All NeoHE are fixed but...

spolitta · Post by **spolitta** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 7:09 pm

Antec was right, as they promised all the P150s do ship with a fully working PSU, I just built one today with Asus Deluxe and works fine, However looks like most of them have the warranty stickers ripped or removed. This makes sence because Antec probably just fixed all the ones that were in stock but how could we calim for warranty in case anything happens?

Benly2 · Post by **Benly2** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 7:24 pm

spolitta wrote:Antec was right, as they promised all the P150s do ship with a fully working PSU, I just built one today with Asus Deluxe and works fine, However looks like most of them have the warranty stickers ripped or removed. This makes sence because Antec probably just fixed all the ones that were in stock but how could we calim for warranty in case anything happens?

May i ask what Asus mobo that is?

And does the serial number begine with x0511 or something like that?

m0002a · Post by **m0002a** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 8:50 pm

spolitta wrote:Antec was right, as they promised all the P150s do ship with a fully working PSU, I just built one today with Asus Deluxe and works fine, However looks like most of them have the warranty stickers ripped or removed. This makes sence because Antec probably just fixed all the ones that were in stock but how could we calim for warranty in case anything happens? :x

Your warranty is based on your sales receipt. At the same time, they don't want people modifying a PSU and then making a warranty claim when they botch the mod. But in this situation, I am am sure that they know that they had to modify the PSU's themselves to fix the ones in stock.

If you are really concerned, then send an email to Antec support and get written verification that your warranty will be honored even though the warranty seal was broken.

spolitta · Post by **spolitta** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 10:27 pm

A8N Deluxe.

m0002a, as you mentioned this is not just a one person issue, there will be many people with this situation, so the best would be if antec rep responds to everbody at once in this thread.

Benly2 · Post by **Benly2** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 10:34 pm

spolitta wrote:A8N Deluxe..

Bugger. I'm still awaiting news for a NeoHE for an Asus P5AD2-Deluxe

computergeek22 · Post by **computergeek22** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 10:38 pm

If I can make sure somehow (before I buy a product) that it is guaranteed to work, especially considering that the neohe is one hell of a product (when it works) I would buy it in an instance. The tricky part however is for antec to regain my trust and the trust of many other consumers who have been affected by the NeoHe problem with Asus mobos. There is no doubt that the NeoHe is a very nice alternative to the Seasonic line of psus.

andyb · Post by **andyb** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 2:40 am

Benly2, I dont know the answer to your question, I would suggest searching the SPCR website for any mention of it.

As a guess, I would imagine it will work, as the board is not brand new, it seems that its mostly new boards that are an issue.

Andy

csl · Post by **csl** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 3:23 am

I was using an A8V, which is quite old, and it failed to boot up. Mine has the seal broken too, so I assume it was 'fixed'.

I don't think it's broken - it just doesn't seem a very powerful PSU (comparing the available current on each rail with that of the S12 shows quite a difference). I'm currently using it to power my sister's old P4 1.9, and it's performing admirably. It just wouldn't boot up my new X2 system loaded with DSP cards, that's all. The S12 is taking it in its stride.

AntecRep · Post by **AntecRep** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 7:51 am

Antec is aware of a limited number of instances where Neo HEs arrive at customers' sites with warranty stickers already cracked or broken. This comes about during handling and shipping, and Antec is fixing that for the future with a different type of sticker in a different location.

For current issues, this situation does not necessarily invalidate the warranty as long as the power supply exhibits no other evidence of tampering, as long as the sticker is the first production one in the original location, and as long as the special circumstances warranty procedure (described below) is followed.

Customers who encounter this issue must take the following steps:
1. Contact Antec Customer Support by email to report this issue, the sooner the better. Include the model and unit serial number in the report.
2. Antec Customer Support will respond with an email listing that specific power supply by serial number and confirming that, barring other external or internal signs of tampering, Antec will honor the warranty for that reported unit.
3. It is the responsibility of the customer to keep the email from Antec Customer Support. Should an RMA ever be required, the customer will need to produce said email along with other warranty paperwork such as the purchase receipt, RMA form, etc. This is an additional special circumstances requirement for these cases, and no exceptions will be made.

Hellspawn · Post by **Hellspawn** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 8:18 am

Perhaps a better solution at the moment is lacking, but I for one feel this is an extra burden/responsibility on the consumer for an admitted antec problem.

Of my 3 units, all 3 had the broken sticker (as even my current revised unit), as I am going to guess most all of them from production start through the implementation of this new sticker/location would most likely have.

