Same key, same problem. Sager RMA for keyboard and they didn't replace the keyboard!

Really @Sager @pat@XOTICPC I'm not sending it in this time, it's the same key in the same place with the same defect, I don't care if it costs me my moderator position, this is RIDICULOUS THAT THE SAME KEY HAS POPPED OFF TWICE! They snapped it on and if I have to dig up the picture of the original snap, I will, but it's the same key so it should be obvious they snapped it on instead of replacing the keyboard... Really?! After all of the mess we went through with video cards Sager couldn't replace the keyboard?!?!?

I'm not sending it in. And I can guarantee when I open up this computer for the first time since getting it back from Sager (haven't even popped the cover) that my markers I made on the GPU sinks and the motherboard will still be there. The incomprehensible incompetence absolutely astounds me! This machine going in for the THIRD time should have been replaced in full but the gloves are off. Same key. Same keyboard. They literally just popped it on without so much as bending the pin back. Furious doesn't even begin to describe what I'm feeling right now. Someone better do something about this because I've been more than patient and I've HAD IT! 4th RMA since 5/2014 purchase is unacceptable. I'm sorry, it's not.

 

Oh yeah, so you can see it without me rigging it into the socket...



Thank God for Samsung... Its easy to see the problem. Are you guys really so lazy you can not bend some pins? I didn't mess it up in the first place. The machine has been one disaster after another and I'm not taking it this time, I had to have @Prema fix your ineptitude with the system, and you can't even bother to fix the keyboard?! After having my machine for 2,count them, 2 months?! In the last RMA alone?! Let alone what I know in my personal files... I was told to keep private, private, but this was public. Very much so. Video cards to keyboard and I can easily dig it up. So why @Sager did you decide to only go about fixing my secondary complaint rather than the original thing that caused my RMA!? You know how easy it is to pop out a keyboard and swap it with another one? Well I do. You use the same keyboard across 15 and 17in models. Inexcusable. Especially knowing you would generate another RMA by not replacing the keyboard. Anyone with a brain can look at the left side of that image, see the pins, and see the problem. I'm so disgusted right now.

 

Its hilarious and sad that my own picture taken from my phone showed me the issue but its a warranty issue, its your job to fix it. My computer has a Sager logo, has a Sager BIOS (no Prema), I demand the Sager support I paid for... Snapping a key on and using glue to make the flap stick but still work doesn't count.

 

give `em hell! *thumbsup*

 

I'm furious.................

 

i bet! im totally with u on this, buddy

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

Funny j00 mention this, when I got my P870DM-G, one time, I pressed the DEL key softly and guess what? it went flying in the air! then I simply put it back in its place and it was fine, 2 days later, I pressed the INS key on the top right which is next to the DEL key and it went flying in the air.....

I put it back in its place but it would never stick, press it like 6 or 7 times and it flies again....

So HIDevolution were very helpful and sent me a replacement INS key as per my request, I told them no need for a full keyboard since it's only that key that is affected....

Got the new INS key but same thing, put it in, press it a few times and it flies off again..... so I told them about this and they then sent me a full keyboard which thank God is working fine....

The reason I point this out is, these freakin' keyboards are really cheap Taiwanese garbage for such a beast machine that costs an arm and a leg. Shame on CLEVO for letting these darn cheap keyboards come near such a beast system!



See:
HIDevolution's Warranty!

 

The thing that really burns me is that I never use that key. The first time it happened it flew off when I wasn't even touching the machine! I don't use that shift key because I always hit the arrow key instead (I really really really REALLY hate that they put 15 inch keyboards in 17 inch machines)... I happened to tap it when I was hitting the enter key and I'm just livid they didn't replace the keyboard. It boggles the mind that they had my machine for 2 months, tried 4 pairs of 980Ms to see if they could get the Temps under control but then they didn't even replace the keyboard which is what my initial RMA was for!

I'm super tempted to open up the machine and look and see what they did and didn't do on my RMA. I know how to tell if they replaced the motherboard, I know how to tell if they replaced the heatsinks... im just so mad right now that I'm worried I would break something so I'm going to leave it sealed and see what they say.

 

Yeah me too man, I never pressed that INS key like EVER, and the DEL key just came off flying without touching it, it's like these machines are possessed with Taiwanese Devils.

Here are the good news bro,k it's a very easy fix, just let them send you a full fledged keyboard replacement, and after you fix it and you ensure it works, send the old one back.

Little tip:

When I put the new keyboard, everything *seemed* to work fine until I discovered the the letter P is not working, I click it, nothing happens, as if it was dead...

