As you may know, my family owns a Gateway 504GR. My family purchased this Gateway computer instead of letting me build a computer for them because they thought that by purchasing a name brand, they would have better support. Were they wrong!
My parents bought the Gateway computer about a year and half ago and it worked fine up until this past weekend. What happened this weekend was my mom heard a loud squeaking noise coming from the computer. Upon inspecting the internals of the computer, I narrowed the sound down to the fan. I gave the fan a look-over and determined that somehow the fan got off-balance and ended up chewing up some protective sleeves. I thought to myself, no big deal, I’ll just get a new fan. Too bad it couldn’t be that easy.
Set on purchasing a new fan, I checked out the connector of the fan to make sure I would purchase a good replacement. As you may have guessed, Gateway didn’t use a standard connector. They used a 4-pin motherboard connector. Yes, that’s right, 4-pin motherboard connectors don’t exist. Well, in reality it’s a 3-pin motherboard connector with an extra wire. The extra wire is used for temperature regulation. See, the fans inside of the computer speed up or slow down depending on how hot it gets, so that wire is used for the motherboard to send the command to adjust the fan speed.
I told my dad this news, and he told me to get the exact same fan. Unfortunately that wouldn’t be possible. The fan was a Foxconn fan, and not only does Foxconn not make fans anymore, the fans they had made were available to computer manufactures only. So, I told me dad this, and we decided to try and bug Gateway for a fan.
I was skeptical that Gateway would send us a replacement part, but I thought we’d give it a shot. So we called Gateway and got ahold of a support assistant. We gave them our model number and explained our story. After the support assistant heard our story, he told us he would put in an order for a new case fan and on top of that, it would free. This was great news because the computer was out of warranty. My dad and I both had a sigh of relief thinking that our troubles would be over.
Fast forward to today. A new package has arrived from Gateway. Eager to install the new fan, we quickly open it. Guess what? They didn’t send us a case fan; they sent us a replacement heatsink. A little upset over the issue, we decided to call Gateway again and see if they would correct their mistake.
The new support technician we got was very nice and apologized for the misunderstanding. After the apology, the support technician asked what was the correct part they needed to send. We told them it was a case fan. Then we got a huge let down. Apparently, the fan isn’t manufactured anymore and they don’t keep it in stock. The technician then told us we could send the computer to them, and their support staff would replace the fan; which by the way would take two days there, five days to look at, and two days back. Oh, and the technician warned us that most of their repair technicians like to format the computer, so we should backup everything. No thanks!
This is what I don’t get. First of all, they don’t have the fan in stock, so technically they have nothing to replace it with. Second, what in the world are they planning to do to the computer that would require them to see it for a week. Why can’t they just send the replacement part to me and I install it? I don’t know about you, but I’m not comfortable shipping a computer off for a week for a stupid fan replacement. Most likely it’s going to come back worse then it was when I sent it.
So, with Gateway technical support out of the question, my dad and I decided to do what I originally suggested - we get another fan and I just modify the connector to fit the motherboard. Simple, quick, and a hell of a lot cheaper than shipping a computer to Gateway.
I just hope this whole experience made my parents realize that maybe you don’t get the best technical support from a computer manufacture. Had I built the computer and the fan died, I could have of just purchased a new fan and thrown it in there. Instead we had to deal with Gateway technical support for a few days, only to find out that in order for them to do something we’d have to send the whole computer to them. Oh yeah, there is that whole proprietary fan connector thing also. Someday they’ll learn.
31 Comments
Dell isn’t much better. I really could go on about my dealings with them at work, but I really tired and want to go to sleep.
I’ve had fairly good experience with Apple support. After a few (five) defects with my motherboard, they sent me a brand new computer out of warranty.
As for Gateway and Dell, I hate them both. Poor quality products make them rely on their customer support to stay in business. And with outsourcing, it’s a mystery how Dell is still alive.
Tony,
It’s all about Gold support. We get it with all our office equipment, but it’s still a nightmare. Only thing good about it, we get level-2 techs, from Austin, TX who somewhat know what they are talking about. They are very patient and will talk you through an entire Windows install if necessary.
But they still go by a script for diagnosing hardware issues. More or less, they force you to run their silly diagnostic suite, then if it fails, fine you get it replaced. But if their magic software returns nothing of use, it is a lot harder to convince them it borked. They do now offer Dell Chat, which does make things a bit easier so I don’t need to talk to them.
They do seem more knowledgable than the ones if you called abroad like with standard support, but they still go by a script and they do answer your questions and they seem to know what they are talking about.
Only thing I truely hate, is the fact I do know more than they do about the problem is I am dealing with it first hand. If I tell them a hard drive is bad, or a motherboard is bad, etc., I want it fucking replaced, not deal with those yahoos for an hour on the phone to convince them it is truely broken.
