Return laptop as not used

[Frederik Thierens]

Hi everyone,

 

Context:

I recently bought an asus zenbook. (in 'Mediamarkt', only Europeans will know this shop)

On paper it looked nice, i7 8th gen processor, mx150 graphics, in the form of an ultrabook with a 60Wh battery, ideal for me.

I'm a student, I invested €1300, which is about $1600, into this laptop to go to college next year.

It is a horrible laptop for me, the battery lasts for about 4 houres (instead of the claimed 9 by asus...) and the fan always spins. Imagine studying with a laptop whos fan is constantly spinning... 

 

Problem:

So I'd like to return it to the shop. I only used it a day, the laptop is still brand new... 

The shop will take it back if the laptop has never been connected to the internet, and they told me that they will check that. 

But I already have connected the laptop to the internet, thats how I could know that the battery life is this bad and that the fan is always spinning...

 

The laptop still looks new, has no problems, is factory resetted. The store policy is just stupid...

 

Question:

After I factory reset my zenbook, will they be able to see that the laptop has already been set up, in any thinkable way...

 

Please help a poor student out!

 

 

 

[Beef Boss]

They should just take it back, if it was just used for a day regardless if you connected it to the internet or not. Otherwise I'd contact the manufacturer about the issues with it... 

[3 Lions]

2 minutes ago, Frederik Thierens said:

and the fan always spins

Well unfortunately this will be the main source of airflow. 

[Teddy07]

So you asking us to help with fraud! Also buying from Mediamarkt wasn't the smartest move.

[knightslugger]

zero morals? zero problems.

[Frederik Thierens]

1 hour ago, Teddy07 said:

So you asking us to help with fraud! Also buying from Mediamarkt wasn't the smartest move.

I agree, it wasn't my smartest move...

And I'm indeed breaking a rule. But a rule that is not necessary.

I can guarantee that the new owner will not have any disadvantages with his/her new laptop. It is 99,9% new, only held in my hands for 2 houres and factory resetted. So yes I'm breaking a rule but noone will suffer from it, nor mediamarkt nor the new owner...

 

I just want to exchange it for a macbook air, thats all...

 

So is there any way to return a laptop as if it were not used... 

[InertiaSelling]

5 minutes ago, Frederik Thierens said:

a macbook air

I can't help with your RMA, but you need to know that you can get the same thing (a thin-and-light laptop with excellent battery life and a terrible TN display) for much cheaper. If you're willing to spend that much money, there are better options.

[factorialandha]

im going to say it will be difficult for them to determine how much use a laptop has had after a factory reset (without delving into some specialised software), at least that i know of

 

My main question is, when did you actually buy the laptop? they are more likely to give you store credit than anything.

[wasab]

How you paying for the laptop? By credit card? If so, file a dispute with your bank if the store doesn’t take it back.

[Frederik Thierens]

13 minutes ago, factorialandha said:

im going to say it will be difficult for them to determine how much use a laptop has had after a factory reset (without delving into some specialised software), at least that i know of

 

My main question is, when did you actually buy the laptop? they are more likely to give you store credit than anything.

Literally bought it yesterday. They have terrible client service.

 

13 minutes ago, wasab said:

How you paying for the laptop? By credit card? If so, file a dispute with your bank if the store doesn’t take it back.

Bought it with my mother's visa.. Could do that, but that would complicate erverything too much I think.

[TheKDub]

52 minutes ago, Frederik Thierens said:

Hi everyone,

 

Context:

I recently bought an asus zenbook. (in 'Mediamarkt', only Europeans will know this shop)

On paper it looked nice, i7 8th gen processor, mx150 graphics, in the form of an ultrabook with a 60Wh battery, ideal for me.

I'm a student, I invested €1300, which is about $1600, into this laptop to go to college next year.

It is a horrible laptop for me, the battery lasts for about 4 houres (instead of the claimed 9 by asus...) and the fan always spins. Imagine studying with a laptop whos fan is constantly spinning... 

 

Problem:

So I'd like to return it to the shop. I only used it a day, the laptop is still brand new... 

The shop will take it back if the laptop has never been connected to the internet, and they told me that they will check that. 

But I already have connected the laptop to the internet, thats how I could know that the battery life is this bad and that the fan is always spinning...

 

The laptop still looks new, has no problems, is factory resetted. The store policy is just stupid...

 

Question:

After I factory reset my zenbook, will they be able to see that the laptop has already been set up, in any thinkable way...

 

Please help a poor student out!

If you factory reset it, I don't think they'll really be able to tell.

 

I'd go with return it.

 

I've bought a laptop, used it for a few days, returned it, then gotten another, used it for a few days, returned that one to, then got another and stuck with it. (First was damaged, second was just a shitty laptop, third one I regret buying somewhat.)

[Nitrodragon]

Just reset it to factory defaults under recovery, just delete data do not clean drive. I honestly cant think of any way they would be able to tell it was ever connected to the internet since all of those settings and records would be reset and wiped.

[knightslugger]

36 minutes ago, Frederik Thierens said:

I agree, it wasn't my smartest move...

