POLL: Was an RMA required in your first year of ownership?

I did have an RMA, it was for the keyboard which threw a key, the backspace key. They cross-shipped the replacement. I think it was $15 or something like that.

I'd question your notion of lots of 8890's dying. There've been maybe a dozen or so reports of such, that's out of thousands of units having been shipped. Of course, not all are reported in these forums but I am guessing the defect rate is something like 1% or less.

I hope everyone takes a moment to vote. This is a very good idea for a thread and the results will be interesting.

My 5680 is actually in for an RMA right now. Its lower right hand corner of the LCD frame was cracked, presumably by the LCD being bent back too far. This is a small design flaw. Just have to remember to not too far.

My 8887 had to go in for the backlighting on the lcd.
Fast fix cost a few bucks to ship.
I did not get the extra warranty at frist then this so I got the extra warranty now I feel safer I think!!

Kaisooba, it was a few bucks bucks to ship for you, but us overseas people (I'm in Japan) have to think a little harder on the subject. If I have to pay $150-160 to have a new unit RMA'd over something that I had no control over, it's going to make for some stink. If I were back in the States, then I'd probably think the same- couple bucks, I can deal with it. But some of us have to put considerable thought into the entire process. One RMA and we're out considerable time and money. 2 RMAs and we're talking a WHOLE lot of money and grumpiness. And that, IMO, is unacceptable.

Some of us have to be a little more careful because the consequences are far more serious than for someone in the US.

And AV8ing, we can't? I must've missed that part.

EDIT: Just found a quote from Robert602: Sager have a policy of paying return shipping costs, but this does not apply to international orders, so you have to pay both ways from this thread .

That makes 1 RMA almost unbearable. Figure US$150~200 each way. If that happens twice or even 3 times, one might as well just throw it in the toilet. Altho' I can't recall anyone having had to do that. One time, though, doesn't seem to be uncommon. *frown*

Truth be told my few bucks was $50!! I don't like to pay at all but we should know going that is how it is setup. It would be nice if Sager would pay for shipping if they did maybe they not be in rush to get the lates greates out the door before it is ready.

My mobo died a while back but other than that it's been fine. RMA process went smooth and they (Sager) called to verify what I shipped back to them (accessories)

Checkpoint: so far 11 out of 16 responders had to RMA? You gotz to be kiddin' me!

I'm beginning to think that aussie may be right: Maybe I can't handle a Sager?!?

i'd buy one all over again, regardless. if they didnt have a guaranteed 72hr repair turnaround, it would change my mind a bit...

i hear u GTS, but i think i'm still gonna pull the trigger

Here is my little tale of woe with my 4760. Got it and it was working perfectly. No issues and a crystal sharp screen. Then I decided to install the Sager mini USB wireless B LAN and Bluetooth module. From that point on evertime I went on the internet I would get an occasional popping sound.

The sound became more and more frequent, until I just could not stand it any more. I contacted Sager tech support by email and they gave me several suggestions to stop the unit from making that popping noise. None of their ideas worked and I sent it back to Sager for repairs.

They called me to let me know that they got the unit and to confirm that I had the power adapter. I didn't ship it and let them know I had the adapter. After a week and a half they sent me back my lappy. Tech support said that they could not dulpicate the popping sound that I was getting. So they replaced my units speakers and motherboard. They also gave me a new top and bottom cover because of all the scuff marks on them.

Got my baby back and a few days later guess what it does..........you got it...popping like a bowl of rice crispies. So I took matters into my own hands. I uninstalled the video drivers. That was a no go. I uninstalled and reinstalled the sound drivers. That was a no go. Repaired Winblows XP. That was a no go. Unistalled and reinstalled the wireless LAN drivers. That was a no go. I uninstalled and reinstalled the Bluetooth drivers. She has NOT make a popping sound since that moment.

The Sager folks were kind and stayed in touch with me through out the whole process and backed up the product. And they 3 day aired the unit back to me. Since I live in the US this was not a big issue. But if I were overseas, I would see if Clevo (the folks who make the units for Sager) has a repair station nearby that can service the unit and honor the US warranty. If this is a NO GO then be prepared to be on your own warranty wise.

3 RMA's :
- Upgrade my screen to the wide angle high contrast version
- power supply melted on me (at a LAN party no doubt... boy that was embarassing)
- Latch broke, and battery doesn't hold a charge

I've had mine for 5 days shy of a year

i figured a high number of people have had problems. maybe sager should look at this??

RMA's :-
------

Remember that I didnt have to send the notebook itself, just the faulty parts

1] Primary battery
2] Secondary battery

Third : Send the notebook just prior to warranty expiry

3] To replace LCD Lid and change primary battery once more (just precautionary before sale procedure)

Then I sold the notebook...

So no problems except for battery problems...

Yeah my 4780 requires an RMA. My resellser dropped the ball and missed the 30 day return thing, so I'm hanging onto the machine until I order an 8790 in a month or so. Just can't go without a machine for even a few days.

RMA problems with my 4780:

1. Irregular brightness around the bottom right hand portion of the panel. This is evident with a black background, which is *huge* because 90% of my time is spent in an editor with a black background.

2. Sound system is absolute garbage. At 20% volume it frapps out in midrange.

3. Power problems. Whenever I power on the machine, it does not turn on the first time I push the power button. It requires me to turn it one once, then turn it off by holding down the power buttong for 5 seconds, and finally powering it on again. The windows "power options" settings are all correct, with hibernation and stand-by completely disabled.

There are numerous power problems on this machine. The most obvious one being that the battery is messed up. It never fully charges, and I have deep power cycled it about every two weeks. This is not my first notebook so I understand proper battery care.

Another power problem is when booting when on battery power. The machine
makes a high pitched squeal until the cpu is running under protected mode.

4. Fan noise. The fan under the RAM rattles.

5. Panel flicker. It happens intermittently, and I'm noticing it more as time goes by. Maybe the backlight.

Some of you may think that I'm nit picking, and that these are minor quality control issues. I ordered 2 4780's (and still have both) and one of them is perfect. Side by side, the other 4780 exhibits none of this behaviour, so one is obviously faulty.

Also, the faulty machine was in this state from the factory. Since it was ordered with no operating system, I believe that Sager does not do burn-ins on machines unless an OS is ordered with them. (the one with no problems came with XP Pro).

If they did indeed do a burn-in on this machine, its even worse because this lemon should never have been shipped out. I fully accept that once in a while a lemon leaves clevo's factory, but sager should ****ing well do their ****ing job and catch this **** before shipping these machines.

Li-Ion batteries are very different from older battery technologies and should never be deep cycled. They don't require maintenance like that and each time you deep cycle a Li-Ion battery you reduce its capacity and reduce its service life.

Well that's what I get for reading the manual. It clearly states that once a month the battery should be fully discharged for proper maintenance. That's what I've always referred to as "deep power cycling" a battery. Maybe I'm using the wrong term.