V1JP - V1s Replacement

Hello, i have a v1jp and am quite annoyed by the battery wear issue. I have sent batteries back to asus! and new one is currently on 27% wear when i forget about having to charge my laptop from 40%!!!! thats almost an hour lost!
I have a mod battery which i carry everywhere, but mainly use the DVD tray.

I was wondering if Asus will replace my v1jp for a v1s?
Surely for legal reasons this laptop is faulty and cannot be sold?

 

I was wondering about similar things. The battery wear issue just makes the notebook pretty much useless running on batteries. :-(

I somehow don't feel good about getting a new battery (replaced under warranty) and then trying to sell the notebook off to someone. But I don't think ASUS would replace our notebooks, as far as I know they do not even admit to this fault.

 

Oh if you have already sent 3 batteries back there are grounds to request a replacement.

Be aware though about the "modular batt kills main batt" issue on the V1S!!!

 

Well i have only sent one back, and considering sending a second. Do i still warrant a replacement.

 

Just out of curiosity, did you recently get that replacement battery?

I'm still on my original primary, but I accidentally depleted it to less than 30% and it jumped down to like 10% and now my wear went up by another 4%. -_- (12%, mind you, every single time I've gone under that limit has resulted in increasing the wear).

So seeing that my warranty will be going up in 3 months for the battery, and seeing that I can very easily discharge/recharge it and pump up the wear, maybe it might be good to try to get a fixed replacement?

As far as replacing with a V1S, not likely. They have service centers which do repairs, but afaik they don't actually hold stock for replacement like that unless they're building it themselves. And I don't think Frankensteins are supported (ie: changing the motherboard and guts but keeping the outside) since it has so many different implications as far as if it ever needs service in the future, as far as tech support and drivers, and as far as the internals needing change (ie: old CPUs are not compatible with Santa Rosa, some internals are placed differently, heatsink might be different, availability of XP drivers for integrated components, etc) .

I wouldn't really feel good about passing it on to someone else without them knowing about the issue. But then you'd lose massive grounds for a reasonable price. As much as it stinks, I think my next laptop might be looking towards a Sony or a Dell... the warranty might be crap, but you usually don't have issues quite like this on high-end units from other companies...

 

I certainly suggest that. As i suggested on another thread, it should be sufficient only to mention the discontinuous jump from 30 to 10% -- that's a faulty batt that should be replaced.

Do a calibration since they'll request one anyway, probably, you can have that ready. That will increase wear by another few percent. Then test if you still have the effect. If you still do, call them and get an RMA number for the batt.

 

I haven't read the whole thread, but I will chime in a bit. I had a V6j, the starter of all these battery issues. After a year of replacing batteries and having the notebook sent in and such, I finally got mine replaced with a W3j. I would think the V1j to V1s might be a little easier. It took a lot of prying on my part, but what it came down to was proving I was in warranty (I have an extended warranty, I'm not sure if that part mattered, though), and proving that the warranty said if Asus couldn't fix the computer they would replace it with an equivalent or better spec'ed machine. Check your warranty, and push them on that. Ask if they have a solution, as their current just send it in method doesn't work. Then, if they don't, say they are legally obligated to replace your computer. Be firm, but not overly rude about it. Good luck!

 

Hello, Thanks for the replies. And Caleb, you are right about the legality. I am currently in talks with consumer direct, and it seems i have a legal stand point. Asus should release a recall given this forum.

If i do get an upgrade; which i do wish i do, is it possible to keep the same HDD and all data. I currently have Linux and XP setup nicely

 

I'm not sure if Asus would let you. One alternative would be to buy a second drive and clone it (might be a good idea to have a backup anyway). Otherwise, you would just have to talk to Asus about it. Good luck, and be sure to let all the others know what the resolution ends up as.

 

Just to keep you updated, i rang Asus UK and explained the situation and asked if they were aware of the v1jp issues. Apparently they are, but unsure of the specifics. So i was asked to email them all the details regarding the issue. They said that a replacement model will only be issued if the laptop is unrepairable, and she admitted that it was. I was told to wait for a reply, while they discuss suitable action.
Also it seems that there is enough information on this forum to demand a recall, but i am still seeking legal advice.

