My Experience with Zepto (as it happens)

I've had a small host of problems over the months with my 6625wd, and
at long last it's going into their service department for a second time.
I thought it might be useful to document that experience as it happens
here, for those who also might need to return their laptops.

This is not meant to bash Zepto in anyway, but to help others make
more informed decisions about service quality and purchases.

==========================================================
PAST ISSUE #1: Laptop fan on all the time and loud.
RESOLUTION: Resolved. Laptop fan seems to have reduced in loudness and
frequence after several Bios updates. Still always on for bios 011, but better.

PAST ISSUE#2: Keyboard becoming increasingly flimsy and well below quality
expected of a laptop this price.
RESOLUTION: Resolved. Keyboard replaced and better, but now has a small
bump on left hand side. Curiously, when docked, keyboard feels MUCH better.

PAST ISSUE #3: Docking station didn't dock well.
RESOLUTION: Resolved. New Plastic cover put in, issue resolved but docking
station "click" still seems low in quality.

PAST ISSUE #4: 80gb Hybrid becoming increasingly unstable and
requiring disk checks to resolve.
RESOLUTION: Not resolved completely. New hard drive sent to me that I paid
for in the promise they'd reimburse me for the old drive. This was well over a
month ago since they received the old drive and despite several emails, no
refund has yet been given.

CURRENT ISSUE #5: Random 'failed boots.' One out of roughly 10 times the
laptop will fail to boot. Power comes up, bios comes up, but then system hangs at
a black screen. Must cold reboot. This seems to occur more often when a recent
'docking' or 'undocking' of the laptop has occured.
RESOLUTION: Unresolved. I did try the following: Upgrading to Bios 015,
upgrading Windows Vista to SP1, checking hard drive seating, and eventually
reinstalling windows. None of these worked. Zepto explains I must send in
for them to fix, I agree but cannot until a replacement laptop is purchased for
work.

CURRENT ISSUE #6: Upon installation of Bios 015 laptop starts having random
shutdowns during intensive use. This occured in one game and during photo
editing via Adobe Lightroom.
RESOLUTION: Unresolved. Downgraded to Bios 011. Randon shutdowns
cease and Zepto explains I must send in for them to fix. I agree again of
course but cannot send in until a replacement laptop is purchased for work.
==========================================================

CURRENT STATUS: See update messages down below.

No refund of hard drive has yet been received. It was due
over a month ago.

 

I await your further reports with interest. I forecast that once your 6625WD is in the Zepto workshop then it will behave itself. So far, they haven't been able to reproduce the sudden shutdown problem I have had with my 6024W. Let's hope they do encounter the failed boot and fixing that then fixes the other issues.

John

 

Christopher, we do not have open on sundays in our HQ and our concept stores can't take the machine in for repair as they have no storage facility and no insurance that covers having customer laptops standing around. The concept stores are only a place to see the laptops and order them directly at the store.

 

Thanks Rene,

I had a feeling that might be the case. My wife will be staying in
Copenhagen an extra day (Monday) so will mail it then from a local post to
your service center.

Tusind Tak!

 

Is the startup problems something that zepto know what is wrong?
I have the exact same problems. Thought that it must be the video drivers first, after a reinstall things worked better for a few days but now the startup problems are back. Seems to be worse if I install/uninstall something and restart the computer.

 

I find that the start-up problems occured more often when I docked
or undocked the computer. However they did 'seem' to occur more
often after 2 or more programs were installed or uninstalled on the
same day. The failed boots never get more than a couple seconds
beyond the bios load, if at all.

I've not confirmed that Zepto has received the laptop yet, though
they are aware that this is occuring (for me).

CURRENT STATUS: Zepto has received the laptop April 23rd, I
believe and an RMA has been made.

DAYS IN SERVICE: 2

No refund of hard drive has yet been received. It was due over a month ago.

 

Yay, I had my first "random shutdown" right now!

