A7ii Completely Bricked

DDevil · Jun 25, 2015

I know this is my first post, but I wanted to share this story so others are aware.

So in the middle of April, I took the plunge and bought a Sony A7ii. Worked well for two months. Went to turn on my camera June 18th and nothing. No power, nothing. Ok, change battery, nothing. Ok, try power cord to wall, nothing. Ok, remove battery and wait more than 5 minutes, nothing. Completely dead. No power whatsoever. Camera was flawless and only 2 months old (until it would not awaken that is).

Anyway, back to Sony for warranty repair it went. It arrived on Monday, June 22nd. I signed up to receive automated updates from their system. The repair company is Precision Camera Repair. I had not heard back, so I reached out to them to get an update. This is the response I got:

I apologize for our delay in getting back to you with updates. The unit was received and signed in on 6/22 and we are waiting for a part to come in to complete the repair The part is a Mounted C Board SY -1049 and the part number is SC A -2065-816-A . The eta for the part is 7/21/2015 or 28 days. Please contact us at 860-272-2100, and let us know if you would like to continue to wait for the part to come in to proceed with the repair, or send the unit back unrepaired. There would be a $12.50 shipping fee.

With no details as to what is wrong, I responded with "Can you tell me what the issue with the camera is/was?" The response I received is below:

You sent us the unit with this issue below:

Comment upon registration: Description: camera will not turn on at all:- Warranty: Yes:- Has serviced? No:-

The technicians found the unit in this condition when it was sent in:

DIRI0100866black/ body smudged dusty/lcd smudged film/ viewfinder hood dusty /

Please direct your questions to [email protected] and please include your Tag# in the subject line of the email.

So, to summarize:

An $1800 Sony A7 ii camera body completely died after just over two months of light use
I will have to wait a full month to get my new camera back as they don't have the part
Or I could pay return shipping and receive my non-functioning camera back
I still have no idea what is wrong with it, unless smudge/dust on the lcd screen or smudge/dust on the viewfinder hood has the ability to brick an $1800 camera

Anyone else have a similar problem? Love the camera, but concerned about the quality if this were to happen on a day of a shoot of some sort. Any and all opinions and suggestions are encouraged.

Thanks for reading!

DD

Derrel · Jun 26, 2015

Sounds like a circuit board conked out..."Mounted C Board SY -1049"...it's unfortunate that they do not stock it as a repair part. Perhaps this board is a critical, base-level component that is usually not prone to failing, and is therefore not stocked as a normal,everyday repair part. Almost assuredly, the part came from a supplier, not Sony itself, and the fault lies with the parts supplier and their manufacturing line/workers/machinery/QC.

DDevil · Jun 26, 2015

I am not denying that the fault would lie with the part supplier for the corrupted part. I am concerned about the way Sony has handled the whole situation. I had to pay to ship a 2 month old camera to their repair center and now have to wait another month to get it back. Why did I have to pay? I paid for the camera and it has a year warranty. Why don't they just replace the camera and send me a replacement? They can fix the other and sell it as a refurb. I am the one who is out here and Sony really doesn't seem to give a crap. THAT is what I am upset about.

The_Traveler · Jun 26, 2015

I understand your frustration but perhaps your best avenue for relief is to make those points to Sony.

DDevil · Jun 26, 2015

I have tried. The only response I've gotten thus far is.."I'm sorry sir, there is nothing I can do about that" or "We don't handle that" and no one seems to know who does. I am telling my story to see if a) anyone has gone through something similiar or b) in the rare hopes someone from Sony sees this and responds and actually assists me.

JustJazzie · Jun 26, 2015

Sony's customer service is the reason I will never ever again buy a Sony product, and I'm ready to purge anything in the house with their name on it.

My nex7 needed work when it was new and they told me 6-8 weeks for a repair. I never sent it in because it was minor and I didn't want to be without a brand new camera for that long.

