No option offered. Besides, for me, it's not so much the cost as being without my unit for 2 or 3 months in a year.
Did you get any explanation why there is such a long repair time? I really don’t understand why they can’t do these repairs in house. I saw you’re from here in the States. Actually not so far from me. Is America this F’d with obtaining what should be common electronic components? My FM3 turned 2 years old last month. These reports are a bit disturbing and disappointing. Hell, I have a basic hot air surface mount rework station. If I was given the proper parts and schematic I would be willing to do these repairs. It’s all bizarre to me, but the last 3 years have been the strangest experience I could have ever dreamed of witnessing. And I’ve have taken large amounts of LSD at one time in my life.
Actually, just to be clear, I have an AxeFX III. I'm dealing with a similar USB problem, so I jumped into this thread. Regarding the warranty, it had already expired when my first failure occurred. If I could do it all over again, I'd probably pay for the extended warranty -- not sure though, because I'd still have to pay for shipping and the shipping costs have been more than the repair.Did you get any explanation why there is such a long repair time? I really don’t understand why they can’t do these repairs in house. I saw you’re from here in the States. Actually not so far from me. Is America this F’d with obtaining what should be common electronic components? My FM3 turned 2 years old last month. These reports are a bit disturbing and disappointing. Hell, I have a basic hot air surface mount rework station. If I was given the proper parts and schematic I would be willing to do these repairs. It’s all bizarre to me, but the last 3 years have been the strangest experience I could have ever dreamed of witnessing. And I’ve have taken large amounts of LSD at one time in my life.
If you don’t mind me asking, was your FM3 outside of its extended warranty period if you had an extended warranty at all?
I was mainly ranting one night late. Although, I would have to question the cost vs. turn around time aspect. But it is all contingent on what is the main reason for such a long turn around time. Is it lack of parts, too many repairs to handle quickly, etc.? I have always been a person willing to pay a premium for convenience. Although from the repair costs being reported it doesn’t seem to be much of a customer benefit. Anyway, I will defend Fractal very easily. I love that they’re doing things that best benefit American made products and business. Maybe this is the price to pay (money and philosophically) for that attitude in todays corrupt global economy.
Yep, that all sounds suspicious to me too. I had a different experience. On both occasions, I sent the unit to Fractal and they charged a $40 bench fee to diagnose the problem -- a fair price I think. Then, they contacted me for approval of a $50 repair by the third-party -- again, it seems like a fair price. For me, the downside (cost-wise) is that it costs $90 just to ship the unit to Fractal. Return shipping the first time was only $31 because Fractal gets much better rates that I do as an individual shipping a package via UPS. Hey Fractal, can you find a way for the customer to get your shipping rate on a return?!
Well see these prices are fair. I guess the internet succeeds again on confusing things. I was baffled by the claims of $500 to $600 USB repairs and 6 to 8 week turn around times. Yeah, shipping costs can suck lately if it’s not part of a system.
Insurance is part of it, but I think it’s a little more than that. It’s very apparent that those business doing lots of shipping get a bulk rate and the major shippers use other third party services and systems to expedite and cut costs. It does seem that the shipping cost burden in general is weighted heavier by the shippers toward the individual.Part of the reason that Fractal's shipping rates are lower is because they self-insure. That means that Fractal bears the risk -- not UPS. Shipping gets a lot cheaper when you're not paying insurance.
True.
Could someone post a picture of how your using these?
We're talking about different things
Is the Fractal FM3 USB-B chip identical to the chips in the Fractal FM-9 and Axe-FX III? Is the chip soldering scheme identical in all devices (Axe-FX II vs. Fractal FM9 vs. Fractal FM3)?
for infomational porpoises, it cost me $592 to have the pcb replaced ...
get a 3 yr warranty or keep the cookie jar full .....
I also have been a devoted customer, and fan since over a decade, and reading all this and knowing I'm walking into a $500 bill, along with a 3 week wait time when I was told "repairs are usually a quick turnaround" is really starting to make my blood boil. I cannot believe Fractal is having this much inconsistency in their USB ports amongst multiple customers and haven't at least addressed some form of extended warranty for USB port specific issues.