Chris sent his HP Elitebook in for repair, only to learn that he had done something to void the warranty, and it wouldn’t be repaired. What was his heinous offense against technology? He owns a cat, and there’s fur inside the computer, causing HP to declare his computer a “biological hazard” and send it back un-repaired. He sent along photos that HP took of his disassembled computer and used to make the case that his computer wasn’t repairable.
After 3 weeks of HP support-hell, I finally reached someone who could give me a little info on why my laptop wasn’t repaired. I sent an elitebook in for repair, which was sent back unrepaired, with no explanation. It’s been very frustrating trying to speak to somebody who can actually DO SOMETHING, let alone transfer me to someone who can.
The powerpoint attached is the powerpoint that support reps see when they view my case. Those are the only photos HP took, and that’s their basis for voiding my warranty. [Click here to see a PDF version of that slideshow.]
The supervisor I spoke to started with “So, you have a long haired-cat?” I in fact have a short haired cat. He then said “Wow, I’m surprised that fan turns at all.” I scoffed, and told him he was crazy, and that all the hair in the computer (the very tiny bit in there) was what I sent it in with. I never blew it out or cleaned it, but he seemed to think otherwise. I was looking at the powerpoint at the time, and the amount of pet hair in the vent was hardly enough to make it slow down even 1/1000 rpm.
Anyway, I kept arguing with him about how that was really not a lot of cat hair. He told me that it was “covered” and that he was positive that the computer had overheated (multiple reps told me the same thing). I knew it was all a lie, I was looking at the same photos he was, and there was hardly any hair in there. I kept saying that, and I told him the computer cooled itself fine.
He seemed to relent later, and he pretty much agreed with me, so he talked to his supervisor (to make an appeal). Then he gets back on the phone with me and says that the supervisor said that there was SO MUCH cat hair that it’s considered a biological hazard. That’s absolutely ridiculous, and he wouldn’t even give me the number for his supervisor or transfer me to him (why not?).
I probably have more cat hair on my shirt than what was in the laptop. Am I a walking “biological hazard”? I don’t think so. Why don’t they lock me up and throw me in jail for sending such a dangerous computer into HP’s service center? Oh wait… because that’s just an excuse to get out of a warranty.
Cat hair or not, I just want my computer fixed. It’s a manufacturing defect, and it just so happens that the laptop is sprinkled with a bit of hair.
I’ve pretty much called every number that was made public. I need to know where to go now. Small claims court, perhaps?
Other readers have gone above the level of tech support and had their warranties un-voided through the use of the executive e-mail carpet bomb. Try that tactic before going to court.
More From Consumerist
-
If You Don’t Want To Eat A Turkey, How About Getting One As A Pet?
-
Microsoft Says Liquid Damage Ruined My Surface’s Battery, And That’s Final
-
Animal Shelters Make ‘Black Friday’ Literal, Adopt Out Black Pets For Free
-
Sheba Says It’ll Only Use Sustainably-Sourced Seafood In Cat Entrees By End Of 2013
-
Natura Pet Recalls Four Brands Of Cat And Dog Foods For Possible Salmonella Contamination
Whats missing is a view of the inside bent on the heatsink.
The cat hair did not cause the fan to slow down but there is another issue which I am not sure if it voids the warranty or not,
You are suppose to clean the heatsink regularly (I recommend at least once every 1-2 months)
Due to the limited space in a laptop, the fin density is much higher in a laptop than on a desktop, this makes it easier for dust to clog the row of fins facing the fan
In addition to that, laptops when new, run close to the overheating temperature of the CPU and GPU so a small amount of dust buildup can cause the laptop to throttle or do a thermal shutdown if run at 100% load for an extended period of time.
Solution: Get a vacuum cleaner and use the host attachment and then stick it onto the air intake for the heatsink for around 5 seconds. do this every month or 2 and you will prevent dust buildup.
If you have not cleaned in a long time then the dust will be caked on and you will need to take the laptop apart and get direct access to the fins, then clean them the vacuum hose and a toothbrush. (If the laptop has overheated multiple times in the past, then the thermal compound may also have degraded too much and you will need to remove the heatsink, clean the heatsink and CPU with 90% or higher alcohol, then apply some fresh thermal compound such as arctic silver 5.
The reason why most laptop have hardware failure is due to users not regularly cleaning the heatsinks, not understanding one of the basic laws of physics of a spinning object becoming a gyro thus causing it to resist change in angle (but they choose to do things like close the lid, flip it to it’s side and throw into a bag, all while the hard drive is spinning (even worst it will be actively doing work since the system may be preparing to go into standby or hibernation).