Oh!!! What’s worse is those idiots they outsource to come to the office to fix things. They all have impossible accents and they are all idiots. And they steal coffee from the kitchen and always ask for food. One guy wanted my e-mail address so I can make him a website. I came so close to saying fuck off and reporting him, but I’m not a dick, so I gave him a fake address, lol.
I think the problem with Tech Support these days is outsourcing. Half the time the support person is some two-bit Arab making 50 cents/hour. Another trend, they can’t speak English to save theirs lives. They is the main reason why AOL is so incredibly bad. When you have a problem, and you almost always do with AOHELL, it takes an exorbitant amount of time to correct the problem. I know I’ve suffered these injustice when I called College Board, AOL, Linksys, and many others I can’t remember because they all sound the same!
I do love hearing they have names like Chris, Rich, or Sally, and in reality they are all Indian, Arab, or some Islander with an impossible accent and poor comprehension of English.
Below is my email Thread with Gateway….. naturally read from the bottom up
…..
Thank you for your reply.
I am absolutely convinced that you are collectively the most incompetent human beings I have ever encountered.
The only way I can think that you are not morons is perhaps you are paid per response instead of per ACCURATE response.
If you would bother to read through this email thread, you will see that this is the second time that you have advised me to upgrade my Toshiba DVDRW. Clearly I keep telling you it’s a Lite-On drive, not a Toshiba drive.
Please pass this to someone who knows how to read.
Please ask them to read the section in BOLD below surrounded by $$$$$$$
I intend to get at least one of the two questions answered before I write to your CEO.
Glenn
In a message dated 3/26/2006 9:22:58 AM Central Standard Time, emailtech@gateway.com writes:
**********************************************************************
Hello Glenn,
Thank you for contacting eMachines.
I see that you having an issue with your Gateway system.
I could relate to how inconvenient situations like this can be and I
know how you must feel.
I would suggest try to look at your my computer then right click after
that click manage then click device manager in your right window click
(+) postive sign DVD/CD rom drives after clicking you can see if it is
“TSSTcorp CD/DVDW TS-H552B” drive is listed in Device Manager and has
firmware version GA02 or GA03 installed. If you don’t have you not allow
to upgrade or update your DVD/rw or DVD rom. And if your DVDr/rw is
working properly I advised no need to update or upgrade your DVD r/rw or
DVD rom.
And if your DVD-r/w DVD rom is TSST please back to us to solve your
issue, Thanks.
I hope that you find this response informative.
Please reply to this message if you require further assistance with this
issue. If your reply is received while I am out of the office, to
ensure a speedy resolution, your issue will be handled by one of my
colleagues.
Sincerely,
Ben
Badge EME0034
Are you aware that upgrading the memory in your computer can boost your
overall performance? To learn more about eMachines and Gateway
Certified Memory please speak to an upgrade sales representative at the
following link;
https://support.gateway.com/support/copilot/chat_sales.shtml?id=6209
Original Message Follows:
————————-
Thank you for your response.
Sadly, it lacks in relevence. I do NOT own a DVD ROM drive that is a
Lite-On 16X/48X. Nor have I asked any questions about that drive.
Look at this text: DVDRW
Now, look at this text: DVD ROM
They are different aren’t they? I think so.
You have carefully advised me that there is no upgrade for a DVD ROM
drive.
That’s nice.
You have yet to answer the question about my DVDRW.
I will recap, since I intend to publish this email published somewhere,
perhaps Guinness. I’m sure we’re swiftly reaching some record for
irrelevant
answers to specific questions.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
I have a Gateway 507GR that came with a Lite-On DVDRW model SOHW 1633S
with
Firmware level BGS4.
The drive cannot write to a 16X DVD at any speed. Not 1X, not 2X, not
4X,
not any X.
I consider this to be a problem because 16X DVDs are replacing others
and
I’m having difficulty sourcing 8X anymore.
SO, I note that Liteon has an update for this problem. that upgrades
to rev
BS0Y.
It does not upgrade FROM BGS4. Lite-On never produced firmware level
BGS4.
Below you will find text from Lite-On saying, “it ain’t our firmware”
Only Gateway or the tooth fairy could have produced firmware level
BGS4.
SO this is a two part request.
1. Who on this planet produced this firmware? I’d like to chat with
them
or at least ask them for help.
2. If it was Gateway, could you please ask that development team for
some
technical support?
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Now there are two specific questions. Good luck trying to answer them.
I look forward to another irrelevant reply.
Glenn
In a message dated 3/25/2006 5:13:52 PM Central Standard Time,
emailtech@gateway.com writes:
**********************************************************************
Hello Glenn,
Thank you for your e-mail.
