I suggest staying away from Toshiba

Almost 2 years ago now I bought a Toshiba satellite A-70 laptop, I did my research and heard they were a good laptop to go with...
I brought it home and was happy with it for the first 4 months, then it would not charge anymore.. So I called Toshiba and they said ok send it back it will be covered under warranty... so I did... they had it for about 2 AND A HALF MONTHS, finally they sent it back and it seemed to work great... 3 MONTHS LATER... same thing it stopped charging again, so again I sent it back they said since it was the same problem it would be covered under warranty... 2 weeks later I get a call saying.. Sorry it's going to cost you $880 to fix it! I said why is that... they said oh it was damaged due to human error... now let me ask you how the computer can be damaged by human error where you plug the cord into the back of the laptop to charge??? I’m only sticking the cord in there and if the laptop cannot handle that then that has to be a pretty ****ty laptop don't you think?

So fine I say forget it, I bought an extended warranty with the store I bought it from, just give it back and ill send it there... So they say fine well you’re going to have to pay us $500 for our tech's time! You can't be serious??? 1. I sent it back for the exact same problem as before and then it was covered under warranty, and it OBVIOUSLY was not fixed properly if im sending it back for the same thing again... 2. No one told me that if they decided to not honor their warranty then I was going to have to pay $500 to get my laptop back?? Is this making sense to anyone, because it sure didn’t make sense to me!! So I say fine fix it... am I going to pay 500 for nothing or 880 to get it back fixed... unfortunately I ran out of money and couldn't afford to get it when they called me 3 MONTHS LATER telling me it was finally fixed.. So I left it... Now the second part of this story is about their Horrible, Disgusting customer service...

So I see my laptop now... 2 year's old that I have only actually got to use for about 7 month's on sale for 800!! When I paid 1600 U.S for it the year before... So I decide forget it im just going to buy a new one... DEFINATELY NOT TOSHIBA THIS TIME!!!!
I tell my mother, she say's let me call them and see what I can do... So she call's she get's the head of customer relation's on the Canadian side and she say's unfortunately the laptop was bought in the states so you have to talk to the head of relations for the US laptops, ok fine. So my mother calls him and is put on hold for almost an hour to finally have someone come on and say he will call you back in 10 min... 30 min goes by, she calls again... again on hold for quite some time before a girl comes on and say's he will return your call in 24 hours, the girl asks when is the best time to call, my mother say's in the morning.. So of course she got a call back at 6:30pm the next day...

So my mother calls back the next day, is on hold for 70 min!! And then disconnected, so she calls back, on hold for another 30 min and then disconnected!!! As you can imagine after all this time on hold and hung up on when they finally say they are putting you through is pretty aggravating... SO FINALLY she get's through, Now ALVARIO the head of US customer relations come's on the phone. HE say's because she said to fix it there is nothing I can do for you, my mother said well if she said don't fix it then they were going to charge her 500$ for nothing, he said... we never said that... my mother said so your calling my daughter a liar.. he basically said yes, So she asks well why isn’t it covered under warranty, he said it was due to human neglect, she asks if that's the case why did you fix it the first time, what needed fixing the first time he say's the motherboard, she said what needed repairing this time.. He say's the motherboard... she say's ok how does that make sense... he said oh well the part we needed to repair the first time was covered under warranty, the part we had to fix this time wasn’t... well seeing as the motherboard is a HUGE part of the computer... wouldn’t you think it would be covered under warranty??? Apparently not. So as ALVARIO is now being a complete jerk, giving tons of attitude, my mother asks for his supervisor... he say's he doesn't have one... (Well see now I work for a very large company and unless you’re the President you have a Boss!!) He tells her she can write to the head office in California... she asks for the phone #... he said they don't have one... hmmmm well you would think the head office of Toshiba would have a phone would you not?
So on top of an extremely poor made product their customer service is absolutely terrible, I have never dealt with such a terrible company before... So for your own sake DO NOT BUY TOSHIBA!!! If it's happened to me it's happened to someone else!!!!!!!!!

