Asus TAICHI Owners' Lounge

Be perplexed, below is what I got:

"....Since many customers solve the problem after they install the latest VGA driver and BIOS.

If you don't want to revert back to Windows 8, I will pass your problem again to find the solution......"

Like I said, ASUS's fix is to stay with WIN 8.

 

They always say that most others have no such problem.
When 8.1 came out, it was the same battle, eventually resulting in Beta CloseLid 1.19 (which still is not on the download site).
And 1.19 works only partially, but enough to get by.

Face it - the Taichi is the best computer I've ever owned, but ASUS is not supporting it in tandem with MS Windows updates.
I don't think there's a Taichi team there at all anymore.
I had just bought a Vivotab Note 8 when this update hit the fan. The Note had a couple of minor problems, but those combined with the latest Taichi "experience", led me to return it within the return window.

I think they design very interesting & unique devices, but if they abandon upgrade support after a few months, then they are rendered useless & I can't own ASUS products ( & I currently own half a dozen). Regrettably, no more ASUS for me.

 

ASUS was able to make the dual screen concept work reasonably well under Win 8, they probably devoted a lot of time to "work around" the issues because I don't believe the dual screen implementation was really part of the WIN 8 reference, at least not in the manner it is implemented on the Taichi. So far I have only installed the latest 8.1 update on my Surface Pro and have not experienced any issue, OTOH, my Taich 21 will remain un-updated for the duration, but that will soon cause issues as future security updates will most likely depend on having the infamous 8.1 update onboard.

I can't say I could realistically dismiss ASUS when shopping for computer since they are in bed with so many other brands. Heck, I am using a Nexus 7 right now.

 

After I sent back my Taichi 31 I ordered a Sony Vaio Fit Flip 13A but it has sooo noisy fan that I sent it back instantly. I was so impressed by the exclusivity of the Taichi that shortly realised how much premium feel got with Taichi compared to Vaio Flip. I think it was very very good aproach for new premium hybrid concept. I must say i am missing Taichi concept altough now I am using Zenbook UX302LG which is maybe a little more premium than Taichi, but it is the same old "boring" clamshell concept.


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I currently have the Sony Vaio Duo 13 and I am having problems with it's notorious wifi issues. So I am looking to see if there are any other notebooks with similar specs (with a digitizer and currently under $900) and came across the Taichi 31. Right off I found that it has a 3rd gen processor which causes it to have 5-6 hours "less" battery life than the Vaio Duo 13 which has a 4th gen, and it only has a touch screen on the outside cover. I was reading through some of these post and was wondering if these two cons I just mentioned are that big of an annoyance in daily use...especially the touch screen only being on the outside? Also, it seems there is a windows 8.1 issue with the screen or something, has ASUS addressed this?

 

If you value your time, I suggest you invest a little bit of which up front and read through perhaps the last 10 pages of this thread, and if you still want the Taich, then by all means go for it.

 

If I were you, i don't think about changing Duo 13 with Taichi if your problem is "just" the crapy wifi. I will buy a micro usb wifi adaper, instead of always promlems with windows updates with Taichi. You can control your problem by buying an adapter. I know that it is not a real solution but there is don't exist a truly problem free hybrid ultrabook. Real alternative maybe Dell XPS 12 (no digit pen) or Lenovo Thinkpad Yoga but they have not solved LG IPS panel problem.


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Thanks for recommending me read back a few post sclui56, time well spent, I should have read those first, but at any rate thanks for summing it up sclui56 and AureliusD. I think I will stay with the Vaio Duo 13 it is actually very nice and the comfort of it grows on you very quickly, its just that it should have a wifi issue, especially and ultrabook that is meant to be connected on the go. After reading one persons post about an ASUS techs reply, it makes me wonder if the manufactures were struck by surprise that windows 8.1 would cause them so many problems...seems like the manufactures are not keeping up with Microsoft updates or Microsoft and the Manufactures are not collaborating quickly enough.

