MOTU customer service is BAD!

[SmartDoc48]

Here is the actual transcript of the tech support conversation I have had with MOTU. This is unbelievable. I strongly recommend every one stay away from this company. It will not stand behind its products. So musicians BEWARE! I purchased 5 units at $1000 each. When each goes out, I guess I am out $1000.
See the dialog for yourselves.
NNC


Responses
Brendan Reza September 26, 2021 at 11:48AM (1 week, 4 days ago)

Noah,



Thanks for reaching out. Unfortunately, this sounds like something about the LCD screen or backlight is failing.



If the unit was purchased new within the last two years, it is covered by our warranty. If this is the case, please attach the original purchase invoice or receipt in your next message. Please also include your current shipping address and phone number. For warranty repairs/replacements customers are responsible for shipping costs to MOTU, and MOTU will pay return shipping to customers.







MOTU honors all products for a warranty period of 24 months. The term of this warranty begins on the date of purchase from an authorized MOTU reseller. This warranty is enforceable only by the original retail purchaser. We do not replace units outside of the 2 year warranty period.







All defective units must be shipped to MOTU before a replacement can be issued. Customers are responsible for shipping their defective unit to MOTU first.







Repair policy: https://motu.com/techsupport/technotes/ ... ir-policy/





Thanks,

Brendan - MOTU
Noah,

Just following up on this as I see you haven't responded. Like I alluded to in my initial message, MOTU only repairs units inside of the 2 year warranty period. It looks like your 896mk3 Hybrid was registered in 2016, which is outside of the 2 year warranty period. Unfortunately, we will not be able to repair or replace this for you. I do apologize.



Brendan - MOTU
Noah Chelliah October 7, 2021 at 02:59PM (an hour ago)

I realize this is out of warranty. But I am willing to pay to get it fixed. Can I do that?



I am not sure which unit you are referring to.

By the way I have four units all of which are out of warranty. Are you telling me you will not repair any of my units even if I am willing to pay for the repair? If you are unwilling to repair it, are you willing to sell me a technical service manual so I can have my engineer try to fix it?



Noah
Brendan Reza October 7, 2021 at 03:15PM (an hour ago)

Noah,



Sorry, but there is no paid repair policy. The only policy we offer is 2 years from the original purchase date. MOTU has never made schematics public and I do not have access to them either. I understand that this is inconvenient and not the answer you are looking for. But this is the policy of the company. I do apologize.



Brendan
Noah Chelliah October 7, 2021 at 04:13PM (7 minutes ago)

I am sure what you mean. You mean to tell me MOTU will not repair my 896MK3 Hybrid EVEN IF I AM WILLING TO PAY FOR THE REPAIRS?
Brendan Reza October 7, 2021 at 04:14PM (5 minutes ago)

That is correct. There is no paid repair option. I do apologize.
Add Response
Response text
File
Drop files here to upload

That is unbelievable. The company that sells a product will not repair it even at the customer's cost. I am upset about this. I purchased 5 units over the last few years.

Here is what I plan to do. 1. I am going to post this on all musicians' websites so they know Motu does not repair the products they sell if the product is more than 2 years old. Perhaps musicians will stop buying your products. 2. I am also going to write a complaint to the MA attorney general to inform him/her that Motu does not offer to repair their products after 2 years even if the customer is willing to pay for the repairs. 3. I will also lodge complaint with the BBB that Motu is not a reputable company to deal with. I understand you are stating the company's policy not your personal opinion. But I can also tell the whole world, that MOTU company is not a good company.

[James Steele]

Here is what I plan to do. 1. I am going to post this on all musicians' websites so they know Motu does not repair the products they sell if the product is more than 2 years old. Perhaps musicians will stop buying your products. 2. I am also going to write a complaint to the MA attorney general to inform him/her that Motu does not offer to repair their products after 2 years even if the customer is willing to pay for the repairs. 3. I will also lodge complaint with the BBB that Motu is not a reputable company to deal with. I understand you are stating the company's policy not your personal opinion. But I can also tell the whole world, that MOTU company is not a good company.

Not to interrupt your use of this website for your personal crusade, but all posts of this nature belong in the "MOTU Theoretical Discussions Gripes, Petitions & Off Topic" forum and has been moved there.

