ASUS Zenbook UX303 (Nvidia GT 840M)

Here's the thing.

My UX303LN that I've had for just over a year broke. The craptastic hinge that was working fine for the first few months JUST cracked on me. Like badly. And all I did was close the damn notebook like I normally would. The hinge had been wobbly for the past couple of months, but nothing I could really say bad. I heard a crack a week ago, but I hadn't heard anything since then so I didn't really bother with it.

Until just. Freaking. Now.

Terrible build quality, Asus. I severely regret my purchase now.

Thing is, I can't find my receipt. BUT, I registered for warranty online last year in September 2014 (thank goodness) and the warranty policy there states that if there is no proof of purchase, the warranty starts from the date of manufacturing.

So when was the date of manufacturing? I've looked everywhere online but I can't find any answers. The warranty is for 24 months, so I better hope it's within the time period. Otherwise, I'm just gonna get myself a HP Spectre x360 with twice the battery life of this pile of dogshit. I don't even know why I bothered with the 840M in here since I never play games on my PC (I've got a PS4). And when I do, they're games that integrated graphics can run easily. Ughhhhhhh.

Before I do that, however, does anyone here who has had this issue know how much it will cost to fix? How long will it take to fix it as well?

 

That picture looks very familiar to me. It took ASUS about two weeks to fix it for me, calculated from the point when I contacted them to the point the machine was returned. The process was free, including the courier who came to pick it up and returned it. But all this of course varies from country to country.

Did you register the machine on the ASUS website after you purchased it? Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think that the UX303LN has been in production for two years yet, so yours should be under (a 24 month) warranty.

Some websites suggest that the first two letters of the Serial Number tell you the manufacturing date with ASUS products. I don't know how true this is, but according to the information, the first character stands for the year, "A" being 2010, "B" 2011 and so on. The second character is the month, 1-9 being the first 9 months and A, B and C used for the rest. The third character stands for the product code, N being "Notebook". I don't know if this is true, but my Serial Number sticker (which is on the bottom of the computer) starts EBN, which would make it a notebook manufactured in November 2014, which would make sense considering that I bought it in January 2015. So take a look at the serial number that you have and see if yours makes similar sense.

You should also be able to get a rough idea of the manufacturing date through BIOS.

 

Did you not upload a picture of the receipt when registering it?

 

Which warranty are you talking about exactly ? Is it Asus' warranty or some other protection plan you bought ?
Because I feel like Asus might try to swindle you; They have this thing called Asus Damage Protection (ADP) and it is basically a warranty against accidental usage of the notebook. They didn't want to take back my laptop with the "normal" warranty as they insisted that the hinge breaking wasn't a manufacturing default but me mishandling the laptop, so they took it under the ADP (so they treated it as if I accidentally broke the laptop !).
Here's the catch; ADP is supposed to last 1 year (at least it did for me, maybe you have an extension).
So if you are using Asus' standard warranty, make sure to insist that it is a manufacturing default and not you mishandling the notebook.

 

Weird, mine is EBN too, even though I bought it in October 2014. Reeaaally strange.

If I remember correctly, no. It just asked for the receipt number and seller's name, and the serial number.

It's the warranty registered online on Asus' website. I called up Asus in my country (Malaysia) and even though I specifically mentioned that it's a fairly well-known issue with the laptop with many owners online, the person I spoke to insisted that it's "not in their records" and that "I have to bring it to the Asus center for inspection". What a swindler. Also another problem: ADP is for US/Canada only. I live all the way in Southeast Asia. :/

Ugh. Massive ugh. I can't close the damn notebook and they expect me to bring it over? Sheesh.

*waits patiently for the release of the Lenovo Yoga 900 or the new Dell XPS 15*

 

You could either find an email record of the purchase or ask the reseller for a new copy.

 

You can find the manufacture month and year on a sticker located on the reverse of the back cover.

 

I don't know how to take off the back cover, though. I know it's all T5 screws, but I don't know how to take off the rubber feet holding the other two screws without breaking it.

 

You don't need to remove the rubber feet AFAIK, it's just the 9 exposed screws.

 

I think there are screws hidden under 2 of the rubber feet

 

That's right there are.

Just slide a knife under the inside corner and slowly lift.

 

And don't damage them, they are very expensive

Gesendet von meinem PLK-L01 mit Tapatalk

 

Strange, none of the guides mention that part which seems pretty odd (we never stocked this model so I have no direct experience).

 

4 months later, I got another rattle (clearly broken plastic from the top screen portion)
Asus fixed it in 3 days. This is seriously the most unreliable piece of hardware I've ever purchased. Surprising given how many years Asus has been making Zenbooks

 

Hi to all.
I have updated my asus with Windows 10 TH2 and after i have had some issue
with Premiere cc 2014 and gpu.
After started the premiere i received an alert message about gpu driver.
Someone have received the same alert message?

