Bricked Acer Tablet - acceptable lifespan?

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Antzzz

190 posts

Master Geek
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#138486 6-Jan-2014 20:50

Hi all, my 23 month old Acer A501 tablet bricked itself over the weekend. Dead stock, never had a custom ROM on it etc. All attempts at getting it going point to dead internal flash memory - judging by the interwebs this sounds like a known issue with a bad Samsung flash part.

Called Acer - they say because it is out of warranty they want AUD$230 to even look at it. Consumer Guarantees Act says that goods must be of acceptable quality and have a reasonable lifespan. Acer stated outright that this is not a known issue - despite many forum posts around the world about it (and even an analysis on the Cyanogenmod site regarding the faulty part). So they are refusing to look at it under the CGA and won't let me speak to anyone in their NZ service centre - I've escalated this with them and am awaiting feedback from a 'manager' in their Philippines centre.

What are the thoughts here on a reasonable lifespan for a 10" Tablet - is 2 years unreasonable?

mckenndk

914 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 35

#962125 6-Jan-2014 20:55

Reasonable is around 3-5 years out of an electronic device.
I would push it under the Consumer Guarantees act but you will probably have to point them to a link and send the forum links to them as well.

I have seen stories on here where people have got TV's repaired or replaced after 3 or 4 years as they just died.

I would say most people would be pissed if their laptop/Ipad/Tablet/Phone died after two years, if looked after devices should last alot longer than this.

vexxxboy

4336 posts

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#962126 6-Jan-2014 20:55

not according to the CGA it's not and it doesnt matter if it's a known issue or not, the tablet failed and Acer should fix it under the terms of the CGA.

Common sense is not as common as you think.

Antzzz

190 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 12

#962136 6-Jan-2014 21:08

Oh and if anyone has any contacts in Acer NZ please let me know - I got the impression the call centre person I spoke in the Philippines to had no idea about the NZ CGA...

MikeB4

MikeB4
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#962138 6-Jan-2014 21:12

Go back to the store that sold it to you, they have the relationship with Acer

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

andrewNZ

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#962145 6-Jan-2014 21:23

What KiwiNZ said.
Its primarily the retailer who has to abide by the CGA.
If you bought this in from overseas yourself, you've got basically no rights.

Antzzz

190 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 12

#962190 6-Jan-2014 21:48

Unit was purchased directly from Acer NZ - so I have to deal with them. Definitely a local purchase though.

Dell

Shop now for Dell laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

MikeB4

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#962195 6-Jan-2014 22:06

Acer NZ

Auckland
Suite 2, Ground Floor, Building A
Millenium Phase II
600 Great South Road, Ellerslie
Auckland, 1051 New Zealand
Tel: 64 9 969 5600
Fax: 64 9 526 5002

They also have a Facebook page

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

Antzzz

190 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 12

#962874 7-Jan-2014 23:46

Some good news - initially the Acer escalation person in the Philippines came back to me with a flat out no on fixing the issue under warranty. However after spending some time trying to get hold of someone in the NZ office that I could name on the disputes tribunal form (harder than you think - their NZ office phone number goes either to the Philippines service center or their Aussie sales office), I think they realised I was serious and they have finally agreed to extend the warranty to fix this problem. So the unit will be on the courier to them in the next day or so.

The optimist in me thinks that they finally took some time to read the CGA and worked out they had to do the repair - however more likely that they worked out that the cost of defending a Disputes Tribunal hearing was probably more than the cost of the repair...

Regardless of the outcome at least they came to the party - so thanks Acer!

And thanks to those who offered suggestions and feedback here.

For anyone reading this in the future here's some useful links regarding self-bricked A500/501s (and it looks like A100/200s might also have a similar problem):

One of many threads describing the issue (with a report of Acer UK fixing it out of warranty), there are similar threads in the TegraOwners and XDA Developers forums:
http://community.acer.com/t5/Android-Tablets/Acer-Iconia-A100-and-A500-Failure-to-Boot/td-p/73711/page/5

CyanogenMod wiki page describing the eMMC bad flash problem (note the reference to the fact that Samsung supplied a patch to OS suppliers containing a workaround):
http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/EMMC_Bugs