The new product, which was only released in April this year, experienced frequent and unfounded group complaints of black screens after only half a year. The quality issues of HP Shadow Elf 9 have caused dissatisfaction among consumers. They are even more concerned that replacing the motherboard during the warranty period will not solve the design defects of the product. For a while, the globally renowned computer brand HP was pushed to the forefront of the trend.
Consumer Reports conducted an interview and investigation into this collective complaint.
HP treats differently? Consumers receive different processing options
Mr. Huang from Dalian purchased his HP Shadow Elf 9 laptop in May of this year. But in October, the laptop experienced an unexplained black screen during normal operation, and could not be forcibly shut down/restarted through the power button and built-in keyboard. Mr. Huang claimed that this malfunction seriously affected his learning progress, and sometimes he had to unplug the power and wait for the battery to run out to shut down, waiting for several hours. After restarting, connecting to the power supply will also cause a black screen fault to occur again.
Order records provided by Mr. Huang
As Mr. Huang noticed that the malfunction of Shadow Elf 9 is a common situation, his request is for a return and refund. However, HP identified the issue with his laptop as "black screen during startup and suspected motherboard malfunction." Due to the impact of time spent defending his rights on his studies, he ultimately accepted HP's warranty plan to replace the motherboard.
Mr. Huang provided a repair service order
According to Mr. Huang, after replacing the motherboard and using it for about half a month, there has been no black screen issue for the time being. However, he emphasized that if the black screen problem reappears, he will file an appeal for a "return and refund" and will definitely not pay for HP's defective products.
Mr. Cai from Shanxi also encountered the same laptop malfunction issue as Mr. Huang, but he received a different solution.
His HP Shadow Elf 9 laptop was purchased in May of this year. But in November, laptops began to experience black screen malfunctions such as "sound on the screen, fan working, and indicator lights not turning on". According to his account, black screen situations occur more frequently, and sometimes with good luck, it can be beneficial for itself, seriously affecting his learning and life.
Order records provided by Mr. Cai
According to Mr. Cai's understanding, there are many users of Shadow Elf 9 on the internet who have similar problems. The cause of this issue may be a sensor recognition error.
During the complaint process, e-commerce customer service provided a solution to replace the motherboard. But Mr. Cai believes that the large-scale problems with Shadow Elf 9 indicate not improper consumer use, but rather a design flaw in the product itself. After replacing the motherboard, he cannot accept "survivor bias". His demand is for a return and refund. As of the time of publication, Mr. Cai stated that he had received a refund from HP through JD's intervention.
An anonymous consumer questioned that currently HP only handles returns and refunds for problematic products in JD's self operated stores, and only provides warranty solutions for purchases made through other channels. Although HP stated in the three guarantee certificate that the principle of "whoever sells microcomputer products is responsible for the three guarantees" is implemented. But he is dissatisfied with HP's discriminatory attitude towards users. Since all products are genuine, they should be treated equally.
Images provided by respondents
Replacing the motherboard will also result in a black screen
Mr. Zhang from Xi'an purchased his HP Shadow Elf 9 laptop in June of this year. There was an unexplained black screen issue in November. He stated that after replacing the motherboard during the warranty period, there were still occasional black screen issues (compared to the black screen before replacement, the machine can be forcibly turned on/off). As far as he knows, replacing the motherboard cannot completely solve the black screen problem.
Order records provided by Mr. Zhang
Mr. Zhu from Shenzhen still has problems after replacing the motherboard.
His HP Shadow Elf 9 was purchased in May of this year. After a black screen malfunction occurred in November, he replaced the motherboard. According to him, the motherboard was replaced for less than two days, and the laptop experienced severe heat generation and no sound from the external components. At present, his laptop has been repaired again and is waiting for a second motherboard replacement. Mr. Zhu is not only dissatisfied with the product quality, but also does not agree with the efficiency of after-sales service. He said that he needs to inquire with after-sales service before being informed of the latest progress.