I guess if MOTU's policy bothers people they can decide whether to buy their hardware or not. I've never had any issues, but I'm also fortunate to know a really good tech, that if he can find the part can probably fix something like that. It sounds like the backlight or screen is failing. Replacing it might not be that difficult a thing to do for an experienced tech provided he can find a replacement part.

I noticed you left out your initial post where you describe the issue to the MOTU support person. Including it might help others reading this to figure out if they might have a suggestion or tell you where to send it for repair.

[stubbsonic]

My experience with MOTU support has ranged from useless at worst, to incredibly helpful at best. Honestly, MOTU is one of the few companies I recommend with genuine enthusiasm. Both their hardware and software have very good track records in my experience.

It may be useful to have some perspective about how generous MOTU's exchange policy is compared to other companies. Also, I wonder if other companis have similar policies to protect their designs. Go buy a B-word product, and see how your experience with their support goes.

You spent five kilodollars on five units. You only got 5 years of use out of ONE of them, so you feel like you have been robbed of $1000. We can all agree that 5 years isn't getting your full money's worth. But that doesn't make MOTU a bad company. You just had bad luck. And the bad luck wasn't really anyone's fault, yours or theirs. You're also bummed because you can't go through the company to get paid repair done, and they don't certify repair centers to protect their designs. Alas. I agree, it would be great if they could maintain a complete repair department; but there are probably valid reasons why they have opted not to do so.

As James suggested, find a good repair tech and see if they can fix your display.

[cuttime]

Maybe the policy has changed, but wasn't there a $100 replacement policy of a refurb or repaired unit for the broken unit?

[pencilina]

Maybe the policy has changed, but wasn't there a $100 replacement policy of a refurb or repaired unit for the broken unit?

That was the case indeed and I had a couple units fixed even ones that I had purchased used. I always appreciated that and didn't know MOTU had changed their policy.

What's especially crappy about this is that its still a unit they sell new that they have the capability to repair. I believe Shure still does this which I think would be a more apt comparison (or expectation) then Behringer but now it seems like the bar has been dropped and seems (IMO) like MOTU HW support is a now bad as SW. Thanks for the warning and let us know if you find a shop that will do the work.

Good luck.

[HCMarkus]

This leaves me curious as to Focusrite’s approach, not to mention all the other interface sellers.

Edit: Focusrite now provides a 3 year warranty, but out of warranty service looks dodgy. Maybe MOTU will add a year, market pressure and all… the old policy was superb, but I never needed it. My 828mkII still worked great for 15 years before I retired it for an 828es.

[James Steele]

What's especially crappy about this is that its still a unit they sell new that they have the capability to repair.

I’m pretty sure MOTU doesn’t actually design or build their hardware in house. They sub out a company called S&S (?) that does this. So MOTU may not have any in house repair facilities or techs that could do it. It might explain why they used to send repaired/refurbished replacements.

[James Steele]

…before I retired it for an 828es.

I’ve been eyeing this unit as a potential replacement for my HD192. I can use it with USB for a while, but be better positioned for the day I might jump to Apple Silicon. Maybe a *used* Mini Pro in 2-3 years.

For now I did buy a metal compatible graphics card and I’m going to give Mojave a whirl. Just hoping it doesn’t break anything important. I figured best way to find out is backup my drive and install it and see what happens.

[mikehalloran]

… My 828mkII still worked great for 15 years before I retired it …

Yes, mine still works after 17 years though I read that someone was having a problem with Big Sur 11.6. My injury has improved a bit so I may be able to sit in a chair long enough to test mine this weekend.

Back to the OP. Unfortunately, MOTU does not publish service manuals or parts lists which is a bummer. Except for a few proprietary chips and the motherboard layout, nearly all components including backlights are inexpensive, generic parts that can be found at electronics houses like Mouser. Which ones for the 896? I don't know but there are threads here and Gearspace (used to be Gearslutz) with part descriptions, instruction and substitution suggestions that may improve performance. The best way to search for these is Google, not MOTUNation's own search engine.

Although MOTU's exchange program is gone, that wouldn't discourage me from buying more of their gear.

