Scumbags

Look what Acer support are trying now! My wifi hardware keeps dropping off the PCI bus (lspci shows nothing and a complete power cycle is required to get everything going again.

Here is what Acer say -
-------------------------------
>Hello, Thank you for contacting Acer.
>
>Regarding your enquiry,
>
>As this is a software/configuration issue as opposed to a hardware issue
>covered by your warranty you will need to contact our Software Support
>Line.
>
>You can call them on 0906 706 8000 open 09:00 to 18:00 Monday to Friday.
>This line is charged at 50 pence per minute from a BT landline. As a
>premium rate number, if an agent is not available, you will get an engaged
>tone. Please keep trying until you get through.
>
>Regards
>
>Jack Ryan
>
>Acer Technical Support Team
-----------------------------------------------

Ian

 

I bet when you call the software support,, they'll ask you to call the hardware support line.

 

And at 50p per minute, I bet they'll say it pretty slowly. :-(
Ian

 

I agree with you, Acer support is not worth a carrot. web page is not user friendly, the good money is on acer making their products hard to understand so you ring the support number and listen to music @50p a minute. Acer products are not going to be recommended by me.
regards

 

I figure you could demand a refund for the product, or reimbursement for the phone calls.

When that fails, threaten them with the small claims court & I figure they will back down due to the risk of adverse publicity.

I have been considering changing the WiFi card, but after hearing your story, I'm almost tempted to force the point until I get a refund. Retailers always back down if you are persistent enough.

 

Acer has proven to be a bunch of cocksuckers. That's all they are. :x

 

Well then, you're in the wrong thread, as this one is clearly titled 'Scumbags". :lol:

 

LOL...seriously...

That being said, I have had nothing but good dealings with Acer, and we are on our third Acer product. Never a problem, other than this damned wireless card. About to swap it out, for 30 dollars, why make a damned fuss over it. I have to open it up to upgrade my HDD (for performance improvement) anyway, and want to upgrade to Draft-N capability. Pay the shipping and buy the part, and I'll fix it for ya...

For the record, it is the card. I know of two other laptops from two different manufacturers that have the same card, and have the same exact issues. So, it is not an Acer specific issue. Bottom line, it lies with Atheros QC problems. Granted, the OEMs should use a different card, but someone's pockets are being greased well, I am sure...

 

I agree with the statements about the wireless card. This Atheros 5007 is a piece of shit.
It worked fine for a while, then one day, stopped doing that... if it is the heat that makes it go bad,
I don't know. Swapped the card for a Broadcom 4311 type, Vista picked it right up, voila, all problems solved.
Highly recommended. For Linux blokes, I hear Intel 3945ABG will do the job, no madwifi or ndiswrapper needed there.
The $10 I spent on ebay and the effort in swapping the cards was definetely worth it.

 

OK, it's fair to say that Acer got me a bit riled, hence the "scumbags". In my defence, they didn't read my message to see what my symptoms actually were, gave duff advice on what to do to fix it (based on their misapprehension) and when this didn't work, they advised me to call a VERY expensive Premium Rate number, which was also bound to result in failure to fix the problem.

Anyway, I sent them this reply (I'm not too proud of some bits, but as I said, I was a bit cross)
----------------------------------------------------
Sorry, this is NOT a software configuration issue.

Direct evidence for this -
1) The wifi hardware COMPLETELY disappears from the PCI bus - lspci shows nothing. If the hardware has failed then there is NOTHING that the software can do.
2) I tried completely restoring the machine to the supplied state using your supplied DVD and still the wifi hardware fails and drops off the bus after 1-2 days.
3) I have now joined some forums where this products is discussed, and this issue affects Windows XP users as well as Linux users.
4) Rebooting the OS does NOT fix this issue. Once the wifi hardware has locked up, it remains so until a power cycle is done.

I have a degree in Computer Science and work for a semiconductor company as a Director of Development. Trust me when I say that I have a good nose for what's a software issue and what's a hardware issue.

Unless you have a MUCH better suggestion that calling an expensive premium rate number, then I will return the hardware the PC World for a full refund.

Please be aware that I am also posting this discussion on various Acer Aspire One forums so that prospective purchasers can make informed decisions based on your product support.
------------------------------------------------

And Acer replied,
> From your description of this fault your machine may need to be brought into our repair centre for further evaluation and possible repair. To do this we will
> need the following details to help us diagnose your fault and arrange collection of your machine.

So far so good. Let's see how long they have it and whether they actually manage to fix it. I'll record my ether mac and wifi mac so I can tell whether they swap the wifi card and/or the motherboard.

Ian

 

Well, if they don't fix it you could always demand a refund & threaten them with the small claims court.

I'm kind of torn between pushing ACER to get a repair, followed by a refund if it doesn't work. Or just spending my money to change the WIFI card, which is the easy route, although it will invalidate the remains of my warranty.

Ultimately the problem is Acer's responsibility, as they specified & engineered the laptop with the Atheros card. If the customer doesn't pursue the point, Acer can get away with selling product that doesn't work.

Anyway, please let us know what Acer do when they repair the thing.

 

FYI, some users report heating problem with the atheros wifi card. If the card work when the AAO is "cold" then stop working some time after use, then its definitely a heat issue (from a badly design card) or perhaps a design issue allowing insufficient venting.

Try testing in refrigerator and see if it "wakes up"

 

I've had mine drop out after being used for some time. Rebooting doesn't work, but then it is OK after being switched off for a couple of hours.

Unfortunately I use my main PC at home on a WIRED network & the ACER when travelling, so it's inconvenient to do extensive testing.

 

I am not sure if the heat buildup is a case design issue, or if it is the card. My new Intel card seems to be running cooler than the Atheros, with no other mods to the computer. It could be a psychotropic effect, though...idk, maybe I want to think that it is running cooler, but it really does feel cooler to the wrist.

On a side note, the product specs for the Intel 4965agn card clearly state a max operating temp of 80 C. I researched the Atheros card, and none of the product info I could find made any mention of operating temp. Maybe they know it is too low for extended use? W/E, my new card is in and working (awesomely :ugeek: ), even without the third antenna. Still waiting on the mail man :cry: , and curiosity/impatience got the better of me...LOL...

 

OK, Aspire One now returned from Acers's repair peeps. I reported both the wifi fault, and that fequently the unit would only light the power light when powered on, and would then require a long power button press to power cycle it back to life.

The repair report said they had failed to get it to even power up (well, I did send instructions!) and it's back with new motherboard and new wifi card - both MACs have changed. Backup restored and so far, all is great.

Ian