ASUS to Revise ROG Ally Design to Fix microSD Card Heat Deaths

[btarunr]

ASUS is reportedly revising the design of the ROG Ally handheld game console to address microSD card heat deaths. In its original design, the ROG Ally has its microSD card reader located directly under the heat vents from which the active cooling mechanism exhausts heat from the SoC. This could cause microSD cards to overheat and damage; and eventually even destroy the microSD card reader itself. In its revision, the card reader will be repositioned away from the vents, and extensively tested for better reliability with microSD card operation. As for current ROG Ally owners, ASUS has extended the warranty by 2 years, and provided coverage for damaged card readers. This, however, only covers the card reader itself, there's no liability for damaged cards or the data on them.



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[Space Lynx]

well that was the slowest response in history. lol

no liability for the damaged card itself, so if you own Ally stick to budget 256gb or less to be safe.

would suck to fry your $110 1,5tb card

 

[Chaitanya]

So existing customers are left out to hang high and dry by Shitsus with "revision".

 

[Space Lynx]

So existing customers are left out to hang high and dry by Shitsus with "revision".

the worst part is there is an easy fix for it. a special kind of foil that you just place over the sd card slot reader once you take apart and get inside the system. I saw a YouTuber do it, and he explained how it worked, it was legit. he was a big YouTuber not just a random.

that is what makes it really bad imo. cause it actually is an easy fix.

Luckily for me I am a Steam Deck fanboy, and will be getting Deck 2 on day 1... so no ASUS for me.

 

[qlum]

While it's good to see Asus handling the issue in some way, their response has been lackluster to say the least.

 

[micropage7]

the worst part is there is an easy fix for it. a special kind of foil that you just place over the sd card slot reader once you take apart and get inside the system. I saw a YouTuber do it, and he explained how it worked, it was legit. he was a big YouTuber not just a random.

that is what makes it really bad imo. cause it actually is an easy fix.

Luckily for me I am a Steam Deck fanboy, and will be getting Deck 2 on day 1... so no ASUS for me.

yeah, add heat resistance tape and cover the sd card. failure by design maybe?

 

[Zubasa]

the worst part is there is an easy fix for it. a special kind of foil that you just place over the sd card slot reader once you take apart and get inside the system. I saw a YouTuber do it, and he explained how it worked, it was legit. he was a big YouTuber not just a random.

that is what makes it really bad imo. cause it actually is an easy fix.

Luckily for me I am a Steam Deck fanboy, and will be getting Deck 2 on day 1... so no ASUS for me.

TBH does anyone expect much from Asus given their track record in recent years?

 

[Rais]

Appropriate testing is no more a practice in the industry i see. People should really stop buying things at day1.

 

[trsttte]

the worst part is there is an easy fix for it. a special kind of foil that you just place over the sd card slot reader once you take apart and get inside the system. I saw a YouTuber do it, and he explained how it worked, it was legit. he was a big YouTuber not just a random.

that is what makes it really bad imo. cause it actually is an easy fix.

Luckily for me I am a Steam Deck fanboy, and will be getting Deck 2 on day 1... so no ASUS for me.

Another example of save a buck to then loose millions in sales and brand image on such a small issue. Heat shield tape is only a couple cents per inch, this was very avoidable.

 

[watzupken]

yeah, add heat resistance tape and cover the sd card. failure by design maybe?

There is little space between the card reader and the heat pipe and heatsink, so I am not sure if there is any insulation tape that can reliably prevent heat damage. It may slow the heat transfer, but I suspect it will still cook the card and reader over time. I do think people with the first gen Ally should get an Ally 2 replacement because even with 2 years warranty, the current placement of the card reader renders it useless as it will fail and kill the SD card eventually.

 

[sLowEnd]

Heh. I had no faith in Asus a year ago. Still no faith today.

 

[micropage7]

Heh. I had no faith in Asus a year ago. Still no faith today.

me since i ever trying to change the laptop keyboard then it just die

 

[close]

yeah, add heat resistance tape and cover the sd card. failure by design maybe?

Failure by design usually aims at longer time periods, maybe even 2+ years, just when it's time to buy the new model. Killing your device in months is a super bad look for a company and it turns you off of buying their new models if they don't at least give you a hefty discount or do a swap, or free replacement. I think this was just old fashioned corner cutting.

 

[stimpy88]

Hasn't this thing been out for a year, or close to it now? And all it needed was a PCB revision. You would think a company like ASUS would have no problem making a Rev2.0 PCB in about a month, and maybe an extra few weeks for testing... But a year? wow ASUS.

This makes me question buying their products if they only do a minor, (and probably automated in software) PCB revision when the publicity gets overwhelming and effect sales...