Nearly a week after the Gamers Nexus video, detailing the terrible RMA experience with Asus customer support, the company finally released a statement addressing what it called "some gaps in the RMA communication process in the US and Canada.""

And it's still not a good look.

I told Asus this to myself; it's a pretty inaudible response to the problem. That statement, which you can read in full below, exempts problems in the process beyond seemingly poor communication and effectively puts the problem on the door that the customer is confused and does not understand how it works.

Here is the full statement:

Recent feedback highlights some gaps in the RMA communication process in the US and Canada. We deeply apologize to our customers and community for any confusion or frustration they may have experienced in the future. We are taking your feedback to heart and are committed to making improvements. We want to assure our customers that there will always be any repairs covered under the manufacturer's limited warranty and will continue to be free of charge. ASUS has never intended to charge its customers for charges that do not directly address device malfunctions that are occurring. We are now aware that the current process and the language used are not properly communicating this information. We are working diligently to make changes in the best interests of our customers. We are not only addressing the individual issues with our customers that have moved forward, we are also making changes to our RMA process. From 2024/5/16, the following measures will be implemented to optimize the customer's repair experience.

If you need further assistance with repairs, please contact us at 1-888-678-3688 (USA and Canada) orhttps://www.asus.com/us/support/のASUSサポートwebサイトにアクセスしてください。 We are dedicated to solving your concerns and ensuring your satisfaction.

To briefly explain how the situation got to this point, Asus was the subject of a video by gn that read, "Asus cheated us."Except for more capital letters. Having experienced problems with many different Asus products and received what is said to be "at least dozens, if not hundreds of emails" from people detailing frustrating RMA issues with the company, GN decided to test it on its own.

The channel was sent anonymously with its own Asus ROG Ally device that had a bust thumbstick detailed as part of the rma and a broken SD slot that many of these devices have and are subject to historical ROG Ally issues. It documented the state of the device with high resolution images inside and outside and packaged according to Asus RMA guidelines.

The problem began when a response from the repair center came back, specifically admitting no problems within the warranty it was sent for, and Deba

This problem surrounded slight damage to the case requiring a complete replacement of the LCD screen. The damage in question was a little ding of plastic after opening the device to remove the SSD before GN sent it back.

The time pressure put on the end user to respond to the repair estimate did not yet mention the original problem, but if this repair was refused, the device

only when an incorrect repair was refused, along too far in the communication process, could someone tell the repair center that the device was first sent. It was then.

Eventually, GN regained its ROG allies, with a complete fix in place that was made under warranty. Both thumbsticks were replaced, the motherboard was replaced to solve the SD card slot problem, and basically everything except the LCD screen was new and back to normal.

This was an isolated incident and only after an incorrect paid repair was initially offered, it was finally turned to repair, so I could give Asus a little bit of this. But it is not. In fact, the behavior around providing ridiculous and expensive repairs — what it refers to in its statement as "unusual pricing" - seems like a deliberate, institutional one. 

Tom's Hardware reported a user's experience in Canada where the RTX4090 clip was missing and the 16-pin power connector had to be replaced, affecting the safe housing of the power cable. The card was still working, but the wider issue with connectors on Nvidia cards is well documented. However, the user did not expect an invoice more than the price of the card itself. They had paid aboutー2,000 for the card and were now asked to cough up nearly 2 to 2,750 to have one repaired.

Anecdotally, there are other Asus RMA issues mentioned in the Gn video and Tom's Hardware story comments, which, after all, are not the result of poor communication and user confusion, but rather systematic.

Asus' statement claims that it "does not provide repair estimates for cosmetic defects unless they affect the functionality of the device", confusing people and causing problems. Repairs where the product was RMA

The fact that Asus has refused to recognize the problem directly and instead calls it a misunderstood communication problem is a wide range of marks and, honestly, makes me feel quite uncomfortable about recommending Asus products right now. Sorry, because we like what it makes, but when we can't be sure the problem will be addressed professionally and succinctly, it's a tough call for us

We talked to Asus about this and asked questions directly. How can we continue to recommend Asus hardware in light of all the issues around customer support as a publication 'Until we hear something back, you won't spend a lot of money on Asus products if you need post-sales support.'