Asus F3: crack in palmrest at keyboard corner

Just choose "Edit" at the bottom of your post, and then choose "Delete".

 

Its beyond the joke now,

Its now been 3 weeks, since sending back to Larbert - Scotland, Asus`s UK repair centre. They still havent replaced the cracked top part of my laptop, and the 2 companys are very slow to let me know whats happening with it.

Waste of time the pair of them.

I am definetely slinging this laptop on ebay for sale when and if it comes back into my possession.

On a good day it takes me 6-7 hours to strip a laptop down to barebone to clean and reassemble (taking my time), when my own customers have spilt stuff into theirs, or general repairs, not 3 weeks. Theres just not enough hours in the day for some companys, or maybe its been given to a trainee to fix.

I HOPE THEY READ THIS TO SEE MY FRUSTRATION. AAARRRGGHH.

 

hi asusteve,

the next time buy a dell (good support) or HP (buisnessline) or Lenovo (sturdiest laptops ever).

Get your book back and sell it. Then your anger is blown away.

 

Lenovo is nothing special not durable or any better build than other business notebooks, I like the Thinkpad design though.

If you truly care about build quality , you should get a Panasonic tough book, much tougher than all others.

But if you care about value ,go for a HP or Dell better deal , Vostro 1400 is the current best deal if it is avialble in your country.


Also consider Dell LAtitude series, HP buiness are good but they do not offer you high resolution screen option.

 

My kids have 2 dells, an x300 very slim, and a d620 high res screen, good build.

Thing is, dell are always dearer and take their time bringing out the latest spec machines.

 

I have F3Ka, got the much dreaded crack now.
Called asus support, they asked me to send in some pictures of the crack.
I think the guy mentioned it went to his boss in Netherlands (I'm a finn) to be judged if they'd cover it or not. Now I had an email saying that warranty does not cover it.

Any of you guys had similiar experience with asus support?
It's a clear manufacturing defect, so how can they possibly refuse to cover it?
Gonna call again tomorrow. I don't really trust whining by email, 90% of the cases the service department don't even bother replying :|

 

You would likely win if you sue them, and you could also sue them for court costs. If this continues those affected may bring a class action lawsuit against Asus.

 

I might just sue them myself yet, or even the company i bought from for "loss of enjoyment". and "not fit for its purpose".

If any laptop is within 2 yrs they should warrant their fault.

Maybe we should all send emails with pics to Arsus, sorry Asus tech stating our anger that the F3 series is a shoddy product and should be pulled from retail sales until they resolve their shoddy workmanship problem.

Also i think a letter to pcworld.co.uk magazine to show that we are all dissatisfied with Asus`s service, that might cause Asus a fuss.

 

let do it, even my havent had crack yet, but im scare
let sue them before i send my in (touchwood) please dont crack....

 

This might be helpful in some way, but i have the exact same chasis as you since its the F3Ja and i have noticed some 'give' in that corner of the notebook, nothing durastic however it my imply a structural flaw in the model itself. HOWEVER i will admit that i did slam my fist on the area with some force, by accident in fact when i was angry during a game of Battlefield 2142. Even after that though i don't have any real damage or any physical cosmetic damage either.

So it COULD just be the average batch problem.

 

Hey guys been a long time since I have posted in the Asus thread. Its been about 6 months since I saw signs of cracks on the palmrests and didn't take no notice of it until last 3 weeks. I have no reason how that crack appeared on the bottom left of the palmrest. So I gave an email to the support team and was fortunate enough to get it checked out. I won't be returning back to University for another 3 weeks and also just sent off the laptop to Larbert in the UK last friday. How long will it take for me to get my crack replaced?

Here is the pic I took of it a few weeks ago.

 

Wow, that's a nasty crack. I hope that Asus takes good care of you, let us know.

 

Add me to the list - I have an F3JP, exactly the same crack in the corner as the original poster.

This is such a long email chain, I didn't even bother counting how many of us are now reporting this problem...

I won't be doing anything about it at this instant though, it's not annoying me too much, but I need to pop down to the Asus repair place here (Hong Kong) soon about a different problem so I may ask them about this...

 

hello everybody
I have f3sc
2 more months remaining for me ...
what the hell is going on...
Maybe using external keyboard and not using that usb sucket helps me yep?
Can anybody show some pictures from the buttom of cracked laptop? Is this crack only on the surface or in the buttom too?
I can't imagine asus produced these things...

 

Asus really needs to step up on this and provide a special extended warranty for this issue.

 

Another week has gone by. still no answers or emails from asus tech. thats 4 weeks to not even change a cracked case.

USELESS. 10 OUT OF 10 FOR POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE.

