XB321HK Weird Artifact

bobbie424242

I have also observed this issue (as shown on the linked youtube video) on a brand new XB271HK bought less than 3 weeks ago, although it seemed to have happened way less since about 1 week ago. It can also happen in games with a weird and brief flash. Totally random and unpredictable. Given that ACER knows about the problem and did not address it and even deleted old info, we can pretty much conclude it is an unfixable hardware flaw of the monitor. In the grand scheme of things, this can be lived with and this monitor is still great.

brighttail

This disappoints me but really shouldn't surprise me.  Asus for over a year denied anything was wrong and the none person came on to say that they were able to replicate the issue, but never indicated if there was a fix or what we should do other than to send in our monitors via RMA.  We found out during that year that even people who did send back their monitors to be repaired, got back either the same monitor that still didn't work properly or another monitor that didn't work properly. 

This leads me sadly to two conclusions:
1. There is no fix to this issue. It is with the monitor panel.  Which means if another panel is offered it is still going to be an issue.
2. Acer wants to down play this as much as possible and take down any proof that they have identified the issue but don't have a solution to fix it.

This means that their intentions are pretty clear. Continue to tell their support folks that people who call in to complain can RMA their monitors in, where they will be either told there is no issue or will be given another monitor that has the same issue.  As we are well almost at 2 years, the warranty period is 1/2 over and most probably already over for a full refund, which it seems that is what they wanted to avoid.

To those that got to  send theirs back and got a refund, good on you!  I had hoped that Acer was going to come out with something for us that held out hope and held on to our monitors.  It looked good with the Acer rep talking with us, but now nothing ... radio silence.  We were misled.  We were lied to and then they erased all the evidence.  This will be my last Acer product sadly.

kalandon

@bobbie42424: There is a fine line between stuff that can be and has to be lived with. Usually you don't pay 1000+ bucks to receive a flawed product you have to live with
@brighttail : I wholeheartedly agree. This is not customer support, this is a farce. I bet that the one guy trying to help was fired.

RidingTheFlow

Well, if you think that modern 4K monitor that glitches like 20-year-old analog TV is "still great" and "can be lived with", I guess its up to your personal taste
@kalandon, I think they've prohibited staff support responses since forum was "upgraded". I haven't seen a single one since the move.

FlyingHellfish

I will 100% never buy another Acer product after the way this has been handled - and I will be advising anyone else who cares as much as well.

adamlreed93

I agree I will not ever buy  an acer monitor again, But I noticed that I can create the artifact issue by just touching the base like it is sensitive to static electricity every time, CRAPPY monitor

SpacedMN

Im out, store is taking it back after a year because they know there is a problem and i was not getting anywhere with acer.

So No more ACER for me ever again after this dreadful of treatment we get,  Well saying treatment would be that we got something from it.  Which we have not.

So ACER  you will never get another dollar from me.  You lost a customer who is willing to pay for high quality items,  Yours are just not high quality.

lionheart12x

I just wanted to comment. I purchased an Acer BM320 not too long ago and it has the same problem. That monitor is supposedly a professional monitor. I don't think any professional in graphic arts or CAD design would appreciate a defect like this. 

RidingTheFlow

Nothing about Acer ever was "professional" or "premium" since I first experienced them 20 years ago as a PC system builder. They always were a "cost-effective" brand at heart, and remained such.
If you ask any old-timer graphics pro if they consider Acer (or Asus, or any other "enthusiast" brand) - they will laugh at you. Eizo, NEC and such - these are *true* pro brands, and its reflected in their monitor prices which are easily 3x times more expensive.

Acer are just trying to piggyback on fancy buzzwords & long "feature lists" to sell same corner-cut hardware in fancy case/packaging.

brighttail

I decided to give it one last go and posted to social media about the issue.  I got a call back 3 days later from 2nd level support.  This gentleman (I won't mention his name as I don't want people asking JUST for him as there are other 2nd level folks out there) said that:
1. Acer was aware of the issue
2. There are multiple people who have been affected
3. They aren't trying to hide the issue or run out the clock on our warranty
4. Was wanting to work with me to get this resolved.
5. Acer has be in contact with the panel manufacturer about this issue.
6. He was not aware of the original post(s) on this issue were deleted but said he would take that up to his supervisor.
He said he would get back to me next week but he believes there is a fix, but he wants to make sure he has all his information straight before looking to try and get my monitor fixed.  To say I'm a little tentative about all this is an understatement.  I do not like the idea of being without my monitor for any length of time, but we'll see what he has to say.  This tech was pretty confident that there is a fix.

