Apologies for the thread necromancy, but I’m having this problem, having just tried “Train”. Is this a known issue with EA, and are they still replacing the hardware for it?
I don’t know whether to tell them, “Dude, I can’t get through the 16th-note part on that Aerosmith tune, and I know I’m playing fast enough,” because their response might be, “Or you just suck.” Hell, I was on my high school drumline, and I’d like to think I haven’t lost it THAT much.
The experience I just had with EA tech support, after several days of being unable to log into the website because the EA Account Login wasn’t sending me my requested password or account name even though it said it was, is that you’re out of luck if you’re outside your 60-day warranty.
My guitar has been defective pretty much since I got it, but I don’t use it much. So when the pedal on my drum kit snapped, I figured I’d go ahead and finally get the broken pedal and guitar replaced. Once I finally gave up on the website and called in – for whatever reason, I still can’t get into my EA Account – I was politely told that I could buy a new drum pedals and a new guitar from someplace like Best Buy. Oh, and I should also try the trick with compressed air.
-TomThanks, Tom. Luckily I’m still within my warranty period - I’m a late adopter who finally bought RB with my stimulus money. The automated system on EA’s web site doesn’t ask for much in the way of proof that you have defective hardware - I guess they figure most people aren’t going to go to the trouble to replace hardware that’s working fine.
I’ve submitted a copy of my receipt, along with the RMA I got from the site. I reckon we’ll see what they do with it.
It took me about six months to convince myself I didn’t just totally suck at the drums and my set really was faulty. I was able to RMA through the web site with no problems.
Six months? The dude on the phone told me I wasn’t eligible to get the defective Stratocaster replaced or busted foot pedal replaced because I’d had them for longer than 60 days! Hmm, I wonder if I can just fib about not being within the warranty period…
-TomMaybe it depends on what kind of problem you have. But for 60-day warranty repairs, they require that you send them a receipt.
I replaced a broken strat through the website with no questions asked. When that strat showed up broken I figured I’d better call but the support person just said to send that one back too. The third one was fine. The whole process took me about a week and a half.
Sign up for a throwaway gmail or yahoo email account and set up a new EA account.
Hmm, I’ve progressed through the support website, but now I’m at the point where it wants to put a $125 hold on my credit card, and there’s a warning that I’ll need to verify that it was purchased within 60-days by sending along a copy of my receipt.
Now I feel completely justified in taking advantage of the replacement system for the guitar, which was screwy from day one. But I don’t want to get dinged for the cost. If it comes right down to it, I’d just as soon not bother, since I don’t really use the Stratocaster anyway. Some of the guys at Shoot Club prefer it, though.
But doing it to replace my snapped drum pedal seems a little dodgier, since that only broke a few weeks ago. It wasn’t misused or abused at all. We all tend to play in our socks and none of us really spazzes out…okay, maybe some of us, but only when I’m on guitar. But it did break well after the 60-day warranty period. Still, if I knew I could get away with it, I’d probably send it in.
So have any of you done the replacement outside your 60-day period without getting hassled for a receipt?
-TomDude, you have a gaming blog. Call these mofos OUT! These design defects, such as the laughably fragile pedal, need to be covered outside the normal warranty period. I’m hoping to convert a regular bass drum pedal before mine has a chance to break, because I don’t play in my socks - I need a shoe on that foot to get enough punch.
The receipt requirement is a new addition. The site said nothing about 60 days when I RMA’d the two guitars. Sorry.
Well, maybe everyone but Tom, depending on what he did and when.
I just noticed this announcement from yesterday on the RockBand forums:
UPDATE TO WARRANTY PROGRAM – EA CUSTOMER SERVICE TO IMPLEMENT ON MONDAY, JUNE 30th
JUNE 26, 2008: Great news! For a limited time only, we are honoring warranty requests past the official 60-day limit.
Our warranty policy since Rock Band’s launch in November has been to require proof of purchase within 60 days of the warranty claim. However, we decided (on our own and without any obligation) to allow our customers to take advantage of the EA warranty program even if they didn’t have a receipt and even if they sent it to us after the 60-day period had expired. We did this to make sure that our customers had the best experience possible with Rock Band.
Over seven months later, we decided to no longer make exceptions to our warranty program. The reasons for this were (1) we have a great deal of confidence in our peripherals, (2) we believe we have a great warranty program in place and (3) we found that a large number of the reported problems–especially those after the 60 day period–were due to mistreatment of the equipment.
Many of you out there felt that the change regarding enforcement of our policy had come without enough notice and some of you had legitimate warranty claims that were impacted by our decision.
Harmonix and MTV Games have always, and will always, remain open to fan feedback about your experience with Rock Band. This feedback is crucial to our development, as it allows us to provide you with the ultimate rock experience and meet your needs as members of the Rock Band community. Thanks to your feedback, we have decided to extend our previous practice of not requiring a proof of purchase until October 1. 2008. This change will go into effect Monday, June 30th, 2008.
However, effective October 1, 2008, any customers who wish to take advantage of our warranty program will need to (1) provide a receipt and (2) report defects within the 60-day period. Please note that any products that have been misused, modded in any way or were broken or defective due to excessive wear and tear are not covered under the warranty at all and all other terms and conditions of the warranty program will be enforced. We hope that, with this advanced notice, you be well prepared for this change in practice as the fall nears. In the meantime, rock on!
As always, to take advantage of our warranty program please contact EA’s Customer Support at http://support.ea.com/rockband
Emphasis mine. The short version: “We were honoring repairs out of warranty with no proof of purchase. We stopped. Outrage! We’re going back to honoring repairs with no proof of purchase out of warranty, until October 1st. This is change (back to the way things were) goes into effect June 30.”
Well, there’s now at least a third revision of the hardware out there. I opened mine up to try and fix the strummer and the pics don’t match either of the setups previously posted here.
This is a photo of my version. The strum bar stopped working and I just cleaned it with alcohol and a Q tip and now it works.<P>
My strummer stopped working today and after husband inspected it on the inside the plastic nub A is broke right off. There is no fixing that. Does anyone know where to get that whole, white plastic part? Or an easy way to get this thing replaced? I bought it off amazon.com. 3/24/09 is when it was shipped and I’m trying to get through to rockband.com about warranty, but frankly, just replacing that white piece would be a whole lot less aggravation.
Thanks in advance!