About a year and a half ago i did all the research for a tablet and best i found was the asus tf201, so i went on the waiting list for the mack daddy one 64gb in silver. Got it rooted it (as all good android geeks do), and it was going fine. Then one day i got sick of no software updates so i unlocked the bootloader and put cm10 on it. Long story short i fragmented the bootloader, totally my fault. So i jumped through the hoops paid 300 (roughtly including shippping) to send it in and get it fixed. This is when my horror story starts, they said there was no way for them to reflash the bootloader and they had to replace the bord in the unit. This made no sence to me but what could i do i needed my tab back. when i got it back the boot loader was locked, root was taken away and a unrootable verson of the os was placed on my tablet, all done without my consent. Now over six months and seven times sending in my tablet it still isnt right so far they have sent me the wrong size 32gb instead of 64gb, sent me multi units that couldnt be unlocked by asus's tool, killed multi pixials in my screen, sent me an older tf101 32gb instead of what i purchased and now say they are out of parts and have me in a holding pattern. I just thought you needed to know that i have loved their hardware but any kind of support is terrable. I have kept track of the updates here as well http://forums.androidcentral.com/asus-eeepad-transformer-prime/250183-my-tf201-story-so-far.html.
their RMA department isn't too good because they make products that don't typically break, you broke it yourself, and they put a unrootable version because you weren't compentent to be modding the tablet anyway and you'd just break it again,
[Edited: Removed conflicting statement] They dont need your consent. You sent it in. And flashing a custom rom (and messing it up) Does void asus warrenty policy.
This is all your fault. You're lucky they helped/are helping you at all.
It isnt fanboyism. In his post he stated that the first time he sent it back, he payed, and it was fixed.
It was fully functional. He just wasnt able to unlock the bootloader or root the device. So he sent it back again. At this point, no manufacturer is required to, and most will not, fix a device who's only flaw is that it can not be unlocked or rooted, since flashing a custom rom is against the warrenty to begin with.
Also, there isnt an unrootable version of android. That is his own fault for not being able to do it. Sending it back seven times because they arent handing you an invitation to void a warrenty is rediculous. It would be like returning a CPU because you couldnt overclock.
This isnt flaming. This isnt fanboyism. This is trying to stop somebody that didnt know what they were doing from bashing a companys RMA service. Especially when, after the first paid return, the other RMAs could be seen as fraudulant.
He said that the bootloader was locked, and that "He" could not root it again. They have a bootloader unlock tool. There really isnt a way that ASUS could stop him from unlocking the bootloader (its a kernel issue, the entire thing would have had to have been rewritten and tested) , or rooting it. "He" Was not able to root it a second time, so he (Basically) Falsified the second RMA just so he could try again.
I do however, understand your point about the CPU, I just dont think that someone should blame a companies RMA center when its their own fault it messed up, and had a fully functioning (Assumed unlockable bootloader, since not stated in the comment as it being permanently locked, and the difficulty to do so) tablet.
An android device is worthless to me w/o root because most of the stuff i use on a dialy basis requires root, es file explorer, titanium backup, sixasis controller, so to have a table that is not rootable is less than useable. All i wanted when i sent it back the second time is to have a rootable verson of the os put on my tablet or to have them fix the boot loader so i could use their tool to unlock it. I would have been more than happy with the sock os with root. Now asus's hardware on their tables imo is crap, for instance if you brick a galaxy phone there is a great program called odin that will always bring it back if you know what your doing. Why would asus make a top end tablet and not provide such a tool to even their own techs? I spent hours upon hours on tech support and was hung up on muti times to find out why they couldnt just flash the boot loader and never got a answer. If you spend the time to see the article i linked to i havent been the only one, there are others know and i am sure many others unkown with the same experience. I have rooted well above 50 different androids and have never has such a issue hence why i think asus fanboys need to step off untill they find the truth.
How many times must I say that this is not fanboyism? I believe this is the third. This is about the mistreatment of an RMA service. Also, in your link, there was no one having the same issue as you. The one member that agreed with you sent in the tablet due to a failed USB port, then a failed HDMI port and stated they did not try to unlock the bootloader.
Here are two of the only links I could find relating to not being able to unlock or root the tablet.
And for a FOURTH time. Not fanboyism. I dont own a single ASUS product, if you took the time to look at what im running on my profile. You kind of have to own a product to be a fanboy. I havent even recieved my dual/delux board yet (Although it is on the way)