Does anyone know, or have confirmation from ASUS, what the process is for applying / being offered an upgraded battery? I've got a 900 XP version for my wife as a present, currently sat in the wardrobe, and would love to get her a better battery when one becomes available as an upgrade.
If anyone in contact with ASUS can stipulate how to do this, please let me know.
BTW, great work everyone, I'm amazed what a dedicated user forum can achieve with a multinational organisation!

logan5 wrote:

Hurrah, I actually got through to someone at Asus UK who has confirmed the above, that they are working on a rebate scheme whereby for approx £10 early purchasers will be supplied with a 5800 battery.

He said an official announcement will be made in due course but this won't be before they are able to secure enough 5800 batteries. At the moment they do not have enough. I couldn't get a timescale out of him but he said they are definitely going to do something.

He admitted that the 3 hour claim on ToysRUs POS material and the several hours in the manual was based on the higher capacity battery and also that we (UK) received the 4400 battery as there weren't enough 5800 batteries. He agreed you cannot get 3 hours with the current battery even with his own tests.

We then spoke about HK/Singapore and while they received a new battery for free, we will have to pay around £10. I can stomach that.

now thats sounding better - Howard didnt really get much time to read it - so hence his "small fee"


I can live with paying £10 for the 5800

logan5 wrote:

Nick,

the chap I spoke to couldn't give me any firm details yet. I guess there is quite a lot of work going on internally working out how to do this. How they fulfill the offer as well, especially taking payment. Will it be a special page on their website, hand over your c/c details etc? Who knows!

I'm sure there will be a few ways - most places use mail, and phone and web

but lets not worry about it just yet... we need this offer set in stone first..


I'mstill waiting the next person so say "they didnt know about it" or something else...

when all of the Asus Support calls are the same answer - I will relax!


fingers crossed it all is plain sailing from here  - I'm sure I have gone GREY!

Last edited by shade360 (2008-05-28 5:58:11 am)

shade360 wrote:

...I'mstill waiting the next person so say "they didnt know about it" or something else...

when all of the Asus Support calls are the same answer - I will relax!


fingers crossed it all is plain sailing from here  - I'm sure I have gone GREY!

The chap I spoke to said that not all call centres are up to date which is why some of us have been told an offer is in the works but others have denied all knowledge. He also said there will no offer for France.

I just spoke to someone on the phone at Asus, again a nice chap. He also said that they are working on a solution which will be fee-based, probably around £10 (but not sure yet). However, he said they do not have the high capacity batteries in the UK yet, so will take a while. When I pushed him for a time frame, he said a couple of months..

At least they are working on it, which is good.

well, I just got this from Asus, no mention of any battery exchange here, just a link to where to buy a bigger battery!

"Unfortunately we had to reject your rma application because the battery seems to be working fine. We cannot exchange the battery.
If you wish to purchase larger battery, please contact our resellers. We could suggest for example www.nexus13.co.uk"

matty1965 wrote:

well, I just got this from Asus, no mention of any battery exchange here, just a link to where to buy a bigger battery!

"Unfortunately we had to reject your rma application because the battery seems to be working fine. We cannot exchange the battery.
If you wish to purchase larger battery, please contact our resellers. We could suggest for example www.nexus13.co.uk"

maybe due to being out of touch with head office news? maybe they processed it before the email /news was out..
mind you the battery might be ok - for a 4400 - but we don't want those

call head office on 01442 202700 and ask them - and qoute any one of us who have been told differently

hopefully your reply was before the news hit

Last edited by shade360 (2008-05-28 6:35:31 am)

nickeee wrote:

That sounds like real progress. I'd go for this for a tenner, as then I'd have a spare (albeit crappy) battery. What must be remembered is that whatever amount is charged, we should view this as being what the 4400 battery is worth. We should have already got the 5800 battery, so Asus is effectively charging us for an end-of-the-run low capacity unit that it needs to get shut of anyway.

Don't we have to give back our 4400 ? If we get to keep them both then its a great deal and will greatly improve the time I can use it without being near a power source as 4400 + 5800 = 10200.

Well, we shall wait for the announcement.

Last edited by rosetta (2008-05-28 10:07:18 am)

It would have been better, of course, to get the right battery in the first place - but a tenner for, in effect, a spare (albeit modest capacity) battery isn't so bad. Especially since retailers are making it difficult to get a refund even if you do want to return your Eee.