Then I opened the laptop again, reseated the keyboard cables, it would work for a few minutes, then it's like it's possessed man, it would stop working and I would have to reopen the machine again, I was so sick of this junk keyboard(s) I was about to demand a full refund for an expensive $6000 USD that doesn't work properly./

Then I discovered something, you know those ribbon cables of the keyboard that connect to the motherboard? they have like 2 plastic hinges that you need to press down after you have placed the cable in its place but here's the catch, if you press it from one side, it goes down fine, come press the other side and the first side goes back to its original place (up), that was my issue, the cables were never being actually firmly connected. The trick is, to press down on one of the side hinges, then using a screw driver or any other thin object, keep it held in its down position, while you press down on the other side, that is the only way for both the hinges to stay in place (down position)

 

Get em!

 

I'm sorry I know you have been having problems with you temps but could you refresh my memory as the what the exact problems are? both gpu's? or was it the cpu also? Under what conditions were you having problems with temps? Mostly benchmarks or real world usage? I dunno if you have see the thread I made but I just got my laptop back from RMA about 2.5 months ago and ever since I received it back I have these weird artifact glitches that happen on start up and when restarting or shutting down...check out my thread its on the main page with a video I made of it happening.....Thanks

Brent

 

@Ethrem: maybe u should change the thread title and make it a little bit more clear to lure in the parties its aimed at

 

@Matrix Leader - thanks for the tip. I am not looking forward to replacing it myself but it seems like every time I send the machine in, they mess something else up. It's like sending it to the Dell Depot... *shudder*

@jaybee83 Thanks, I changed the title.

@Brent R. I actually don't have thermal issues anymore. Max fans I'm hitting 80s under load after hours of Heaven. CPU is still a fireball... I'll take a look at your artifact thread but if you're artifacting, I'd file an RMA. One minute.

 

I was intimidated at first by those 3 cables that I had to disconnect and reconnect the ones from the new keyboard, but since I had no choice, I did it. As you can see it took a lot of trial and error and almost caused me to have a heart attack because I would test it while the laptop is open and it would work (the P key that is), the moment I put all the screws back, after a few minutes the P key didn't work; until I discovered accidentally that the hinges if not moved down together at the same time by holding the first one with some tool, then it would go right back up when you pull down on the other one.

It's up to you but all I'm saying is, it's super easy after following this tip.

Let us know how it goes bro.

 

ah yes, every time i disassemble a laptop (no matter if its a gaming machine or a workhorse), the most finicky and difficult parts are ALWAYS the flat cables connecting the keyboard and other I/O components to the mobo, hate those!

 

It can't be any worse than the freak outs I had when taking apart my M17xR1 and trying to clip down the connector for the power button blindly...

I finally learned how to gently prop it up so I didn't pull the cable out anymore.

 

Yeah I felt like I was performing an operation on someone's kidney!

 

What I'm more nervous about besides getting the cables in... Is finding the same markings on the heatsinks and motherboard before I sent it in... I'm stemming my rage right now. I know they replaced the video cards because of the ASIC but the fact I still have a broken fan EC is hint enough that they didn't replace the motherboard....... But opening it up, I'll know everything. I don't need this right now. This time of the year is going to be hell enough without dealing with this. I just lost my best friend in October and Christmas was his favorite time of the year. I don't think I can handle another breakdown. Not right now. It's bad enough it's 7:22A here and I woke up at 3AM and started drinking rum and on Tuesday I have a delivery of 4 1.75L bottles of potato vodka, a case of BUD Light, and a 12 pack of apple cider coming... Although the bud light and apple cider are to replace what I drank that belonged to my roommates. I am going to have a very drunk Christmas. I don't need this added stress.

 

you are my bro and what bothers j00 bothers m3.

Here is what I would do if I were you, call whoever you bought it from, I dunno if it was directly from Sager or from other reseller, don't speak to the muppets, go straight to the manager and/or the decision maker and explain to them all that you have been through. This is out of the norm with all the issues and unprofessionalism you mentioned, someone has to take blame for it and take back that system and give you either a brand new one or offer them that you're ready to pay more for a diff. model entirely since you have a very bad experience with this model and don't want to take more chances, then pay the diff. if it wasn't too big and go for a P870DM-G, even a basic one that you can upgrade later. Better than all this BS.