My Zepto is about 3 weeks old now, and problems are getting worse and worse.
1600+ Euro down the drain for a notebook you may play 3d games with (until they slowdown and stutter) but better do NOT any serious work.
But I needed a notbook I also could work with. For an unstable toy, this is a bit overpriced.

 

Yep NinaMaya, join the club! I hope Zepto dies a horrible death because of the word of mouth. You use cheap manufacturing practices and in the end you reap what you sow; bad reputation that you can't get rid of!

 

Don't forget that Zepto is a rather young company, and they seem to try their best to fix these problems.

 

A lot of anger here, I've never had any problems with the Zepto computer I bought (3415W, the rebranded FL90)

 

Please be aware I'm not intending to bash or belittle Zepto, this is meant
as purely reportage for others who might be having similar experiences.

CURRENT STATUS: Zepto has received the laptop April 23rd, I believe
and an RMA has been made. I sent an email requesting an update and
the RMA# last night. No refund of hard drive has yet been
received. It was due over a month ago.

DAYS IN SERVICE: 3

 

My 6625WD arrived same day as yours on visit number 3. Mine patiently sits awaiting service. I have used it less than 50% time since purchase Aug 07. It was bought for mapping of disease outbreaks, projections of spread and as a test purchase by Med and Vet authorities in several countries.
I ordered TV tuner in 6625WD but I did not receive connector aerial to laptop despite numerous requests I still have never received it - I have received 2 more aerials but no means of connecting one to the laptop.

 

STATUS UPDATE #1: As they are quite busy, I decided to give Zepto a call
directly and hear for myself what's going on. After briefly talking to Magnus
in the Swedish support (I live in Stockholm), I was transferred to Peter who
has been my primary contact in the past.

At this time the Laptop is still in the 'cue' and will likely be looked at sometime
next week. There is also no update on the refund from the accounting
department. They had attempted a transfer previously to my account but
something went wrong. It seems likely that it was simply an incorrect
number somewhere in my account which could've been anyones fault, including
my own.

I hope to have more information by Tuesday.

DAYS IN SERVICE: 3 (weekends discluded)

 

Hi Gristopher,
I have the same "fail startup" problem in 6625wd that you have. Therefore please keep us posted how things go on.
I would also like to know what is the reason for "fail startup", is the problem in some component that is broke or is the problem on the software side.

 

Hi Cristopher, thanks for posting such an objective and detailed report of your RMA experience. You can add the Zepto Znote 6214W to the list of computers with the startup freeze problem. In my case it always happens at the very end of the POST screen, but the screen doesn't go black, the POST is still displayed. The only way out is a cold reboot. Exactly how often this occurs is hard to tell, but I'd say that every 10 times I turn the computer on isn't too far off. If you find an answer or if Zepto are able to fix it please let us know.

Thomas

 

STATUS UPDATE #2: Since they've not called or written I decided to call
myself for another status update. I spent just over 5 minutes in the waiting
cue, at which point I spoke to Peter.

According to him, my computer is now being looked at, but there is as of yet,
no status update or additional details.

I still have not received my refund for harddrive as promised over a month ago so
I gave Peter my account information again 'just in case.'

TOTAL DAYS AT ZEPTO (incl. weekends): 7
TOTAL DAYS WITH TECH (disl. weekend/holidays): 1

 

STATUS UPDATE #3: Zepto was closed May 1st, as expected, but is also
closed today and of course through the weekend. This results in 4 total
days extra where I get no status on my laptop or refund of a harddrive
which was promised almost 2 months ago.

I still have not received a refund for harddrive. This will officially become
a legal issue for me Monday.

TOTAL DAYS AT ZEPTO (incl. weekends): 10
TOTAL DAYS WITH TECH: (disl. weekends/holidays): 2

 

Heh I think the zepto section of Notebookreview will become VERY silent within the next year or so, when we all got money to buy a new laptop ;-)

 

I get the feeling Zepto do not care about us at all Christopher, it will soon be approaching 2 weeks without our 6625s even being looked at.
I can not think of any reason to buy from them ever again.
When a company loses trust from its client base then that company has failed.

 

... horribly.