 

Hi guys! I just want to share my horrible experience with my Asus Taichi. I bought it last year on May 15 in Thailand. In my opinion, it was the best ultrabook/hybrid overall. The keyboard has a nice feedback while the touch pad is suitable for my big hands. I picked the Asus Taichi out of all hybrids because of its weight, display quality, keyboard, and touch pad. The Asus Taichi can be used as a tablet without compromising the keyboard and touch pad which is a plus for me. Anyway, two days later, I had to go back to Philippines leaving me no time to check my Asus Taichi for any problems. The Asus Taichi I bought came with 1 week replacement so if I find any problems, I can have it returned. However, because I have to go back to Philippines, I haven't got the chance to fully check my Asus Taichi. After using it for more than 3 weeks, I found problems with my Asus Taichi. These include software and hardware problems. For the software, the asus smart gesture stops working as soon as the computer resumes from sleep. For the hardware, the keys from the keyboard keeps popping off while the display has a backlight bleeding issue and dead pixels issue. The backlight bleeding issue is present on both displays. Because of these problems, I have to send it to Asus Service center which I did for a couple of months. The guys at Asus Service center were really nice. They listened and helped me with all of my issues. They replaced my faulty display panel and keyboard. In addition, my Asus Taichi took 1 month in the Asus Service Center because they needed to order a new display panel for me which actually takes 3-4 weeks. After having a replacement display panel and keyboard, I checked if the issues I found are still present. For the keyboard, the popping issue was fixed but for the display, there were still backlight bleeding issues. I sent it back again to be repaired. After a month of waiting, I claimed my Taichi from them. I checked again the problem at home and behold, the backlight bleeding issue was still present. I sent it back and requested a new display panel. The Asus Service Center gladly accepted it. They recognized that the backlight bleeding issue was still present and was much worse compared to the previous panel. Again, I waited but this time, it took them 2 weeks to finish the repair because there were stocks of display panels from the warehouse. This time, my Taichi ha no backlight bleeding issues. At that moment, I felt really satisfied despite the software problems. However, when I brought and used it in my university, the outer display panel appeared to be broken! The outer screen was totally useless. All I can see were purple and random lines. I'm still figuring out what caused it. Because of that, I returned it back 2 weeks later as I was busy and my finals were fast approaching. Anyway, when I was about to return it to Asus Service Center, I saw cracks in the screen and black splotches! I just can't believe what I saw as my Taichi was well taken care of. I bought a computer bag and a sleeve just to keep my Taichi safe but the display panel of my Taichi cracked. The built quality of Asus is really questionable at that point. When I returned it to Asus, they told me that it was an out-of-warranty repair. I tried to convinced them that it wasn't my fault. I even showed them the bags I used. My Asus Taichi was well taken care of. They told me that something heavy was somehow put on the lid pressuring the display panel. They weren't convinced so they charged me Php 18,000 - 19,000 for a new replacement. I was disappointed. I don't know what to say. I mean, how could the display panel cracked if my Taichi was well taken care of. Luckily, my mom was going to Thailand so I asked her if she could have it repaired in Thailand. I tried in Thailand because maybe, the cost of repair wouldn't be that expensive. Anyway, when she brought my Taichi to Asus Thailand, they informed us that the cost of repair was Baht 30,000. The cost was so expensive that we decided to not have my Taichi repaired. I tried to use my Taichi for a month as a computer and not a tablet which for me, defeated its purpose as a hybrid. I was really really disappointed with my Asus Taichi, I really want my display panel fixed so I just brought it to Asus Philippines and paid for the cost of repair. I have no other options. After a month of waiting, it was fixed but the backlight bleeding issue was still present so I have it replaced. To be honest, I can't accept the backlight bleeding issue because I expect the quality that Asus boasts with their premium products and the quality that justifies the high price tag. Finally, the display panel was replaced. However, I found new issues. The display light was uneven wherein you can see some dark spots in the outer display. I sent it back again just to have it fixed. Again, the issues were still present! I'm getting tired of Asus' build quality. I'm starting to regret the taichi. In summary, I had 6 display panels replacements already. On the last replacement, I just accepted that Asus build quality are bad and I should just get used to it. Furthermore, I found new issues with the last 3 replacements. The bottom and the right side of the outer display panel have some bluish color. For the last replacement, the upper left portion of the outer screen can be slightly opened.