All the best to you

 

This is what makes me mad. I paid 400 bucks for them to upgrade me to 980Ms as it is... So my 4800 dollar machine turned into a 5200 dollar machine and that's not including all the shipping fees I've paid for UPS to send it back to them each time. All in, I'm already over 5500 for a machine I bought in May of last year. I'm not willing to keep expending money when I'm sitting here with a system that is nothing but problems. I noticed the other day my 1TB drives were idling at 60C so now I had to turn on power management for when I'm not using those drives so they don't fail from heat on top of everything else... The only way to fix the heat problem was to reinstate power management. Now my drives shut off after 20 minutes of inactivity and I have to copy any of my video I want to watch to my SSDs to reduce the wear and tear on them. This is just getting ridiculous.

I don't have the money to pay for an upgrade. That was a one time expenditure I could afford because I got a large settlement. I had to spend that in a short time frame. I bought the machine from Xotic, warranty through Sager. Good thing I bought a 3 year warranty!

 

Hey Ethrem,

Out of everything that was done on that last time, I'm surprised that wasn't changed too. I'm sorry to see that. I'll send you a PM here shortly.

 

At this point I'm pretty pissed. Mine has been in twice now for service and my current time frame has been over a month.

I really don't know where to go for a new laptop except for alienware which I'd like to avoid but I've had nothing but excellent tech support for our laptops from Dell. Whether alienware is the same I'm not sure but I paid an arm and a leg for the 9752 and I've almost been without it longer than I've had it.

 

Alienware is pretty crappy... I've had nothing but good luck with Clevo laptops.

 

Yea I know can't stand the Alienware brand, but their (Dell's) tech support is lightyears better than what I've experienced so far. Coming up on 3 months out of 7 without the laptop I dropped $2 grand on. I don't know about you, but that isn't acceptable by any standard. I was worried about this when I purchased it but was "reassured" that everyone has had good luck with Clevo laptops. When it performed it was pretty amazing, but for me the true mark is a company's customer service and tech support and color me quite displeased.

I've been looking at some other vendors but not sure if I want to take the chance of dropping another 2 grand on a Clevo to have it turn into being a paperweight.

 

The bigger problem is there is NO CLEVO customer support. All you have is the company that sold you the laptop which then has to email Clevo and wait for a reply.

Like I've asked HIDevolution about the updated BIOS for my P870DM-G to fix the throttling issue and it's been more than a week with no reply. pathetic for a laptop that cost me $6000 USD

I wouldn't touch Dellienware anymore, the real Alienware is dead but man do I miss their customer service, any issue I had and I got a technician at my door the next day, they replaced my last Alienware 18 laptop last year 3 times with brand new ones, each time with better specs since they didn't have the specs that I had originally, so I had 3 free upgrades.

With Clevo, we get stupid 15 inch keyboards on 17 inch laptops with keys that do magic! they fly off by themselves.

 

The BGA crap doesn't really bother me. Laptops are not an acceptable medium for me to game on full time so they serve their purpose for a year or two then get sold or traded up. I've mostly used Lenovo for my personal machines but wanted something with a little more oomph behind it for the times I do want to game when I'm out. I know the reputation of the current Alienwares on here but that is generally due to their BGA choice. The throttling of their systems is what I'm more concerned about and why I didn't buy one; however, my 9752 throttled, yours is throttling, and I've seen enough problems on the forums to be leery of choosing a Clevo brand anymore and all because of the tech support regarding them.

Customer service and tech support are the number 1 priorities to me when it comes to a laptop. I can't be without one for an extended period of time. Right now I'm on my wife's old school 7720r se that has ran fine for over 5 years now. Got to keep it plugged in because the battery finally choked, but I can still play some of my steam backlog on here while travelling and still get my articles to press on time. I still am boggled that a company can keep your PC for so long to fix it. Hell, I probably could have bought the parts online and fixed it myself on a weekend but I just don't have the time and really the desire to build a PC let alone a laptop anymore.

But anywhoo, at this point in the game I just can't see buying a Clevo anymore until there are some reputable third party vendors who can reliably do tech support for Clevo because they do have some awesome builds.

 

I just fully read every post in this thread and I can say wow, you guys have had a lot of problems with your Clevos... I feel blessed that mine have been perfectly fine since day 1.. if I were reading this thread and I was about to decide if I wanted my first ever Clevo laptop, I bet it would almost be enough to tip me away from getting one... Scary stuff, pretty sad to see so many people here having issues.

 

Does anyone here have a clevo with an actual working keyboard that never needed rma? I still need to get my q key fixed. Just dont have the screwdriver to open it up and reseat it to confirm its broken right now.

 

As I said above, me. My Clevos both have good keyboards.

 

@Sager was on today at 6:08PM and ignored my post. I guess I'm going to have to work through Xotic. And no, I didn't abuse my moderator power. Click their name and it shows their time last on. This is building to the point of fury. I will work with @pat@XOTICPC and see if we can come up with a resolution but if I pop this keyboard off and see the same motherboard...........

