Harmony Remotes - Hardware

[RonnyMills]

My Harmony 880 has several buttons failing. I called service to see if this company would do the right thing and stand behind an obvious product flaw on one of their premium items. This was their response:

Thank you for contacting Logitech Customer Support. You will find the answer to your question below.

We will assume your issue has been resolved if we do not hear from you within 120 hours. Note: This is for administrative purposes only. You can re-open this incident at any time by replying to this email.

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 Brief Summary

Buttons are operating harder than they used to.

 Discussion Thread

 Response (*********)

06/27/2007 06:35 PM

Dear Ronny,

Thank you for your recent inquiry about your Harmony Remote

We are sorry to hear about your defective Harmony Remote. Your account information indicates that your remote is out of warranty and so we are unable to offer you a replacement unit. Please see below for full details of our warranty policy.

We do offer repair services for your Harmony Remote and would be glad to provide you with a quotation. In order for us to provide an accurate quotation we require that the damaged remote be returned to us. As soon as we receive the damaged remote we will contact you with a price which will include any parts, labor and shipping. If you choose to accept the quotation we will require credit card payment to authorize and initiate the repair work. **Please allow 2-3 weeks for repair after receipt of damaged remote**

I have assigned RMA # xxxxxxxxx to this issue and include RMA instructions below, outlining how to return the defective unit for assessment.

RMA Instructions:

Please return the defective unit to us. Your RMA number is xxxxxxxxx.
Our preferred shipment method is Canada Post or United States Postal Service.
PLEASE NOTE: WE DO NOT ACCEPT UPS SHIPMENTS.
If you do not have the original box, please ensure that the Harmony is well padded for its journey.

Please ensure that for customs purposes you state the following:
Value: $10
Contents: Return of Remote Control manufactured in Canada.
If you do not state the above, customs may mistakenly charge us duty.

The address is:

Remote Control Business Unit
Logitech
Attn: Returns Department, RMA # xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
2355 Skymark Avenue, Suite 200
Mississauga, Ontario
L4W 4Y6
Canada
__________________________________________________________________________________
Warranty Policy

Limited Warranty. Logitech warrants that any hardware product shall be free from significant defects in material and workmanship for a period on one (1) year from the date of purchase. Logitech’s limited warranty is non-transferable and is limited to the original purchaser. The warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights, which vary under local laws.

Remedies. Logitech’s entire liability and your exclusive remedy for any breach of warranty shall be, at Logitech’s option, to: (a) repair or replace the hardware, or (b) refund the price paid, provided that the hardware is returned to the point of purchase or such other place as Logitech may direct, with a copy of the sales receipt. Any replacement hardware will be warranted to the remainder of the original warranty period or thirty (30) days whichever is longer. These remedies are void, if failure of the hardware has resulted from accident, abuse, misapplication, or any unauthorized repair, modification or disassembly. Further, for cordless devices, these remedies are void if you use battery types other than those recommended by Logitech. Upon request from Logitech, you must prove the date of the original purchase of the hardware by a dated bill of sale or dated itemized receipt.

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY THE WARRANTIES EXPRESSLY SET FORTH IN THIS AGREEMENT REPLACE ALL OTHER WARRANTIES, LOGITECH AND ITS SUPPLIERS EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL OTHER, INCLUDING, BUT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS WITH RESPECT TO THE HARDWARE, SOFTWARE, DOCUMENTATION AND ANY OTHER MATERIALS PROVIDED BY THE LOGITECH AND/OR ITS SUPPLIERS, AND ANY WARRANTIES OF NON-INTERFERENCE OR ACCURACY OF INFORMATIONAL CONTENT. NO LOGITECH DEALER, AGENT, OR EMPLOYEE IS AUTHORISED TO MAKE ANY MODIFICATION, EXTENSION, OR ADDITION TO THIS WARRANTY. Some jurisdictions do not allow limitations on how long an implied warranty lasts, so the above limitation may not apply to you.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. IN NO EVENT WILL LOGITECH OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY COSTS OF PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES, LOST PROFITS, LOSS OF INFORMATION OR DATA, OR ANY OTHER SPECIAL, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE SALE OF, USE OF, OR INABILITY TO USE ANY LOGITECH PRODUCT OR SERVICE, EVEN IF LOGITECH HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IN NO CASE SHALL LOGITECH’S AND ITS SUPPLIERS’ TOTAL LIABILITY EXCEEDS THE ACTUAL MONEY PAID FOR THE LOGITECH PRODUCT OR SERVICE GIVING RISE TO THE LIABILITY. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitation or exclusion may not apply to you. The above limitation will not apply in case of personal injury where and to the extent that applicable law requires such liability.
If you would like further information and other tips on customizing your remote please visit the FAQ portion of your Harmony member website. To access, Click “Support”, then click “FAQ” while logged in your harmony member page.

We hope that we were able to assist you in resolving this issue, however if you are still experiencing any difficulties with your Harmony Remote, please feel free to contact us again. Please click the link below for our support hours and contact information.



