Rma Advice

[lucidchaos]

A week ago, I emailed openpandoraorders@gmail.com requesting warranty support with the following issues:

- 0 key does not function at all
- D-pad is "squishy" and right d-pad direction does not respond unless I press moderately hard
- Hinge is loose to the point that it falls on it's own under gravity when folded at a 90 degree angle and held upright (as in using it laying down)
- Left and right buttons are loose. Right button gets stuck and does not click when pressed on the bottom.

I believe the problems can be fixed with the following solutions:

Replacement keymat
Replacement hinge(s)
Replacement un-painted triggers

I have waited one week and have yet to receive a response.

At this point I am in love with the potential of the hardware but bothered by the shortcomings of my unit. I would like feedback from you on the following topics:

- Are my expectations too high regarding the hinge and d-pad? For current owners: are you having the same problems?
- What is the best way to receive warranty/RMA support from GBAX?

I have posted an admittedly low quality video where I attempt to explain and illustrate the issues. I omitted the buttons. The d-pad does not show up well under the lighting, but the hinge behavior is evident in the video.

This is a link to the video that shows the hinge issues.

I appreciate your feedback. Thank you.

edit: Jaquelyn responded with instructions for an RMA.OP could not send just a keymat as that would void the warranty.

 

[Prometheus]

Well, above all else I would e-mail them, but I gather that you haven't had much luck with that. May I ask which e-mail provider you're using? (I wonder if there's some sort of problem with the e-mail getting to them in the first place.)

For what it's worth, I'm not experiencing any of those issues myself, although I do know that the hinge has only one locking point.

 

[lucidchaos]

Thanks for the quick reply.

I am using Gmail. I have had a few volleys with Debs and Jacquelyn using the same e-mail. In fact, I replied to the original email chain and just changed the subject.

Did you have an opportunity to see the video? I am really curious to see if the Pandoras out in the wild are loosening up in the hinge.

I am also interested in knowing if there is any way the hinge may be tightened up later.

 

[Prometheus]

Regarding the e-mail stuff, that is weird. I'm afraid I don't know what to suggest, there.

I've just watched the video, and tried to do the same with my own Pandora. My hinge doesn't do that from any angle. I don't know if there's a way of tightening it up, though - sorry.

 

[sebt3]

- 0 key does not function at all

This is enough for a warranty support, imho.

- D-pad is "squishy" and right d-pad direction does not respond unless I press moderately hard
- Hinge is loose to the point that it falls on it's own under gravity when folded at a 90 degree angle and held upright (as in using it laying down)
- Left and right buttons are loose. Right button gets stuck and does not click when pressed on the bottom.

My thumbboard is a bit squishy but not by far (realy sound like something that won't last, this is just too new).
Your unit realy sound like a unit that shipped before the QA upgrade.
Mine don't have any flaw.

I have waited one week and have yet to receive a response.

I'm sure your mail was basicaly missed by Jacquelyn. Just send her a polite reminder

 

[God Ginrai]

A week ago, I emailed openpandoraorders@gmail.com requesting warranty support with the following issues:

- 0 key does not function at all
- D-pad is "squishy" and right d-pad direction does not respond unless I press moderately hard
- Hinge is loose to the point that it falls on it's own under gravity when folded at a 90 degree angle and held upright (as in using it laying down)
- Left and right buttons are loose. Right button gets stuck and does not click when pressed on the bottom.

I believe the problems can be fixed with the following solutions:

Replacement keymat
Replacement hinge(s)
Replacement un-painted triggers

I have waited one week and have yet to receive a response.

At this point I am in love with the potential of the hardware but bothered by the shortcomings of my unit. I would like feedback from you on the following topics:

- Are my expectations too high regarding the hinge and d-pad? For current owners: are you having the same problems?
- What is the best way to receive warranty/RMA support from GBAX?

I have posted an admittedly low quality video where I attempt to explain and illustrate the issues. I omitted the buttons. The d-pad does not show up well under the lighting, but the hinge behavior is evident in the video.

This is a link to the video that shows the hinge issues.

I appreciate your feedback. Thank you.

I think that your expectations are too high on the hinge. The hinge is not a laptop hinge, and it is not meant to be in any position other than the locked position then the system is not rightside up.

As for the dpad, I couldn't tell from the video, but I've heard from a lot of users who had problems with their dpads at first that they would wear in and start working fine. This could very well happen with yours as well if you give it some time.

-God Ginrai

 

[sebt3]

I think that your expectations are too high on the hinge. The hinge is not a laptop hinge, and it is not meant to be in any position other than the locked position then the system is not rightside up.

I was to disagree with you, but I watched the video first
And sure this is way too much expectation from the hinge.
I'm realy happy that it stay confortably at the angle you set when on a table.
That's still better than my last laptop hinge...

 

[lucidchaos]

From a practical standpoint, where the hinge behavior bothers me the most is when I am laying down in bed and I need to read the keys on the keyboard. I can not do this in a fully extended position, I need to fold the screen down a little bit for the light to illuminate the keys. When I unlock the hinge the screen collapses under gravity.

God Ginrai, as for the D-Pad, I am not too concerned as I believe fixing the 0 key will make a replacement keypad necessary, thus fixing the d-pad responsiveness issues as well as the tactile feel.

So far it is good to know that Prometheus can not reproduce the hinge movement on her unit. Any other current owners out there that can speak to the hinge's rigidity/floppiness?

 

[sebt3]

From a practical standpoint, where the hinge behavior bothers me the most is when I am laying down in bed and I need to read the keys on the keyboard. I can not do this in a fully extended position, I need to fold the screen down a little bit for the light to illuminate the keys. When I unlock the hinge the screen collapses under gravity.

Do you mean that you can't do this ?

Mine have stayd that way without moving (given that i'm not shacking it)

 

[lucidchaos]

I just tested mine vs. your example. My unit will stay open in the same position yours will. If I fold it closed any further, it will collapse, as I would expect it to.

Question: If you take your unit as shown and rotate 90 degrees counter-clockwise so the keyboard is perpendicular to the table, does your screen flop backwards? This is more the issue I am running into.

 

[MWeston]

Your hinge is working as it should. It was designed to operate (lock) in the fully open position only. Some people have tighter hinges as a result of the paint that got onto areas of the parts that really shouldn't have been painted but it is a bit of a lucky bonus. I suspect that few micrometers of paint will wear off over time though. Holding the Pandora sideways and expecting it to stay at 90 degrees isn't right. I tested my unpainted prototype case and it falls faster than yours does.

As for the zero key, that is a real issue. It was hard to see your dpad but if it is sticking up in places, it may not have been glued on properly and a new keymat would solve everything. The shoulder buttons might need some excess paint to be shaved off too which is a quick fix while the unit is apart as well.

 

[WizardStan]

a little piece of sticky tack should solve your hinge issue.

 

[lucidchaos]

Thanks for the reply, MWeston.

I would be satisfied with just a new keymat. The shoulder buttons were drilled out more than needed - I would like new buttons but if not available I am happy with the fix I did in this post.

Knowing the hinge is working properly, I would prefer to just put in the new keymat myself rather than sending the unit in.

How worried should I be about disconnecting the ribbon cable from the main board? I have done extensive work on laptops and game consoles with similar connectors.

Edit: Can someone confirm I am sending the request to the correct email address (openpandoraorders@gmail.com)

 

[Prometheus]

I think you might want openpandorasales@gmail.com , there.