Sending in for repairs again, apparently, any advice?

So, I got a Blade 2014 back in June. I love it, except in July I had to send it in for repairs because the battery would randomly stop/start charging rapidly and repeatedly when I would game for a few hours. I couldn't figure out was was wrong, it was like I was plugging and unplugging the charger very quickly over and over again but of course that wasn't what I was doing. So I sent it in to Razer. They say they replaced the battery and motherboard and returned it to me. I was irritated that I had had to send in my brand-new, expensive laptop for repairs, but I was just happy to have it back. I noticed no issue for about another month and a half, but now it's reoccuring. I emailed Razer, asking if it could be the charger that had the problem all along - even though my charger appears completely normal. After a little back and forth, they simply told me to send it in - AGAIN. I am extremely annoyed, because on the website under Razer's warranty policy they claim to assure you that your device will be "free of defect for up to 90 days after date of repair". How can they get away with assuring us of that if I'm just going to have the exact same issue less than 60 days after getting it back? As a college student in her senior year, the idea of sending my laptop in for repairs is exasperating and frustrating, considering how much I need this thing for my mountain of school work. I sent a heated reply to Razer and am awaiting a new reply.

I was just wondering everyone's thoughts on the matter, if anyone has any advice or similar stories to share. I'm completely perplexed by this bizarre issue and can find very little info on the web about it. It's hard to Google! At this point I almost want a refund, even though there's zero chance of that happening considering I've had it for about 2.5 months. I'm disappointed this laptop I worked and saved so hard to get just doesn't seem to be worth it

 

You're not alone, I purchased the 2015 model in feb. I sent it in for a replacement twice, the third time was a full refund. After all that fuss I emailed razer support to leave some feedback, then after transferring my email to tech support(It was clear that they didn't read the full email) I told them the email I sent was for feedback again, and all they said was something like "okay." I love their designs and where they're taking the industry, but razer needs to step up their game with quality and customer service.

 

That really sucks. I did end up sending it again for the second time. I'm glad I'm not alone - but I wanted to ask you, so the third time you sent it in you did receive a full refund? Can you talk about the process for that, how long you had had the laptop? Did they offer the refund or did you have to fight for it? Because if I have to send it in a third time, I will definitely be VERY interested in a refund. I would appreciate any info I can get from someone else who went through the process.

 

Thankfully I purchased my razer through the microsoft store, I had 30 days to rma/return my unit after purchase/exchange.
If your next unit/repaired unit has issues I would demand some sort of reparations. Nobody should have to go through this many rma's for a laptop that should be top tier quality. Maybe ask for a 2015 model(thoroughly inspected), or demand a refund. You'll probably have to fight for it, judging by what I've read on these forums.

 

Unbelievably, my laptop has been in their posession for five business days and have heard very little. All so vague. I'm so upset and frustrated since they promised notification if the laptop would be kept longer than 5 business days, and I've got zip. Now they've all gone home for the weekend, of course. I'm so disappointed.

 

They sent mine back in two weeks after promising 5 buisness days.
You can call them if you want @ 1 (855) 872-5233

 

Try a better adapter.

 

Hi there, thanks for the suggestion. Using a different adapter with more watts won't have any negative affects on the laptop? & Do you think the lack of proper charging could have been caused by the adapter being too weak?

 

No and yes, respectively.

You could use an 800W adapter, but it won't use that amount of power unless that is requested by the laptop (thank heavens ). And from all reports it sounds like laptop draw + charge is simply too much for the, admittedly, very sleek-looking adapter. Nice feature of the Razer adapters is that they deliver the highest watts/volume:



Disadvantage of that is heat; no buffer or surface area to loose it. Don't have one, but should think you can bake an egg on that thing when it's under strain. As with all electronics; heat is your enemy and will increase resistance (inefficiency). See, nothing is for free; all adapters loose energy during conversion from socket's 110V/220V to laptop's ~19V, this loss is what's warming the adapter.

With the tiny Razer this effect will be magnified. You can check this effect with a kill-a-watt; run stress (battery removed) cold and keep approximate draw equal. With time (heating adapter) the draw from the socket will increase, even though demand from the laptop remains the same. This additional loss may not have been taken into account when they determined ' 150W is plenty'.