First of all, I would like to apologize for any confusion on this
issue.
I understand that your DVD ROM drive is a Lite-On 16X/48X DVD-ROM
Drive.
And you mentioned that you need an update for the firmware of Lite-On
DVD drive.
Regarding on the link that I have provided, please be informed that it
is not for restoring your system, it is for the reinstalling of the
Application and Driver. I have provided this in case you need to
reinstall the driver of the DVD drive. Also, I would like to inform
you
again that there is no update firmware or driver available for Lite-On
16X/48X DVD-ROM Drive.
And again, I apologize for any inconvenience that this has caused.
Please reply to this message if you require further assistance with
this
issue. If your reply is received while I am out of the office, to
ensure a speedy resolution, your issue will be handled by one of my
colleagues.
Sincerely,
Wes
Badge EME0035
Are you aware that upgrading the memory in your computer can boost your
overall performance? To learn more about eMachines and Gateway
Certified Memory please speak to an upgrade sales representative at the
following link;
https://support.gateway.com/support/copilot/chat_sales.shtml?id=6209
Original Message Follows:
————————-
There is no way that any of the answers you have provided indicate that
any
of you know how to read. It is absolutely certain that you are,
however,
experts at using cut and paste.
1. I do not own a E-Machines, I own a Gateway machine
2. I do not want to restore my system which your handy dandy link
tells me
how to do. I’m not a total idiot. I’m sure of that.
3. I do not want to upgrade my Toshiba DVDRW, which is what you
previously
told me to do. I want to update my Lite-ON
4. I do not want to go to Lite-ON for an upgrade because below, if
you
bother to read that far, Lite-On tech support makes it very clear that
the
FIRMEWARE edition in my drive was never made by them. SO, it was
either
made by
Gateway or some freaking alien, perhaps the one that removed your
ability to
read.
If I were your boss, the lot of you would be delivering newpapers for a
living.
Let’s try this again.
Instead of cutting and pasting an irrelevant solution to someone else’s
problem, please pass this to your supervisor and ask that kind person
to
talk to
an Engineer or at least someone who might be able to give me a relevant
answer.
Making up answers that have nothing to do with the problem does not
make
me
happy, nor does it encourage me to tell others about the quality of
non-support at Gateway.
Thank you
Glenn
In a message dated 3/25/2006 4:26:56 PM Central Standard Time,
emailtech@gateway.com writes:
**********************************************************************
Hello Glenn,
Thank you for your e-mail.
I see that you want you want the update firmware of the CD ROM Driver.
I understand your concern, however, upon checking our website there is
no update firmware on the DVD drive. And in order to reinstall the
Application and Driver, I suggest that you follow the steps below.
http://support.gateway.com/s/SOFTWARE/Medialess/MLXPH1/MLXPH1su2.shtml
Please be advised that we are now documenting all of the customer?s
contacts with eMachines. This will ensure that they are properly
filed
in our records for future references. For us to properly document
your
issue, you may need to register your system.
Please provide the following information:
Personal Information
First Name:
Last Name:
Complete Address:
City:
State:
Zip Code:
Home Phone:
Email Address:
Computer/ Monitor Information:
Computer Model Number:
Serial Number:
Purchase Date:
Purchase Location:
Please reply to this message if you require further assistance with
this
issue. If your reply is received while I am out of the office, to
ensure a speedy resolution, your issue will be handled by one of my
colleagues.
Sincerely,
Wes
Badge EME0035
Are you aware that upgrading the memory in your computer can boost
your
overall performance? To learn more about eMachines and Gateway
Certified Memory please speak to an upgrade sales representative at the
following link;
https://support.gateway.com/support/copilot/chat_sales.shtml?id=6209
Original Message Follows:
————————-
Thank you, for your comments.
Please note the email below from Lite-On’s technical support.
They note that the FIRMWARE rev that is in the DVDRW that you sold to
me
is
not their rev.
They claim that it is your FIRMWARE and therefore the fix MUST come
from
Gateway.
Please advise.
Glenn
Dear Sir or Madam,
We don’t have any information about this drive with firmware(BGS4).
Would
you please contact Gateway
for help?
Because in their system there might be some settings made by them
which
is
unique and belong to
their authority.
Further information of LiteON IT products,please kindly visit LiteON
IT
Crop
official web site
http://www.liteonit.com
Best regards,
=======================================
Customer Service Division
Lite-On IT Corp. http://www.liteonit.com
Email : ODD_SUPPORT@LITEONIT.COM
=======================================
————————————————————————
â? Issue From :E-Mail Service â?
â? Issue DateTime is :2006/3/24 ä¸?å?? 10:57:47 â?
My System is a Gateway
507GR.
It came with a
Liteon DVDRW SOHW 1633s with
firmware level BGS4.
