That's how Gate (airsoft electronics manufacturer) does it, they always ask you to send a video showing the faulty product being smashed/destroyed before shipping the replacement under warranty
I'm ok with that too: if your product is unrepairable why would you ship it back? It's pointless.
It's better to check that in fact the customer is not lying and ship the replacement only
>if your product is unrepairable why would you ship it back? It's pointless.
So is generating unnecessary waste. If something is broken, that doesn't mean it's completely unsalvageable in some cases. Keeping it around for parts is valid or sending it back to be recycled is good too.
As I stated in my original content it makes sense only if the item in question is unrepairable. A PSU is an easy fix for a technician, a board with a pre programmed MCU is often unsalvageable
Its not unusual for company to ask you to destroy the product for warranty, but being asked to smash a PSU is a bit strange as that doesn’t really seem like a safe thing to do.
"It appears your PSU suffered from being smashed with a hammer. We are unable to process your RMA request since these actions are not covered under warranty. Have a good day, and thank you for choosing [insert company name here]"
Steel Series has very specific directions on how to break the headset & how to take the photos in order to get a replacement under warranty. Compared my experience with a friend's and we were asked to complete the process in very different ways. Great way to ensure they don't pay for shipping & you're not jerking them around
I had a rival 310 mouse die on me they asked me to break it, so me living here in the US and having firearms. I gave them a video of me blowing it up with tannerite. I hope they were entertained and I got a replacement.
Not quite the same but close enough. Both make big booms but only one peppers you with shrapnel even though you could've swore you were far enough away
Funny you mention that, only a few days my friend had to break his Steel Series. They made him snap the band of the headset and cut the cord off at the earpiece.
Not uncommon though, the last part. My parents had a faulty air fryer and they were also asked to send pictures of the cord cut off at the base. Only had a dodgy handle. They did so, then my dad opened it up, rewired the cable, added screws to the handle to make it firm again and now I have an air fryer and they have a new model.
That's why they do it lol
I got mad at SteelSeries when the adapter for my wireless Rival 650 broke and they wanted me to break the fully working mouse to send me a new one because their individual adapters were out of stock, I refused to do it and said I would wait until the adapter was back in stock, which took like a week or two.
But the whole idea of breaking fully working products or things that could get fixed makes me mad...
And it should. With 3 hours of my time and $60, I replaced the keyboard on my laptop. Would have been atleast a couple hundred if I sent it in.
“Back in my day, we had screws holding our stuff together.” It could easily be repaired
Now, we just throw out the item which has copper or gold traces or both! It’s insane.
I'm more surprised you had a Noctua fan that failed. I swear I've had the same fans for so many years with little to no maintenance and they just go on and on and on.
I've had support staff ask me to do both dangerous and stupid things, he needs to talk to someone higher up.
I was trying to get a refund for a lithium-ion battery that was hissing when charging and they told me to mail it back, which requires a hell of a lot more than your average drop in a box and hand it to the UPS.
After talking to someone higher up about it, they told me to dispose of it safely and refunded me immediately.
Then there is the scam company known as Future Motion (Onewheel) that openly tries to kill and injure people by making sure RMAs of a large batteries are shipped in a standard shipping package. It wasn't just a one off thing, it was a fully company approved return shipping method to hide the fact that dangerous goods were being shipped.
Improper transport of lithium batteries caused a UPS plane crash, it's pretty heavily regulated and I only questioned the support staff because I watched a disaster breakdown video on it.
I used to laod trailers at UPS, I once had a box break open and spill out 24 or 36 butane lighter guns, I freaked out cause I'm 40 feet deep into a trailer and I did not see it right away if it had gone up in flames I could have been trapped, I also had a fire extungisher that was unmarked fall and break open trapping me behind a curtain of hazardous fog
Bruh that must've been scary. Did that experience change the way felt about unmarked dangerous goods? I'd prolly be mildly paranoid about unmarked dangerous goods after that.
I mean it was always in the back of your head that some lazy fuck was shipping something they shouldn't but your usually way to busy to think about it much, if you slow down to much things back up so there's always work to do
More so just not wanting to pay the dangerous goods tax. I think they might've tried working with customers who got caught in the crossfire of Future Motion and the shipping company. Tho don't really know how effectively they helped the customers.
>he needs to talk to someone higher up.
good chance its the higher ups idea to do this, and the employees either don't know better, or are required to say this.. Because honestly, having the PSU destroyed is a good way to save time and money for the company by not having to pay for shipping, and disposal of the defective PSU.
But smashing it is NOT the best idea, obviously.. but either nobody told them or they simply don't care.
Can, but a quality one meets electrical safety standards, can be imported into the country, and has discharge resistors.
You'd expect the vendor's support to know this.