Other than that you get she people who place the laptop on a bed or other soft service that will restrict airflow.
What you can’t see in the pictures is the cat hair that wraps itself around the fan motor and bearings, thus destroying the fan.
Of course it voids your warranty, cats are evil!
Also, buying an Acer, Compaq, Dell, HP, eMachine, or Gateway should already disqualify you as being too dumb to own a computer device and no warranty thus given. Just unplug it and let the cat pee on it, and / or chew on the cables…
This is par for the course for HP tech support(sic) and why I will never buy an HP product again.
Two hours on hold listening to Bombay’s Greatest Hits until finally an idiot answers who’s response is always Reinstall your operating system. Refusal to transfer you to a supervisor, or if they do, it’s actually another employee at their level, “No supervisors here,” return of notebook sent in for repair untouched with no explanation (wonder if it was due to my having cats.)
I use mainly desktops and I build them myself and I always install filters in the air intakes. So, by design my desktops are always dust-proof (and hair-proof). If a laptop is sold without an air filter, the manufacturer cannot claim you voided the warranty by having dust/hair in your environment. It was very easy to make the laptop dust/hair proof.
Would we accept a car designed without an air filter and then blame the owner for the dust and dirt that got through the air intake and ruined the engine?
It’s amazing to me how readily people make excuses for bad design.
A computer or laptop is, by necessity, going to be in areas in which dust, dander, hair, and every other imaginable thing is going to be – the normal things that are in a household, workplace, cafe etc. While I agree that care should be taken, the fact that a product cannot stand up to the normal demands of everyday use without specialized treatment means it was poorly designed in the first place.
these machines should be designed to deal with the actual situations in which they live their ‘lives’ and should not rely on humans having to modify behavior or make great adaptations to normal everyday activity in order to work correctly. Yes, regular dusting, etc. should be expected, but good design means creating something that needs minimal maintenance in order for it to be in working condition.
that said, I have a longhair cat. there is never any cat hair anywhere near my laptop. I’ve had a previous laptop open for a self repair before and there was no cat hair in it. If there is that much cat hair flying around the place, there is definitely a cleanliness issue, but that does not dismiss the fact that it is poor design implementation.
Would we accept a car designed without an air filter and then blame the owner for the dust and dirt that got through the air intake and ruined the engine?
An analogy worth repeating.
I don’t understand why laptops don’t have screens if that sort of thing can kill them. I’ve seen far more dust inside computers without ill effect, and it seems to me that HP is just trying to avoid responsibility. (My HP support story was just as bad but not pet-related. I’ve learned my lesson.)
Some poor tech has to open that laptop filled with cat dander and hair.
Biological hazard? probably, i don’t think this customer is in the right.
they should pay extra for this service.
I do on-site PC repairs…I wouldn’t touch it.
Same with smoke damage. Warranty VOID.
Meh. Doesn’t look like much hair to me (the pics above are the worst – the other pics sent in the pdf looked normal/fine – I was laughing at the few white hairs on the outside of the thing that were marked with sticky arrows). I think they should fix under warranty.
Having a cat is a normal condition. The laptop should operate under normal conditions. Yes, spray the thing with compressed air occasionally to keep the hair from building up, but even non-cat homes have dust and people-hair and stuff that would add up to about the same as this.
Go to a local HP repair shop. They’ll be more reasonable and can order the parts under warranty without giving HP the hairy details. They just get a more objective trouble code.
A single employee’s medical condition does not excuse the entire company.
The company has a contractual obligation to honor the warranty, even if this means finding a tech they employ that ISN’T one of the minority of people who happen to be allergic to a common household pet.
Ignore ‘contractual’. I meant to remove that.
I have a cat and I have an HP. Here is MY issue with HP laptops and almost all laptops really. The fan on my last HP laptop needed to be cleaned so my husband, who is good at taking thing apart and successfully putting them back together, decided to take the laptop apart to clean out the hair, fur and dust from the fan. Once we started taking it apart we realized you have to take the ENTIRE thing apart to get to the fan. Knowing the fans suck in all kinds of things (human hair, dust, pet fur, etc) wouldn’t it make sense to have a small removable access panel that allows direct access to the fan on the bottom of the laptop. Not to remove the fan, but so you can easily take tweezers and pull the stuff out regularly. Is that really so hard to do? Instead I have to remove all the innards of the laptop just to pluck some hair out and put it back together. All of which I’m SURE voids my warranty.
That’s my beef.