Trouble getting Airwheel warranty repair - or refusal

[ABEhrhardt]

Suggestions very welcome. I'd appreciate anything which helps me get my S8 back up and working. I bought it Sep. 6, 2019 from an eBay seller who said I should try the Airwheel.net site.

The bump at a curb I gave my Airwheel S8 - which killed it - ten days ago may or may not be covered under their warranty, but I can't get any response from Airwheel.net, and I have tried the business office (business@airwheel.net), support (after-sale@airwheel.net, and no, it isn't after-saleS), and the sales/distributor contact button. I'm keeping screenshots, and have been trying for several days at all different times, as the contact form says, over and over,

 

Quote

 

[System message] 12:09:21

Thank you for your patient waiting! Sorry the operator is not in office now.
please click Leave a message
Or Email directly to: business@airwheel.net
For after sales services, please Email directly to: after-sale@airwheel.net

 

Does anyone know how to buy the board? The charging and batteries seem fine.

I have the eBay SquareTrade protection plan, but it doesn't kick in unless the repair isn't covered by the warranty. I think if Airwheel said the warranty didn't cover this 'accident' then I could get SquareTrade to do its backup. The warranty card says 'Failure is caused by user improper safekeeping or ACCIDENTS.'

Dialing the phone number on the site ( 321 061 3324, with or without anything preceding it) tells me, "You are not able to make calls to this number." (Area code 321 is Brevard County, FL, where Cape Canaveral is - the 'countdown county').

A search of other sources found that 321 is also used by Satcom Direct, which provides global satellite links:

Quote

Satcom Direct is a privately held company founded in 1997, headquartered in Satellite Beach, Florida. The company provides global satellite communications to business aviation, military aviation - including Heads of State, NATO and DOD - general aviation, land mobile and maritime customers. The company also provides land mobile and handheld satellite equipment to emergency response and media outlets as well as recreational users travelling to remote locations with limited cellular and data network coverage.

Satcom Direct pioneered 10-digit dialing service to aircraft in flight, known as their Global One Number service. This technology allows callers on the ground to reach any handset onboard an aircraft in flight by dialing a single telephone number no matter where the aircraft is located.

They may not even exit still, as their 'news' only goes to 2012.

Thanks.

Edited February 9, 2020 by ABEhrhardt
adding phone number

[mrelwood]

I’m sorry to hear you are having trouble getting it fixed!

In EU a minor bump at a curb should be a clear case of a warranty, and applied by the seller, not the manufacturer. But the practices may be different in the US. As you have noticed, Airwheel is next to impossible to reach. So if the warranty would be up to them, not responding might be a clear message for ”warranty not applicable” for Ebay.

When I needed the control board (Motor Drive Board) for my Airwheel A3 for the same reason, I had to wait a few months for Airwheel to respond. When they finally did (from Airwheel Europe, be@airwheel.net), the boards were very cheap, and the purchase was fast and fluent. I received the boards in a week or two, and the A3 was back from a 7 month disability the next day.

If you consider replacing the board(s) yourself, I did stumble across a Canadian webshop Smartwheel.ca that sells Airwheel spare parts, A3 Motor Drive Boards included. They responded in a few days. But with 5 times the price compared to Airwheel.net!

EDIT: S8 mainboard at Smartwheel.ca, CAD $140:

https://www.smartwheel.ca/Airwheel-S8-MOTHER-BOARD-NEW_p_1331.html

Edited February 10, 2020 by mrelwood

[ABEhrhardt]

On 2/9/2020 at 9:58 PM, mrelwood said:

I’m sorry to hear you are having trouble getting it fixed!

...

If you consider replacing the board(s) yourself, I did stumble across a Canadian webshop Smartwheel.ca that sells Airwheel spare parts, A3 Motor Drive Boards included. They responded in a few days. But with 5 times the price compared to Airwheel.net!

EDIT: S8 mainboard at Smartwheel.ca, CAD $140:

https://www.smartwheel.ca/Airwheel-S8-MOTHER-BOARD-NEW_p_1331.html

Thank you! When I consider that shipping to China for warranty repair is going to be a mint, getting the board would be a bargain, even at 5 x the cost. Most appreciated. They have a US number - I can start with that.

There is a bike shop that repairs electric scooters here in Davis, and I'll see if they would tackle the replacement - and what it would cost. I don't have the electronics experience recently that would make me willing to try something with parts that might fry if I draw too much current. I'd want to do it with someone supervising, plus a lighted magnifier.

