ECS L4S8A: Tech Support and RMA

For your reference, we will repost our tech support evaluation procedure here:

The way our Tech Support evaluation works is first we anonymously email the manufacturer's tech support address(es), obviously not using our AnandTech mail server to avoid any sort of preferential treatment. Our emails (we can and will send more than one just to make sure we're not getting the staff on an "off" day) all contain fixable problems that we've had with our motherboard. We then give the manufacturer up to 72 hours to respond over business days and will report not only whether they even responded within the time allotted but also if they were successful in fixing our problems. If we do eventually receive a response after the review is published, we will go back and amend the review with the total time it took for the manufacturer to respond to our requests.

The idea here is to encourage manufacturers to improve their technical support as well as provide new criteria to base your motherboard purchasing decisions upon; with motherboards looking more and more alike every day, we have to help separate the boys from the men in as many ways as possible. As usual, we're interested in your feedback on this and other parts of our reviews so please do email us with your comments.

ECS's tech support was fairly good; After sending off our email to ECS's tech support team, we received a response from their them in just 40 hours flat. This is an excellent response time. We were pleased to see they were helpful in diagnosing our problem too, and in general they provided lots of different phone numbers and email addresses for us to contact them at if we had any other tech support questions. This type of information can be very helpful.

ECS's RMA policy and warranty are listed below; their motherboards are covered by a relatively standard 1-year warranty. Note that boards from Intel and VIA often carry 3 - 5 year warranty periods whereas most other manufacturers offer only 1 year coverage.

ECS RETURN (RMA) POLICY

* ECS Warranty is offered to direct customers with valid ECS invoice only.
Warranty Period

All ECS motherboards are covered by a one (1) year warranty on parts and labor against defects in workmanship and manufacturing. The warranty is effective from the date of ECS' original invoice, unless stated otherwise in writing.

Contacting ECS for Warranty Service

To return products for warranty service you must first obtain a return merchandise authorization ("RMA") number from ECS Customer Service. The RMA number is obtained by faxing a completed RMA Control Sheet to (510) 252-8722. A RMA number is valid for 30 days from date of issuance. RMA returns will be thoroughly tested as to all complaints and sent back to customers within 10 working days following receipt of the products by ECS. In the event a defective board cannot be repaired, ECS reserves the right to replace it with like-new refurbished product.

Note: Do you buy from our authorized distributors??

o If not, we recommend you buy from our authorized distributors to ensure the warranty coverage. We have experienced some websites are selling phase out products, out-of-warranty products, and refurbished products at a below market price. Please be aware that it is to your own risk if you purchased any of the above-mentioned products.

o We, as a Manufacturer, will support products that are under Manufacturer warranty. If products you have are out-of-warranty, phase-out, or damaged and you choose to have us service you, the cost of service is $50 to repair/refurbish and one-way ground freight. Usually product will ship within 10 business days. Please send money to esales@ecsusa.com via www.paypal.com and clearly specify your request on the SUBJECT line and NOTE section including your motherboard serial number. We will email you a RMA# with detail how-to and where-to ship to instruction upon receiving your payment.

Note: Physical damage, mishandling, mis-use, illegal modifications, no serial number and missing parts will automatically void the warranty. All items MUST be returned properly packaged & protected. Any item(s) returned in envelopes will VOID THE WARRANTY, NO EXCEPTIONS!

Packaging / Shipping Procedures

Returned items must be packed properly and safely, preferably in their original box. Shipment of returned items should be prepaid and insured by customers via a carrier of their choice. A packing list together with a copy of the RMA Control Sheet should be attached on the outside of boxes. The RMA number should be clearly marked on the outside of the package.

ECS will pay for the return of items to the customer via UPS, FedEx or trucking company. Any special delivery required may be available upon request as additional cost. Items damaged in transit are not covered under warranty and ECS is not liable for delays or errors on the part of any carrier. Any item shipped to ECS without RMA numbers printed on the boxes will be returned to senders.
Please DO NOT return any accessories such as cables , diskettes or manuals to ECS.

Discrepancies in Shipments

ECS Customer Service representatives will inform customers if any discrepancy is found in category and/or quantity of items received. All non-ECS products will be sent back to customers without further notice.

Note: Ship returned products to: 45401 Research Avenue, Fremont CA 94539.
Our business hours are 9am-5pm PST, Monday-Friday.
We are CLOSED Saturdays, Sundays & Holidays.
ECS reserves the right to change this policy without advance notice.


ECS's RMA policy is fairly good compared to other motherboard manufacturers, especially larger ones. However the biggest downside is that you are only allowed to RMA a board if you purchase directly from ECS; if you buy through any other vendors or any other channels you are left to deal with them in order to resolve RMA issues.

Their RMA form asks for the usual amount of information, such as personal info, system specifications, etc.

ECS L4S8A: Stress Testing The Test
Comments Locked

0 Comments

View All Comments

Log in

Don't have an account? Sign up now