I would like to share how I solved the 100% processor usage of smart gesture driver. I just added a new dword value in the asus smart gesture touchpad.
Name: AutoSetMaxPower Value: 0
With this, the smart gesture will not change your maximum and minimum processor state. This can also help prolong your battery life. In my case, I was able to use my Taichi for 3 hours and 30 minutes.

Additionally, about the issue of smart gesture not working during start whenever resuming from sleep, I found out that this happens because its running on multiple instances. I suggest you go to task scheduler and modify the settings of smart gesture there to 'do not run a new instance in parallel'.

I'm sorry for any grammatical errors.

Thank you for your time

 

Just an update: Got my Taichi21-DH71 back from RMA the other day. Looks like they replaced the outer screen free of charge under the warranty. I don't think I'm even going to update to Windows 8.1. And honestly, I'm considering selling my Taichi. Although the idea of the Taichi is great and this has an i7 processor, I already have a 12 inch Asus TF810C with Wacom digitizer which does all I need it to do ( just a bit slower... but battery life of tablet + dock lasts me for DAYS without charging).

Anyone have any recommendations for a new convertible ultrabook?

 

My brother got the Vaio Pro 13 (sweet deal for about 550$) and is wery pleased with it. Long battery life and the possibility to add an externar battery aswell.

But there are some wifi issues with that model, as far as i know depending on wich hardwareversion. He has no Wifi issues but I've heard about others who do.

Not sure i would recomend it för the usual 1000-1200$...

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Thanks, Mush.

I actually also have the 15.5 inch Vaio Flip. That thing is huge, and I'm wondering if I might be better off in the 13.3 or 14 inch range. The only real problem that I have with it is the noisy, noisy fan. I plan to fresh install Windows to see if it is Sony's bloatware that is causing the fan to spin up at rear full speeds even when they computer is not very loaded. Results are mixed about trying to quiet the fan on many forums. If I can't get it to quiet down, it will get sold off as well, and my search will continue!

 

Oh, the flip. Is that the one with the weird small keyboard? (Perhaps it works better then it looks). The Pro is normal formfactor, have no info about fan noise.

What about the "Lenovo Yoga series", they got some nice and pricy variations of that one now if I'm not mistaken...?

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I'm deciding between the i7 Taichi 31 and the UX32LN at the moment. The deal breaker is if I can get the inner screen replaced with a touch screen then I'm sold on the Taichi 31. So the question is has anybody tried this or have thought of doing this?

If anyone still has an F8Va feel free to go check out my comprehensive update on these forums. Maxed out all the hardware on that little puppy.

 

Isnt touch screens usually thicker then a ordinary screens? Makes it harder to fit (I'm guessing you want to be able to close it..).

And with the driver issues we have had, even with stock screens, I dont see how you would get it to work...

But good luck if you decide to try!


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Hi, where are you seeing the i7 Taichi 31 for sale?

I have thought about the Yoga series, but it's extremely expensive to get the active digitizer model. Also, am I the only one who thinks it's weird to have the keyboard scraping the table if the Yoga is in tablet mode?

I wish that the Lenovo Helix came if a 14 inch model. The detachable keyboard is my favorite convertible form factor. The problem is that I already have an ASUS TF810C which is 12 inch, and I'm looking for something a little bigger.

 

They are still being sold in Taiwan. All four versions. I've weighed out the pros and cons and decided it's not worth it. No upgradable ram, outdated HD4000 and no support for it in the future.