Also, what about the poor souls that won't see these instructions posted on a message board? When/if the time comes and they knock on your door for service, what then? I mentioned these stickers to the tech I was working with and he only said "yea we know about that".

'no exceptions will be made'.

AntecRep wrote:Antec is aware of a limited number of instances where Neo HEs arrive at customers' sites with warranty stickers already cracked or broken. This comes about during handling and shipping, and Antec is fixing that for the future with a different type of sticker in a different location.

For current issues, this situation does not necessarily invalidate the warranty as long as the power supply exhibits no other evidence of tampering, as long as the sticker is the first production one in the original location, and as long as the special circumstances warranty procedure (described below) is followed.

Customers who encounter this issue must take the following steps:
1. Contact Antec Customer Support by email to report this issue, the sooner the better. Include the model and unit serial number in the report.
2. Antec Customer Support will respond with an email listing that specific power supply by serial number and confirming that, barring other external or internal signs of tampering, Antec will honor the warranty for that reported unit.
3. It is the responsibility of the customer to keep the email from Antec Customer Support. Should an RMA ever be required, the customer will need to produce said email along with other warranty paperwork such as the purchase receipt, RMA form, etc. This is an additional special circumstances requirement for these cases, and no exceptions will be made.

spolitta · Post by **spolitta** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 9:01 am

thanks antec for making us do these extra work. No other companies bothers customers like you people do.

well, its better than having an out of box voided PSU.

Hellspawn · Post by **Hellspawn** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 9:07 am

spolitta wrote:thanks antec for making us do these extra work. No other companies bothers customers like you people do.

well, its better than having an out of box voided PSU.

What is best of all is the fact that we as consumers have a choice in the marketplace.

diver · Post by **diver** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 9:19 am

I am starting to wonder about the QC at Antec. A new SLK2650-BQE had two bad LED's out of four on the front panel. If it had been one, perhaps I could understand it. I fixed it myself because it was less trouble than any other alternative.

Hellspawn · Post by **Hellspawn** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 9:51 am

diver wrote:I am starting to wonder about the QC at Antec. A new SLK2650-BQE had two bad LED's out of four on the front panel. If it had been one, perhaps I could understand it. I fixed it myself because it was less trouble than any other alternative.

A month or so back I had a couple of blue LED tricool 120mm fans shipped to me direct from them, complete with screw threads already cut into the corner holes. Supposed 'new' units. Thought it odd that they came without packaging. Too much of a hassle to send them back and play the waiting game.

Nexus and Seasonic next time around. My next case MIGHT be an antec IF I can buy it without a psu OR LOCALLY so I can take it back if it turns out to be a 'pile of poo'.

spolitta · Post by **spolitta** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 4:49 pm

Hellspawn wrote:
spolitta wrote:thanks antec for making us do these extra work. No other companies bothers customers like you people do.

well, its better than having an out of box voided PSU.
What is best of all is the fact that we as consumers have a choice in the marketplace.

true, but you are thinking of future, antec bad customer service effects me at this moment, there is no choice for me right now exept that I have to do what they tell me.

m0002a · Post by **m0002a** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 5:06 pm

spolitta wrote:true, but you are thinking of future, antec bad customer service effects me at this moment, there is no choice for me right now exept that I have to do what they tell me.

My suspicion is that Antec's stance on this issue is based on past experiences with a large number of warranty claims from people who have tried to mod their PSU's and botched the job. There are some do-it-yourselfers who abuse warranty claims, some of whom have admitted it on this forum.

Basically you are complaining about something that has not occurred yet, and may never occur (your PSU goes bad during the warranty period). If you do have warranty claim problems (they reject a valid claim because the seal is broken), then I think you would have reason to complain, but it may be premature to worry about that now.

spolitta · Post by **spolitta** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 5:26 pm

m0002a wrote:
spolitta wrote:true, but you are thinking of future, antec bad customer service effects me at this moment, there is no choice for me right now exept that I have to do what they tell me.
My suspicion is that Antec's stance on this issue is based on past experiences with a large number of warranty claims from people who have tried to mod their PSU's and botched the job. There are some do-it-yourselfers who abuse warranty claims, some of whom have admitted it on this forum.