Regards,

Harmony Technical Support

Message Edited by Pegasus on 06-27-2007 10:29 PM

[WannabeActuary]

so, logitech is standing by it's warranty terms, and you take that to mean 'logitech says too bad'?

I think your view is a bit off

[RonnyMills]

Others have had the same problem. If I known there was a systemic problem with the 880, I would not have purchased it. I believe others who come here looking for recommendations should know what they may be getting.

[WannabeActuary]

Most times that I've seen someone with bad buttons, it's right out of the box and logitech replaces the remote for them.

I've had my 880 for over a year and a half (I got it September/October of 2005)...I've had zero problems with the remote whatsoever

[mfroom]

At least you got a RMA number-- thats the way it should work. I've been waiting over two weeks for a response after I completed their "fix it this way" email.

[Danklin]

I just had a 659 with a failing off button so the problem isnt just exclusive to the 880. The pads under the buttons wear out over time on any remote. My suggestion is, since it's out of warranty, open it up and glue proper sized pieces of plastic or rubber(maybe a pencil eraser) to the underside of each failing button. All you need is something that pushes on the circuit board switch for that particular button. This fix sure beats buying another remote.

Message Edited by Danklin on 07-16-2007 04:04 PM

[659User]

Danklin, When you speak of a button failing, do you mean that pressing it has no effect? ie. it's dead? My 3 year old 659 has developed a slightly different problem. One Custom button does nothing when pressed quickly but if it's held down for about 3 seconds, the associated command executes. It doesn't have to be pressed hard but has to be held down. It's got me stumped. The other 5 buttons need only be pressed quickly to work. So far, Logitech has only had me upgrade the Firmware, to no avail.

UPDATE: Ok, I did take the 659 apart and cleaned the button contact with a Q-tip moistened with a drop of eyeglass cleaner. The button now works better. It wasn't a scary task. There are only 4 tiny screws to undo then you carefully pry apart the upper and lower case sections. Only two pieces (the red cover over the LED sender and a piece in the battery section) will fall out but can be easily re-installed. BTW, Logitec did offer me the opportunity to mail the out-of-warranty unit in and have it fixed. No specific fee was quoted but one certainly would be charged. For now, no need for that action.

UPDATE #2 Given the initial success with cleaning the contact for one Custom Button, I got braver, re-opened the unit and cleaned all six. That helped things a bit more. Now another button whose response had been sluggish has also improved. If anyone is going to try this, I suggest that, after taking out the 4 small Phillips-head screws (two on the 659's back and two inside the battery section) you use a very thin blade to pry open the two halves of the Remote. You should first run the blade around the separation to clean out the dirt that will have become imbedded over time and will otherwise keep the two halves sticking together. Also, pry carefully. There are a couple of tiny clips that keep the two halves snapped together and, when you pry, you don't want to break those. So - NO BRUTE FORCE. I haven't tried cleaning any other button contacts. Better to not fix what ain't broke.

UPDATE #3 Now that I've experienced cleaning the 659 contacts, I have a problem with Dankin's view as expressed in his note, above. If he really did glue bits onto failing buttons and everything worked, then I'll back off, but my experience indicates that that the gluing approach would be almost impossible to accomplish. The contact rod seems just too tiny. I also wonder if rubber would really do the trick. The contacts that the rod touches when pressed is a small circuit. Does the rod make electrical contact with that circuit? If so, does the rod have to have some conductivity? If so, replacing the tip with a rubber bit wouldn't cut it. As for Zortapa's following idea that a design flaw results in parallel buttons on each side failing, I think that's a stretch. More likely is the fact that buttons that would be pressed a lot (eg. for Volume or Channel changing) would simply get the most use and hence be the most likely to fail over time. Indeed, that suggests to me that it might be prudent to change the mapping of the buttons annually, thereby spreading the usage across them rather than using only a couple all the time.

Message Edited by 659User on 08-22-2007 12:12 PM

Message Edited by 659User on 08-22-2007 12:14 PM

[zortapa]

Which buttons are failing on your 880? My 880 has two buttons that have become nearly unuseable -- the VOL + button and the CH + button. Since these are buttons are mirrors of each other (i.e., the same button on opposite sides of the remote) it seems pretty clear to me that this is a design issue rather than it being an issue of the buttons simply wearing out. It is exceedingly improbable that the same button on each side of this remote would show the same problems at the same time UNLESS THIS WAS A SYSTEMATIC DESIGN FLAW.

Message Edited by zortapa on 08-15-2007 04:32 PM

[dparisoe]

I'm also have the same problem with my 880 its about 1 1/2 years old. The issue seems to be only with the Vol+ and Channel Up buttons.

If anyone finds a fix please post it. Also if your a Logitech rep and think there is something you can do to help us we sure would appreciate it. Its hard to tell someone they should buy one when they pick it up and can't change the volume.

David

[johnm92627]

I have the same problem with volume up and channel up. It works only if it is pressed very hard andnot every time. Any one open an 880 up and try to fix it?