 

same here, if anyone´s interested: never had an issue with both my clevo machines thus far, especially not with the keyboards my previous P150HM died on me but that was my own fault (slow corrosion due to an OJ mishap )

 

yeah when I tried using a screw driver to pull out the INS key it broke immediately, this thing is more fragile than anything you have touched before.

 

Not surprised at all. Clevo = 0 Customer Service, no contact number for customers, no direct email.... Clevo is a Ghost....

 

clevo is an ODM who only does B2B and not B2C and yeah, sager´s bad customer support is legendary here on NBR thats why everyone knowledgeable enough suggests to go with one of their resellers rather than through them directly

 

I got the clip on but the button won't snap... I'm so mad... But at least my OCD won't go crazy anymore missing a button. I've contacted @pat@XOTICPC and we will see where it goes from here.



Well I fixed it temporarily. I was going to take a picture of the button off the chassis but I noticed the snap on was sideways by just a little bit... Pushed it to the right and it clicked, snapped the button on... But it's not a perfect fix... Bottom left corner is lower than the rest bit I can live with that better than no key.

What makes me mad... I bent the pin back in myself. Why did Sager not think about that? Ugh. I've hit the key 30ish times... Its in. And it functions. But I have documented the issue here and if it pops off again (it's snapped on completely tight) I want a new keyboard. Now if you'll excuse me, I am going to step away before I go all smash smash lol.

 

The really messed up thing is I just fixed that after drinking roughly 2L of rum in the last 10 hours. The fact they couldn't do that sober... Really? All I did was take a pen and push down. Then I tried to snap the key in not realizing that the clip was sideways... So I twisted the clip with a fingernail and it clicked into place and I pressed the key on. I'm not amused but I'm impressed that I couldn't legally drive right now yet I fixed it.

 

And they are making you pay for shipping to ship it to them? you are suppose to get free 2 way shipping with the warranty.....they tried to make me pay for shipping it to them also when I had to RMA for my display but I said no no it states in the warranty I get free 2 way shipping! Good Luck man! Wonder why your hdd's are getting so hot? I have 2 msata drives and 2 hdd's in the hdd bay and under use the average temp I get is 32c.....

 

First question - Xotic has very specific instructions for shipping in an RMA in that the RMA be done in accordance with UPS standards (box in a box) which adds up quickly. Should the product be damaged, even if you were to reuse the box that your RMA was shipped back in where the laptop was in a plastic sandwich that could only be broken by being crushed, Xotic not Sager and especially UPS is not responsible if the machine is damaged in transit so I make sure my 5k investment which is more than I make in 3 1/2 months is secure by UPS standards by having the store pack it. You'd be amazed if you knew the cost of that. After that, Sager pays the shipping both ways and sends your machine in a box that is below UPS standards for sensitive equipment, however, at that point if something were to happen it would be their fault and they know it. I read every piece of information carefully and I make sure I follow the instructions given to the letter and that costs me money but it's better than a) UPS breaking it and being out 5k or b) Sager breaking it and blaming it on me. These are totally theoretical and highly hypothetical situations but I don't have a brain that will let me put myself at risk in any way. Call it OCD, call me crazy... But after bills, rent, and a tight grocery budget I'm lucky to have 100 bucks left to save so yes, I'd rather follow directions and take it to the UPS store because anything that happens after they give me the receipt that shows I paid for the proper UPS protection, there is no liability for me even if someone steals it in transit.

Second question - I have no idea. My idea is that if they had replaced the motherboard like they said they did, I wouldn't be getting the exact same voltage spikes I did before and current can easily flow in to the PCB on the drives and mess up the sensors. I've said from day one that this machine has serious issues and they're well documented with both Xotic and Sager. The problem is that Sager knows they should have replaced the machine a long time ago and they chose not to do it but make no mistake, should another hardware failure occur, I'll be back on them about it. I feel sorry for Xotic having to be the one stuck in the middle. The only power a reseller has over Sager is based on volume and Xotic is the highest volume direct Sager reseller in the country and short of eating the cost of a new machine to make me happy (which is totally unreasonable), all they can do is push Sager until they get frustrated and finally do it.

