through the process of re-installing my wifi driver when I asked him if he knew what a biometric scanner was ("of course!" - but in fact it turned out he did not). Another tech had me do a full factory reset (ughh!) - but at least my data is safe on my NAS. One tech told me to contact "Level 2 support" - but every time I called and asked for "level 2" I was told they were "closed." I looked for - but was unable to find - a separate tech support line for business customers.

I really do hope that the bench techs in Temple, Texas are sharp. I have read at least one good comment here (Bronsky - who has good credibility with me) that they are top-notch there in the Acer Service Center in Temple, TX. I have gotten a couple of ideas on how to make the process go smoother. Apparently the depot uses FedEX which is preferred over UPS and so I suspect things will be less likely to be lost or confused by using that carrier myself. I was enormously impressed with the local FedEX Print & Ship facility - they had well-padded boxes custom designed for shipping notebook PCs. Interestingly, the only positive experience I have had so far with this process has been with FedEX. I am keeping an open mind, and truly hope I can report back that bench-level tech support at Acer resolved the issues.

 

I wish I could report a positive experience has resulted from the bench warranty work at the Acer service center in Temple, TX but the laptop arrived essentially unrepaired. The device manager sees the biometric device now, but it simply will not scan, even when the TPM is reset in the bios. After talking to tech (they had me upgrade almost every driver in the system - a real chore I was not expecting), the decision was made for me to send it back again. I was so elated to see my laptop arrive by FedEX delivery after not having it for two weeks. A couple of hours later I packed it up and took it back to FedEX for Acer to try again.

I wrote a ton of great reviews on this machine. And every word remains true. it is no doubt one of the best systems in terms of design, build and value. But now I think I should edit in a caveat about my multiple experiences with service.

 

Sorry to hear about your experience with the Temple Texas depot. When I owned a 3820TG, it went to the Depot twice and I had nothing but praise for the techs in Texas. Like everything else, it looks like those were the good old days. You think they would test the unit before sending it back to you to assure that it was fixed.

 

Looks like it goes back a third time. Finally talked to level 2 support and they determined that it needs to go back. Maybe this will be the charm. At 23 months into a 24 month warranty, the extended warranty is looking more like a smart move at this point. I mean they have to get it fixed eventually.

Right?

 

I really tried to see if this was not a fault I could fix at a software level here at home. The problem is that since getting the unit back, the Bluetooth is suddenly extremely fickle - sometimes it sees my added peripherals. And sometimes it sees nothing. Sometimes it pairs with devices in discovery mode. And sometimes it doesn't even know they are there. One of the things they replaced was the SSD, and I read somewhere that simply resetting the SSD into the slot can fix mercurial Bluetooth connectivity issues. But I will stop short at opening the back in case that voids whatever warranty I have. Another call to Level 2 support was met with another instruction to send it back.

Interestingly, after the first repair failed and I was told to send it back for a second repair, I was assured that I would not need to send it back for a third repair - that if such a situation were to occur, I would get a replacement laptop. That really put me at ease about the process. But Acer managed to save themselves from honoring that commitment through a technicality - that since this was a "different" hardware fault, I would need to send it back again. I was unaware their grace was conditional. I suppose I should have had them send me something in writing, but was willing to trust their good will. My argument that it left the bench in disrepair twice in a row failed to sway them to honor their original promise. I'm not angling for a new laptop - frankly I love the 645-MG - but I have serious concerns that anyone at Acer actually knows how to fix these machines - only make them. They build a great product and offer it with exceptional value. If you never have to deal with service, you will no doubt be a very satisfied Acer customer.

 

IN EPILOGUE. The laptop is finally in good shape but it took four trips o the bench in Texas to make that happen. Four. I calculated the miles my laptop has flown in the course of two months - at least 12,800. That's more than half the circumference of the earth. I'm jealous for the frequent flyer miles it has undoubtedly earned.

A SUMMARY. The first two trips were to repair the built-in biometrics. It came back after the second repair unable to hold consistent WiFi without dropping out, and extremely fickle Bluetooth device pairings. Again, after a full system restore to no avail and talking with tech support, I was told my only option was to send it back. The laptop came back to me after that third repair functionally repaired but with loose hinges and a lid that felt like it was going to pop off. I sent it back - after seriously considering just using duct tape - and was at first told by the Texas bench that it was fine. It took some insistence to convince them to take another look - and that's when they finally concurred there was a problem significant enough for them to order and install a new hinge set and back cover. They literally had to retrieve it from shipping to take that second look - fortunately saving me a fifth return.

ABOUT THAT EXTENDED WARRANTY... During these travails, my warranty was about to expire. I decided that - despite the issues with competence - it was in my interest to extend that warranty. But the online site would not recognize a warranty extension as a valid buy-in option. A call to tech support was met with an explanation that because the TravelMate already had a two-year warranty, an extended third year was not available (interestingly this was on the heels of another tech who insisted the TravelMate only carried a one-year warranty). Through the flood of misinformation, I was finally able to obtain that extended service agreement for 5 cents less than $70 less than 24 hours before the original 2-year coverage was to end (at which time I would have been disqualified from purchasing it).

WOULD I STILL RECOMMEND THE TRAVELMATE? Tough to say. It's a great laptop. Hands-down the best I've owned - and that's comparing it to my previous ownership of a Dell Latitude, an IBM ThinkPad and a VAIO (the worst). And yet the shame is that the technical staff is definitely not up to the job of supporting with in an effective standardized approach based on product knowledge and post-repair/evaluation bench testing. I admit that I was able to get assistance from the administrative offices - a rather extreme measure which proved absolutely key to resolving many of these issues. I hope Acer occasionally reads these things. And if they do, I would suggest a clear path to Level Two tech support automatically for any TravelMate machine. Consumer-grade laptops like the Aspires are fundamentally different enough that there should be at least one or two specialists who know the TravelMate inside and out. Misinformation from those who didn't know the product - from not knowing what a biometric sensor was to telling me the Bluetooth didn't work because it never came with it to insisting that it only had a one-year warranty to telling me an extended service agreement was not available for purchase to breaking the hinges installing the new antenna and so much more - was a key common component in my experience with resolving the issues with the laptop. Careful post-repair inspection just wasn't there; the laptop shipped back to me from two of the four service events with inadequate post-repair inspection, necessitating its return to Texas.

SHAMELESS SOAPBOX MOMENT. The TravelMate is constructed to last - it is built beyond just a cheap set of nice-looking specs. There is a real beauty to the logic of how it was designed, and a durability to the way it was constructed. That is the strength of this machine - that it aims beyond the spec-shopper or the person who wants a pretty machine. Its appeal is targeted to a more discerning customer. As such, I would think that part and parcel to that package would be the company support to meet those standards. Acer should build as much pride in its support as it can justifiably claim in it's product.

 

It seems that my travails caught the attention of one sensitive ear at Acer who "out of the blue" reached out to me to ask about my customer experience issues. I am pleased to say that they seem to be taking this issue seriously, and perhaps TravelMate/professional product customers will have a smoother avenue to travel upon if their machines require attention - be it on the tech support lines or at the repair bench in Temple City.

Two weeks out and my P645 is running smoother than it did when it was new out of the box two years ago - especially with respect to fingerprint scans and Bluetooth connections.

In the meantime, I am enormously impressed that Acer reached out to me. They even offered a good-will compensation for my troubles, something for which I neither asked for nor hinted at.

I felt it was only fair to share this little epilogue.