DO NOT BUY ASUS F3.SERIES. Not fit for purpose. Quality very very very poor.

 

Ive just called asus and they inform me that a-novo at Larbert have just received the spare part. i said that it takes 5 days return, the woman said that it takes 7 to 10 days to return so i quoted her the 3 weeks that have past since.

She wasnt happy when i said, that as soon as it arrives back i can therefore sell it, as i wont be buying asus laptops ever again.

Looks like i wont be expecting any compo from them for their error.

 

hello mr.Asusteve
Do you have any pics from the buttom of your notebook?
I mean the buttom of crack place...
Is this crack appears only in the surface? (This is very important for me cause if its going in the buttom too I will sell it as soon as possible....)

 

Spoke to the woman too today. Her name was called Donna. Fortunate for me she said the laptop was being fixed. She said it could take another 5 days before I get it back.

Asus Steve I guess you were unlucky with the wait.

 

HI - I might have been the first one to say that my laptop was returned to Asus to repair that oh so familiar crack only to have it develop a second crack in the same place (within a couple of weeks after it was returned). It was again returned and I have had it for about a month now and no problems. My uniformed guess is that when they replaced the surface the first time, they did not replace the black frame around the keyboard. It too was cracked in the same place. Last time I sent it in, they replaced both parts so it might have helped. I'm still pretty careful with it though & I don't travel with it much.

 

The crack is only on the top.

Ive got to ring Asus monday, as it might be ready to ship back to me.

Im definetely going to sell it, then im going to get a Sony VAIO FZ31Z.

 

i got this f3sv with me already a month now, so far so good
i think the problem of u all is the heating, it plastic will expand when got really hot
do u guys use fan to cool down?

 

dont know why the asus eroupe support qulity ar so low, not over in north armeria. over here is pretty fast.

for real, f3 is not bad except the crack. is only a minor thing.
other than that, overall is in top10

 

Fellow owner of an F3k here. I hate to say it but I also have the same crack in the same location. It's a very shallow crack at the moment. Is there any way to repair the crack myself so it won't exponentiate? I'd rather go through a root canal then deal with support.

 

If your technically minded and are able to take the top off yourself, i would do it d-i-y. Its only a case of taking screws out and clipping the top part off.
Then you could put some super glue on the underside. Or better still if your in usa, you could get a new top and fit it yourself.



Update on my repair. I now declare ASUS tech support clueless, lazy, and inefficient.

they have had it for 5 weeks now. it takes them 3 days to email me the progress of repair. then they said that its hard drive had failed. I had to point out that there is nothing wrong with the hd, as its passworded up to f+++ to stop people from stealing it. Plus its got private docs on, and ive been telling them to just send it back. I even rang the company thats doing the repair to explain and so they then said they would send it back. All of a sudden the repair status went from waiting to repair finished. i asked the company to send it back asap, they said yes it will prob go out on thursday (day of call)if not friday. So today is saturday.......maybe it will come today. or am i missing the fact that the status should say READY FOR SHIPPING. these are the statuses

ASUS After-sale Repair Status Route is as below:
Product Received > (Waiting) > Repairing > Final Testing > Packing > Ready for Shipping > Repair Finished

so we shall see if it comes today. 5 weeks to fix a cracked top.
Hopefully people will see this and NOT PURCHASE AN ASUS F3 SERIES NOTEBOOK due to all of the posts on this thread.

And if its not correct when its back, i will no doubt take a long drive and wang it through Asus uk's window.
--------
I've also just posted this on Asus forum to let people know how good the F3 series ISNT.

http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx?id=20080412132410906&board_id=3&model=F3Sc&SLanguage=en-us

 

dude, u cannot say all asus tech support are clueless lazy and inefficient. maybe in the UK but not in north america or asia. also, u cannot tell people not to buy f3. the crack is only a minor thing.

if u dont like asus so much, throw the laptop away and dont wait for the repair, go buy some other brand laptop.

 

I have added this thread to the Info Booth Sticky in the hope of making more potential buyers aware of the problem, to consider it as a factor in their purchase.

 

I have had this laptop for maybe 10 or so months now. I thought this problem was just one of my own. Just recently noticed the "crack" and did a yahoo search for - crack asus f3 -. To my amazement this is not just my own problem. I am afraid to send this to asus for service as I am a Mech Engineering student and need my laptop - can't afford to have this laptop in the shop for weeks just to replace a plastic component (which I could do myself if I can maybe convince asus to send me a new plastic piece - it would save them time and money in just sending those of us that have this problem, new reinforced pieces). I think if I obtain a new piece I will try to reinforce the bottom side with some metal and jbweld. If I can't, I will try to do the same with the broken piece.