 

Yes thats exactly what I did also, followed sager and xotic's instructions word by word, but ups let me package it myself and they label it as being secure by their standards I just have to show them how I packaged it...at the UPS store....only costs me time not money so I am crossing my fingers you never have another problem but if you do maybe you can ask them about them certifying it if they watch how you package it instead of having to pay them to pack it for your....and yes there HAS to be something wrong with your motherboard because it seems almost every single component in your laptop has had some type of problem anyways good luck man....I am still debating if I want to risk flashing the new bios xotic gave me to try to fix the glitches I see when I turn my laptop on, I was thinking of contacting @Prema about a custom bios to undervolt because I would like to see my temps go a little lower under basic usage but I don't think I can afford to pay him right now....oh well take care I am glad you were able to get the key back on yourself!

 

The UPS stores here are individually owned, they only will certify something they did themselves.

I'm glad you aren't having any serious issues (seriously, the blip is the hand off between Clevo's really weak EFI VGA hitting an nVidia driver - go download Linux Mint Cinnamon 17.1, when it boots, hit the tab key, go to the - - at the end of the boot string, type in nomodeset and I think it's F10 from there... The bottom will tell you how to boot. Nouveau will fail to initialize but it's the same EFI hand off... Mine doesn't flicker but I have the 120hz model. If it flickers and/or artifacts, I'd RMA it because Linux is a lot more efficient than Windows. I'm thinking it's Windows 10 personally), just keep track of every little thing outside of thermals (Sager has pretty much said that they don't care about thermals as long as the CPU and GPU don't throttle below base clocks... If I don't use max fans, my 980Ms hit 1050MHz in Heaven - base clock is 1038MHz so they say the cards work fine. Technically it's completely legal even if other machines don't suffer the same problem because Boost isn't a guarantee, its situational. Just like when my CPU on their stock settings drops to 3.1GHz. I bought a 3.1GHz CPU that *can* boost to 4GHz when one core is active. Should deceptive practices like this be illegal? Absolutely. Out of the box stock, my CPU runs 3.5GHz under a full 8 core wPrime or Handbrake load. I can't return a machine because it is performing under the maximum boost, I can only return it if it is performing under base clock. Currently I have neither problem. My 880Ms that came with the machine, however, regularly went under their base clocks and I was able to prove it so they replaced the cards and again, over time, they went under base clocks so I sent it back again and had a fit and paid for a 980M upgrade which had the same problems just 2-3 months later. It's pretty obvious that the current is frying components. That's why I'm about to go on the search for an external drive because I have a strong feeling my Travelstars are next on the list and I can't break the RAID0 right now... Nowhere to store the ~450GB to turn it into a RAID1.

As for the key, it was the detail I saw in the pic from my phone that told me what to do. So I angled myself so I could see the pin that was much higher and I gently bent it back, snapped in the plastic holder and then with some light force got the key on. Works perfectly and took me maybe 10 minutes from start to finish and saved me an RMA. Wish Sager would have done the same thing. But hey, it works, I'm happy, and that's that. Would I accept a new keyboard at this point? No. Why? Because there is a distinct marker under the keyboard and I don't feel like being angered unnecessarily. Trust me. Xotic has every email and they've documented my issues heavily. If they had a catastrophic failure I still have my emails to refresh their memory and I still have a phone number...

 

@Ethrem So if I install my 120hz display this weekend that should fix this glitch I am getting? does using premamod bio and/or vbios void your warranty? I have heard 2 different things now 1 I have heard if I flash premamod bios and something happens and I screw up the laptop then I won't be covered by my warranty then I have also heard if I flash my bios to premamod bios and everything goes fine then my warranty will remain so I dunno, I watched the tutorial on how to install the 120hz display and it looks a lot easier to do than I thought it would be so I am probably going to be installing it this weekend so hopefully that fixes that glitch I get since you have the 120hz and you don't get the glitch I guess only one way to find out for sure

 

I have to remain as impartial as possible being a mod but read this thread. It's not a cut and dry situation - but if your system fails, its very clear that it's your fault even if they give you their latest image.

 

Any update?

 

WOW!!!!!! I just read this thread. I'd be righteously pissed if this happened to me.

Not for nothing but if I were the Company who sold him this very expensive machine, I'd have a brand new upgraded machine sent Next Day Air to Ethrem if for no other reason than it is the right thing to do.

Bobby

 

I've been in communication with Ethrem over this and I'm working to see what I can do for him right now.

 

While this is admirable (as you are but the middleman, and not the one responsible for warranty OR the system), it still means the underlying problem here is that Sager is slighting him.

I want to see whether or not he gets sorted by Sager properly, and if any rightful compensation for this happens.

 

keeping an eye on this thread as well

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

I've decided to drop the issue for now. The system is functioning and I have bigger things to worry about - like not finding myself homeless in February. They offered to replace the keyboard with a cross ship but I need to focus on other things right now and the key has not popped off again. If something fails, I'll RMA it again and put up a real fight.