I'll get back to you all once I hear something, send my monitor back and/or get it back. 

RidingTheFlow

For now I think that that just another support person who didn't get the memo
We will see how it goes - good luck and keep us updated.

JHawkins

I am having the same issues with my XB271HK... thanks for keeping up the interest on this problem

lionheart12x

Was the tech referring to only the predator monitors or other 4K displays as well? Thanks.

SQUIZZER

My 321HK has started to make these artifacts now and it seems to be getting more regular?

pteroleo

I had the same issue with my BenQ 32 which is using the same panel by the sister company of Acer that manufactures the panel. After some back and forth, BenQ gave me a full refund because i had paid for a designer grade monitor, they wanted me to be a happy customer and they could not assure that the next replacement wouldnt have the issue since they dont manufacture the panel themselves.

This is what i call great customer support, a company that has ethics, Acer on the other hand doesnt, since it removed the hundreds of post about the issue.

I got curious and wanted to see six months later if Acer had stepped up and helped people...turns out they didnt LOL

Well Acer, you will never have my money ever again (i had bought an acer predator at some point).

It is safe to say that Acer will not not help people so if you can still get a refund through the place you bought it from, go for it.

Dont ignore the issue, just get a refund and buy another brand...but be aware of the monitors which use the same panels like the BenQ 32 4k line. all the ones i had also had the issue. (i tried 4 total)

lionheart12x

I bought one of Asus pro 4K 32 inch monitors and surprisingly it has the same issue but it's less frequent. I really like the monitor though despite the shortcoming and I can't really find one that can match it at the moment. I even went with an LG 4K 32 at one point and it had the same issue. I returned that one though. It's becoming a real pain buying and returning only to find out that the problem is not just with Acer monitors alone. 

RidingTheFlow

lionheart12x said:

It's becoming a real pain buying and returning only to find out that the problem is not just with Acer monitors alone. 

Its easy to avoid in 32" segment - don't get any monitor which have true 32" panel. The only one 4K is problematic AUO.
You need to aim for 31.5" panels from LG. Specifically of DCI 4K (4096 × 2160) resolution.
Note that LG monitor does not guarantee it will have LG panel. Unique resolution makes it easy to differentiate from monitor specs though, you can also use review sites which check which panel monitor have.

Fool

If you change the resolution a few times back and forth the screen will go funny but you'll notice some defined vertical lines. 

These are the same lines when I get the weird flickering. Can anyone else confirm if they can see this?

trying changing the resolution back and forth to replicate the issue, because Acer have said there is no issue because they can’t replicate it in their labs.

I think changing the resolution highlights the problem.

RidingTheFlow

Fool said:

If you change the resolution a few times back and forth the screen will go funny but you'll notice some defined vertical lines. 

These are the same lines when I get the weird flickering. Can anyone else confirm if they can see this?

trying changing the resolution back and forth to replicate the issue, because Acer have said there is no issue because they can’t replicate it in their labs.

I think changing the resolution highlights the problem.

Most monitors go goofy briefly when changing the resolution. I don't see how this will help prove that your monitor have fault.

"Can't replicate it in their labs?" This again? You can tell whoever in Acer support told you that to stop wasting your time, since Acer already officially admitted they've received samples with artefact, have replicated issue and "escalated" it.

Just send them screenshots from this post - https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/532400/#Comment_532400

RidingTheFlow

brighttail said:

I decided to give it one last go and posted to social media about the issue.  I got a call back 3 days later from 2nd level support.  This gentleman (I won't mention his name as I don't want people asking JUST for him as there are other 2nd level folks out there) said that:
1. Acer was aware of the issue
2. There are multiple people who have been affected
3. They aren't trying to hide the issue or run out the clock on our warranty
4. Was wanting to work with me to get this resolved.
5. Acer has be in contact with the panel manufacturer about this issue.
6. He was not aware of the original post(s) on this issue were deleted but said he would take that up to his supervisor.
He said he would get back to me next week but he believes there is a fix, but he wants to make sure he has all his information straight before looking to try and get my monitor fixed.  To say I'm a little tentative about all this is an understatement.  I do not like the idea of being without my monitor for any length of time, but we'll see what he has to say.  This tech was pretty confident that there is a fix.

I'll get back to you all once I hear something, send my monitor back and/or get it back. 

Just wondering, did you get anywhere with this, could you give us some update by any chance?