Wednesday, July 11, 2018

ASUS Puts Shoddy Design/Components in MX279H Display

The ASUS MX279H Display is a thing of beauty.  27 inches diagonal, small bezel, built in speakers, dual HDMI, and tiny control buttons that respond to your touch for various settings.  I bought it in 2013.  It came with a 3 year warranty.

NOBODY who buys a computer monitor expects it to last only 3 years.  So, most people ignore the warranty period.

Now, in July 2018 some might think I've had fair use out of the monitor, but I expected it to last at least 10 years.  It didn't.  Last month it began shutting down automatically after 5 to 15 minutes of operation.  I unplugged the power from the power adapter, waited half a minute or so, plugged it back in, and the monitor came on and worked fine for another 5 to 15 minutes, then shut down again.  If I touch the power button on the monitor, the monitor shuts off.  After 20 or 30 seconds I touch it again and it turns on.  But that became tedious.

I read at a YOUTUBE video that a piece of tape covered the control button pc board inside the monitor, and that removing it would let the monitor work without spuriously shutting off.  I opened the monitor and saw no tape.

So, I called ASUS Support to see about getting the unit repaired.

The tech quoted me $35 diagnosis fee and $224 repair charge.  Of course, I'd have to pay shipping of $50.  I paid just over $300 for the monitor.  No way will I pay the charges.

This monitor goes to the scrap heap, and I never buy another ASUS product.

Sorry, ASUS, but your monitor has an engineering/design problem, wrong component selection, or over working an underrated component.  I won't support such shoddy design with my money ever again.  You, ASUS, cannot be trusted.  You should have recalled the monitors and fixed them free.

The MX279H was nice while it lasted.  But it didn't last long enough.

Bob Hurt
Clearwater, FL

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