Acer C720p Mainboard Failures

eric5
eric5 Member Posts: 3 New User
edited March 2023 in 2016 Archives

I manage around 800 of these things in a school. Over the past couple months, I've noticed a rash of them that won't start. They give a single blue flashing light, then nothing. I send them to Acer, and they all come back with a new mainboard. These are all systems that are around 18 months old. I'm beginning to see it happening more and more often and am starting to wonder if this isn't a design or manufacturing flaw of some kind. Anyone else had this sort of problem with the C720p?

Answers

  • mbuteyn
    mbuteyn Member Posts: 4 New User

    I'm getting similar results with the C720.  I manage about 550 of them.  Haven't had the issue with the C740 yet. Neither are the touch screen version.  It's the same motherboard from the C720P to C720.  Just a quick blue blink and nothing.  Oddly enough I've let some of them sit for a long time (weeks) and then they boot like normal. Doesn't work every time.

     

    I'm wondering if there is a way to discharge the motherboard.

  • eric5
    eric5 Member Posts: 3 New User

    Thanks for your response!

    Glad to know there is someone else experiencing this. Each one I've sent to Acer has come back with a new mainboard. I have disconnected the battery, and pressed the power down for 30 seconds, and sometimes that works, other times it doesn't. I 've noticed we have much more of this in the Winter months. I started getting a rash of them in November, and I've had around 10 out of 800 have this problem in the last month. I susupect static electricity. I just wish there were an easy workaround. 

     

  • mbuteyn
    mbuteyn Member Posts: 4 New User

    I'll try the 30 seconds thing next time.

     

    Interesting observation about the winter months.  I know that dry air / static electricity brought issues to a laptop I had once.  Freaked the video card out...

     

    I tried replacing the capacitors, but that didn't seem to help the issue.  I've swapped cables, batteries and SDD, and nothing fixed it.   Swap a new mobo in and it fires up with the old components fine.  Definetly the mobo.

  • festinoa
    festinoa Member Posts: 2 New User

    I support over 500 of these in a school and we've run into this issue quite often.

     

    Since we're out of any warranty period I've been fixing these myself. Unfortunately replacing the motherboard did not seem to be a permanent fix as 4 of 5 that I repaired have come back 3 days after returning to the students with the same problem. 

     

    The quality control on these C720s has been pretty awful Smiley Sad

  • newsboy9
    newsboy9 Member Posts: 1 New User

    I'm having the exact same issue on about 9 of my 87 720s and my first 740 with the problem just came in. At a ten percent failure rate in under two years I'm getting a little gun shy. I only expect 3 years out of a chromebook but this could throw my whole rotation plan out the window. It acts a lot like liquid damage but I've torn them apart and find no evidence of damage of any kind. If I did I would just send it in as I'm covered for accidental damage.

     

    I've swapped batteries, unplugged the batteries over the weekend, tried all the other suggestions listed here and I can't figure it out. If it's the motherboard I might as well get new ones.

  • Jio1
    Jio1 Member Posts: 2 New User

    I am having the same issue. I manage about 1100 of them. It's hard when the no powers come in. What I have been stuck doing is taking the screens off for my other chromebooks with broken digitizers. I wish there was a solution to fix the problem so I could have more working chromebooks. I have looked at all of them, no signs of damage to motherboard, so I am stumped on this one. Any suggestions?

  • festinoa
    festinoa Member Posts: 2 New User

    Unfortunately, the C720 is probably the biggest piece of junk I've ever had the displeasure of working on. Never in my life have I seen such shoddy construction on a device. One drop or impact breaks off most of the plastic mounting points inside that results in many pieces of loose plastic shrapnel and the battery sliding around killing the battery and many other components in the process. The bottom screws constantly fall out causing the units to flex and shut off on users due to the small switch on the motherboard that kills power if not depressed. 

     

    I'm sitting at my desk staring at a pile of over 80 dead C720s that need new motherboards and probably an additional 30+ chromebooks that have a myriad of issues from bad batteries to broken/dead touchpads and keyboards. This is on top of replacing over 100 motherboards and 50 batteries so far this school year. I'm pleading with my boss and the administration to junk these things ASAP but it looks like they're hell bent on stretching these an additional year. If they do insist on using these another year I will quit.

     

    I will never ever even think about buying, recomending, or using an Acer product ever again.

     

    [inappropriate content removed]

  • Blayn-Acer
    Blayn-Acer Administrator Posts: 2,355 Community Administrator

    Festinoa,

     

    This is certainly not the experience we want anyone to have. Can you please send me a Private message so I can see what we can do to help?

  • ComputerBoy
    ComputerBoy Member Posts: 2 New User

    Dear Acer Crew- I am also very disappointed in my acer c720p I have had to had mine repaired 9 different times in less than 3 years and now my main board is dead. I wish that acer would have some real coustoumer service and provide a way to get these issues fixed without paying an outageous ammount. My number one question is why do I have 6 Apple computers that are 10-20 years old and have never had a single problem and my acer c720 has had this many?

  • ComputerBoy
    ComputerBoy Member Posts: 2 New User

    SO, SO TRUE!!!!!!!

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