 

Hrmm, that certainly does give one pause. I just picked up a Toshiba P105-S9722, but I haven't opened it yet (still trying to decide whether I really want it).... I mainly got it because I got it during CompUSA's 20% off 4 hour sale, so for $1600 US it was too good a price to pass up.

 

I agree with this. I've had a Toshiba Satellite for over a year now and now the cd burning function is broken and two keys from the keyboard fell off. I especially had trouble getting used to the keyboard since I've used a thinkpad before and that keyboard was just so much smoother to type on. I probably won't be buying a satellite for while.

 

Well, I just bought a Satellite M115-S3094 and I absolutely love it. At first the number of processes that were running, were quite an overwhelming (80 Processes first Boot). After 10 minutes of msconfiging and uninstalling, I was able to get rid most of the extra garbage that Toshiba put on there, reducing the number of processes to 49. Most of the other processes are things that benefit the user but are not really mandatory. Anyways, In my opinion, it is one of the best laptops I have ever used. Comparing it to the size, battery life, and the quality, it's fantastic. But I am aware of the problems with Toshiba's and the power connector, and that is the main reason why I bought mine from Frys Electronics, and got a 3 year warranty for 139.99 (plus I got a FAR Cannon Printer). Anyways, if you buy a Toshiba, think about putting in a few bills on a good warranty plan.

 

What about Toshiba's own extended warranty plan, is it worth it? I was looking at their plan which includes express service and accidental damage coverage.

 

I bought mine last week and while it is a beautiful high performance machine, I do have some reservations. The keyboard has a good feel but the right shift, (.) and (/) keys are not standard and take some geting used to.

The fingerprint reader has not been reliable, and the speakers are nothing to be excited about.

3D 05 scores are about 6200
PC 05 scores are about 4900
3D06 scores are about 3820

The hard drive (4200 rpm) is not that slow.
Access 21ms
Average 28.2 MB/sec
Burst 76 MB/sec
CPU 3.6%

I got it from costco.com for $1800, mainly for their return policy (6m), but it is not on their site now.

Toshiba America was recently given a failing grade for costomer support by a consumer agency (Saw it at dailytech)

 

Hrmm, well, this is part of why I haven't opened my P105 yet.... I bought it primarily because at $1600 I couldn't resist taking a chance, but this kind of thing does give me reservations.

I did notice the issues with the keyboard (the smaller keys on the right side of it), but I think in and of itself I could get used to it.

I am probably more concerned about the customer support issues, etc. if anything goes wrong with it.

 

I did spend the money to buy an extended warrenty with Comp USA, but the problem was I sent it to Toshiba first because it was still under warrenty with them.. they wouldnt give it back to me without paying them $500 for nothing when they said they wouldnt fix it.. If I sent it to Comp USA first maybe this never would have happened.

 

The guys at CompUSA told me that for the first year, they send it to Toshiba anyway (i.e. they said that their warranty service, etc. comes into play after the first year of Toshiba's coverage).

 

I was going to get a Toshiba a year ago but then I decided to steer clear from them because of their horrible customer service. Some models do have nice configs though.

 

I understand how a bad experience like that would turn anyone off, but if you look at HP's and Dell's forums you'll find nightmare stories there, too. In fact, I'm willing to bet that if you look at ALL the manufacturer's forums you would find bad experiences. So does that mean you're never going to buy any more notebooks? Of course not.

But if you keep reading those same forums you'll find much more positive posts from people who are nothing but happy about their laptops. I know for a fact Toshiba and HP makes quality products. I also know that a few of their customer support employees are jerks (in more or less equal proportion in any other industry).

Zadillo, you're looking at the glass half-empty. What if it's defective? What if it smells funny? What if it's not? You're letting your fear deprive you of what should already be endless hours of gaming fun (at nothing less than ALL high settings!!!).

 

That is definitely a good point.

I'm not really worried about the chance that it's defective; I understand that even with the highest quality laptops in the world there's a chance of a defect.

