[Query] Gigabyte motherboard RMA hurdle

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ChairmanSaab

Broken In
Hi peeps!

So, I've got quite a situation with my Gigabyte motherboard which has a malfunctioning ram slot. Like every 10-15 days, the system would crash with vertical lines across the screen and shutdown 3-4 seconds afterwards. After it has shutdown, it won't boot amd throw constant short beeps which is for RAM i concur.

If i pull the ram sticks, reset the CMOS and swap the sticks' slots (Running 2x4GB in dual channel), it would turn on fine altough my success rate is 50/50 with this method. Other method is to leave the computer alone for 2-3 days and it would start on it's own without touching anything!

The main culprit seems to be DDR3 slot number 1 which is malfunctioning. The system always turn on if i use only one stick in the number 2 slot with 100% success.


I was fedup with this and sent the motherboard to Gigabyte Pvt Ltd India New Delhi (Nehru Place) for RMA. They sent the motherboard back claiming everything is fine! WTH! They didn't even contact me to know about the problem.

So, i contacted them, explained my problem in detail and couriered the board again. This time they were diagnosing the board via video conference in front of my eyes, I heard the same short beeps i used to get. They pulled out the sticks and reinserted them. It finally booted up.

I explained them that this doesn't equate to anything and my problem lies in the stability of ram slots which are prone to crash at random times, an instance which can't be reproduced on-demand.

Ofcourse, they were not convinced, now wants me to courier my CPU and RAM sticks to test it.

Now, I've cross-tested all the computer components on an another similar system and everything checks out except the DDR3 slot number 1 which is a hit & miss.

I tested the borrowed RAM sticks on my system and the malfunctioning ram slot fails to recognize any stick at times, tested my "own" ram sticks on the borrowed system and they all work flawlessly.


Fast forward to today, even if I send my CPU and RAM sticks to them and the system boots up fine in their presence, I don't think they'll be willing to test it for 10 to 15 days for stability because they're failing to acknowledge that a problem can happen "randomly" and you've to wait for it.

Another thing, who's gonna take responsibility if CPU and RAM sticks are damaged during repair?, is this procedure standard and conforms to Gigabyte's RMA policy? they're non-gigabyte components after all!


TDLR Gigabyte India Pvt Ltd service center in Nehru place New Delhi is failing to acknowledge that a system can crash at random times due to a faulty motherboard and asking me to courier them CPU and RAM sticks for diagnosis and repair else they will send the board back without fixing the defect. This is despite my insistence that these components were thoroughly tested on another motherboard and found to be free of any faults. I don't know who's gonna take responsibility incase these components which easily cost 3 times the cost of the board are damaged during repair.
 
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whitestar_999

Super Moderator
Staff member
Don't send processor & ram sticks in courier,better sell your existing ddr3 ram & get a single stick of combined capacity to use in 2nd ram slot. Service centre people also can't do much in this situation because if their guideline say error must be reproducible at the time of checking then yours will never qualify. I guess only thing you can do is make a video when this error happens & show that same ram sticks are working in another system while giving error in gigabyte mobo. If even that is not enough then only the previous suggestion is left.
 
OP
C

ChairmanSaab

Broken In
@whitestar_999 I've already shared a video with them as proof, they don't care. After discussing with the RMA manager, i sent them the motherboard a second time but they still couldn't find the problem and claimed everything is fine. I'm in touch with Gigabyte's Esupport now to escalate this issue.
 
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whitestar_999

Super Moderator
Staff member
Let's hope they take this into account but be prepared to be disappointed too.I would rather buy a single 8gb ddr3 used corsair/kingston ram stick with bill & done with this hassle though.
 
TheSloth

TheSloth

The Slowest One
Can we all digit forum member agree on helping each other on social media? If people are already there on twitter then we all can share the tweets by OP about these kind of cases.

Though I don't know how much of this will help as I think many members here are inactive on social media so barely have followers or contacts. Nobody follows me on twitter. Will those big companies even pay attention if they know we are just tweeting things to each other in small group rather than spreading it.
 
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whitestar_999

Super Moderator
Staff member
For other members here, there is a gigabyte rep on reddit india(check /r/IndianGaming) who seems to be quite active regarding rma issues:
eddie_edits (u/eddie_edits) - Reddit
 
OP
C

ChairmanSaab

Broken In
Update!
Finally the issue has been resolved! This is how it went, After the first RMA letdown, I got in touch with Gigabyte's esupport and they requested me to send the motherboard again to that same service center in New Delhi.

Second attempt: The second attempt was again a failure, I was sent a used replacement which had the same issue but this time the second slot wasn't working, it was completely dead. I raised the issue with Gigabyte esupport. I was contacted by the same RMA manager, he wanted the CPU and RAM sticks, i gave in and couriered the faulty replacement board along with my CPU and 2 RAM modules.

Third Attempt: I had a video conference with the "engineer" there and i was shown multiple motherboards, this particular motherboard had both the RAM slots in the working order with their own CPU, I requested him to show me the serial number, he promptly obliged. The engineer was quite persistent about a newfound "FAULT" in my CPU (that it doesn't work), I ignored him knowing fully well there's none. I was shipped the same motherboard that i had chosen on 10th March 2019, the engineer cum packaging guy messed up and didn't include my original SATA cables, drivers CD, manual (CPU and RAM sticks were included though) but the issue was handled in a professional manner by the RMA manager, kudos to him! The rest of the content was received on 17th march 2019.

So far, my second replacement board is going strong, the computer boots every single time and it's 100% stable even under full load ala Prime95. It took me 3.5 months but it was worth it! Special thanks goes to Gigabyte esupport for being with me all the way.
 
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topgear

topgear

Super Moderator
Staff member
The whole thing took almost 3 months and loads of time wasting here and there. These local service centers just mes thing up mostly and unless you cantact some other higher officials there won't be any positive movement. Glad that after all these hassle you got a fully working board.

BTW, can you please mention your motherboard and cpu model ?
 
OP
C

ChairmanSaab

Broken In
topgear said:
The whole thing took almost 3 months and loads of time wasting here and there. These local service centers just mes thing up mostly and unless you cantact some other higher officials there won't be any positive movement. Glad that after all these hassle you got a fully working board.
Click to expand...

I believe it was the incompetent "engineer" there who was failing to do a thorough test on the motherboard else I would've gotten a fully functioning board on the first try itself given my past RMA experience with other companies ( Intel, TP-Link, Antec etc) which has been excellent. Once i was on call with the RMA manager to inquire about the status, i could hear him talking in an authoritarian tone to someone there (it was for that poor engineer bloke i think) "You don't know how to work? is the board fixed or not?"

topgear said:
BTW, can you please mention your motherboard and cpu model ?
Click to expand...
Gigabyte GA-H81-Gaming 3 and i3-4150
 
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