As such, it can
not
write newer 16X
DVDs at any
speed.
8X DVDs are getting
harder to find.
Your current
liteon upgrade for
firmware is rev
BS0Y.
That rev cannot recognize BGS4.
Can you find an
appropriate
firmware upgrade for meï¼?
Thanx
————————————————————————
In a message dated 3/23/2006 8:05:17 AM Central Standard Time,
emailtech@gateway.com writes:
**********************************************************************
Hello Glenn,
Thank you for your e-mail.
I see that you want the upgarde version of the firmware of your DVD
drive.
I understand your concern.
To resolve the issue, follow these steps:
Verify the “TSSTcorp CD/DVDW TS-H552B” drive is listed in Device
Manager
and has firmware version GA02 or GA03 installed.
Open Control Panel.
From the Windows XP default Start menu, click Control Panel.
From the Windows XP classic Start menu, point to Settings, and then
click Control Panel.
In Control Panel, open the Administrative Tools dialog box.
If the computer is in Category View, click Performance and
Maintenance,
and then click Administrative Tools. If the computer is in Classic
View,
double-click the
Administrative Tools icon.
In the Administrative Tools dialog box, double-click Computer
Management.
In the Computer Management dialog box, click Removable Storage,
Libraries, and then TSSTcorp CD/DVDW TS-H552B.
Note: If this drive is not listed, you do not have this specific
issue
and you should continue troubleshooting.
In the Computer Management dialog box, click Action and then
Properties
with TSSTcorp CD/DVDW TS-H552B highlighted.
In the TSSTcorp CD/DVDW TS-H552B Properties dialog box, click the
Device
Information tab and then locate the Revision. If Revision GA04 is
installed, you do not have this specific issue and you should
continue
troubleshooting.
Also, Gateway has released a BigFix Fixlet to resolve this issue:
Fixlet
ID #11
If the customer is unable to retrieve the patch through BigFix, the
instructions for manually downloading the firmware are below.
To manually update the firmware, follow these steps:
Download FirmwareGA04.exe from
http://support.gateway.com/support/drivers/docexpress.asp?pn=5503368
at Gateway.com
On your screen, double-click the FirmwareGA04.exe file that you
downloaded.
The files self-extract and copy into the C:\Cabs\FirmwareGA04 folder.
From the Start menu, click Run.
In the Run dialog box, type: C:\Cabs\FirmwareGA04\SFDNWIN_3.21.1.exe.
Click OK.
In the SFDNWIN dialog box, click the Download File Open button on the
upper left corner.
In the Open dialog box, locate the GA040309.BIN file in the
C:\Cabs\FirmwareGA04 folder and then click Open.
In the SFDNWIN dialog box, click the Start Download button on the
upper
left corner.
The firmware is flashed.
In the Message dialog box, click OK to restart the computer.
The computer restarts and installation is complete.
If the issue still occurs after flashing the firmware, the firmware
update was not the issue. Continue troubleshooting.
Please be advised that we are now documenting all of the customerâ??s
contacts with eMachines. This will ensure that they are properly
filed
in our records for future references. For us to properly document
your
issue, you may need to register your system.
Please provide the following information:
Personal Information
First Name:
Last Name:
Complete Address:
City:
State:
Zip Code:
Home Phone:
Email Address:
Computer/ Monitor Information:
Computer Model Number:
Serial Number:
Purchase Date:
Purchase Location:
Please reply to this message if you require further assistance with
this
issue. If your reply is received while I am out of the office, to
ensure a speedy resolution, your issue will be handled by one of my
colleagues.
Sincerely,
Wes
Badge EME0035
Are you aware that upgrading the memory in your computer can boost
your
overall performance? To learn more about eMachines and Gateway
Certified Memory please speak to an upgrade sales representative at
the
following link;
https://support.gateway.com/support/copilot/chat_sales.shtml?id=6209
Original Message Follows:
————————-
Technical Customer Service Questions
Phone: 9529750856
Subject: Gateway Technical Support Questions AA3
Purchase Location:
Operating_system: Windows XP Home
Problem System: yes
Serial Number:
System Usage: For personal use at home
Purchase Month:
Purchase Day:
Purchase Year:
System Category: Desktops
Operating System: Windows XP Home
Issue Description: System is 507GR. It came with a Liton DVDRW SOHW
1633s with firmware level BGS4. As such, it can not write newer
16X
DVDs at any speed. 8X DVDs are getting harder to find. The current
liteon upgrade for firmware is rev BS0Y. That rev cannot recognize
BGS4, it’s too old. I find on the net that Rev BS05 could upgrade
BGS4,
and from BS05I could upgrade to BS0Y and use 16X DVDs at 8X.