 

Asus Smart Gesture 4.0.12 now allows three finger BACK and FORWARD in Browsers (instead of Switching Desktops)

http://ivanrf.com/en/latest-asus-drivers-for-windows-10/

 

Hey guys, I need some help here. Recently my UX303LN has become really slow at startup and wake from sleep. It takes 10 seconds or so before the screen lights up after I press the power button (both during startup and wake-up from sleep).

After I have logged in though, everything else runs fine. I've done some googling and it seems that the problem may be that my SSD is not instantly detected during startup/wake, I could not find anything that suggests a problem with the SSD in my BIOS/UEFI settings. There are no malwares, my UX303LN runs perfectly smooth after startup, just like how it has always been.

Some websites (and this one) are suggesting doing a reformat of my SSD, but I'm not able to (and I'm hoping not to) do it right now.

Anyone facing the same problem? I'm running a Windows 8.1 Single Language, Core i5 4210U and 8GB of RAM, 64 bit.

 

Is it a stock install? Have you made sure all the HDD power savings are off?

 

Yes it is a stock install. The "turn off hard disk after xxx time" in the Power Options menu has always been the same, so I don't think that's the root of the problem.

I think the only way for me to test out my problem further is to do a factory refresh, but at this point I can't afford to as I am in the midst of my exams.

 

If you take an image backup of the system to an external backup HDD you can then refresh, try it and then flash back over after you know the results.

 

I am a victim of the hinge on this laptop and though it is under warranty ASUS has quoted me $410 to fix it. It just cracked when I opened the screen. I am not very pleased about this.

 

Did you get it through a reseller you can reach out to? If not you could contact your local citizens advise.

 

Yes, you do have to remove the rear rubber feet. Just be careful because one corner is thinner than the rest and easy to tear it. That adhesive is quite sticky.

 

That's what I am going to do. Thanks.

 

Best of luck, let us know how you get on.

 

Any suggestion to remove the old drivers?

 

My UX303LN crashed today. Couldn't even boot into safe mode. Luckily I could do a reset (not refresh) of my OS and it survived. However, the lag at startup/wake from sleep still persists. I am absolutely sure that this is a hardware problem.

Thoughts anyone?

 

I'm a university student, so I purchased this Zenbook to take to and from school. It's been really great to me for the most part - it's super light, so I barely notice it in my backpack, and it can do just about everything my desktop could, even games. The high resolution took some getting used to; I think I'm using 150% scaling so text isn't too small. I'm using the touchscreen more than I thought I would. Sometimes the battery doesn't last through a long day, but I can usually find a time and place to recharge sometime in the middle.

I bought it on December 26, 2014, and the hinge broke December 3, 2015. Looks VERY similar to this post by sabermaniac.

It's still covered under warranty, but only barely. Fortunately, lectures have ended for the semester, so parting with it for RMA repair won't be so bad. Hopefully I'll get it back by the start of next semester.

 

Good luck with your hinge repair, this is a problem affecting all ux303's that Asus is ignoring. I'm afraid that once they'll replace the screen, you'll be only good for another year before it breaks again...

 

You can of course try to be careful with it by opening it with two hands and being gentle. It should help extend the life a bit.

 

Yeah. Both the yellow 4k LCD and hinge issue were present with the UX303LN with Haswell CPU and 840m, then they released the UX303LB with 940m and Broadwell CPU, then the UX303UB with 940m and Skylake CPU. But they never bothered to revise the hinge design or fix the yellow LCD issue. I wish they sold 1080p LCD in USA though, because I had to hackenslash my UX303LB with a European UX303LB to get a 1080p LCD.

 

I think my replacement screen/hinge is on it's way out already.

Always super careful to open/close.

This is so crap of ASUS.

 

They do seem to be burying their heads over this one :/

 

I never got a clear answer as to whether the hinge issue also affects the new ux303ua...I've had mine for over a month now and everything feels solid.

 

Hi guys, I don't know if it's been posted already but Smart Gesture seems to overclock the integrated graphics from 600 mhz to 1000 mhz whenever you scroll.

I use Intel Extreme Tuning Utility to fix it, going into "advanced tuning", then "graphics" and there set "Processor Graphics Ratio Limit" to 6 (which is the default clock at idle) and now SmartGesture can't increase the clock beyond 600 mhz. You can even underclock the integrated graphics by lowering the limit below 6, but I wouldn't recommand trying to go over 10 which is the maximum.

 

Unfortunately for me, I gave up trying to convince Asus that it was a manufacturing defect since they insisted that it was damage caused by ME and asked for money. Hell-freaking-no. Also, it seems that even after the repair, it's only going to last for a year before it gives out again.

Since I needed a new laptop, I got myself the Skylake HP Spectre x360 (Bang & Olufsen edition). All I can say is that this laptop is miles ahead of the Zenbook in terms of build quality and durability. The keyboard is more tactile, clicky and less mushy than the Zenbook, the trackpad is WAY better with a much quieter click, more friction on the glass surface and tracks more reliably, the screen, while glossy, has better color accuracy (no mustardy yellows to deal with), and the biggest advantage over the Zenbook is the battery life. I'll be lucky to even get 5 hours out a single charge on the Zenbook, while the Spectre has lasted me for 7-8 hours with no issue whatsoever.