 

By a recall you mean a recall for all the users? If you're able to pull that, it would be very satisfying for all of us here who know that ASUS has been trying to stifle this issue ever since it came out. (even if my V6J won't get recalled -- I actually like it more than any current model even given the problem. I get 2hr batt life from the 50% I can discharge my batt without harming it, which people get from a full charge on newer laptops )

 

That's rather interesting... if there's a precedent for it, I'd say push it further. A high-spec V1S would be nice, since they fixed the original problem but now it destroys main batteries in a different way ?

Plus now I'm wondering whether if it really does give the extra battery life back or whether it just properly reports the number and gives the same amount of battery life?

So, a few questions:

1) Did you get to pick the model?

2) Did it come with full retail packaging? Or just as the unit?

3) Was your battery issue dragging on past the first year? Did the batteries have only a 1 year warranty at that point?

Anyway, meanwhile my battery is still not charging past 94%... wtf??? I guess I need to take the battery off to make it register the wear?

 

Probably should get started so that there's something on file. But I'm still wondering if it's the battery or the unit.

It shouldn't be the case, but I'm wondering if the current V1S units are actually shipping with a main battery part that is different from the V1Jp's main battery. I can't remember if anyone mentioned it before, though I remember that the supplier lists the additional batteries as the same part for all the V1 units and VX2?

 

It is an open problem whether it's the battery firmware, battery hardware, the BIOS, or hardware on the machine. I strongly suspect the malfunction is not hardware, but firmware -- and it's probably in the battery firmware, but here I'm not so sure.

There's no good way to fix this other than getting an entire different machine.

Because changing the battery does not fix the malfunction, you can argue that ASUS cannot fix the malfunction with the present machine so they should replace it, within the confines of the machine warranty (not the batt warranty) which is 2 years or in Caleb's case 3 because he had xtnd warranty (I think).

 

1. I sort of picked the model. I asked for a V1s at one point, but it was shot down. Then, I asked for a W3j, and the guy that I had been working with through most of the year agreed that this was the most reasonable replacement. At one point they offered to replace it with a V6v, which is a downgrade, so I turned them down and reminded them of the terms in my warrant.
2. It was in full retail packaging. However, I had to return every bit and piece of the old one before they would even ship the new one.
3. The batteries only have a one year warranty, but after 5 or 6 batteries and a motherboard replacement, it was relatively clear that it was either the computer, or ALL of the batteries. In either case, they have to replace it.

 

Just an update for today on the matter; i rang ASus support to follow up the query and was told that the details have been passed on to a 'team leader' and i should hear a response within 2 days.

 

Hopefully the response will be positive. Good luck!

 

What a surprise... the 'team leaders' have yet to call back the support operator i called. Im sure i wont get a reply till after christmas

 

Keep pressing them. From the time I first suggested it to the time I got a replacement was 2-3 months.

 

I agree, you need to call and call and then when you're done with calling, call again.

I think that service reps are taught courses on how to ignore people without the people being aware they are being ignored.

They promised me stuff countless times (like they would call me in x minutes/hours, they would ask y and z) and when I called the next time it seemed that our eariler discussion had never taken place. And it's not like in the Netherlands they have more than 4 or 5 reps seated in more than 1 office -- I think I have talked to all of them.

You need to be patient, call again, and again, and explain your stuff from the start every time.

 

I fully agree. I am a persistent person and i shall keep calling. Its been a week and the annoying thing is, when calling i request the advisor who dealt with me but they always seem to be preoccupied. I must have called 3 times since last friday with no luck.
Thankfully i have email addresses of some 'higher ups' at the Asus service centre so i will be documenting the entire scenario (inc this past week) with him. I think i will wait 2 more weeks for Asus to reply. If not i will start any legal proceedings. Lets hope it doesnt come down to that.

 

I would agree, it seems absurd that they are so resistant to helping people with this issue, despite being so very helpful on other issues.