I checked my map - Airwheel is in a province two over from where Wuhan is; not a good time to find people at their normal work sites, maybe. If I don't get a response from the SquareTrade backup protection plan by Monday, I'll use chat with them - the whole point of getting the plan was that they would worry about shipping AND replacing. I'll see what I can negotiate there.

You commented that:

Quote

In EU a minor bump at a curb should be a clear case of a warranty, and applied by the seller, not the manufacturer. But the practices may be different in the US. As you have noticed, Airwheel is next to impossible to reach. So if the warranty would be up to them, not responding might be a clear message for ”warranty not applicable” for Ebay.

The seller told me to contact Airwheel; she's IN China, but the S8 was shipped from the States (I kept the box - will have to get it out of storage). I don't know if the bump should be covered by the warranty. I was standing still, turned slightly to continue across the street, clipped the curb, got stuck a second, and then it was dead. So I didn't hit the curb fast or hard, but it WAS an immovable object at that point.

I'll report back when I figure it out - and thanks again. Two weeks without my mobility device has been a big comedown.

 

[FreeRide]

10 hours ago, ABEhrhardt said:

... got stuck a second, and then it was dead. ....

 

Something like this could have just blown a fuse, if they use them.  

[ABEhrhardt]

Another good thought. I'm wondering, though, if the symptoms would be that it looks like the battery is charged, but device is not responding to the turning-on sequence (button on base, button on remote). I'd think maybe a blown fuse would keep anything from happening?

Someone from Airwheel finally replied to my emails tonight. I explained the problem, and I'm waiting for their response. They asked for a photo or video, but it won't show them anything, as there is no visible damage.

China is having problems; I blame that for the slowness. Will post when I know more.

Thanks.

[ABEhrhardt]

@trevmar Thanks for your suggestions.

So far: NO motherboards available in the US OR Canada - the Canadian site is waiting for delivery.

The Aliexpress listing doesn't have any S8+ motherboards that will let me put them 'in the cart' (though it has a nice price for US ones if I could).

Also, no Airwheel S8+ available on ebay or anywhere else I can find.

I guess I'll have to see if the Square Trade protection plan will give me my money back, and wait until they have another batch made in China.

Without being able to get a motherboard, there's no point trying to find someone to install it - and it may not be the problem.

So I'm back to square 1 for a while.

I did get someone at the factory business@airwheel.net site (chat) to quote me 380USD for two motherboards and shipping to California. I told him I'll see what the insurance company wants to do, first.

I have the flu

Not thinking really straight, but had the shot, and this is much milder than I've had before, but still enough to make me non-functional.

The you-know-what is about to hit the fan about the Chinese virus - and then their factories are going to need to start production again, and repair their finances. We'll see.

[trevmar]

I have no idea what an S8+ is, are you sure there is any difference between it and the S?. All I can see is that it has a >200 watt battery rather than a smaller one.

The Chinese factories are sending me emails saying they are open for business again, even Shenzhen...

[ABEhrhardt]

@trevmar

Do you have an email from Airwheel in that bunch? I'd love a copy if you do.

-----

I'm ASSUMING that the S8+ is the one with the higher weight limit, 120kg vs. 100kg for previous models; it makes a much better margin of safety for me. The 260W battery would go with that. There isn't a clear distinction anywhere on S8 vs. S8+ that I can find.

-----

I just got resolution from SquareTrade (which is run by State Farm): they are refunding the cost of the Airwheel.

Steps included them authorizing 'local repair' - and me finding there is no one in the Davis local area all the way to San Francisco who repairs Airwheels; then they sent me to their go to electric scooter repair - Razor - which also does not repair anything they don't make. Then they authorized a reimbursement - which should be here in less than two weeks.

Of course I would rather have had the repair.

When and if there are S8+ available again on ebay, I'll probably buy another, as it is the perfect solution to my mobility problem.

When and if there are S8+ motherboards available on ebay, I'll see what it would cost to buy one, and whether to repair my broken S8+, as the local person who said he might try if I had the part is not a guarantee. Otherwise, this S8+ has, as far as I can tell, a functioning charger and batteries - and can serve for parts.

It took a lot of hours and a lot of frustration, but I guess it's the best resolution, given the current state of world and Chinese affairs.

Thanks for all the help.