Basically you are complaining about something that has not occurred yet, and may never occur (your PSU goes bad during the warranty period). If you do have warranty claim problems (they reject a valid claim because the seal is broken), then I think you would have reason to complain, but it may be premature to worry about that now.

they should have finished the job themself its not the customers job to call the company and tell them their PSU came with voided warranty sticker and do the paper work.

they have no customer service, how more obvious could it get? read this:

"This is an additional special circumstances requirement for these cases, and no exceptions will be made."

m0002a · Post by **m0002a** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 8:13 pm

spolitta wrote:they should have finished the job themself its not the customers job to call the company and tell them their PSU came with voided warranty sticker and do the paper work.

they have no customer service, how more obvious could it get? read this:

"This is an additional special circumstances requirement for these cases, and no exceptions will be made."

The PSU's came with a defective warranty label. What do want them to do, recall the cases even if there is nothing otherwise wrong with them?

I seriously doubt that Antec would refuse a valid warranty claim if your PSU actually did fail, given the known history of the seals on this particular PSU. That of course assumes that there is no evidence of tampering inside the PSU.

Hellspawn · Post by **Hellspawn** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 10:03 pm

company policy is stated by antecrep "no exceptions will be made". I wouldn't bet cash money on it. I think if push came to shove they probably would, but...

Plainly put, Antec needs to rework their entire support and rma department and revamp their procedures and policies. I'm not saying fire everyone and bring in new blood, just bring in some qualified consultants, something. They are NOT with the times. I feel I've dealt with them more than the average person on here and feel qualified to say that. If someone has more experience with antec on this issue than me, then I firmly offer condolences to you.

m0002a wrote:
spolitta wrote:they should have finished the job themself its not the customers job to call the company and tell them their PSU came with voided warranty sticker and do the paper work.

they have no customer service, how more obvious could it get? read this:

"This is an additional special circumstances requirement for these cases, and no exceptions will be made."
The PSU's came with a defective warranty label. What do want them to do, recall the cases even if there is nothing otherwise wrong with them?

I seriously doubt that Antec would refuse a valid warranty claim if your PSU actually did fail, given the known history of the seals on this particular PSU. That of course assumes that there is no evidence of tampering inside the PSU.

computergeek22 · Post by **computergeek22** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 10:50 pm

Considering the number of problems and incompatibilities with antec neohe psus they should just get rid of the neohe lineup and introduce the same "fixed/revised" psu with another name making it easier for the consumer to distinguish between the revised units and the older problematic ones.

Something like NeoHe 500 ----> NeoHe500 SE or NeoSE500

I don't know... just a thought.

m0002a · Post by **m0002a** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 11:26 pm

Hellspawn wrote:company policy is stated by antecrep "no exceptions will be made". I wouldn't bet cash money on it. I think if push came to shove they probably would, but...

Plainly put, Antec needs to rework their entire support and rma department and revamp their procedures and policies. I'm not saying fire everyone and bring in new blood, just bring in some qualified consultants, something. They are NOT with the times. I feel I've dealt with them more than the average person on here and feel qualified to say that. If someone has more experience with antec on this issue than me, then I firmly offer condolences to you.

Let's face it, just about all customer support sucks these days, regardless of the company. In the final analysis, people don't want better customer support, they want cheap prices (at least that is what they want when they make the purchase).

But I don't really understand what kind of customer support people are expecting from a company that sells relatively low tech products like cases and re-branded PSU’s. Even a PSU is not exactly rocket science to use properly if you follow the instructions. And compared to companies who make all the other hardware and software components of your PC, Antec is a relatively minuscule company without large amounts of money to spend on things that don't directly drive sales.

Contrast that with companies like Dell and Cisco (who owns Linksys). Ask any of their customers about the crappy customer support of these companies (among many others) who sell products that actually need customer support just to figure out how to make their products function. These are gigantic companies that have net profits in the billions of dollars per year, but their customer service (usually off-shored) sucks.

AFAIK, and from reports I have heard, Antec is at least as good (and probably better) than most other companies in honoring warranty claims. They have obviously been burned by do-it-yourselfers who have tried to modify PSU's and then filed a fraudulent warranty claim when they botched it. That is probably why they are so sensitive about the warranty seal.

I still don't understand how someone can be so paranoid as to worry about potential warranty claims when there is no problem with their product and they have yet to be denied warranty service. The NeoHE 430 only costs about $85 and even if it did fail after a couple of years, it is not that expensive to replace. Personally, I think Antec's 3 year warranty on an electronic device is quite generous. You won't get that kind of warranty from Cisco or Dell unless you pay extra for an extended warranty.

spolitta · Post by **spolitta** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 11:59 pm

m0002a wrote: Let's face it, just about all customer support sucks these days, regardless of the company. In the final analysis, people don't want better customer support, they want cheap prices (at least that is what they want when they make the purchase).

lets see, Antec P180 SPCR Edition $199 CAN, Antec P150 $185, Antec Phantom $200.