Hmm ... you could also cool it first and see if that solves the problem. Deplete battery and game while charging and place gel-packs from fridge (thoroughly dried ) around the adapter. See if it can keep up now and if it does; get a 180-240W. Highlighted in green would be compatible power-wise; right voltage and sufficient amperes (V*A=W). The only question is what tip is used; verify that visually, there's only about seven or so and one of those adapters (or a universal with the right tip) will be a match for the Razer.

 

This is fantastic, thanks. I'm saving all this info for future use. You seem like you know what you're talking about, can I ask you another question?

I just installed Windows 10 on my Blade upon getting it back from the repair center. At about 75% installed, the laptop restarted (it had done so a few times during the process) and booted into the 'Aptio Setup Utility' which looked like the BIOS screen. The computer was stuck in an endless loop, every time I exited out of Aptio and restarted it would boot right back into the Aptio screen. Finally, I figured out that I should change the boot order in the Aptio utility and it booted to Windows like normal to finish the installation. The issue has not reoccured since Windows 10 was installed, but I googled it out of curiosity and saw a lot of talk about it being indicative of a hardware issue. So I mentioned it to Razer Support and they seemed very alarmed - like, the customer service rep said it was not a normal thing at all and to please watch my system for further issues. Should I be concerned???? I just got my Blade back for the second time! I want to keep it!!!!!

 

It is, you have an AMI bios.

Windows 10 is ... buggy (as of yet).

There's tons of reasons why it could do that (iffy Windows update, for one), but the main hardware-related concern would be the hdd(s). Run CrystalDiskInfo and check whether all drives report ok:

Spoiler: CrystalDiskInfo - healthy drive

Also, make sure to disable Fast Startup. This uses hibernation (on said hdd) and expects both perfect drive health and zero change inbetween boots, including any changes to files stored on the drive itself. That's a tall order and the problems it can cause simply aren't worth the few seconds saved during boot.

 

You are just amazing! Absolutely perfect! Razer CS doesn't seem to know what was up, can't say I blame them considering how odd and random it was. I will launch APTIO again and disable Fast Boot. I downloaded Crystal Disk Info and it shows Good, 100% and 43 degrees C. So all should be good? Could it have been just because Windows 10 and its installation is buggy? Thanks SO much

 

You need to use the method in the link ( option 1, step 7).

Fast Boot ≠ Fast Startup . Terminology-wise it appears fairly similar, but tech-wise they're separate things. Fast Boot is fine, this simply skips a few hardware checks, no problems here. Fast Startup is the Windows hibernation-on-shutdown option, which is a heap of potential (and confirmed) issues for very limited gains.

Sure. That, and the Fast Startup might've been (partially) to blame as well.

Remember to run the Crystal tool or similar thingies (whichever can read S.M.A.R.T. attributes) whenever a hard drive seems buggy; distinctive ' tick-tick-tick' sound (non-SSD) or slow reads/writes (all types). That's what it's for; to let you know beforehand whether the drive is about to have a catastrophic failure (it uses clairvoyance or a crystal ball, presumably ... ). Time enough for a backup and getting a new drive, anyway.

Keep us posted on the adapter issue. There's a lot of complaints, but no-one has a definite solution, you'd be the first. Could then proceed to tell Razer what's what (and have them send a shiny, new adapter to each of their customers). When pigs fly, of course , but every user within warranty would qualify, at least.

 

Ooooh, thanks for the clarification. I changed the actual Fast Startup, it was enabled, I don't know if that was causing a problem but I'm glad it's off now. I'm running the Crystal Disk Info twice a week now to be absolutely sure nothing is wrong. It seems to be fine, and the only noise I heard is static. That seems to be pretty normal, it's a machine with hundreds of moving parts after all. I also think, based on this, I'm going to invest in an external harddrive and do bi-monthly backups. I have a lot of my books, schoolwork, pictures, and the like saved to Dropbox and OneDrive, but none of my game data saved. I'd be heartbroken if I lost my Skyrim save If the problem re-occurs, I'll purchase an adapter, probably the one you link too, and let you all know.

You have been the most AMAZING source of help, I cannot thank you enough. Seriously, you answered all of my concerns and more. I wish laptops weren't such a headache!