Buyer beware! Acer tech support is very poor.

Buyer beware! When you buy an Acer, don't plan on tech support OR be raked over the coals for it.

Save yourself the trouble and buy else where.

I have searched everywhere for an answer to my question to no avail. I finally emailed Acer tech support with one simple question... did Acer do something to the computers bios/OS that prevents hardware upgrades / changes. Below is their response and mine (reverse chronological order). I added the red color to the prices section. But really!... $60 for 30 minutes. What call in tech support has EVER solved a problem in 30 minutes.


You have been warned.

SUBJECT: Upgrade RAM, HDD and OS install issues


Discussion Thread
Customer (XXXXXXXXX) 12/01/2009 09:06 PM
And THIS is why I will never buy another ACER. Your response is unacceptable. It’s not like I called ACER and demanded actual tech support… I only wanted a simple answer via email. Seriously, you can’t tell via email me if there’s something in the bios that ACER put there preventing me from upgrading hardware? Even Dell would give me that information... NOT that I have ever had an issue upgrading a Dell laptop. This is a product I bought, and now I can’t use it because of some proprietary dicking around ACER most likely did with the bios or OS... which was NOT disclosed prior to the purchase. ACER forums and blogs here I come. Perhaps I should give a friend at CNET a call (check the IP address, I live in San Francisco).

A happy customer will tell a few about the product they like, but an unhappy customer will tell dozens. Try the math 1 x 12 x 12 x 12 x 12 x 12 x 12 and so on (which by the way is 248,832 people LESS LIKLEY to buy and ACER).

Response (Manish) 12/01/2009 07:42 PM
Dear XXXXXXXXXXXX,

Thank you for contacting Acer America. I apologize for the inconvenience that you have experienced.

I understand that you are facing an issue with your machine. We see that your system is out of Warranty and is not eligible for support; you can search for updates and solutions online at http://support.acer.com/Default.aspx

Incase you do not find the solution you are looking for, online. I recommend that you contact a local technician in order to resolve the issue as we have limitations supporting Out of warranty systems.

If you need further support concerning this issue, We do offer a phone-based support options for Out of Warranty products that also covers "How Do I" questions as well.

"Answers by Acer" is a convenient and affordable fee based technical support service that is great for answering questions or technical issues once the product warranty has expired.

With your purchase of the service you would have instant access to our Highly Trained technicians.

You may call 1.800-237-6483. However, it's a fee based support. Calling cards are available for 30 minutes ( $59.99 ), 90 minutes ( $129.99 ), or 15 issues ( $199.99 ) and the validity will be 1 year.
For further clarifications please feel free to visit our web site http://support.acer.com/Default.aspx

Thank you for contacting Acer technical support.

Have a great Time.

Respectfully,
Acer America
Online Technical Support

Customer XXXXXXXXXX) 12/01/2009 03:18 PM
I have an Acer Aspire 5315-2153 that i am trying to upgrade. I want to upgrade the memory from 1GB to 2GB, upgrade the HDD from 80G to 160G and install Windows 7. Everytime I try to install a new HDD or memory the computer will not boot to windows. I have attempted both upgrades seperately with the same result. The new HDD has been imaged from the orignal HDD (which works fine). The bios loads ok, and it trys to load windows but it fails. When the computer goes to the windows startup repair program it to fails to fix the problem. Is there a feature in the bios that prevents hardware changes? The memory i am using is 1GB PC2 5300 (DDR2 667)x 2 modules. The hard drive that I am using is a Western Digital 160GB 2.5 in SATA Blue drive.

Auto-Response 12/01/2009 03:18 PM
Title: Upgrade RAM in the computer
Link: http://acer.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/acer.c ... 1250861026

Title: Replacing RAM On Aspire One AOD250 Netbook
Link: http://acer.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/acer.c ... 1249495033

Title: Replacing RAM on Aspire One AO531h Netbook
Link: http://acer.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/acer.c ... 1249495097

Title: Replacing RAM On Aspire One AOP531h Netbook
Link: http://acer.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/acer.c ... 1249495179

Title: Replacing RAM on Aspire One AO751h Netbook
Link: http://acer.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/acer.c ... 1249495233

 

I will agree that Acer could have given you a simple answer to a direct question. However, you probably know as well as I do that first level tech support is really not technically proficient and they probably couldn't answer your question. Second level tech support probably could have looked it up, but since you are out of warranty they probably don't want to commit the resources to your questions.

The reality is that when you run out of warranty you are on your own. Microsoft has a similar fee-based support system. Acer could make it easier on all of us, including themselves, if they would just release a good quality technical document on their motherboard with specs and limitations. They don't do this, so leave it up to us to find answers by tech support (paid or free), their vague FAQs, and user forums like this.

Vic

 

You shouldnt need official tech support, the internet knows a lot more than acer's tech team in india