However,
BS05 is not available. Since you provided this drive with the
system,
can you find an appropriate firmware upgrade for me? Thanx
Service Request Number: -
System_details:
== SYSTEM IDENTIFICATION ==
Serial:
Model: 507GR
BIOS: Intel Corp. AG91510J.15A.0816.2005.0214.1818 02/14/2005
CPU: Intel Pentium 4, 3000 MHz
== OS AND BROWSER ==
OS version: Windows XP 5.1.2600 Service Pack 2
First installed: Mon Jun 20 13:40:13 CDT 2005
Browser: MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; SV1; .NET CLR 2.0.50727
== MEMORY ==
Total RAM: 1536MB (BIOS), 1534MB (Windows)
Resources: 90 %
Memory slots: Not reported by the SMBIOS
App_details:
I’ve posted an updated version of an old Gateway Customer service story from my website. You can reach it here.
I tried to post a comment on your website, but your comment form was screwed up. It told me I had to register, then I registered and when I submitted I got a whole bunch of PHP errors. Anyway, here’s the comment I was trying to post:
Wow, that really sucks. It makes me glad I decided to repair my Gateway computer myself. I would have hated for it to ship to Gateway, only for them to charge me and not fix the problem.
I bought a Gateway GT5056 last week and the CD/DVD Rom quit
working this morning. Having read your letter, I am almost scared
to call anyone at Circuit City (certainly not Gateway) to get it fixed.
I had a Dell for five years, and the power supply fan was noisy the
whole time. I talked to their tech support (?) in the Phillipines,
India and East Jesus, New Mexico and was told everything from
” they are supposed to sound that way” to “it appears that you will
have to buy a new computer”. I never spent less than forty-five
minutes on any one call. Having called their sales department,
which, by the way, answered on the second ring I was told that
the fan could be ordered, but it would take three weeks to get it.
I went to the store and bought a Gateway!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
I just bought a Gateway GT5056 from Circuit City exactly 2 weeks ago today and I had an issue with an ATI X700 Pro PCI Express 245mb GDDR2 video card not being recognized by Windows even after following Gateways instructions and some friends on boards whom are better than Gateway technicians. Anyways, someone on a forum brought up that I may not have enough power from my pimpy 300watt power supply on this machine to even get it recognized by Windows. Well then I thought back to when I had this machine open and there was a 24 pin socket on this crappy Foxconn C51GU01 Motherboard (Which I contacted Foxconn and they WILL NOT offer support of any kind as it was contracted to be built for Gateway, NICE!!!) Well I ended up exchanging this machine for another exact GT5056. This time, same motherboard, WD Caviar hard drive instead of the Hitachi Deskstar 250 gb, has a Hitachi/LG GWA-4165B instead of the Toshiba DVD-+ RW D/L burner(which I cannot find firmware even on Gateways site to correct an issue with my TDK 8X DVD-R media not burning in this drive, Hell my LG GSA-4040B in my FIRST Gateway Pentium 4 even burns it and is 3 years older than this 2006 DVD burner) Which another thing I would like to bring up, UNLESS Gateway is going downhill, the home shopping channels sell far better Gateway systems and the retail stores get the junk. My Gateway 500XL from 2003 with a Pentium 4 HT 2.80Ghz has an Intel motherboard, LG Super Multi Drive, LG DVD Rom reader, Nvidia 8860 video card, Hauppauge WinTV DVR card, Soundblaster Audigy 2 sound card, power supply I think is only 160 watts which suprises me( Ill have to change that, which if anyone is looking for a cheap PSU that is GOOD:XCLIO XClio 450BL 450W Power Supply - Retail From Newegg ) AND this system came with a Gateway FDP1530 Analog LCD flat panel monitor ALL from HSN or QVC, cannot remember but it was in 2003, for about $1400.00 back then.
Anyways, I just got done burning a HP 8X DVD+R and this GWA-4165B burned it successfully. I think we all should just build our own PCs or buy the QUALITY ones from TV shopping shows with a BETTER warranty than retail stores.(just sucks to ship it back for $100)
Sorry I got off track, but anyways I need a 20 + 4 Pin Power supply to feed the 24 pin female socket on this motherboard for the PCI Express slot to even work. Shame on Gateway, using cheap crappy products to build a crap reputation, oops I mean to build a crap PC and they do not even know how to guide their customers. Guess they should have put a PSU in this machine that can give the customer the ADVERTISED PCI EXPRESS SLOT to work in this machine.
I WILL NEVER AGAIN BUY A GATEWAY!!!!