Need to pester them for a second generation Taichi with Haswell, 8G memory and inner touch screen too! A discreet gpu would be a bonus! =D

 

Hey guys, I have a taichi21 and after updating to windows 8.1 about 2 weeks after the update my outer screen no longer works. When I switch to tablet mode the inner screen just switches to lower resolution and when I close the device there is no screen but it registers touches. How can I get the outer screen working on 8.1? I installed the latest 8.1 intel drivers from asus and no avail. Help guys?? If not I'm going to return this soon. Had it less than a month.

 

Answers if you read the tread from page 23 forward.

Just a warning and perhaps a question regarding the new win 8.1 update...



Has anyone else tried to install the win 8.1 update? My Tai became slower then i'm able to describe, reboot takes over 2 minutes now. Also outer screen stopped working.



Uninstalled the update KB2919355 and got the screen working again.

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Wish i had seen this before i just finished going back to 8.0 cause I was fed up with not being able to use the external display. Maybe ill stick with 8.0 its obvious 8.1 isn't mature enough that Microsoft wont break the screen switching again in the future.

The Taichi is actually one of the few laptops from my experience that works so well with Windows 8 its not a big deal to use it without the enhancements in 8.1. Although I do still use classic shell so that I can get a full start menu when I need it.

 

Hi all. For those of us with the outer screen issue re the Windows 8.1 updates, there may be some good news around the corner. I raised the issue with Asus support via email recently and yesterday I got this response;

Thank you for contacting ASUS Customer Service.

My name is Myra and it's my pleasure to help you with your problem.

We apologize for the inconvenience in using our product and thank you for your understanding.

For this issue, please update BIOS to BIOS 209 to solve this problem.

How to update BIOS:
ASUSTeK Computer Inc. -Support- Technical Documents MyBitCast

If you do not mind to wait for several days, after further validation, it will released on our website soon. You could download at that time.
ASUSTeK Computer Inc. -Support- Drivers and Download TAICHI31

If you have any further questions, comments, or concerns please do not hesitate to let us know. We will be more than happy to assist you.

Have a nice day!

Best regards,
Myra
Customer Service Center
ASUSTek Computer Inc.



With any luck this could be the answer we are after, as I am sick of having to unistall the update only to find a few days later windows has automatically re installed it.

Regards

David

 

OK. So I have loaded BIOS 209 (for Taichi31 - note it could be a different number on the Taichi21), and it works!

I have all the windows 8.1 updates installed, and pressing the screen button, and selecting mirror mode, I had both screens working fine, and the outer screen touch capabilities were fine as well.


The new bios should be on their support site in the next few days, so once there you all should be good to go!

Good luck.

 

Yo!
Where did you found it?
Is that really works?
ALL the features?

 

Looks like

Bios 210 is now available

Going to give a try now.

 

That's the Bios from Feb. I think we'll need 211 for the Taichi 21 to address the April 8.1.1

 

You are right after all, updated the bios installed VGA driver version 10.18.10.3412, all I got was a black screen, back to 8.0 again for me.

 

I do so hope this news is right. It would be something of a relief.

Please tell me that Myra from Asus Inc. is based somewhere a long way away from the UK where I now know the taichi 31 is not for sale!

Nice machine. When all the bits come together it will be just the job for what I want.

Incidentally, concise instructions for the installation of any BIOS upgrade for the 31 would be really useful. As far as I can see, the upgrades so far have gone in despite my best endeavours, not because of them.

 

Message deleted and placed elsewhere

 

Where did you find it?
On the Asus support site they still post the february 208 version.
Should we wait few days as Myra said? Or you can give a better link ��?

 

Which particular features are you curious about?

 

They included a pre-release copy of the BIOS in their email to me. My Taichi31 is not my critical computer at the moment so I could take a risk that it might not work, and went ahead and tried it.

For most though, I would suggest we wait until they complete final validation in the next few days, and then load it up onto their support site.

 

By "ALL the features", I meant the screen share, the taichi Home Button and especially the switching of the screen when you close it.