 

I rang Asus again... and finally with a reply. They said that there is no 'known' issue with the v1jp battery which means i cannot recieve a replacement. The only cause of action is a new battery. I notified the support agent that i will now pursue legal action against Asus for this matter as i have full rights to. Selling faulty units is a crime. And it is irritating that Asus cannot admit to it.

 

Yeah, that sucks. And it's not completely unexpected.

If you need a signed statement with documents (repair manifests with clearly stated causes "battery does not charge") to show that 4 batteries and 3 motherboards were changed on my V6J to no end (the fault is still manifest), please let me know.

 

So, even if there is "no known issue with the V1jp" what do they have to say about the endless repairs done on your unit? That should be enough. I would harrass them a bit about the fact they won't/cant fix it. But otherwise, legal action is a good idea.

 

Thank you for your support and it seems a patition from users will be one way to prove it. However i have been informed that The sales of goods act 1979 states that the supplier can not sell faulty units and by law they have to change it. Of course many retailers tend to ignore The sale of Goods act, so to get such a replacement is quite farfectched. However when talking to the retailer, they contacted Asus about the issue to which they replied there is nothing worng with the v1JP and no evidence of such battery wear. So i am using all the information found on this forum as prove and also i am going to contact the head of Asus repair. It seems Asus's suggestion is to send it in for 'inspection'.

 

Just to clarify, i have been reading the v1s battery issue, but still dazzled whether there is an existing problem? i dont want to request the v1s if it too suffers

 

Here is the reply i just recieved from the service centre leader:


Hi,



I am chasing this up with R&D and should have some feedback on this tomorrow. I will get in touch with you once I have a reply back from them.



Kind regards

 

Admission would mean confirmation, meaning they would be forced to recall all their units. I don't think they're about to do that considering the cost and the fact that only the savvy people would notice, which is unfortunately bad in this case since ASUS has always held the enthusiast/savvy niche in the market...

In any case, I think when you mentioned lawsuit it made some people a bit nervous... ;p

 

Oh it certainly has that effect. I'm willing to bet they are much more flexible in solving your problem at this point.

And I agree about the reason for which they stubbornly refuse to confirm the issue exists even though the proofs are really, really clear-cut. I will certainly not invest the effort and time into a lawsuit for such a small issue, but it would be extremely satisfying if someone did, this went public, and ASUS were forced to replace ALL the R1F-s, V6J-s, V1J-s, and V1S-s ever sold. I would love it oh so much, I would feel avenged for the many hours I have spent on this stupid issue.

 

Well lets hope Asus feel threatened by the possibility of a law suit. But i have more news. The retilaer emailed me today with this reply :

Thank you for sending this link through to us, I have read through it but do not really know how this would confirm there is a global issue with this particular notebook.

I have spoken to Asus themselves and they have no knowledge of this problem and have assured me that if there was a problem such as this being reported on a large scale they would recall the notebooks and research into what was causing it as they would not be wanting to lose customer over something that could be resolved. As Asus have reported no problem with these notebooks we would not be able to accept the return of this notebook for a refund or alternative model. If you would like to call Asus to discuss this with them you can contact them on 08701208340

tbh i think this staement is completely nonsense! Asus ARE familiar with the problem. They confiremed that on the phone to me. I'm starting to smell something fishy

 

Well, they will not admit publicly to the problem.

But that's a bit besides the point. It is irrelevant whether the V1J notebooks in general have this problem. The point is yours has a problem, they sold it to you, ASUS cannot fix it, ASUS should replace it (it is arguable whether this responsibility falls on the retail, unless the retailer has warranty responsibilities as well). End of story. It doesn't matter at this stage whether ASUS recognizes there is a large-scale problem or not.

 

Erm, that's a UK number. CalebSchmerge was dealing with the USA. Maybe they really aren't familiar with the problem and are feinting ignorance by not trying to find out...

 

I was also dealing with a V6j, not a V1j. I threatened the law-suit thing over the violation of my warranty. Its a contract, which says if Asus can't fix it, they will replace/upgrade it, they wouldn't. If the reseller won't help, work up the chain through the advisors, which are tough to get to. Stay with it.