DONE
I bought a Gateway GT5032 (first ever not personally built machine) and I can’t get it to accept (4) 1GB DIMMS running at their posted 200MHz. speed. Once I go to 4GB the memory bus drops to 166Mhz and the newbie only user BIOS doesn’t allow for tweaks to that area of the system - there is no screen to change the memory or multiplier settings!!!! They kept talking down to me & yes cut & paste answers. I had to let them know I have a MS in CompSci and worked for 20 years as a Systems Engineer designing software systems!!!! Lastly, the offered me an option to call the “pay as you ask” technical support - for a system that is 2 weeks old?
I think Gateway means gateway to India for Tech Support outsourcing.
My Gateway died on me and I was thinking about a Dell, but now I am not sure what to get. I can’t afford to keep repairing computers. I agree with all the technical help, I can’t understand a word they say, I get one from Asia, so I hang up and call back later and get one from India, not any better. Oh yes, I noticed where someone called them Indians, PLEASE, I am part NATIVE AMERICAN INDIAN, don’t get them mixed up with us.
Does anyway have any suggestions on a good computer?? Thanks
Well in defense of Gateway I purchased a Gateway 200 Laptop and absolutely loved it. They helped me with any and all issues. I had my laptop a week and my internal speakers went and I shipped it in and had it back in a matter of a couple of weeks. I understand to some that being with out their computer is a life or death situation but come on people it is only a computer. FYI - I have also heard that they are working on bringing their technical support back to the US. So that should help with all off you that are complaining about people not being of American Decent.
Lola works for Gateway and is from India. I have a Gateway gt 5032, also. It is a piece of poop.I have 3 gigs of ram, and it seems like it slowed it down. The foxconn motherboard is a joke that doesnt have support or a punchline. The idiots at gateway are useless marmedons. If the answer isnt on the script, they give up and say theres nothing else they can do, or they will look for any reason at all to say ” we dont support that”. Gateway Support is an oxymoronic term, unless it means help you get lost. I bought a BFG 7900 and have gone through hell trying to get it to work on the this crappy crap McCrapCrap board, and it still doesnt work right. So many problems with the system. The Media center doesnt even run properly on it. Never, ever buy Gateway! Unless you like Idiots and want to feel like one, too.
I just bought a burner and you guys do not have a direct way to tell me how to start to burn dvd’s so I need HELP!!!!!!!!!!
Well I actually work in tech support and I am disgusted at some of the negative comments made here.
As for mister whoever it is with the 504 GR, if you could understand that everywhere you go you can encounter newbies well as you can understand mister we all are not as perfect as maybe you are. Be thankful that at least you were getting some help , perhaps not what you wanted to hear but is really all they could do. And about shipping the system … yeah perhaps you’re right it’s wrong … another newbie!!! lol.
So if you found out that foxconn did not make fans anymore why the ……… did you go along with it. Next time if you are out of warranty do not call tech support.
By the way I know a hell lot it is better to have the tech support than nothing you can end up really screwed believe me oh and you can also have your warranty extended to save you from going through all this hassle. And believe me no matter how old is your system and if the manufacturer of fans discontinue them they can still fix your system. The only reason why they couldn’t fix it is because you were out of warranty .
Marie?
You work in tech support and understand the fact that our poor ousourced tech support in other countries is in competion of your job right?
Well I work for emachines/gateway tech support, the same building I work in does both. Its not outsourced to india. Although they will hire anybody. And I mean anybody, you could walk in and get the job on the spot regardless of what you know about computers.
You do make very good money though, very good. Is it worth it screwing people over? I dont know. You see now matter how intelligent you are, you can only do so much. You cant replace computers that have been “fixed” many many times, you simply dont have the power and management doesnt really care.
Lots of people call in and ofcourse when they get fed up with our ridiculous policies they ask for a supervisor. I always let them talk to one, however it always takes atleast 5 minutes usually more than 10 minutes to even get a supervisor on the line. And these supervisors usually just state company policy back to you.
So buying a gateway/emachine computer and calling tech support is a big risk. You make get a nice and intelligent agent (I consider myself one) who is willing to take his time and not pointlessly over you sales, which the company is always trying to get us to do. To make sales. (I never offer any sales cause when you computer is broke you dont want to buy something to fix it. You just want it fixed.) And I also never charge for out of warranty support. Because when you pay the 20 dollar fee you either get one of two outcomes. You either get restore cds, or are told the problem and told to take it in to a local service center cause there is nothing gateway/emachines can do for you cause you are out of warranty.
So in conclusion if you must call our tech support, first of all dont trust everything the agent tells you to do, cause more often than not it is some idiot they hired off the street that is just doing the common “fixes” for the problem. You make get lucky and get an actual smart agent but even then there isnt much he can do for you cause he doesnt have the ability to go around company policy and actually get things done in a sane manner. He’ll help you the best he can though. But if you are angry and demand satisfaction, usually we cant really do anything to solve it.