I think my concern is more how it sounds like Toshiba seems to handle these issues, more than anything else. I think what any laptop buyer is looking for is some sort of peace of mind that if they do get a laptop with a problem, it will not be a major headache to get it fixed under warranty. The concern I have is that it sounds like Toshiba isn't necessarily the best company at that particular issue in terms of dealing with things in a timely and fair manner.

 

There are brands out there other than Toshiba, HP, and Dell, you know...

 

You guys are flaming Toshiba too much... every SINGLE laptop design out there has flaws, and every model released will tend to have problems specific to it's design. I own a Satellite A70 myself without any problems. You're saying Toshiba sucks? Good God! Look at Dell! I've seen their laptops break down in person. Their screens, keyboards, and build quality feels like that of a happy meal toy. HP: flexible keyboards. Acer: run hot. The list goes on and on... the reason why Toshiba seems to get the most stories about flawed laptops is b/c they are one of the biggest laptop manufacturers on the market!

 

Agreed. I just got a Satellite Pro L100 a couple days ago I chose it because:

1. It was between £100 and £175 off depending on list prices between stores.
2. My last Toshiba was made in 2002 and worked perfectly (up until last weekend when I dropped it!).
3. This particlar model does not feature a Toshiba made Hard Disk which I have had rather more experience going wrong than I would like.
4. It has all the features I want and/or better than I wanted.

Before my Portege which worked flawlessly I had a Satellite 3000 which had an intermittent flaw very common in Satellite 3000s namely a faulty power supply leading to the backlight not coming on. Otherwise it was perfect.

This laptop is brand new so I'm not gonna make judgements yet. However I'm not gonna condemn it because of your bad experience. I have and have had many Toshiba products, not only laptops, and none have really disappointed me.

 

Your right that you could have a great laptop by Toshiba but my experience with them and thier customer service dept have have turned me off of Toshiba forever. If it was just a problem with the model and not the customer service as well I may have tried another Toshiba.. It was thier awful customer service (and this was not just one rep.. I managed to get ahold of the manager of client relations at the head office in california and he was no help) that lost my business forever. I have bought a new laptop now and I went with HP Pavilion dv6040ca this time. So far so good.

 

i've had an experience with hp that was just as bad (involving 3 techs, 5 csr's, 2 managers). in all honestly, every company has its horror stories. generalizing to the whole company is a bit excessive (although i did for about a year).

 

That HP that you got was actually my first choice. I've been nothing but happy with HP products from my first desktop, the HP in my sig, and 2 printers. The only reason I stayed away from the DV6000 is its lack of a better GPU option. I needed something I can actually game with for a change. I wish you a trouble-free experience with your new lappy (with that horrible experience with Toshiba you've earned it!!!).

 

Unfortunately, I must agree with the thread starter!

I had a Toshiba Satellite Pro M30 that I bought in August 2004 which was looked after very carefully, 'babied' and kept clean. At the start of 2006, the left hinge began to deteriorate followed by the right, causing the whole screen to sway about an inch with any small movement, and annoyingly, the power to the keyboard would appear to cut out randomly once in a while, requiring a restart. Finally, a system board fault developed a few months later causing freezes and resets whenever it was tapped or picked up!

The laptop was kind of a disappointment not long from the start, as it smacked of poor build quality in general. The case would creak and flex minutely whenever it was picked up as well, not really feeling that solid. The latch was also not effective in keeping the screen sealed to the case properly, and there appeared to be a tiny amount of bowing in the screen casing so it didn't connect with the palm rest at one end when latched. The screen was also not the best, with uneven illumination (noticeably darker towards the left side).

After the system board problem, I bought an XPS M1210 as a replacement and the difference is light years in comparison. This thing actually feels as solid as a rock compared to the flimsy M30 and really is the kind of laptop I should have bought in the first place (the M1210 fits my requirements, there were other makes just as good and far more solid than the M30).

Also, the support, advice and technical documentation provided by Toshiba was poor (impossible to obtain a service manual from them, for instance).