Chat records provided by Mr. Zhu
According to Article 11 of the Regulations on the Responsibility for Repair, Replacement, and Return of Certain Commodities, for products that have been repaired twice within the warranty period but still cannot be used normally, the seller shall be responsible for replacing the same model and specification of products for consumers free of charge or returning them in accordance with Article 13 of these regulations, and then recover compensation from the producer or supplier in accordance with the law or handle the purchase and sales contract.
According to a report from Future Network, the official flagship store of a HP live streaming platform has released a video in response to the "Shadow Elf 9 large-scale black screen malfunction incident", stating that the black screen problem is due to a bug (vulnerability) in the Windows 11 operating system that has been present for a long time. After entering sleep mode, it cannot be woken up again due to a sensor malfunction in the computer, causing the system to determine that it is in closed mode, resulting in sleep mode and inability to power on. The company also provided a solution by disconnecting the MV cable.
However, after the video was released, HP quickly removed the video, causing dissatisfaction among a large number of users. They believe that since HP has identified the problem and found a solution, why not recall the computer to completely solve the problem, but only inform the user of the situation.
Article 23 of the Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Law of the People's Republic of China stipulates that if a consumer discovers defects in durable goods or decoration services such as motor vehicles, computers, televisions, refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines, etc. provided by an operator within six months from the date of receipt of the goods or services, and disputes arise, the operator shall bear the burden of proof related to the defects.
Article 24 stipulates that if the goods or services provided by the operator do not meet the quality requirements, consumers may return them in accordance with national regulations or the agreement between the parties, or require the operator to fulfill obligations such as replacement and repair. If there are no national regulations or agreements between the parties, consumers may return the goods within seven days from the date of receipt; If the legal conditions for termination of the contract are met seven days later, the consumer may return the goods in a timely manner. If the conditions for termination of the contract are not met, the operator may be required to fulfill obligations such as replacement and repair.
At present, reporters have noticed on mainstream e-commerce platforms that the HP Shadow Elf 9 laptop is still being sold normally.
Can't detect the cause of the malfunction for over a month?
In addition to product quality issues, HP's after-sales service has also caused consumer dissatisfaction.
Mr. Han from Guangzhou said that his Shadow Elf 9 laptop has not been turned on and used for half a month since it was purchased and activated. Later, his friend took the laptop abroad to start up and use it, but found that the F key was always automatically pressed wherever it needed to be entered. He used the built-in keyboard testing software on the computer, and the same was true. According to Mr. Han, he is dissatisfied with the solution proposed by HP after-sales service. The first is that the other party requests them to bring them back from abroad for repair; The second is to send it back for repair at one's own expense. He believes that as a globally renowned computer brand, HP should provide global warranty after-sales service. Even if it is not possible to provide global after-sales service points, consumers should still pay within the warranty period to find local third-party service points for repairs.
Screenshot source: Black Cat Complaint
Mr. Li from Tangshan said that his Shadow Elf 9 laptop has been in the after-sales service for over a month since it had a problem, and the other party has not detected the cause of the malfunction. As of the time of publication, Mr. Li claimed to have received a refund.
Screenshot source: Black Cat Complaint
According to Article 12 of the Regulations on the Responsibility for Repair, Replacement, and Return of Certain Commodities, if the producer fails to supply spare parts during the warranty period and fails to repair them within 90 days from the date of delivery for repair, the repairer shall indicate in the repair status, and the seller shall exchange the same model and specification of products for consumers free of charge based on this certificate. Then, in accordance with the law, pursue compensation from producers and suppliers or handle it according to purchase and sales contracts. If the repair period exceeds 30 days due to the repairer's own reasons, they shall replace the same model and specification of products for consumers free of charge. The cost is borne by the repairer.
Consumer Reports has sent an interview letter to HP regarding the consumer complaint regarding Shadow Elf 9 mentioned in this article, but has not received a response as of the time of publication. We will closely monitor the latest developments in this collective complaint.
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