It sucks… but its money you know?
-From the inside of corruption. James
thx james.
I just had my first experience with the Gateway tech support. NOT GOOD!!! I received an error about my RAM. Said it only had 480K instead of 512K. I followed links from website into the chat with a tech. I ended up chatting with Tamera from the Philippines. She asked to take over my keyboard and mouse (don’t ever let them do that) She ran several commands, I couldn’t follow because of the screen delay. Then she told me my RAM was fine and I had 33gig left. I got really scared because she confused RAM with disk space. Before I could do anything she typed that she would help improve my performance. Without asking, she started running disk repair and because of the delay and the program she had, I couldn’t cancel it. I had to watch as she defragged my disk, deleted my internet IE files, cookies (all my passwords) When it was all said and done, my AutoCad2000 was trashed, my AGI32 programs were crashed and I had to completely do a reinstall including windows which as you know takes 8 hours just to do the upgrade patches needed. Gateway is saving a boatload of money exporting tech support across the seas, but I’ll be damned if I allow anyone in my company to buy another computer that is tied to their company in anyway whatsoever.
Just had an issue with my new gateway laptop. Keyboard flex is a non issue like most of them with the exception of the top left corner. Very surprised they left his portion out of resolving but I left this along as all cheaper laptops have much more flex.
Then my battery is only living about 1/4th as long as stated it should. Not happy but figured they are all like that but my dell laptop battery lasts as long as stated STILL after 2 years. Oh well right?
Then my harddrive starts to go. Click of death. Might be 2 hours, 2 days or 2 months. WHo knows.
Now I have to call.
I call in, after dealing with an annoying menu not understanding my garble speak on my bluetooth, I finally got frustrated and kept hitting 0 until it connected me.
IMMEDIATELY someone answered. Listened to me complain, and now they are sending my both a new hd and a new battery. The positive is I get to keep the old battery for a spare for my trouble
Hold on cc for the HD is only $75 which is much lower than most companies.
Overall GREAT experience with gateway tech support - not so good on the product thus far as even the system specs don’t seem to match up in perf test with comparable systems.
4/3/07
I just got off the phone with a Gateway Tech. She was very helpfull and polite. Can’t say enough good about Gateway.
i have been buying gateway for over 9 yr now .i have had nothing but good service for them, i well keep buying gateway
I tried to ask Gateway if I could buy a replacement motherboard, what a joke and I cant believe that they have such idiots I do not know how theyncan stay in business
Dear Cavemonkey,
You have no idea how wise you are not to have sent your computer to Gateway for repair. A few years ago I had a brand new Gateway, purchased at the Huntington Beach, CA store. A few weeks with the computer the “Word” program would not open. Our IT person was out on a project, computer under “warranty” so I took it back to the store. The store had a sign in tech support that stated Gateway was not liable for software glitches or problems. The tech assured me my software would be Ok, he put it in writting, twice, underlined it once. I offered my backup discs or blank discs if Gateway wanted to make it’s own backup. Again I was assured there would be no problem. I was told the computer would be ready in two to three days. After the three days I started calling, told it would be ready the next day, etc.
Two weeks later I was told to pick it up. When the tech brought the tower out he said they had to replace the hard drive and that I didn’t really want the old drive. I told him as long as the data was transfered I didn’t want the old drive. I was then informed that to transfer the data was going to cost $75. I grabbed the box with the old drive, grabbed my tower and screaming at the incompetents in the store, along with clients, that Gateway would pay.
Our IT came right over and spent the night reloading the computer with every program, putting in the backup. We then had to spend a week verifying everything. it was a nightmare.
Repeated phone calls for a manager at the store were never returned. He was in hiding. Phone calls to corporate HQ, in San Diego were never returned. I tried contacting Ted Waite, founder and CEO. He was in hiding. I tried middle managers, the silence was deafening. I sent an invoice to South Dakota for the cost os repairing Gateway’s screw up. Declined, in writing. The only response came from the cyber people, behind computers, saying so sorry, too bad read the warranty. The warranty says Gateway is NOT responsable for hiring techs not qualified to clean restrooms and if there is a dispute the client (me) must go to binding arbitration. Binding arbitration consists of phoning an attorney (Gateway’s) giving him a credit card number for which he will charge $50 to tell you the warranty is worthless.
I took the branch manager to small claims court and was told by the judge the warranty says I have to go to binding arbitration and that Gateway is not responsible for it’s incompetents.
Our out of pocket expense to repair Gateway’s mistake? Over $6,000 for a $2,000 computer.
The problem with “Word”? the program “Normal” duplicated itself. A few clicks and a delete and problem solved. Gateway incompetents didn’t know that.
Warning: Don’t ever buy a Gateway computer. The warranty is worth less than used toilet paper (for the customer) and indeed can and will be used to defend it’s horrendous actions.