The rest of your post is as off (read useless) as the first sentence, hey buddy do you actually own a NeoHE? if not then why dont you just stay away from this thread.

Devonavar · Post by **Devonavar** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 12:59 am

spolitta wrote:hey buddy do you actually own a NeoHE? if not then why dont you just stay away from this thread.

No need to be rude. Please keep posts on topic, and away from personal attacks.

spolitta · Post by **spolitta** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 8:36 am

Devonavar wrote:
No need to be rude. Please keep posts on topic, and away from personal attacks.

That is not a personal attack devon, if he doesnt own the product then he should stay away posting offs so we can solve our problem with antec.

Rory Buszka · Post by **Rory Buszka** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 3:04 pm

So, AntecRep, inquiring minds want to know:

What exactly was wrong with all those bad NeoHE PSUs? Now that the problem seems to have been fixed with all new units, what exactly was causing all those old NeoHE power supplies to fail, or to not work with certain ATX12V 2.2 compliant motherboards?

Too bad you can't call them the NeoHE 2.0 or something, or stick a big Version 1.1 sticker on the side of them. Also, an addendum to the owner's manual that this power supply (theoretically being ATX12V 2.2 compliant) will not power older motherboards that are not ATX2.2V compliant. And even though the NeoHE power supplies are supposedly fine now, let's have a version of the P150 without a power supply, so we can select our own.

So much for running fans at 5V now, though. An MCubed TBalancer was already in the plans but now it's a must. Or an MCubed FanAmp.

ADDENDUM:

klankymen wrote:ok, i got the new power supply

or rather the old one back. it has the same S# and same outwards appearance, so i'm off to build it in. I'll be back soon

Edit: first try: BSOD, maybe due to faulty video card installation. i took out tv card, dvd drive and the EZ plug for SLI. now i can boot, time for a stress test....

Second Edit: Antec, you seriously have got the nerve to send me back the same broken power supply you gave me in the first place.....

IF I WAS CONTENT WITH THAT PIECE OF ---- I WOULDN'T HAVE SENT IT BACK IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!

you bastards. I know I will never again do business with Antec in the future, and I allready regret supporting them with the 130$ I paid for the p180.

I can only assume that this is just some error, because that on purpose is just intolerable.

Boo, Antec. Booooooooo. I was going to test my NeoHE on my friend's motherboard which is ATX12V 2.2 compliant and send it back, but now I can't have any confidence that when I get it returned to me, that it will work. Antec, I really wish you wouldn't back up your usually first-rate products with third-rate customer service.

m0002a · Post by **m0002a** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 5:10 pm

spolitta wrote:That is not a personal attack devon, if he doesnt own the product then he should stay away posting offs so we can solve our problem with antec.

What problem? Does your PSU not work? Have you been denied warranty service?

JazzJackRabbit · Post by **JazzJackRabbit** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 10:49 pm

m0002a wrote: But I don't really understand what kind of customer support people are expecting from a company that sells relatively low tech products like cases and re-branded PSU’s. Even a PSU is not exactly rocket science to use properly if you follow the instructions. And compared to companies who make all the other hardware and software components of your PC, Antec is a relatively minuscule company without large amounts of money to spend on things that don't directly drive sales.

Well, I wouldn't expect a real support for a PSU or a case, but I would expect RMA/tech repair services to be more competent. I don't really understand how can you defend Antec on this one.
1.First of all customer shouldn't do any additional steps to get the warranty on the product he purchased. However, if he didn't notify Antec in time about the broken sticker and saved the response email, then he would be out of luck. Ridiculous. Even if someone goes through the email procedure and receives response, what if his hard drive fails with pst file?
2.Antec should have handled the situation differently. If they don't want to recall Cases/PSUs with broken stickers since there are so many of them, they should provide warranty anyway. The broken sticker problem as I understnand is very widespread with NeoHE line, Antec should be aware of it and provide warranty anyway.
3.For that matter, really, how hard it is to slap a new warranty sticker on a PSU after repair? Just goes to show how negligent Antec is about their business practices.

m0002a wrote:Contrast that with companies like Dell and Cisco (who owns Linksys). Ask any of their customers about the crappy customer support of these companies (among many others) who sell products that actually need customer support just to figure out how to make their products function. These are gigantic companies that have net profits in the billions of dollars per year, but their customer service (usually off-shored) sucks.