And I'm indeed breaking a rule. But a rule that is not necessary.

I can guarantee that the new owner will not have any disadvantages with his/her new laptop. It is 99,9% new, only held in my hands for 2 houres and factory resetted. So yes I'm breaking a rule but noone will suffer from it, nor mediamarkt nor the new owner...

 

I just want to exchange it for a macbook air, thats all...

 

So is there any way to return a laptop as if it were not used... 

Yes. If the mb s/n is registered with Microsoft, it's been connected to the internet.

[Frederik Thierens]

13 minutes ago, knightslugger said:

Yes. If the mb s/n is registered with Microsoft, it's been connected to the internet.

Could you explain that please? Can you undo that?

[dfsdfgfkjsefoiqzemnd]

2 things :

1 ) There is no need to pretend you didn't use it, you are entitled to a full refund as I point out below

2 ) It's kinda stupid to ask these questions using what appears to be your real name.  If anyone from Media Markt is reading this, you are flagged in their system by now. 

 

 

 

Battery life numbers always need to be taken with a grain of salt, but getting less than half of what's advertised isn't normal.  The fan spinning all the time isn't normal either. 

 

Media Markt stores typically have a service department, so go there and tell them to either fix it or give you a refund.  Whether or not it's been used is irrelevant if it had issues from new.  If they want to play hard, be ready to take it to court. 

 

 

FYI :

Quote

If goods you bought anywhere in the EU turn out to be faulty or do not look or work as advertised, the seller must repair or replace them free of charge or give you a price reduction or a full refund.

Source : https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/shopping/guarantees-returns/index_en.htm

 

Seeing as the laptop is less than a week old, I'd say you are well within your right to ask for a full refund. 

 

I have had to deal with the service department in the Antwerp store 2 times in the last 7 years.  While the people there aren't too smart, they never gave me real trouble.  Be reasonable as long as you can, only play it hard if you really need to. 

[Crunchy Dragon]

Fans always spin in laptops, that's what keeps the laptop alive and running. If you want something without a fan, I would advise looking into a tablet.

 

As far as the internet connection goes, you should be able to remove the internet connection from your network and sharing center. Just a side note: not accepting a return if the device has been connected to the internet is absolute garbage.

 

Another thing to mention is that Amazon would probably be a better spot to buy from. There are better options for a thin and light laptop than the MacBook Air, I would personally go with almost any of those over a Mac. If all you're doing is taking notes for college, a Mac just isn't worth it.

2 minutes ago, Frederik Thierens said:

Could you explain that please? Can you undo that?

I can't fully explain what that means, but there is no real way(that I'm aware of) to undo it. From what I can tell, there's nothing to worry about either since all it really does is activate Windows so you get the full experience instead of unactivated Windows. Obviously, it came with activated Windows so that shouldn't be a worry.

[wasab]

28 minutes ago, Frederik Thierens said:

Literally bought it yesterday. They have terrible client service.

 

Bought it with my mother's visa.. Could do that, but that would complicate erverything too much I think.

Nope, just tell the bank you want to dispute a transaction because the product is unsatisfactory because of xyz(tell them the fans are broken and the battery life is not as advertised) and the bank will refund the entire amount. After that, it will be the job of the bank talking to the merchant should the merchant choose to contest the dispute. It isn’t that complicated. Try it. 

[Crunchy Dragon]

3 minutes ago, Captain Chaos said:

The fan spinning all the time isn't normal either.

Sorry, what?

 

The fan spinning all the time is perfectly normal.

[Crunchy Dragon]

Another thing @Frederik Thierens: If you only used it for 2 hours, how do you know the battery only lasts for 4 hours instead Asus's claimed 9?

[dfsdfgfkjsefoiqzemnd]

5 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

Fans always spin in laptops, that's what keeps the laptop alive and running. If you want something without a fan, I would advise looking into a tablet.

 

Another thing to mention is that Amazon would probably be a better spot to buy from. There are better options for a thin and light laptop than the MacBook Air, I would personally go with almost any of those over a Mac. If all you're doing is taking notes for college, a Mac just isn't worth it.

No, the fan in my Samsung laptop doesn't spin up unless the CPU is working hard.  When I'm just browsing the internet or playing some music or a video, mine is not spinning.  Same story with most modern laptops.

 

Amazon would be better ... if he weren't in Belgium.  We have our own version of the azerty keyboard here, which means buying a laptop from outside Belgium is not an option unless you are able to find a Belgian keyboard and put it in the laptop yourself. 

[TetraSky]

1 hour ago, Frederik Thierens said:

The shop will take it back if the laptop has never been connected to the internet, and they told me that they will check that. 

Which shitty store is this ?
Regardless of whether or not you've connected to the internet, changes NOTHING to the laptop itself. Once you've factory reset it(not through Windows, but through Asus's factory reset software that should be installed or by pressing a certain key during startup), any sort of bloatware program that comes pre-install will return to their full however long trials.
Windows's activation also doesn't matter since the license is for ever anyway.

I would complain to your local consumer protection group about this kind of practice if I were you.