 

STATUS UPDATE #4: I called Zepto this morning, talked to Peter. He
confirmed their bank had sent the refund (for harddrive) but doesn't have
a date when it was sent. I did a search (again) under my bank logs but
nothing shows. This suggests the transfer has somehow went awry and
possibly into someone else's account.

The laptop has been tested a bit at this point. Booted 30+ times without
error. We didn't get into what they were doing with the laptop between
boots, but I imagine it was simply restarting the computer without any use
between boots, which is when the problem occurs. No status of the random
shutdowns yet.

He said he'd try call back asap with more information.

It's important to note that Peter himself is not responsible for the funds
transfer or tech work. He's a customer service rep as I understand and
simply a middle man here. I would recommend to Zepto keeping him
around if not a raise for his patience and understanding. I can only
imagine he gets more irate customer call than me, and I'm just starting
to lose patience with Zepto.

It's also important to note that Zepto has installed a new support
system (software I believe) and isn't fully functional yet. This appears
to be having an effect on their ability to quickly and accurately handle
calls.

TOTAL DAYS AT ZEPTO (incl. weekends): 13
TOTAL DAYS WITH TECH: (disl. weekends/holidays): 3

 

Yes, we got our main company software updated and are still not fully functional. That is also why we had the phones closed on Friday.
It is as Christopher says important to note that us posting here on the forum are not the ones with the hands in the machines ect. All we can do is contact the appropriate parts/people in company when a problem arises.

 

These intermittent faults are the worst for both the user and the technicians. They couldn't replicate the unexpected shutdown problem on my 6024W and eventually swapped the motherboard. We will all have to wait a while to find out whether the problem is fixed. The 6024W is at home but I'm away and I would then look for a month of operation without that problem before being sure it is fixed.

John

 

One positive remark inbetween:

Despite the "funny" USB-behaviour which I could get used to and the one single random Shutdown last week which really scared me, the notebook worked very well all the time (Almost 18 hours in use per day) and it's a real powerhouse:
Photoshop starts in 5(!) seconds,
I'm rendering really complex Scenes with Blender on both Kernels (2 Threads) and am still able to work quite fluently with Adobe Flash at the same time. This, on the other hand, makes work really fun some times.
...and Half Life 2 in full resolution (1680x1050) with full detail and 30-40 fps. When I decide to make a little break

 

While waiting to get some answer to this "fail startup - black screen" problem I decided to something by my own. I downloaded and installed video drivers from the laptopvideo2go site and I must say that the "fail startup" has disappeared from my Zepto. At least for now.
I installed the Nvidia driver version 169.09.
For now it seems that the problem is driver based and not hardware. The time will tell whether the problem is solved or not.

 

Durdet, I have tried a lot of the drivers on laptopvideo2go, none of which affected this problem. I'm not sure if I have ever tried 169.09 though. Either way we don't all have the same graphics card, and it seems odd that a driver in Windows should cause problems during booting. Both of these things lead me to believe that this is a problem with the hardware and/or the BIOS.

I have also tried all the different BIOS versions that has been released since I bought the computer, none of which affected the issue.

Sorry for the ot posting Christopher.

 

STATUS UPDATE #5: I received two emails yesterday from both Customer
Service and the Financial department.

First the financial department. It appears they sent the funds awhile back,
but to the wrong bank account. I'm not sure how, but the initial information
I gave them included my banks BG# which could've been where they sent it.
Curiously, I gave them my account information 3 times since in emails or by
phone and it took 2 months to find that they'd sent it somewhere else. I
repeated the correct information to them this morning, so hopefully this will
be resolved.

As for the laptop, they were able to reproduce the non-successful boots with
and without a docking station. This is Good news! However, they also
encountered a problem I'd never had before, the computer apparently 'freezed'
on them during idle usage.

They've replaced the graphics card which seems to have cleared up the
problem and will send back the laptop this week. All good news.

I've not received word however on the other problem I'd reported, which
was the random shutdowns during bios 015 usage. I hope to hear more
about this today.

