Intel Communities: Message List

Re: Buyer Beware !

webadmin@intel.com — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 04:34:35 GMT

Only 1 year of warranty on the OEMs. Life sucks !!! Frankly that should be Intel tag line now that I think about it ......

Re: 1.8" Drives available - Buyer beware !

webadmin@intel.com — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 04:32:26 GMT

pay attention to the posts a little more carefully. Both Newegg and Amazon are selling the OEM packages which carry only 1 year of manufacturer warranty as oppossed to the 5 year warranty on the Retail package. I don't care about the paraphernelia that comes with the Retail package except that I do care about the extra warranty and I want it on the OEMs if those are the only ones available for the 1.8-in form factor. That's what I am upset about - it takes them 6 months to release the damn drives I need and now they stick it to you with the warranty issue !

Re: Buyer Beware !

webadmin@intel.com — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 13:57:15 GMT

An acceptable solution would be for INTEL to offer up the extended warranty on the OEM pack being sold through retailers like Newegg or Buy.com , to end consumers like myself. I don't care much for the additional cables and/ or cases that are part of the Retail package except I do care about the extra warranty.

Re: Buyer Beware !

webadmin@intel.com — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 17:15:02 GMT

I do agree with the thesis and the theory. The problem is ( as is the case with most theories) that it fails to address the practical needs of users like myself. Perhaps I'd done a poor job of stating my problem in the first place, so I'll try again and see what new theory comes flying out to address this one :

Background & Problem Statement:

User has a need to upgrade three (3), T410s laptops that came with 80GB, 1.8 " Intel G2 SSD drives to 160 GB, 1.8 " G3 SSD drives.
The release of the G3 drives in the 1.8 " form factor trailed that of the 2.5 " by 4 months.
Additionally the 1.8 " drives are only available in the OEM pack anywhere you lookand I mean all retailers , resellers, OEMs- online , brick and mortar stores you name it. I have scoured the entire web and haven't been able to find a single source advertising the retail pack anywhere.
As an individual I am willing to pay the extra $ 6 to get the extended 5 warranty as I have determined that it is a small price to pay forthe extra peace of mind.

My question si why wouldn't Intel release the retail packs at the same time it releases the OEM pack and it seems unfair that we have had to wait this long to get the G3 in the 1.8" form factor in the first place and now this ?

Re: Buyer Beware !

webadmin@intel.com — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 02:38:08 GMT

Warranty is not offered by the resellers or retailers. Warranty on the drives is offered by the manufacturer - Intel. Also , it appears you are not well informed on the topic at hand. If you did you would have known that the price difference between the OEM pack & the retail pack on Intel SSD drives is not more than 5-7 bucks , clearly not enough to account for the huge difference in warranty !

Re: 1.8" Drives available - Buyer beware !

webadmin@intel.com — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 19:47:41 GMT

The Intel employees on this forum seem to have gone into perpetual hiding ! I have tried to message several of them and not heard back from anyone.

Anyways it appears that Intel is making enugh moolah to not care about its customers. Heard of a company named Netflix anyone and we all know what happens to companies that fail to care about customers.

Okay so the 1.8-in drives are begining to slowly show up on retailers' and resellers' stores and I did buy the first of three 160 GB , 1.8" form factor drives I needed ( for 3 machines that are overdue for the upgrade). I was getting ready to order the remaining two when I realized that the warranty on the OEM ( brown box) version I'd purchased is good for only 1 year as oppossed to the 5 year extended warranty being offerred on the retail version of the 2.5" drives. Now everyone knows that there are no retail versions available for the 1.8" drives . Atleast I have scoured the whole planet and haven't found them anywhere. You'll be lucky if you can get an OEM drive through your door at that. Besides we are all being charged the nose bleed street price- so why this discrimination ? I demand that Intel extend the 5 year warranty on the OEM drives we all bought from online retailers. I am hopping mad - I need an answer and I want my extended warranty on my 1.8" OEM drives !

Buyer Beware !

webadmin@intel.com — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 19:57:05 GMT

After waiting for four months, i finally got my 1.8" form factor 320 series drive installed. However, I was getting ready to order the two additional drives for the two other machines that are due for an upgrade ( from 80 GB G2 to 160 GB G3) when I realized that the 1.8" drives I bought are the OEM variety and do not qualify for the 5 year extended warranty that is standard on the retail packs of the 2.5" drives. Now we all know that Intel has yet to release retail versions of the 1.8" form factor. In fact INTEL kept people like me waiting an inordinate amount of time for the 1.8" form factor and then this ! I paid retail price and yet it is not my fault that the ony drives avialble in this form factor anywhere on this planet are only OEM versions . Why do I care ? Why should my drives not be covered under the same warranty as the retail versions that are available in the 2.5" form factor. I demand that INTEL extende the 5 year warranty to the drive I bought , since really I am a retail customer and I paid retail price to purchase my drive from a reseller/online retailer. So why this discrimination ?

Re: 1.8-in 320 series finally available - Buyer Beware !

webadmin@intel.com — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 19:39:03 GMT

The drives are finally available but only OEM (brown box) and not retail versions. Buyer beware - no 5 year extended warranty on the OEM drives ! I bought the first of 3 drives I need and realized the discrepancy in the warranty levels after my first purchase. Neither Intel nor authorized resellers are opening their mouths as to whether or when a retail version will be available. Pathetic customer service is begining to become a habit with Intel !

No 5 year extended warranty on 320 series 1.8 " form factor drives !

webadmin@intel.com — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 19:21:18 GMT

After months of waiting - I was finally able to find and purchase a 160 GB 320 series SSD in the 1.8" form factor that I needed on my T410s. There are two more that are waiting in the wings for an upgrade from 80GB G2 drives to the G3 standard. However, I was shocked to learn that the 1.8" drive I purchased and installed is only covered by a 1 year manufacturer warranty as oppossed to the 5 year extended warranty being offered on the 2.5" form factor. Upon doing a little bit of reserach it appears that the package purchased is an OEM package. In going through some well informed posts on the issue I gather that the retail version of the drives should either have a "B" or "K" in the part number. However, there are no retail packs available for the 1.8" form factor drives. How is it fair then that Intel should provide only a 1 year manufactirer warranty on the 1.8" drives ( the ones I bought) , which I paid retail price for especially when they have delayed the supply of the 1.8" form factor drives in the first place and then not even releasing any retail packs for customers like me to purchase. I called several retailers and all of them confirmed that Intel has not released a retail version for the 1.8" drives - period and that they have no information as to whether they will ever release a retail version of the 1.8" drive. This then looks like an age old scam to me. First they delay the release of the 1.8" drives way beyond what is reasonable and then this ! I would like to hear the opinion of other boarders on this forum. What should I do - discuss this issue with BBB . What other recourse do I have ?

Re: When are the 1.8" 320 series SSDs coming?

webadmin@intel.com — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 06:23:15 GMT

As you said it ...you are not alone my friend. There are hundreds of us looking for an upgrade and all the Intel boarders on this forum have gone silent or they have all been fired ( I hope not ) ! I have seen a couple of online retailers advertise the item on their store but they are all "OUT of STOCK" - no points for guessing why - I am pretty convinced that none of the resellers ever received any of these from INTEL or its contract manufacturers.

This leads me to believe that these drives may have failed during quality testing and Intel has not been able to find a fix yet - just a theory but that's the only explanation I could think of.