 

Also, battery life is often measured by ilding or with a single tab browser. So if you were using the laptop, watching HD videos or maybe playing games at the highest possible settings with the brightness to the max, you will never get the advertised battery life.

[Crunchy Dragon]

1 minute ago, Captain Chaos said:

No, the fan in my Samsung laptop doesn't spin up unless the CPU is working hard.  When I'm just browsing the internet or playing some music or a video, mine is not spinning.  Same story with most modern laptops.

In most of the modern laptops I've seen and used, the fan runs the entire time the CPU is running, at any utilization level.

 

Samsung probably designed theirs differently, but in most laptops, the fan runs the entire time the system is running.

[Frederik Thierens]

12 minutes ago, Captain Chaos said:

2 things :

1 ) There is no need to pretend you didn't use it, you are entitled to a full refund as I point out below

2 ) It's kinda stupid to ask these questions using what appears to be your real name.  If anyone from Media Markt is reading this, you are flagged in their system by now. 

 

 

 

Battery life numbers always need to be taken with a grain of salt, but getting less than half of what's advertised isn't normal.  The fan spinning all the time isn't normal either. 

 

Media Markt stores typically have a service department, so go there and tell them to either fix it or give you a refund.  Whether or not it's been used is irrelevant if it had issues from new.  If they want to play hard, be ready to take it to court. 

 

 

FYI :

Source : https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/shopping/guarantees-returns/index_en.htm

 

Seeing as the laptop is less than a week old, I'd say you are well within your right to ask for a full refund. 

 

I have had to deal with the service department in the Antwerp store 2 times in the last 7 years.  While the people there aren't too smart, they never gave me real trouble.  Be reasonable as long as you can, only play it hard if you really need to. 

Nah they use the law of privacy. They say that they can't guarantee my privacy if I return it because (some kind of crazy hackers with nothing to do) 'could retrieve data' although I wiped it clean en there's no confidential information on the SSD...

 

Also I'm using a random name xp

 

 

 

14 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

Fans always spin in laptops, that's what keeps the laptop alive and running. If you want something without a fan, I would advise looking into a tablet.

 

As far as the internet connection goes, you should be able to remove the internet connection from your network and sharing center. Just a side note: not accepting a return if the device has been connected to the internet is absolute garbage.

 

Another thing to mention is that Amazon would probably be a better spot to buy from. There are better options for a thin and light laptop than the MacBook Air, I would personally go with almost any of those over a Mac. If all you're doing is taking notes for college, a Mac just isn't worth it.

I can't fully explain what that means, but there is no real way(that I'm aware of) to undo it. From what I can tell, there's nothing to worry about either since all it really does is activate Windows so you get the full experience instead of unactivated Windows. Obviously, it came with activated Windows so that shouldn't be a worry.

I just factory resetted the laptop and will return it like that  

 

11 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

Sorry, what?

 

The fan spinning all the time is perfectly normal.

Its not anormal but surely not the standard. Also it spins up if I open simple programs.. I also just hate it 

 

11 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

Another thing @Frederik Thierens: If you only used it for 2 hours, how do you know the battery only lasts for 4 hours instead Asus's claimed 9?

Bought it yesterday after school, so yes I've used it for more then 2 houres but not for a long time (:

 

12 minutes ago, Captain Chaos said:

No, the fan in my Samsung laptop doesn't spin up unless the CPU is working hard.  When I'm just browsing the internet or playing some music or a video, mine is not spinning.  Same story with most modern laptops.

 

Amazon would be better ... if he weren't in Belgium.  We have our own version of the azerty keyboard here, which means buying a laptop from outside Belgium is not an option unless you are able to find a Belgian keyboard and put it in the laptop yourself. 

Yes, struggles haha

 

12 minutes ago, TetraSky said:

Which shitty store is this ?
Regardless of whether or not you've connected to the internet, changes NOTHING to the laptop itself. Once you've factory reset it(not through Windows, but through Asus's factory reset software that should be installed or by pressing a certain key during startup), any sort of bloatware program that comes pre-install will return to their full however long trials.
Windows's activation also doesn't matter since the license is for ever anyway.

I would complain to your local consumer protection group about this kind of practice if I were you.

 

Also, battery life is often measured by ilding or with a single tab browser. So if you were using the laptop, watching HD videos or maybe playing games at the highest possible settings with the brightness to the max, you will never get the advertised battery life.

It is a shitty store, it's the last time I'll buy one there...

 

 

[Crunchy Dragon]

Just now, Frederik Thierens said:

Its not anormal but surely not the standard. Also it spins up if I open simple programs.. I also just hate it

My laptop's fan spins all the time, takes some getting used to.

 

You're not going to get very far in the PC world if you're that picky about fans, might as well stick to mobile devices in that case...

[SpaceGhostC2C]

15 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

In most of the modern laptops I've seen and used, the fan runs the entire time the CPU is running, at any utilization level.

In no laptop I ever used that was the case, modern or old.

However, in all cases fan activity was tweakable: both BIOS settings and Windows power settings would allow you to control the "cooling policy" of the laptop, both when plugged and when running off battery.

 

I think OP simply hasn't toyed around with his new laptop yet (apparently, you haven't either ).