Anyway, Toshiba has really gone downhill over this past decade and if you're reading this, I recommend you go and look at another manufacturer for your new laptop.

~Nick

 

I think the point of this thread is that the OP had a really horrible experience with the CUSTOMER SERVICE of Toshiba. Build quality and everything to do with the laptop really has nothing to do with this thread. Yes, every manufacturer will have their share of problems and lemons here and there, but how they manage to deal with those problematic products is what is important. No one is saying that Toshiba build quality is bad.

 

Sadly, I think most of Toshiba's portables have turned into lemons in recent years. I think it's something to do with the fact that they do a lot of offshore cost-saving with their production now. My parents have a Toshiba Tecra 730CDT which was bought back in 1996, and it is still perfect - the hinges and body are still rock solid! That was made in Japan though, and my M30 was made in somewhere like Malaysia or Philippines. We also have a large Toshiba TV from Japan in 1995 which still works perfectly. I'm not saying they're bad workers in those other countries, but I don't think they have anywhere near the experience and gained skills of traditional workers in quality assembly yet...

Perhaps in a few years time, Toshiba would have refined their labour force building practices in their outsourced factories and things will get better for their low-end lines.

 

I've had nothing but great customer service for my Toshiba notebooks. I'm on my 4th Toshiba notebook right now and have yet to be disappointed. If anything ever went wrong, I'd call Toshiba and get a service order put in. As opposed to mailing it to them, I just bring mine to a local Toshiba-authorized service center. The problems I've had have always been fixed in under 2 weeks.

The customer service reps on the phone have always been polite to me, as have been the people at the service center. Usually the only comments you read regarding customer service are the negative ones. Those who are happy and content with the service aren't as inclined to write about it. I for one am very happy and pleased with my Toshiba notebook as well as Toshiba's service.

 

I am having the exact same problem with my Satellite L25. I have not contacted Tosshiba yet, cut Comp USA did not have very good customer service. This machine is only 14 months old and is only used maybe once a week.
I have also heard from a college student that works for the school's IT department that Toshibia is the most worked on laptop. They have the most problems with them. Toshiba may not be able to fix the problems with the machines once they are out, but they have complete control over customer service.

 

I've had similar experiences to the OP as well in trying to get a Qosmio fan replaced. After experiencing Toshiba's support for a $3,000+ flagship product, I do not intend to buy a Toshiba computer system again. The products themselves are okay... better than mediocre though I wouldn't go so far as to call them "good" - they are ok. But the support is pretty bad. I understand Toshiba computer systems got a failing grade from the BBB not too long ago. I only hope Toshiba realizes that for many customers, decades of goodwill built up by their consumer electronics groups (esp. television, DVD) have been wiped out by the computer systems group.

After months of trying, I finally managed to get my laptop fixed by going to a local third-party authorized service center. I worry that when my laptop leaves warranty in July, I'll be in trouble.

 

I am on my third Toshiba laptop. I am using my first one to type this reply. It is a Toshiba M30 that was bought in 2004 w/Centrino 1.5ghz. It is left on almost 24hrs a day and has never let me up. The only upgrades i have done is: 2gigs of RAM, boy does it smoke now!!! There have been some minor issues but all in all I am 110% satisfied. I will note my problems below:

-Original Battery is pretty dead. Only lasts about 30mins now. However not a big deal as this unit is always plugged in to the wall.
-Original power brick died 2weeks ago. One day all of a sudden the computer wouldn't power on and kept starting up halfway. I thought it was fried!!! I suspected it was the power brick but didn't have another one to test. I borrowed a friends and the computer powered up fine. What happened is the power brick died and the battery didn't hold a charge so it wouldn't start up. I just went and bought a new power brick on ebay for $24.00 and now it's working as good as new.

I also just bought a brand new U200 which I have not had any problems with. I was comparing it to the XPS M1210 and I couldn't justify the $800 difference in price. I am sure I won't regret my new purchase. I haven't had to deal with Toshiba CS. Hopefully if I do, the Canadian counterparts are better!!!