Nvidia issued a voluntary, worldwide recall for its SHIELD tablet at the tail-end of July that applied to devices with the ‘Y01‘ battery installed. The recall was issued because the ‘Y01′ battery had been found to overheat, thus posing a potential fire hazard. The way that Nvidia immediately issued a worldwide recall, along with a definitive strategy of making it right by collecting and replacing the affected devices, garnered the company some well-deserved compliments. As is often the case, though, even the best-laid plans can suffer from snags and glitches when exposed to real-world conditions, as shown by the email that is being sent to customers.
While Nvidia and the 3rd-party company it contracted to handle the replacement of affected SHIELD tablets originally envisaged a wait of between 2 and 4 weeks, it seems that things are running behind schedule, with reports of at least one SHIELD tablet owner being without a device for over 5 weeks.
Nvidia's email:
“Dear NVIDIA tablet owner,
We apologize for the delay in sending your replacement SHIELD tablet.
We are fulfilling claims as quickly as we can, in the order that they were received. In some cases, we are running behind our target delivery of 2-4 weeks. We're doing everything we can to accelerate the schedule.
We'll notify you when your unit ships. Ine the meantime, should you have any questions, please contact us at nvidiashieldtablet@stericycle.com.
Thanks for your patience,
NVIDIA”
If you had an affected SHIELD tablet and made a claim, have you received the replacement device yet? And if you are still waiting for your replacement, how long are you prepared to be patient? While NVIDIA, quite rightly received praise for the way it initially handled the recall, if the delay in sending replacement devices runs for much longer, surely it would be in the interests of the consumer for NVIDIA to consider issuing refunds? Let us know your thoughts about the SHIELD Tablet recall situation in the comments below.
Source: Droid-Life
I just got mine, with directions to dispose of the old one, about a day after activating the replacement I received a patch on the old one that bricked it if you disable wifi and avoid the update I suspect the old one will work for a time with the risk of it starting a fire however.
I requested a replacement the same day the recall was announced. I received it 2 or 3 weeks later and then the return kit a couple weeks later. I realize my quick response put me at the head of the line and I sympathize with those having to wait longer. Nevertheless, I applaud Nvidia for the way they have handled the recall. Understandably there are logistical issues with such a large recall. I can’t think of another company that has handled a major recall as well. Kudos for Nvidia!
I’ve been waiting a month and so long as I continue to ignore the ‘do not use your affected tablet lest it explodes’ notice, I don’t mind.
Ha, minutes after this post I received my replacement along with a massive kit for sending back my old tablet. A heavy-duty preassembled box with various plastic bags for nesting, an entire roll of packing tape, and a bag filled with treated (presumably fire retardant) wood chippings. No wonder recalls are so expensive.
Maybe it’s just the EU/UK regulations that are so strict for this? Anyway, I’ll be sending it off later today.
That’s fantastic news. Glad it’s sorted out for you. A month is a long time to be without a device. Have you noticed if the replacement is lighter than the original tablet? Like wumps13 has?
I got my replacement and my old tablet is still working without Wi-Fi on.
The new one is lighter do they shrink the battery capacity?
Unsure to be honest, but you would think that would be a sure-fire way to garner bad publicity. From what I’ve read, so long as you don’t connect the old device to the internet, it carry on working.
It still working but i am using the new one and forget the old one…
Except the weight everything is the same.