Sure, lets contrast/compare... I accidently broke door hinges on my silverstone case, I emailed support and they sent me hinges free of charge. I had to RMA my dell monitor twice for various problems and dell did an advance RMA both times and also paid for shipping both ways too. Of course, the dell quality control may be poor, but at least they are willing to fix it. Now compare it to Antec RMA service: you have to email them to validate the warranty and then keep reply for up to three years as long as you own PSU, and no advance RMA either.

m0002a wrote:I still don't understand how someone can be so paranoid as to worry about potential warranty claims when there is no problem with their product and they have yet to be denied warranty service. The NeoHE 430 only costs about $85 and even if it did fail after a couple of years, it is not that expensive to replace. Personally, I think Antec's 3 year warranty on an electronic device is quite generous. You won't get that kind of warranty from Cisco or Dell unless you pay extra for an extended warranty.

PSU failure is not unheard of. I had a cheap codegen PSU fail on me. If you also recall a lot of early phantoms were very prone to failure too. And they are not cheap to replace either, if you want to throw away $85, why don't you throw them away in my direction? As for the 3 year warranty, AFAIK dell has 5 year warranty on its high end monitors.

Anyway, if you still don't understand it, it's not about if anyone has been denied warranty already, it's about how Antec treats its customers. Why should customers go through all the email hussle? And AFAIK, this issue has not been publicized anywhere, so if someone who does not read SPCR forum will try to RMA his PSU he will be denied it. It's kind of funny reading your "Have you been denied warranty service?" when AntecRep on the same page said "no exceptions will be made".

m0002a · Post by **m0002a** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 8:17 am

I do understand your concerns. But what I am saying is that until someone is actually denied a warranty claim, then I think people are blowing things out of porportion. I think the stuff about their special "no exception" policy as posted in this forum is based on paranoia on Antec’s part because they have burned in the past by warranty claims from people who have tried to mod their PSU's.

Obviously, not all Antec customers read these forums, so I think some of the statements made by the Antec rep were inappropriate or perhaps slightly misstated, and will not necessary be enforced in the exact manner suggested by his post. But when a warranty claim is necessary, I don’t think it is too onerous to have send in an email to Antec with the serial number to get pre-approval on a RMA for a PSU with a broken seal. I am sure they would explain the procedure to anyone who called their support line, now or at a later date while the warranty is still in effect.

When someone is actually denied a valid warranty claim for Antec on a NeoHE 430 that was purchased new with a broken seal, then I would like to hear about that on this forum. But I have not heard that yet.

Mike_P · Post by **Mike_P** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 8:59 am

i just got my antec p150 and the sticker is also broken. To boot, i think they broke the front bezel, the front right corner is snapped off on the trim piece but there is NO (ZERO) indication of damage on the exterior box. This can only tell me that it was broken OUTSIDE the box, and I definately DID NOT do it.

I'll take 1 trim piece and a new front bezel please

JazzJackRabbit · Post by **JazzJackRabbit** » Fri Jan 20, 2006 10:46 am

m0002a wrote:I do understand your concerns. But what I am saying is that until someone is actually denied a warranty claim, then I think people are blowing things out of porportion. I think the stuff about their special "no exception" policy as posted in this forum is based on paranoia on Antec’s part because they have burned in the past by warranty claims from people who have tried to mod their PSU's. [. . . and so on . . .]

Well it is possible that Antec will make an exception to this rule and unofficially replace the PSU. However, I do not like this approach. If manufacturer made a mistake I fully expect them to own it up and fix it, I don't want them doing me a favor by replacing a PSU which they ought to replace anyway. "Oh, your warranty is void, but since we are so nice and fluffy we will replace it, just for you, just this time." No way. This is a sneaky and unfair business practice, it is unfair to the customer, not to mention humiliating, and it also gives them (I don't know how legal it actually is) the power to deny warranty.

Like I said, if the broken sticker issue is so widespread and Antec is not willing to recall the cases/PSUs, it should provide warranty anyway. Customer should not jump through the hoops to validate warranty he is already entitled to. Customer also shouldn't beg for the warranty if his sticker is broken and he did not cantact Antec about it in time.

All NeoHE are fixed but...

All NeoHE are fixed but...

Re: All NeoHE are fixed but...

Re: All NeoHE are fixed but...

To AntecRep Re: NeoHE 430W problems