Stuck between joy and frustration
After a lot of debating with myself and comparing different ecosystems etc I finally decided to go with fanatec last week and against Moza.
First impression was quite well, I ordered on 25/10 and the delivery took place on 27/10, I felt very lucky and of course installed everything directly! (Based in Germany btw)
Wheelbase, wheel and pedals got recognised, firmwares updated. Firmware of pedals can only get updated if connected via USB - ok, no issue. Disconnected pedals from wheelbase, connected via USB aaaand… firmware update failed. Pedals wont get recognised at all anymore. Spent the whole night trying to find a solution, trying different ports, different computers, everything. Pedals are bricked and wont come back to life anymore.
so I logged a tech support ticket on the weekend. Expected respond time 7 days is a bummer. Since delivery was also much much faster then expected, I had high hopes that it might get solved quicker. But reading the horror stories of long reply times, back and forth of emails until a solution is made is really making me fear the worst and not what is to be expected when you buy equipment almost worth 1k€…
Comments
Sooner or later, the frustration will drown out the joy. :)
This was my experience about 2 years ago, so far from the logistical problems due to the change of logistics partner. The entire RMA process, from ticket opening to return, lasted 2 months. The problem was not resolved, and I was not given any kind of guidance on how to fix the problem. So after 2 months I found myself at the same point, with customer service not responding. Luckily I was able to solve the problem with the help of this forum forum. Now my fully functional Fanatec equipment is out of warranty, but in case of another problem, rather than relying on Fanatec assistance again, I will purchase a new setup from anywhere else.
I hope with all my heart that everything will be resolved for you, and quickly. Now the logistics problems seem to be over, at least for new customers. But it's not a serious company.
No expert here but when I have had issues with my Fanatec gear I do the following.
Word of caution is the Firmware update/rollback process to take specific note of the Fanatec warning as incorrect execution of procedure can cause irrepealable damage.