If you really want to play games, then the Zenbook with dedicated graphics is pretty much your only reasonably priced option for a "gaming" laptop with acceptable battery life and good portability. The Razer Blade 14 2015 and MS Surface Book are way out of any reasonable person's price range. I initially bought the UX303LN with the intention of playing games, but I realized that I primarily play games on my PS4 anyway, with the games I play on the Zenbook being visual novels and running games on a DS emulator - tasks integrated graphics have absolutely no problem with.

My main advice for anyone who just got a Zenbook or is considering buying one - don't. Just don't. Return it for something else that's worth your time and money instead of having to deal with build issues that become a major headache over time.

 

I appreciate the warning, but I am still waiting to hear if they resolved any of the issues with the latest UA and UB models. Like I said earlier, I've had my UA for over a month now and I'm really happy. Hinge seems solid (fingers crossed). Battery life - I've had it at work for about 7-8 hours with no problems. And even though I didn't get the one with dedicated graphics, the Skylake-gen GPU is really impressive. I can still play a lot of new games at decent frame rates at 720p.

 

Yup, brought mine in march 2015, and the right hinge is already groaning and offset now. Hopefully this is covered in the warranty

 

I'm trying to update my drivers because I'm hearing static from my speakers and various websites recommended updating drivers. Anyway, before letting me download drivers, Asus now asks which processor I have https://www.asus.com/Notebooks/ASUS_ZENBOOK_UX303LN/HelpDesk_Download/ - I have an i7, but there's no option for that. Is it OK to use the i5 drivers? Or is there another site I should be using? Thanks.

 

It's more for the BIOS files, but you will note the bios files are for i5/i7 5000 series and i5/i7 4000 series, so it matters more what generation of i5/i7.

 

Guys,
i am about to replace thermal paste on the CPU, however i am wondering if I can spread some over the GPU as well or do i need to buy the Thermal Pad and cut it.
Has anyone done that?

 

Any shiny core will take to thermal paste well, (so GPU and CPU), for other chips (such as video ram) use thermal pads.

 

I was just wondering how big is the gap between GPU and the cooling pipe. On my previous Asus U53X there was a pad instead of paste due to the bigger gap. As for my ux303ln i have not put it apart yet, that's why i am asking in advance to buy everything i need.

 

It is very rare to have a thermal pad on a CPU. Usually the heat density is too high that the pad will act more of an insulator than heat conductor. But did a quick spec check of the U53X and had AMD Brazos 18W TDP CPU which could possibly use a thermal pad at that low TDP and with 40nm. I'd say 99% of laptops use thermal paste. The gap should be more or less zero but that's why you have paste to take up the slight gap that may exist.

 

Thanks! as for CPU I know for sure that I will need thermal paste (probably will buy arctic silver 5). I am wondering about GPU

 

GPU is same thing. I would recommend Noctua NT-H1 or Gelid Extreme or IC Diamond. AS5 is not a great performer, good but not great. Then you have the issue of it being electrically capacitive so if you accidentally goop some on the motherboard there's risk of shorting out something.

I use IC Diamond because it is the only paste so far (that I've witnessed at least) that doesn't need a "break in" period where some may need it running for dozens or hundreds of hours before it finally reaches its actual cooling potential. It also is one that I have found doesn't lose its cooling capacity much at all over time. I've repasted laptop systems that haven't been touched for three years and as long as vents and fans are cleaned it cools just as well as it did originally (within a few deg C). And it doesn't need a high clamp load to be effective, which is good for laptops since the clamp load is usually quite low.

However IC Diamond is quite thick and a bit difficult to apply, and has the potential to scratch the die if/when you do decide to clean the thermal paste off for whatever reason, because it actually has diamond in the compound. I've found it's purely cosmetic but still some people don't want it to happen at all.

I have used Noctua and Gelid Extreme and Noctua performs nearly as well as the IC Diamond, but it will need to be replaced after a year. But it doesn't suffer from the issues of IC Diamond. Gelid Extreme is almost as good as the Noctua but not quite, but also will need to be replaced after 6-12 months of use, and I think Gelid Extreme is better suited for a desktop type application.

 

Thanks! if scratching wont affect my CPU and GPU i will go with IC Diamond then.

 

When removing the paste just be careful and dont rub it into the die to avoid scratches.

 

EDIT: Double post; see following.

 

I'm surprised they gave you such a hard time. I just called their customer service line and when they asked me what's wrong, I simply said the hinge had been loosening over time until one day it finally broke, and that I'm not the only one with this issue. They approved the RMA without objection.

I sent the laptop in on December 15, paying $70 for packing and shipping. Received it back today (December 30).

It looks like just the screen and hinge assembly were replaced. It feels like my screen is just a hair thicker than it used to be, but I might be imagining it. It seems the yellows are back the way they were though, so I may have to re-flash it. The hinge feels solid now (no more "give" before tension while opening and closing) but we'll see how long it lasts this time.

Perhaps I should avoid touching the screen with one hand, or at least stop using the laptop while walking...(it's just so light lol)