I'll report again once I find out more, and then one final time after I've
received the laptop back. Hope this has been helpful to some of you!

TOTAL DAYS AT ZEPTO (incl. weekends): 15
TOTAL DAYS WITH TECH: (disl. weekends/holidays): 5

 

Thanks for the update. Those random shutdowns may be difficult to diagnose.

As for the money transfer, someone should have got back to you if the transfer didn't go through because of a mis-match in the account details.

John

 

MINI-UPDATE: As it turns out I did in fact give them my banks giro# in
addition to my own account information in the original email to them. So this
was the cause for confusion. On Zeptos end it appears that the money goes
through, but in actuallity it goes into my "bank's account", not my personal
account. However, about a month ago was when I notified them of the
problem, so it did still take a very long time to find the cause of the problem.

 

Thats great that you will finally get fully functioning laptop Christopher.
Mine still sits on a shelf since 23rd April, Peter said yesterday he tried to move it up in priority buy hey it is only visit 3 for repair for GFX failure - at present I have had a usable notebook for 16 weeks out of 34 week ownership.

 

They will soon be charging you for storage.

To be honest, something that troublesome deserves replacement, not repair.

John

 

STATUS UPDATE #5: I received my laptop back today, quicker than expected.
Upon booting up for the first time, I received a "Windows Error Recovery"
screen. I selected "boot normally" and everything proceeded fine. After 4
reboots, using the computer for various 'updates' and small tasks in between,
I've not encountered any failed boots. Good news, but premature as it usually
only occurs roughly 1 in 10 boots.

According to the packing slip, they've replaced the graphics cards which
should solve the problem (according to them). I'll report again after some
days of usage on this, to make sure the problem actually went away.

On the downside, I'd requested on the phone as well as on piece of paper
attached to the computer itself for them to check the random shutdowns
issue. It seems they completely neglected this and I'm still running on
bios 011. I've received word from no one explaining why this is, but can only
assume that either bios 015 is a non-functioning one and will be pulled off
their ftp any moment, or they overlooked my requests to this matter.

In regards to the refund for the faulty harddrive that came with the
computer, this was partially my fault for sending them 2 pieces of bank
information in the original correspondence. After 1 month, I corrected them,
and since it has not been paid back to me. I can't blame them for the initial
mistake of course, but after 2 calls correcting the information and one
months time passing since, I do feel it's time to expect some results.

So my initial overall impressions are luke-warm. I'll check back with Zepto on
this bios issue and report back here. My main gripes are time (almost 2 weeks
turnaround), money (I had to pay for shipping to them), and incomplete
service (they didn't apparently check the random shutdown errors). On the
plus side they were friendly when speaking with them on the phone.

 

Congratulations Christopher I hope it all goes well for you.

Yesterday I rang Zepto again to enquire about my 6625WD hanging out there since April 23rd, they said they would ring me back in the afternoon; I checked my number with them.
By this morning no promised phone call received yet so I phoned them again and was told they had lost my phone number - strange when my phone number seems to be used as my customer number also. Joy of joys my repair status had changed to "in progress" before I had had a chance to phone Denmark again.

 

STATUS UPDATE #6: I sent an email yesterday to customer service
requesting why they'd not checked into the random shutdowns as per my
request. They were closed yesterday, so I imagine I'll get a response
sometime in the next couple of days.

No word yet on the refund, but this is no longer a hot button issue.

As of yet, no failed reboots in 15 total boots.

 

Checking for random shutdowns must be very difficult since the shutdowns are random and maybe you're required to do anything with the computer to trigger it somehow and you may have to use the same programs you use on a daily basis.

It's like: you send them a car, because the motor sometimes stops in city traffic.

But they only have a small test-lap where they drive the car round and round and they can't reproduce the problem, because they don't have real city-traffic on the lap. Maybe the motor only stops when heading left while switching the gear, braking and then accellerating.

In cases like that I'd think you should replace almost all hardware and keep the HD (although I don't know if the OS makes problems if there's a CPU and MB with another serial number)

 

I totally agree with NinaMaya on this - Zepto why don't you do the right thing and just give Christopher a brand new machine?? Jeeze, hasn't the poor guy suffered enough?