And from management? So sorry, too bad, read the warranty.
Bob Kozlowski
Nu Engineering
Garden Grove, CA
As I read Glenn’s emails with Gateway, I am shocked.
Not because of his awful experience… but because, it has been a year after that, and Gateway has not yet fixed the problem posting an update for the firmware.
I’m now going through the same problems that Glenn went through, trying to make them understand what is meant by updating a ‘firmware’ or DVDRW drive.
Glenn, I don’t know if you’ll be reading this so late, but I am really curious about what happened in the end. Were you at all able to fix the problem? And, if you did, could you tell me how? It’s driving me nuts.
- Saiman
First let me say to the people here that do work for Gateway that you are jaded. Gateway is the worst company I have ever come across. I bought a GT 5056 that happened to have a Foxconn motherboard in it. Now at 15 months the motherboard is kaput. It has been at the store where I bought it being tested for the last two days. They can’t fix it and Gateway won’t sell a replacement motherboard even though the company purposely uses a set up that you can’t buy aftermarket motherboards to repair your computer. In the last few days, I have been all over the tech boards on the net and I’m finding out that a lot of people are losing those motherboards at about the 15 month mark. Some earlier this year were told that they could buy a motherboard from Gateway for $200 but now people (me included) are being told that they don’t sell replacement boards. Seems to me that Gateway knows about the problem with these boards and are keeping the ones they have in stock for warrenty work. Gateway touts itself as a ethical company and yet this is totally unethical. You don’t manufacture a computer that in no way, shape or form can be repaired and so sorry! When Gateway realized there was a problem with these boards(I’m finding postings of this problem back to right after this model with this board was released) they should have issued a recall to repair or replace them. I wasted $800 for something that can’t be repaired or used. I have a friend who claims that they do it on purpose to get people to buy more computers,built in opulance. If that is the case, so sorry! I won’t ever again purchase a Gateway. To those of you in customer service, first, for some of us it is more than a computer, it is our livelyhoods. My business is internet based and when my computer is down, I don’t make money not to mention the hours spent trying to find out what is wrong. Second, these people who buy from Gateway work hard for their money to pay for them and they should not be cheated out of it and they should be treated with respect. Ever hear of the old adage….the customer is always right? I got quite a dose of the disrespect from both the tech support department and the sales/upgrade departments over the last three days. All I needed was the manufacturer, model, and cost of a replacement board or if there was another brand of board that would work. No one would answer me till today.Now I know this info is available on your web site for the manufacturer and model number but when your computer is down, that is not available. I was “accidently dis connected, put on hold and then transfered to other departments without my knowledge that I was being transferred. I could have seen someone doing that if I had been rude ,yelling. or demanding but I wasn’t then. I am now! I give most companies leeway especially in the electronics area but to create a machine that won’t last over a year and can’t be repaired, no leeway! I’ve never sued anyone in my 53 years but I’m seriously considering contacting a lawyer to see if we can get a class action suit going.
Try going to tech Power UP! Forums. Type C51GU01 in search , then read 6 pages of horror stories about this mobo and Gateway.
I bought a Gateway a 2 years ago and was sorely disappointed when I needed tech support…..to make a long story short - if you are Canadian, DO NOT BUY GATEWAY BECAUSE THEY DO NOT SUPPORT CANADIAN CUSTOMERS. I was transferred to at least 5 different support people, was treated like crap and still my PC is not fixed because Gateway doesnt ship recovery CDs to Canada….I used to be proud owner of Gateway, now I warn others to stay away from them.
These stories are all the same. All of us bought a piece of shit Gateway and we all got the same tech support from some third world country that speaks broken english. I had issues within a week of receiving my POS Gateway called support 30 mins of wait time and I got a tech that ran me through the mill and told me my video card was intagrated in my mobo and it was bad and I needed to send my comp back to be repaired. I told the tech alien that I was looking at my mobo and it was not an intagrated video card. He kept telling me that I was wrong that my comp had an intagrated video card and that I would have to send it in to be repaired. Well I hung up on him and called back and got a sweet lady that promply lead me back through the mill of can repairs to no avail, so she told me I could send it back or take it to the Gateway store to be repaired but in a soft voice she informed me that if it were her computer that she would not send it in or take it to the Gateway store that they did not know what they were doing that if I wanted she would send me a video card so I could repair it myself. Well I was scared at first since it was under warranty but I agreed. Well I got the first of two videocards and replaced it and still no fix so I called tech support again and they said that my mobo was bad and that they would send me another mobo. Well as I said before I was scared to replace my videocard and now I was going to have to replace my mobo, I had my computer for three weeks and I had personally replaced two videocards,my mobo and h