SPCR

I bought this Antec Solo case only about 2 months ago and already the reset button is broken. Looked inside and Im not sure if this can be fixed easily with glue. The design of the buttons and how their mounted is ridiculous.

Anyone have any advice for this? This better be fixable or I will never buy another Antec Case again.

I don't care if you don't buy an antec case again. Your loss.
How you trashed the button is beyond me.

But have you ever thought of contacting Antec about a replacement button pieces? They have excellent customer service you know and they usually give and ship out small parts like leds and the rubber bands for free

I don't think I've ever had to use the reset button ever. How did you manage to break that button? lol

Anyway sorry to see it break. However most of us would just modify a better button to replace it. Or you can simply ask Antec for a replacement and modify that one. It's no rocket science, you should be able to do it in minutes once you are over the initial frustration.

I just got this case, and absolutely love it.

The design is pretty crummy, but hardly a deal breaker for Antec, unless you prefer your cases with working buttons and everything else poorly designed

Anyone have any advice for this?

Epoxy glue, or a soldering iron.

You can ask for them a replacement and they will give you the whole cover where the 2 buttons are shipped to you at their cost.

This isnt a case of replacing buttons becaue the buttons are plastic that is part of the case.

Ya it's crap. And it is very easy to break it.

I guess its just a matter of how seriously you and your computer take your kick boxing practice spars. Mine is a pussy, it runs away and hides as soon as I bow.

I feel bad for bringing up an old post but I don't see why I should start another post with the same topic when there is already one available.

My Antec Solo reset button managed to break after 4 times of usage in a little less than 11 months. The plastic that holds the button in place is really thin and for some reason just broke when pressed the other day. Why o why didn't they use a spring instead?

This is very strange as I've tried my reset button on my older P150 white, and it was fine.

I'm in the process of trying to get a replacement for the front panel but it is not going as smoothly as stated here on the forum. I am getting asked all sorts of questions and in the end they still don't understand.

Maybe, I was one of the unlucky ones.

jimmyzaas wrote: I'm in the process of trying to get a replacement for the front panel but it is not going as smoothly as stated here on the forum. I am getting asked all sorts of questions and in the end they still don't understand.

Maybe, I was one of the unlucky ones.

At first time I got a lot's of questions too: Besides scan of receit I had to take picture of C.Q stamp, damaged parts and try to read partially smuged C.Q. stamp. Now 2nd time I contacted about same case, all they asked was copy of receit and thing was done. But first time I got asked a lot aswell.

I own two Antec Solo cases. I love their features. But the Power/Reset switches are poorly designed for long term reliability. My Power button snapped off where it is attached to the case. Antec just melts the plastic standoff stud to hold the button in place. I used some plastic glue to re-attach the button and all is good for a temporary fix. AND I am very careful to apply minimal pressure from now on. I filed a Warranty repair request with Antec USA. Within a week I had a complete new front panel. VERY FAST service!!

But I didn't need a whole new front panel. I think Antec could redesign that button and solve the problem without having to send complete panels. But I thank Antec for solving my immediate problem. When it goes out of warranty, I will have to look into hotmelt glue guns.

While mine has not broken yet, I find the power button to buzz / vibrate incessantly even though not a trace of vibration can be felt anywhere on the case.

I personally find the case cheaply made, but have had it over a year now so the +'s outweigh a few minuses.

That being said, I'm looking forward to seeing the 182 mini in person somewhere soon. Time to change out for a yearly update.

Hello,

I've used three Solo's now, and none of the buttons have had any issues, and in general, they are very sturdy. I like the thumbscrews that stay attached, the door comes off and goes on again with no problems, the cable management is excellent, as is the air flow.

The only downside is the shiny paint, IMO.

I hadn't seen this thread before, but I have to agree, the reset button on the Solo is an absolute piece of shite.

It completely baffles me, how often a company apparently puts so much care into the overall design of a product, and then spoils the whole endeavour with a pointless piece of crass detailing. The Solo isn't exactly a bargain-basement case in the first place (although still very good value for money IMO), so if Antec would need to charge just a few more £/$ for a decent button it would be well worth it.

It's little things like this that contribute disproportionately to the overall desireability of a product - something that Porsche and Mercedes understand very well, but Jaguar have still failed to get to grips with...

I rarely use the reset button, and when I do it's very gently, but yeah the buttons are pieces of junk.
I think you can send the front panel to Antec for a replacement, but I'm not sure. Try contacting them.

There have been many previous complaints about the Solo's reset and power buttons. My reset button is sitting at the bottom of the case, although I will make an attempt to fix it with glue (even though I have a troubled history with glue repairs ). The power button has also recessed slightly; I now press it very lightly, which is ridiculous considering how solid and great the case is otherwise.

Gotta agree with both the overall quality of the Solo and the poor quality of the reset button. On one of my two Solos, the reset button broke after two uses.

However, 1 day after emailing Antec with a copy of my invoice, I had a UPS tracking number--the new front panel will be delivered tomorrow.

I noticed a slight design on the reset buttons with the solo I just got (compared to the P150 front panel that got replace by Antec due to broken reset button).

Looking at this brand new solo made in august 2006, I see that: there are now 2 diagonal limiters that limit how far the reset button can move. I guess that should minimize some of the problems.