I wonder how much money Zepto loses through all this so called "repair work"...

 

Nina: Absolutely agree, it's hard to test. I asked if they could however,
but never got a response on it. They may have checked it, just neglected
to give me the info.

Resonant: Hehehe, well it would be nice! If anything else goes wrong with
the machine, I'll give them a chance to replace the machine or offer a
refund. If not, then it goes to the Swedish authorities. Don't think it'll
need to get that far though!

 

STATUS UPDATE #7: As it turns out, the swapping of graphics cards didn't
fix the problem. This morning, reboot #18 failed. So come Monday morning,
assuming they aren't closed for another holiday, I'll call in and request a new
computer or refund.

It's important to note, that the random shutdown problem was also never
resolved. This occurs only under bios 015, and am currently running under
011.

Peter had written me an email about 4:30 in the afternoon Friday (right before
they closed) that he'd requested information about this from the tech earlier
in the week but hadn't gotten a response.

For me personally, this is the point at which I believe Zepto needs to make
good on the money I gave them for a product which hasn't lived up to my
expectations. True, some people are never satisfied, but we also own a
Znote 4200 which we'd never made an official complaint over.

I'll continue this thread as before, I hope it helps some of you.

OPEN ISSUE #1: Failed boots returned, laptop is still 'broken.' This has
been occuring for almost 3+ months without fix.

OPEN ISSUE #2: Random shutdowns issue unresolved for bios 015. Can't
use bios 015, else I get random shutdowns without warning. Customer
service received email last tuesday about this, still no reply on why they
didn't look into this (as requested 2x) when they had the computer for 2 weeks.

OPEN ISSUE #3: Refund has not been received for harddrive, been over
30 days WITH correct information. 60 days total.

 

Just out of curiosity, do you have any problems booting with an external harddrive connected? I cannot boot my zepto if I have my external 160GB connected at the same time. Kind of annoying when you do a full system backup in vista (creates an image) and then when something does go wrong you can't restore it. I have to use DVD's to do the backup as otherwise I cannot recover from the external harddrive as the vista setup doesn't recognise the harddrive if I plug it in after booting to the repair console of the vista disc.

 

Andy: Morning! I have 2 external harddrives connected to my laptop via
a docking station. There doesn't seem to be any real difference if they're
on or not. Generally, they're both off, but about 30% of the time one or
both are on for some reason or another.

 

When you get the shutdown, is all the hardware the same as tested / repaired by Zepto? Or do you have anything else connected?

John

 

John: Afternoon! When you say shutdown, are you referring to the random
shutdowns in bios 015?

If you're refererring to the failed boots, to my knowledge they're the same
as per Zepto's tests. Generally I have 2 external drives and a trackball usb
wireless controller connected to the docking station. The failed boots occur
in all cases (nothing connected, all connected but no power, all connected
and powered). The failed boots occur as well when using the laptop on its
own without anything connected.

This morning's failed boot had this setup: The laptop was docked and had
2 external harddrives connected but not powered, one trackball wireless,
and an external speaker stereo plug connected but not powered.

I made a video, but unfortunately it only shows the failed boot after the fact
(black screen only). I booted the computer and walked out of the room, to come
back to the black screen. I'll be making a video of the system every reboot
for awhile, to prove and show how things look.

According to Zepto, they tested with and without a docking station.

From a Zepto email:
As I promised I have put some pressure on the rma department
To try to locate and replicate these faulty boots that you have been
Experiencing. Today the rma department told me that they have
Had some non successful boots and also some freezes during
Idle with and without the dockingstation.

After that they have replaced the graphic card we haven’t been able to
Get any non successful boots. Hopefully you won’t experience this issue
Anymore.

Video Files available, pm for copies.

 

@Christopher, you have superhuman patience! I would not be able to trust working on a machine behaving like that! If it was me, I would ask for a refund, or else...

