Razer Support Experience Razer Blade 17” (2022)

My heart is broken. I Just sent back a $4,500 Razer 17”. Gorgeous machine with many fine qualities. Fit and finish is impressive. Although, the 4K IPS display is impressive, as with most IPS displays, there are degrees of IPS Glow and Backlight Bleed. At a claimed 500 nits, even at 100% brightness, it was significantly duller than my Dell XPS, 4K display also offering 500 nits. At 80% brightness, the XPS 4K display is superior. The power adapter is a safety hazard as it becomes so hot that I needed an oven mitt to handle it. I am not joking! Sound was somewhat underpowered even at maximum volume. For $4,500, I did not pay for “acceptable” sound. Upgrading the storage was impossible. Notwithstanding the T5 Torx bit required to remove the 15 microscopic screws, the bottom panel had to be forcefully pried off. Although Razor claims in their video that the bottom panel simply pops off, it did not with my build. Trying to add an additional Samsung 980 Pro 2T M.2 in the second M.2 slot was impossible. Razer assembles their PCs with tiny Torx and unusual Phillips screws. The “Phillips” screw that was sitting in the open M.2 slot could not be removed. I don’t know if it was overtightened during assembly, or the assembler cross-threaded the screw but it could not be removed and thus, I could not install the additional SDD. Although, the screw issue was the final straw, my greatest concern is support. I have experienced terrible customer and technical support from both Dell and Lenovo, which prompted me to buy a Razer. Based on the amount of money I spent on Razer’s flagship 17”, I expected both quality in craftmanship and customer service. Unfortunately, trying to engage Razer is near impossible. “Community” questions are ignored, and Razer goes out of its way to deflect support to FAQ’s or other customers (forum). Even when you scour the Razer website, you are re-routed to passive or automated support channels. When you have a technical issue, it is unreasonable to wait 24-48-hours for an email response. It is even more unacceptable when you just spent $4,500. To confirm, Razer does not have live customer or technical support. There are no 1-800 number(s) to call. However, this is not rare in that most of these companies cut costs by maintaining low headcount. If you spend $70,000 on a Cadillac, do they refer you to a forum or chat room to self-diagnose your vehicle? I thought Razer was the Cadillac of laptops, but I could not rationalize such an exorbitant investment against such disengaged support. What makes this so disheartening is that the RMA process was easy and efficient. In fact, as soon as I submitted the online form, I was contacted immediately. This was the only time I could say Razer was responsive, engaged, and efficient. In fact, I received a follow-up email confirming receipt of the RMA. If Razer invested as much time in customer and technical support as they do in the design of laptops and processing RMA’s, I would probably still be a Razer customer. My advice to Razer, spend a little less time posting marketing “announcements” and a little more effort responding to the customer. Enlist Razer technical support personnel to monitor the “community” so that customers feel engaged and appreciated. Razer management must ask themselves; how do we build market share and loyalty. Market share is built at post-sales. I could have lived-with all the little imperfections, but I would not compromise my time and frustration with a defective screw. I cannot imagine the hoops I would have to jump through trying to engage Razer and then deal with coordinating a repair/replacement. The laptop, coupled with an additional Samsung 2T 980 Pro, was a $4,800 disappointment.