Hello all!
I have been going through quite the ordeal with replacing the failing GPU fan in my PH315-52.
The installed fan is an OEM metal AeroBlade 3D fan (Acer part number 23.Q5MN4.001)
My question to the community and Acer is simple: Was I sent the correct part and the AeroBlade 3D OEM fan should be replaced with a generic plastic alternative?
The background......
On Acers recommendation for authorized parts suppliers, I went to SourceITStore to order my part:
https://www.sourceitstore.com/product/23-q5mn4-001/ (At the time the listing had a picture of the AeroBlade 3D fan)
My initial issue was this shipped from Canada and I had no way of knowing it would before I ordered. (I mean maybe if I dug in with research, but it wasn't clear from the listing or the pages I hit leading up to finding that part listing) This isn't a big deal really but I didn't have an option or indication of this before the order was placed.... and this is now a problem as I am looking at a return.
Once I received the part it was clear that it was not a OEM metal AeroBlade 3D fan.... It was instead the aftermarket plastic alternative that can be had for 1/4 the cost of an OEM AeroBlade. This is the exact part that was actually sent to me in place of the OEM part:
Amazon example
ebay example
And some pictures of my OEM part and what was actually delivered to me:
You can see in the pictures that the invoice packaged with the part, and the customs declaration on the outside, all support that this should be an OEM metal bladed fan.... which it clearly isn't.
While this fan will fit, and will move air.... it's not what I wanted. I knew the aftermarket plastic fan was an option but I wanted to keep the performance of the OEM fan (Which according to Acer is 35% more airflow with -26% less noise
source )
When I reached out to SourceITSupport about this things quickly fell apart. (I would attach a redacted copy of the email chain but the forum TOS seem to prohibit this as SourceITStore is affiliated with Acer)
me:
I Just received this part today and this is NOT an OEM
part. This is a knockoff plastic fan that you can get anywhere for $15
and it not the high end metal bladed OEM fan. (AeroBlade 3D Fan)
Very disappointed this was marketed as an OEM metal bladed
fan when it is clearly the cheap plastic aftermarket replacement. The
packaging material even supports that this is supposed to be an OEM metal
bladed fan and it’s clearly not.
SourceITStore reply:
This is actually the replacement
fan from Acer. They replaced the Metal Bladed fan with this Plastic version I
assume due to problems with the metal blades much like you experienced.
I can assure you this is an Acer
original part.
If you would like to return it,
please let us know and we can arrange that for you.
me:
Yes I want a refund as I don’t think this is accurate at
all. If I was ok with using the aftermarket plastic replacement I would
have just bought one for $15 and been done, but I instead went out to Acer to
find your store as an OEM part supplier. Even your site and packing
materials support that this is supposed to be a metal bladed fan. They
did not change out a key design and selling point for a plastic alternative….
this is just not accurate at all and I hope you aren’t trying to tell people this
to make up for shipping them inferior/fake parts. They still market and sell
this tech….
https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/acerdesign-aeroblade3d
Please advise on next steps.
SourceITStore reply:
That is not a problem. We
however are an authorized Acer parts distributor and you can choose to take our
word for it or not that is your prerogative. Also when you say inferior
product, is it possible that the metal blade fan may have actually turned out
to be inferior, hence why they removed it?
None the less, your
RMA number is............
Admittedly I came in a bit hot and shouldn't have.... but the response wasn't acceptable to me at all so I attempted to confirm this with Acer support. That too was a nightmare as no one would help me. I got transferred around more times than you can imagine. It got kind of entertaining at one point until it wasn't. Promises were made for callbacks, escalation, emails, and none of that happened. Terrible support/customer service experience from Acer. So no one from Acer knows if the AeroBlade fan is being replaced with a plastic alternative as SourceITStore claims and I'm stuck here (Or more likely they won't confirm this for me because it's part of a dispute with one of their authorized parts suppliers).
SourceITStore has offices and warehouses in the US yet they are requiring me to send the part back on my own dime to Canada. So I was sent the equivalent of a rock in place of the OEM fan I ordered and for me to get my money back I need to ship said rock back to Canada on my own dime.
I wasn't happy with SourceITStores attempt to sell this off as an OEM part, and offer such a lame claim to support that is indeed OEM. I was even less happy with Acers total lack of support and run around up to this point.
And a cherry to top it off...
After I received the part I was asked to review it and I gladly did!
Here is what I submitted and it was approved and posted to the reviews section of the product page for some time:
And if you go and look at the product page now my review is gone. They pulled it down and now the listing has no indication that it's not an OEM part. Pretty deceitful to hide critical reviews and only leave positive.
So.... What's the word Acer? Is this the correct replacement for our laptops? How about from the community: What's your recent experience with warranty repair or purchase through authorized dealers? Did you get an OEM AeroBlade or a generic plastic replacement? If you received a plastic replacement did you challenge it and what was the response?
Thanks all!