(Not that I had any desire to return mine. I've been waiting since last summer for a halfway-decent Linux sub-notebook, so I'd rather wait for a battery offer. Kudos, though, to anyone with the self-control to send theirs back!)

nickeee wrote:

What must be remembered is that whatever amount is charged, we should view this as being what the 4400 battery is worth. We should have already got the 5800 battery, so Asus is effectively charging us for an end-of-the-run low capacity unit that it needs to get shut of anyway.

Yes, this is precisely how we should think of the offer.

My personal view is that I will consider this if and when the offer is made, and so long as the offer is made in good time. This is an offer that would suit Asus, and probably a lot of 900 owners, but not all. Asus really do not want the 4400 batteries back, and would love to avoid the cost of postage and disposal. At the the same time, they are receiving another payment of £10.00(?), some of which will be used to offset postage of the 5800mAh battery. I think as an offer, it is fair enough, but they should not assume that it will suit everyone: some might choose to have the battery replaced (swapped) within the price they have agreed, or indeed, return the 900 for refund. Asus have handled this poorly, and it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The more they procede along this course (misinformation, contrary advice, and testing the water with those posting to this thread), the more belligerent I am likely to become. Make a good and timely offer directly to me, or I will be returing the unit, no matter how good I view a late offer.

I do hope that Asus make a proper announcement as to their intentions, and soon.

Can someone give me the e-mail address (or phone number) of someone to contact at Asus. I've not heard from Technical Support, nor Jerry (or Emily), nor from Gladys (she promised me an e-mail detailing what she told me in our phone call conversation). All these contacts are from yesterday.

The 01442 202700 number gives a support option that takes me to the call centre a talked with yesterday (0870 1208340). I guess they are choosing their words carefully. All I want is a fair and timely resolution. I'm not unreasonable. I understand that if they have supply problems, it will take time for them to resolve, but this does not stop them from coming to an agreement now.

CFM if you select option 1 a lot (thanks shade for this tip) on the 01442 you eventually get to portable computer customer services! because they haven't returned a phoned call Id request to talk to a manger because you wish to lodge a formal complaint, and then say that you have received niether of the communications that you were promised, in relation to your original complaint, and say that you would like them in X amount of time... rinse and repeat until you recieve, then complain about the amount of time you spent having to complain and on the phone and request compensation!

it sounds insane but my mother in law uses this all time and does very nicely in terms of compensation, for poor customer service!

S.

Last edited by sulpherous (2008-05-28 11:16:14 am)

sulpherous wrote:

CFM if you select option 1 a lot (thanks shade for this tip) on the 01442 you eventually get to portable computer customer services! because they haven't returned a phoned call Id request to talk to a manger because you wish to lodge a formal complaint, and then say that you have received niether of the communications that you were promised, in relation to your original complaint, and say that you would like them in X amount of time... rinse and repeat until you recieve, then complain about the amount of time you spent having to complain and on the phone and request compensation!

it sounds insane but my mother in law uses this all time and does very nicely in terms of compensation, for poor customer service!

S.

Seeing as its already in the public domain (and actually previously posted on these forums), but there are a few numbers for Asus

http://forum.eeeuser.com/viewtopic.php?pid=214131

ASUS (UK)     0870 1208340          01442 202732          01442 202735.Ricky Sander (Manager) 01442 202734

(Complaints) 01442 202700 (Warranty) 01442 202730 (Support Line)

Asus (UK)     0870 1208340         
01442 202731          New number for manager Ricky. He must be very fat as he's on lunch a lot.

01442 202716          # Goes to answerfone if not there? Technical Support and Warranty

Switchboard: 01442 202700
Asus (UK) Ltd     0870 1208340          01442 202709          Sales (inc. Pre-Sales)

Also: 01442 202712

The last number in the quote is quite significant

Last edited by d123 (2008-05-28 12:01:47 pm)

shade360 wrote:

worth noting that the Asus spokeperson confirmed the offer

Nice work!

shade360 wrote:

BUT

they said they didn't know which battery they would offer...

oh dear - shame on them if they now start to back track

They're probably working on a 2200mah battery...