The crack may have appeared due to a few factors that I can think of:

1) The heat produced causes the plastic (if it is plastic) to go through a cycle of thermal expansion and contraction (when hot, then turned off). Along with this is the pressure that is applied to that wrist area when typing which causes the portion of the laptop to experience a constant cycle of being flexed (the left side does not get hot like the right side).

2) This hot right side where the crack is forming is at a point I believe is a point of high stress due to there being a sharp corner (there is a radial fillet there - circular and not a sharp right angle). Due to the fillet being there, I'm assuming that it is to attempt to keep any cracks (failure) from occurring, not just there for aesthetic purposes.

3) There is not a heat issue on the left side, so the combinations of 1 and 2 lead me to believe these may be a big contributing factor to the cracking issue.

 

Guys, my F3JP started to develop the same crack! I'm in Portugal / Europe. What can I do?

 

Pretty much three options:

1. Send it for repairs (link to this thread so that they know the damage is not because of user carelessness)
2. Buy the top case and replace yourself (more difficult in Europe, no direct access to ASUS eStore)
3. Wait for it to grow larger...

 

Well its ok for you to say the above, USA tech might be ok but UK is very poor. It will only be a matter of time before yours will crack, and when it does you will have to do your sit and wait while it gets fixed.
And even if the crack is a minor thing, im glad that you think that that is ok. Too many people on here are cheesed off because of this minor thing.


I got my note book back after people staying in all day for me, the parcel guy came at 3.45pm.

When i got home i thought whats this, thats not the box i sent, it was not in the original Asus box i sent it in. That was the first thing that made me mad, how was i to sell the notebook now without its original box. I may as well have sent it in a cornflake packet.

I then opened it up and i could see that there was a hole in the box and also the security tape had been cut and so meant somebody at the parcel place had opened it up.

I inspected the laptop and noticed a screw missing on the bottom plate. My mrs said well i wonder if theres any missing inside. The screen lid would not open properly either.

I then put the notebook on and noticed that the screen had been broken. The fan was whizzing round very fast. Then 10 minutes later the notebook switched off.

So i then rang A-novo uk to tell them what i thought of them, and then rang Asus who are now going to deal with this now.

I then looked under the bottom cover and saw that there were a further 2 more screws missing and then also noticed that the heatsink / fan that should be screwed to the video chip and the motherboard was loose and that their 6 screws were missing, so again i got back onto the phone to Asus to give them my frustration.

5 weeks of sitting and waiting, for this to happen. I told you so, that the service was poor.

So who knows what will happen now. I cant get a refund, even though i paid by credit card, and im not prepared to have this one back. So yes maybe i should just waste £800 and throw it in the bin.

Attached pics, broken screen and the crappy tatty box it was sent back in, and screws missing on fan / heatsink.

 

This is really outrageous... (not the thing about the box, that is normal, they send it back in a nondescript box regardless what you send it in, but the rest)

Even if they don't know how to take these things apart, there are PDF manuals from ASUS that they should have, and from which they can learn... I managed to take my M6BNe apart a few times with those manuals and I didn't break it. Or maybe they are doing this on purpose? WTH...

Anyway, wouldn't it be useful for other UK users if someone from the UK looked through in this thread, and also "ASUS Notebook Quality: Below Expectations?" (linked from the Info Booth under "negative aspects"), and make a list of places/companies in the UK where one should NOT send their notebook in for repairs... I know people have been complaining on other threads as well... so maybe a forum-wide search would be useful.

Or maybe just send it to the Netherlands and forget about UK support altogether. Call the support center in Netherlands (they speak English, all of them), explain that you do not trust support in the UK and give a few examples of what happened, like this one, and ask them if they would be willing to take the notebook in. Even if you have to pay for the shipping, it's better than having your notebook return with the heatsink loose and a broken screen...

 

Just called Asus Iberica today. They know about the crack problem, and they will repair under warranty.

 

If i were u, i will just take the whole laptop back to the replacement office to deal with them face to face.

Good thing, there a repalcement office right around where i live. So i dont have to sit and wait, i can just bring it in. Also, like what Kvasir said, the crack mostly are from over heat

GET A FAN COOLER FOR THE LAPTOP!!!

 

Asusteve:
Wow, that's quite a pathetic service. It look's like the repair shops are run by a group of gradeschool/ highschool dropouts. Either that or sleazy repair guys under drugs 24/7. I hope Asus will directly give you a brand new replacement no questions asked. It's amazing of what kind of services you can get in this world. The ones in uk is like exact opposite, polar end. I sent in mine in an average packed box, they sent back with a tight box inside the shipping box, while in UK they just throw a 1400 dollar machine in a loose cardboard box. I hope all various types of services in UK are not like this, or else this is a new joke the world can use to make fun of UK.