I also created foam inserts so that it is the foam hitting the reset button instead of the actual depressed reset plastic on the front panel.

The power button and reset button on mine broke months ago. I finally got around to getting the replacement front cover this month and I just got a call from my dad saying the power button is acting up again. I haven't gone over to check it out yet.

The replacement cover does have two more pieces for each button to prevent you from pushing them in too far but without having the case in front of me I don't know what the new issue is.

It's a shame they cheaped out on the power button. I hardly use a reset button but the power button gets used once or twice a day (when it works).

Since this has been brought up again, I will mention my Solo experience. While looking for cases last year, I noticed how the build quality and refinement of Antec cases in general has gone down recently. I almost bought a P182, but there were several issues I had with the case that prevented me from buying it. I went the budget route and got an NSK6580, which I returned a week later due to a dodgy side panel and loose fittings.

I ended up getting a Solo, and while I am happy that I bought it, I would choose a P182 (despite my earlier reservations) if I had my time again. There are too many build quality concerns for me and I expected much better.

The power and reset buttons haven't broken, but they are quite flimsy (as I noticed on lots of Antec cases recently) as is the entire front panel.

dhanson865 wrote:The replacement cover does have two more pieces for each button to prevent you from pushing them in too far but without having the case in front of me I don't know what the new issue is.

I must have one of the later build cases since I don't have to push the power button in much for the system to turn on. But I don't get that nice positive tactile feedback that I'm used to. (Yes, I know, I can hotkey through the BIOS, and I do. But it's not the same).

I have a much older Antec tower case that has held up with hardly a build quality issue over 6 years of use; so I came to great expectations with the Solo. It's a real shame, because it does have plenty of character.

Hi,

None of the three Solo's that I have used have had any problems. I use one at work every day, and I've built two systems using them, and none of the buttons have failed.

I've had a Sonata for about 6 years, and both the reset and power button are wonky and almost shot.

I wonder if there's something about the Sonata series chassis that has certain blind spots with quality control?

whispercat wrote:I wonder if there's something about the Sonata series chassis that has certain blind spots with quality control?

QC can be perfect and probably is but that doesn't matter. The plastic buttons on this case are not a reliable design.

Having broken my reset button after only 4 uses, I found another flaw with these damn buttons.

Vibrations.

When I am burning a DVD at 16x or higher, the case would emit a rattling sound. At first, I didn't know what it was and blamed the burner. I soon realized that the button was vibrating and simply touching the button gently would stop the sound.

This might be also attributed to the fact that I'm running a hot swap sata rack in the case with a Samsung HD103UJ in it. Still, this is really crappy.

I didn't care about the need of tools or the lack of interior finish, but this is just piss poor in my book. Needless to say, I'd have to think twice before investing in another Antec. A "quiet case" with defective rattling plastic buttons. A complete joke.

These are momentary-contact SPST pushbutton switches, right? Has anyone considered just replacing them with a sturdier switch?

colin2 wrote:These are momentary-contact SPST pushbutton switches, right? Has anyone considered just replacing them with a sturdier switch?

The problem isn't with the switch itself, but rather with the plastic assembly connecting it to the front bezel.

Two-part epoxy is your friend.

FWIW by "switch" I mean both the electrical switch mounted on the metal chassis and the crappy plastic button that engages it. In any case the 2-part design is part of the problem, no? Why not pull out the plastic buttons and assemblies to leave holes in the bezel, and mount integrated pushbutton switches on the chassis in the appropriate places? It would require a little messing around, but nothing outside normal DIY range.

I have just got my Antec Solo, which has a quality control date stamp inside it showing '2008-11-10'.

Having looked at the button mechanism I can see why they are prone to breaking so readily.

The reset button on my case felt as if it was being pushed past the expected breaking point before it made contact with the switch. The on/off button didn't seem so highly stressed though.

Antec would have saved themselves loads of trouble if they had made the buttons replaceable, rather than their assembly mounts being melted onto the main case moulding.

I hope I don't break my buttons because the case looks great as it is.

Solo's mechanism is indeed bit... *ahem* not antec standard. But its nothing what bit re-enforcement with epoxy wouldn't fix ^^

Same here. Both buttons broke looong time ago, ca 17th C. Glue helps, but what really made a difference was a piece of 1-2 mm thick dense foam-like material. I attached it to the button "pusher thing" and now I only have to push them buttons a wee bit to make them work. I'm sure you catch my drift - just try to shorten the way the button has to travel in order to push the switch deep enough to work. On the other hand, Antec could have used a better mechanism here. What I would really love to see is sth like you have in, say, cell phones - a very short travel button system, with a click. BTW, I have the old P150, with the shitty rubber bands (don't use them anymore, half of them already broke).

You should ask Antec to ship you the new Solo clothing elastic bands. There's no charge anyway. You can also take MikeC's advice and go to a fabric store to get clothing elastic. I paid like 2 bucks for several meters.

I like that foam idea.. I think I'll do the same with my case.. it'll probably get rid of that rattling noise.

It seems to me like Antec is just corner cutting. Their cases used to be built like tanks. My SX1030, although loud, was just a solid piece of work. These new ones they are producing seem flimsy in comparison.