Zepto forget that these machines are used for work as well as play. I wouldn't be able to justify keeping a machine for work if it did that to me - too much "time = money" lost.

 

Resonant: Hehehe, well I did have to buy another machine for work because
I couldn't trust the 6625 to be stable enough. My work is sometimes high profile
international news, thus losing work or being even 30 minutes late submitting work
is not possible or reasonable. Thus, a new machine had to be purchased before
even considering sending the 6625 for service. Since then it's mostly just a
personal computing machine. It takes the burden off, but still, I'm now actively
searching for a new machine or refund.

 

UPDATE (REFUND): After a brief talk with Peter this morning in customer
service, a refund has now been promised. After 4 RMAs and 3 services,
it seemed time.

The Good: They keep to their word about the 3 RMAs being the point at
which a new laptop or refund becomes likely.

The Bad: I'm still out the money it took me to ship the computer to them
twice. Plus, a full refund may not be possible as they need a tech to look
at it and determine if parts of it are not useable. Thus, they can hit me
for a little here and a little there. We'll see if they do. This laptop has
in my opinion been babied and doesn't have any scratches or dents. Only
mild keyboard wear. Photographs will be taken before hand.

I'm told it can take 4+ days for a refund to be initiated, so I expect I'll
know more early next week.

Note that not every case warrants a full refund, and is still Zepto's
discretion.

 

@Christopher, well I do hope you get a full refund! How can they deduct any amount after all the time wasted on your side because of their nonsense?

I am now definitely not impressed with Zepto's policies. Looks they they can't get their ODMs under control and have these partial refund policies! Yes I'll bet that's in the T&Cs but this is too much. Where's the friendliness gone to?

Whether they get the bios fixed or not, there's even less chance now of me purchasing from Zepto again...

 

Partial refund after you can't even get a working notebook? Garbage.

 

Actually... I'm not sure they are allowed by law to charge you for wear, when the refund is based on a third return...

 

Congratulations Christopher, hopefully Zepto are now realising that under EU law the contract is between us the buyers and Zepto as retailer , not the manufacturer or OMD.
This is also covered in individual country laws as well eg. UK Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 1980,
Ireland Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act, 1980.

The product as sold must be of merchantable quality, fit for its purpose and/or as described.
A retailer cannot take away these consumer rights or lessen them.
If Zepto wants to contact the manufacturer later for refund or price deduction to them, that is their prerogative but it has nothing to do with their obligations to us the end buyers.

My 6625WD functioned for 4 weeks total in 2008 and since purchase last July for only 18 weeks total with 3 RMAS - clearly not fit for purpose which for me entails Ordnance mapping, GPS, weather, disease prediction modelling etc for several Government Departments of several Governments.
The GFX just kept failing despite my laptop sitting on a Zalman, being undervolted and having been upgraded to a Penryn processor at Zepto's suggestion.

A refund for me was finally agreed to last Friday also, thanks to Roelof.

It is pleasing to see other sources for the next range but there are still a lot of disappointed folk here that need to be looked after pronto if Zepto want to have return customers in their most affected ranges.
Hopefully their business morals already tell them to look after all customers.

Service arrangements need to be improved markedly also as UPS travel to Denmark taking a week then taking 2 weeks before a technician even looks at a laptop on RMA No3 just shows a complete lack of any interest in me as a customer. Also when we send our laptops in for repair in the original packaging as most all companies request; they should be returned in the same original packaging not in a weak plain cardboard box holding the laptop to one side by cling film.
Finally everyday last week I phoned zepto sometimes twice daily; I was promised return calls from Zepto as to status of my Laptop but it never happened - hardly good PR, either don't lie or don't promise that which will not happen. Only when Roelof took over my case was there any care or respect shown.

 

I'm fairly sure this won't be the case, but it seems they needed to say this
in order to cover any potential 'worse case scenarios.' Packing the Zepto
down now and sending out to Zepto today. I expect 2 days max before it
arrives and an additional 4 days max before they confirm the Zepto is in
good condition by a tech. Stay tuned...