[SmartDoc48]

Here is what I plan to do. 1. I am going to post this on all musicians' websites so they know Motu does not repair the products they sell if the product is more than 2 years old. Perhaps musicians will stop buying your products. 2. I am also going to write a complaint to the MA attorney general to inform him/her that Motu does not offer to repair their products after 2 years even if the customer is willing to pay for the repairs. 3. I will also lodge complaint with the BBB that Motu is not a reputable company to deal with. I understand you are stating the company's policy not your personal opinion. But I can also tell the whole world, that MOTU company is not a good company.

Not to interrupt your use of this website for your personal crusade, but all posts of this nature belong in the "MOTU Theoretical Discussions Gripes, Petitions & Off Topic" forum and has been moved there.

I guess if MOTU's policy bothers people they can decide whether to buy their hardware or not. I've never had any issues, but I'm also fortunate to know a really good tech, that if he can find the part can probably fix something like that. It sounds like the backlight or screen is failing. Replacing it might not be that difficult a thing to do for an experienced tech provided he can find a replacement part.

I noticed you left out your initial post where you describe the issue to the MOTU support person. Including it might help others reading this to figure out if they might have a suggestion or tell you where to send it for repair.

ANY company that does not stand behind the product after the warranty has expired is a bad company. Especially since NOBODY else can repair it because they do not supply a service manual or a schematic. How would any of you feel if you purchased a car that quit working a day after the warranty ran out and the car manufacturer informed you it will not repair your car even if you are willing to pay for the repairs? I am not a lawyer but there must be a law somewhere in this country that states the company that manufactures a product has to either supply spare parts or continue to offer repair service for a reasonable period of years (perhaps 10) at the owner's cost. In my opinion this is a bad business policy and will engender a lot of bad publicity for the company. At least for me, I think I will not buy any more of Motu's products until its service policy is changed. I have never heard of a company that will not fix/repair a product (particularly a product that they are still manufacturing) even if the customer is willing to pay for it! It has been most aggravating for me to deal with this company. They will not even release a Linux driver for open source software users. The only reason I stayed with their product is that their product was well designed, but as they say "the greatest doctor in the world is of no use to you until he is available to see you". I am done with MOTU. By the way, if you know a technologist who can help me, let me know how to contact him. The original problem I had and I have is that 896MK3 Hybrid's display remains dim when I turn it on and does not complete the booting process. I stay stuck in the Version 1.102. I think the problem is more than backlight because the unit will not complete the booting process.Thanks
NNC My Cell 701 775 0157 email: drchelliah@heartnd.com

[monkey man]

Have you tried replacing the battery?

[SmartDoc48]

Have you tried replacing the battery?

Well Gentlemen: I finally fixed it myself. I still stand behind my claim that MOTU is a bad company or at least its policies are terrible. A company which makes a product should stand by it ESPECIALLY IF THE CUSTOMER IS WILLING TO PAY FOR REPAIRS regardless of how old the unit is! Especially if the unit is STILL IN PRODUCTION. I am done purchasing from this terrible company. I have spent $5000 on their products. I would think that would get me some loyalty from the company.
Here is what I did, I kept trying to reboot but finally it said "the CPU is bad; upgrade firmware!" I did and voila it is fully functioning again. It is indeed sad that the tech support did not suggest it.
Now I can go on with my music life.... after hours of frustration. At least now you know if any of you have a similar problem try updating the firmware.

NNC

[mikehalloran]

There are such laws but they apply to motor vehicles.

Perhaps you and Apple should have a talk someday. Google right to repair. Let us know how that works out.

[bayswater]

I suppose someone should have asked you if your had updated the firmware. It’s a fairly basic step to take early in troubleshooting. I hope you have better success with whoever you buy from in the future.

As for the suggestion that I shouldn’t buy from motu because of your experience, I’d note that the motu hardware I have is very old and the second most reliable stuff I’ve ever had after an original K2000. And when I had one issue they gave me the option of swapping it for a refurbished unit for peanuts. The problem went away and that was the end of that.

It makes no more sense for me the avoid motu because of your experience than for you to continue to buy from them because of my experience.

The analogy to cars is interesting. Here, to sell a car you have to supply parts for 11 years. You don’t have to repair them. That was ok when cars generally turned into rusted out death traps within 5 years but meaningless now.

[monkey man]

So, technically it wasn't broken at all.

Glad you got it sorted, mate.