 

Yep, all seems to work beautifully!!

 

Oh my...
Well, we just have to wait now.:thumbsup:

 

sorry for my question, but this is mean you can also control the outer screen brightness?

 

Thank you for the info davidh. We now have only to wait until their finale validation of the new Bios.
I'll sit down and wait quietly, I'm not anxious, and I can survive a few days with the automatic MS updates disabled.
The Taichi is a brilliant idea and a wonderful machine.

 

Hi All,

I have a Taichi 21, and have had the same issues that everybody else is having, except that my issues have NOT been resolved.

After upgrading to Windows 8.1 I have updated the Intel Graphics driver to 10.18.10.3412, the Close Lid to 1.1.9, Asus Taichi Home to 1.0.3, the BIOS to 210. But my touchscreen is still not displaying when I close the lid or switch screens via the App, it still is very very dim. Pretty sure it is not a hardware problem as a few days I refreshed my Taichi 21 back to Windows 8 (prior to trying Windows 8.1 again) and the touchscreen worked fine again (except that now many of the Apps I tried to reinstall wouldn't reinstall because they have moved forward to Windows 8.1 so I am out of date etc).

So I can either go back to Windows 8 (again) and lose the ability to use most of the Apps I like, or put up with Windows 8.1 and only having inner screen until Asus fix this issue.

Unless someone here wants to suggest something else? I have already tried downgrading my Graphics driver to an older version, but that never worked either.

Best Regards,

Peter

 

Did you try to uninstall the one specific win 8.1 update that causes the screen issue? Not sure how that works when you update from 8.0 now, if it is part of the upgrade or possible to leave out in "win update".

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What is the name of that specific update that causes the issue?

 

KB2919355, but i dont know if its included in the 8 to 8.1.1 update or just the 8.1 to 8.1.1 as it was in my case.

Its the one released to make win 8.1 more useable with mouse/keyboard.

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Windows Boot manager missing from BIOS boot tab boot option priorities, instead of booting to windows, just recycles to bios again after F10 is pressed. I updated bios to 210. Is this an indication that the mbr is corrupted or is it missing the SSD altogether? Tried an Ubuntu live usb thing and can't even see the ssd... I think its a ssd failure vs a mbr issue. OUCH. Nothing like having a nearly proprietary ssd go down for the count.

 

I have just uninstalled this update as suggested and my screens are working fine just as they were before this particular update of 8.1 to 8.1.1. Many thanks for the fix. I think I should no longer accept software updates for my Taichi 21. Where is the controls to prevent this?

 

Hi

You should be able to turn off automatic updates either from the control panel, under system and security, or via the 'modern' interface pc settings under updates. I'm on my work computer at the moment so can't check exactly but shouldn't be too difficult...

You should then be able to pick and choose which updates to install and you can do others, I've done a few, just avoid the big 800mb one.

I've got the new 8.1.1 update on my other computer and there really isn't that much of a change (and my Taichi is working well on 8.1) so happy to wait and hopefully Asus release the fix relatively soon before the old 8.1 stops getting any security updates etc.

Cheers

 

I'm interested in trying this 209 bios for my taichi31, I've contacted asus several times but they won't give me the file. Do you still have this file davidh? If so, may I please get it from you?

 

HERE IS THE LINK BIOS to BIOS 209 FOR TAICHI31
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/0fr2q92rnmwp5ko/6E7-D2RApF


note; remember all responsibility is up to you

Enjoy bro's

it can consider a kind of Taichi fellowship

 

Thank you sir:thumbsup:

 

your wellcome
please write here the sequel

 

Big thank you to you, i try it immediately!

 

Flash was successful on windows 8! I'm finalizing windows updates then I'll update to 8.1 and share the results.

 

It works, seamless transitioning on 8.1 for the taichi31 with 9.17 vga drivers. I cannot express how happy I am!

testing 10.30.10 drivers now.

10.30.10 drivers work flawlessly as well. solution to the 8.1 update is the 209 bios.