BTW, I don't think there's anything wrong with telling people not to buy a machine like this, if we are paying over 1000 dollars for a machine, we should not be bothered with problems like this. Not to say that only some people will have knowledge and patience of knowing how to deal with going to forums, getting information on warranty. This is also good to alert people in the UK to avoid Asus. I wouldn't be all certain about the heating, but a good consideration, afterall, there are various factors, unless experimented, no point concluding to one cause. Buying a laptop to be required to get a cooler is just not practical. My machine cracked under cold temperatures too, my furnace broke and the room temperature was probably at 5-10 degrees (or even less, outdoor was -1 to 0).

Get an Acer or something else (whatever brand is quality, good balance between price and specs) if you're in a country with poor warranty services, they are cheaper, have better components and the plastics to me feels very solid. Only drawback is one year warranty, but a few hundred dollars lower is certainly worth it, and extra warranty seems unimportant in UK. I regret getting my model with that spec at that price, would go with Acer if I were to buy one now, or another Asus model if prices were lower.

 

Personally I wouldn't suggest ACER, but that's just my own bias...

 

Well ive been waiting 1 more week, still nothing back from asus tech. rang uk asus on friday and was told someone would call me back re; smashed notebook.

Looks like i will be taking legal action for the loss of my laptop. Ill call them monday see whats happening. Got the legal forms ready. Just need to send some letters off.

I wouldnt buy an Acer, batterys dont last long ie dont charge up when left plugged in all time.

The best laptops ive ever had were Dell c600,Dell x300, Sony vaio (when Acer made them before Asus took over).

I would prob go for the Sony vaio when i get all this sorted out. Sony support was ok in the past. although ive never had to use them to send back a notebook, in the case like this.

 

Maybe before actually taking legal action, threaten with legal action. I have a feeling that will make them a bit more responsive. Perhaps you'll finally get your notebook replaced, and without going through the hassle of legal action...

Just a suggestion. Maybe you're just fed up with them and want to go through with it anyway.

 

The last email i sent stated that i intend to take legal action.

I spoke to another Asus UK rep, possibly a *manager today and i resent him my emails from last week. He said that he would call me after he had spoke to his main manager with regards to all of whats happened.

The phone call was not returned *again, so tomorrow i will talk to this chap and shall be asking him why he never bothered calling or emailing.

Ive got the forms ready for taking the case to the small claims court, and shall be starting that ball rolling this week.

---
I actually feel like going down to Hemel Hempstead to the UK office but i might end up getting arrrested, if it turned out to be a wasted 200 mile journey.

 

When you talk to the guy, make sure and ask him for contact information for Asus's legal representation. This will let him know that you are serious, plus it will help you with filling out your forms for the lawsuit.

 

Ive had 2 of my emails ignored today (Tues), so i will be phoning them for all their relevant details today, thats if they dont ignore me.

Ive also been looking at contacting computer magazines, but most of them dont have Live numbers.

we shall see what happens today.

 

I think it might be a manufacturing issue. Mine A8Jp developed a similar crack, not in the palmrest, but in LCD cover. It was too horrible and plastic was literally falling apart. ASUS repair center at Germany were really helpful and they replaced the broken LCD cover, hinges and also palmrest. Now my laptop shines perfect new
I would really suggest to go for an RMA

 

I think Asusteve did an RMA... it's just that the UK service is really bad and usually they ruin the laptop in RMA instead of fixing it.

 

I just discovered a crack in my F3SV.
It is cracked in the right corner through the case as well as the black part around the keyboard;
I have finals in a couple of weeks and can't afford to send my laptop away right now; Should i contact Asus tech support right now and explain my situation or just wait until the middle of May before i contact Asus and send my laptop back
(I'm in the US)

Thanks

 

I think it's better to just wait.

 

Unless your warranty expires before finals, you can call and RMA afterwards; in the meantime, just be gentle.

If it does expire, call Asus and discuss with them.

 

It took about 3 1/2 weeks for mine to get repaired. They even gave me a new battery aswell . was not impressed with them removing my password and setting up another administrator account on my system. Overall I am very happy with the crack repair however it has no stickers what so ever. Im even sure one of the stickers has my Warranty number on it. Should I bother myself getting the stickers for it?

Asus Steve may I suggest that you ask to speak to the main manager and tell him everything what happened with your laptop. You have this thread for proof of your troubles.

 

The warranty number (if by that you mean serial number) should be on the belly of the notebook, on a white sticker.

 

agree, Asus Steve dont pull everyone down because u had a terrible experience with Asus Tech.

 

I don't think Asusteve is trying to pull everyone down... he's just recounting his experience.

And terrible experiences seem to be the norm rather than the exception with ASUS UK...