 

Well its been over a week since i spoke to the team leader, so i decided to send another email of my concern, and this is an important issue for me. Thankfully i got a reply straight away stating:

"R&D told me they don’t know of this as being an issue. They ask for more info which I provided and I am waiting for there reply."

This is making me think if Asus know about this problem or are they playing dumb!

 

2nd option.

 

ElMatador: Any progress?

As far as R&D knowing or not knowing whether it's an issue, they won't.

The simple reason is that unless you stick the actual proof that it doesn't work in their face, they won't have any reason to believe that it to be a design defect and will tell the techs to swap it with the same thing.

Plus there's this level of abstraction. Chances are, R&D people don't always get to see their finished product in action and get feedback since the product is pushed out so quickly. Then there's simply the fact that have to start working on their next new project almost immediately (computer industry moves quick). If they're strapped for time, they probably won't see the issue or have lots of time to investigate the issue.

 

btw what i meant was that they know about the issue, but won't admit to it.

Either that, or the communication within the company sucks. I know deadlines are very short but many people have reported the very same problem, so unless communication is not well designed within ASUS, it should have reached central levels by now.

 

hello, well no progress. I thought i would give a while after New Year before continuing the bombardment of emails. Also the team leader i am discussing it with is out of office. However something must be done pritty soon. On the 23rd Jan my battery 1 year service expires and i dont think they will do anything after then!

My guess is that Asus are FULLY aware of the problem, but a recall would mean large amounts of money and hassle. Also it seems they are happy enough to replace batteries for the cutomers unaware of the exact battery problem. I have to say the majority of the ASUS v1 buyers think its the battery, not the laptop

 

Keep us posted, and good luck!

 

i have recieved another email from the team leader. Unfortunately its not good news:

"I have no reply back from R&D on this. I did provide them more info as they told me it is not a known issue to them. For the moment I can only offer to have the battery exchanged. I am afraid I have to wait for them to give feedback on the issue."

i am starting to run out of options. They clearly dont want to budge

 

Is this a first or second battery exchange? Otherwise, you could make the point that they can't fix the issue, so they should exchange the notebook.

Otherwise, I don't see what else you could argue (since they don't admit to the issue). The only option is to really go for a lawsuit which is I think overkill.

You could try to go over their heads and write ASUS headquarters.

 

indeed. I was going to call up the american Asus branch and see what they say (pretending i am in the US) and see if they are aware of it My plan B, as it where; was to pursue with a lawsuit. However i dont really have the time for that.

This would be my 2nd battery exchange, and 2nd laptop exchange. I recieved my laptop from retailer with inoperable dvd tray and a very high battery wear.

 

If it's only your 2nd batt then you would need to wait to really show that the problem isn't solved -- and that's not an option since your batt warranty will run out.

You could try Taiwan instead of US.

 

I would bargain with them on the warranty. Say that you are certain that there is an issue, but if the warranty runs out you get screwed, even though the issue was there when you were in warranty. You might get something out of them that way.

 

Unfortunately i cannot fight Asus on this matter. They will not replace the machine. I decided to send the whole laptop to Asus UK due to multiple problems. The hinge is loose, the back cover of LCD has a crack (near hinge) the CD refuses to burn CD's and there are light spots on the screen.
Asus have agreed to repair these faults.

 

Sorry about this... How many times did you repair your laptop already?

 

none, this would be the first. When i bought it it had CD problems so the retialer gave me a new one. Other than that i have sent the batteries. Never the unit. I cant afford to send it away, too important for my work.

 

Yep... probably it's written somewhere that they will not replace the machine unless it's been repaired a few times to no effect. Of course, changing batteries should qualify as a repair, but I'm afraid that if they don't want to change it, they can refuse... and like you said you can't fight them.

What I suggest is that you send it in to have all the stuff fixed, and then try to maximize the life of your battery following my advice on the battery wear thread (basically never discharge past 35-40%, as much as possible).