I finally tried to order a replacement rear grip because the double sided sticky tape failed and unfortunately it fell off a shelf and the puppy ate it before I could reattach. Apparently they sell the front grip, but not the rear. I will have to send the camera in to a certified technician to replace the ENTIRE BACK of the camera, for want of a 1.5 inch piece of rubber that affixes with tape. I tried to get the part number for a new back so I could replace it myself. Nope! They won't give me a part number because I'm not a certified tech. I kept getting the same "sorry this happened, send it in to this repair shop because we can't help you" line. Oh yes. This is the main reason I want to ditch Sony at the moment.

Not camera related, but My sister had a motherboard fail on a brand new laptop and Sony wouldn't replace in under warranty because she had ordered a "custom" setup. I'm foggy on the details exactly but they refused to do a thing.

The reps don't seem to care at all about anything except getting you off the line.

DDevil · Jun 26, 2015

Thank you for sharing. It really is unbelievable how such a big company can have such bad customer service.

Derrel · Jun 26, 2015

Where was the camera purchased? A brick and mortar store? On-line? Does it have a USA warranty? I am guessing it does have a USA warranty and is not a gray market camera. It seems that your camera is being repaired at Precision Camera, which as I understand is the USA's largest camera repair shop, with an origin dating to 1948, and located in Connecticut. I am guessing that Sony has no official "SONY shop" and that they farm repairs out to Precision Camera. Have you asked for a replacement camera or a loaner?

DDevil · Jun 26, 2015

Camera was purchased through Amazon. Yes, it has a full one year warranty from Sony like all other cameras they sell. It is being repaired at Precision. And for the record, being in business since 1948 does not guarantee good service. They still have not told me what is even wrong with the camera.

I take all advice very seriously, if you have the number of someone at Sony I can call and ask for a replacement, I'd love it. Every rep I talk to at Sony passes the buck and says it's not their job or they can do nothing. Or I will let the Customer Escalations Team know and they will call you back. I've left two messages and have not received any calls back (and yes, this is waiting the time frame I was told by them).

P.S. Sony wouldn't be covering the repair if it was Gray Market.

DDevil · Jun 26, 2015

If you believe I have misunderstood something, please feel free to comment as I am always willing to listen. I also prefer straight talk rather than beating around the bush. I take no offense in learning something and/or being told I am/was wrong. Also, I am not sure what "attitude" you are talking about. But there is nothing I can do if you think me saying "for the record, being in business since 1948 does not guarantee good service". I am simply stating facts and looking for answers.

goodguy · Jul 2, 2015

Sorry to hear that, this is unacceptable, such a service from a reputable, well known and respected company like Sony.

This reminds me a book from the 70's I read from my old country about a telephone that broke in authors house.
He called phone company for a tech to come and check it (yes in the 70's the phones were property of phone company and they were response to fix it).
Tech comes in checks phone and said part 234 which is an internal wire is broken and needs replacement, sadly he doesn't have it with him so a tech will come on other day with part to replace.
A week later another tech comes and checks the phone, in the report he states part 234 is broken and needs to be replaced, sadly he doesn't have part with him so tech will come will part to replace it.
Few days later author angry calls phone company to ask when will a tech with part 234 come to replace faulty wire and fix phone, lady on other said apologizes and promises a tech will arrive tomorrow, 3 days later tech arrives checks phone and leaves a note saying part 234 is broken and needs replacing, he doesn't have part so a tech will come with part to fix phone....................and so it went on and on and on

buggz · Jul 13, 2015

Its how all warranty repairs for all camera companies work.... If your nikon d810 dies, you pay for shipping, and they examine it to decide if its a warranty issue or not. If not, you pay the return shipping and receive you still faulty camera. If a circuit board has died, then its not beyond the realm of probabilities. Cameras keep a constant charge in their circuitry (keeps the onboard clock going etc). Any sort of humidity can cause it to fail.

IMO, forget about warranties and get insurance.