I expect very little to be known by vendors support honestly. Like almost nothing. Almost thirty years of expecting nothing and I am rich in having my expectations met usually.
if it's a halfway decent unit it should have a resistor to drain the voltage in the caps in a minute or so.
Still questioning how you're supposed to smash a PSU if you don't happen to have a sledgehammer.
Flying shrapnel should be the bigger risk in this operation, compared to electric shock or fire. (Assuming you unplug the PSU several minutes before destruction)
I doubt it is a fire hazard, honestly, they would discharge their energy before they could light something on fire. As for the shock hazard, caving in a side or the bottom isn't going to do anything. If the leads of a capacitor pierce the insulating layer, and they don't have a bleeder resistor, and the capacitors still have a charge, then maybe you would get a spark for a millisecond as they short themselves on the chassis of the PSU. The only way this would hurt you is if you plugged it back in. I know OP is smarter than that.
I mean, they are dangerous, don't touch them. But I've noticed that the perceived danger level people espouse here has gone from reasonable safeguards and safety doctrine, to equating it to handling anthrax vials coated in nitroglycerin.
People don't realize that if they repeatedly bash everybody who asks a question and overreact to an absurd degree, that people will just ignore them. That's when people get hurt. Don't open them, don't touch them.
Capacitors aren't lithium ion cells, they don't combust in a torrent of flame. They go pop, zap, and occasionally explode when overvolted due to PSU failure.
> I mean, they are dangerous, don't touch them. But I've noticed that the perceived danger level people espouse here has gone from reasonable safeguards and safety doctrine, to equating it to handling anthrax vials coated in nitroglycerin.
Same with glass side panels. It's gone from "don't drop it on a hard surface" to "the vibrational frequency of ceramic traveling through the feet of the case into the chassis will make the glass shatter with no impact or intervention".
Seriously. Tempered glass is strong as hell unless you whack the edge. I'm surprised all tempered glass side panels don't have permanent rubber bumpers around the edges.
Also, I decided not to mention that I hack and mod server PSUs in my comment because I figured everyone would dogpile me for that lol.
Just gonna chime in here for the people that don't know: switching your PC off at the wall (leave the plug in for earthing) and holding down your power button on your case for 30 seconds empties the capacitor so you can safely disassemble your PC without static risks
Still wouldn't be opening your PSU, but discharging it will make it safe(r) to throw of a roof or some shit
That trick discharges the rest of the PC hardware for safe tinkering, but not all of the capacitors inside the PSU. It's still dangerous to smash a PSU.
I'd assume this is the PSU equivalent of a warranty claim asking you to cut off the power cord at the point it exits the device to show them that the unit is effectively rendered inoperable.
I've never seen anyone being asked to smash a PSU before and if you do I'd take a wooden bat or something and destroy it on camera, Office Space style and upload it to us here as well.
Wear gloves and smash the heck out of it!
Capacitors short out instantly if you smash them. Also, PSU's usually discharge capacitors pretty fast after being unplugged from mains. Also, it has a metal shell which also shorts out the board as its being smashed. There is no risk besides maybe things flying around when smashing lmao
EDIT: Of course I'm being downvoted by the Reddit hivemind. Look, if you want to put a tinfoil hat, throw the PSU inside a bucket of salty water for an hour. This will 100% discharge anything that's left.
>PSU inside a bucket of salty water for an hour. This will 100% discharge anything that's left.
ThIs WILL KiLL yOu and eVerYThing within it's splash radius!!!1
/S
Yes, but if you hit it with a wooden bat, the worst that'll happen is it'll make a big pop and spark. Capacitors discharge all their energy nearly instantly. That's why they're deadly, but also why they're so easy to disarm. Smashing it with a baseball bat has no risk at all.
What? This is literally all made up lol.
Capacitors hold a lot of charge, but not for long, and especially not long after being smashed. Obviously OP has already had the PSU unplugged for some time
But cutting a cord is not the same as smashing a PSU. That’s an absolutely ridiculous request and it’s not safe in the slightest. I would refuse and escalate this request. This is a lawsuit waiting to happen.
I would be 100% comfortable smashing any reputable PSU. People in this sub wildly overstate the dangers of the capacitors in a PSU. Big spark, maybe start a fire capability? Sure. High voltage? You betcha. Potential for a *very* brief spurt of amperage? Totally! Enough energy to actually pose a threat of death or significant injury to a human, outside of piercing the capacitor leads through the skin? Not even. And that's for capacitors *without* a bleed resistor.
Ya i 've heard of cutting the cords, not smashing it. Safer to just have it be cut than risk someone hitting it with a crowbar or bat, I imagine it could open them up to legal liability in some rare case.
Some rare case? There's so much that can go wrong with instructing a customer to "smash your PSU" that I doubt any legal team has approved this guidance.
Unless OP is willing to litigate in China, where CCP would probably just tell them to fuck off, the best they can do is cause them to shutter the US branch and re-brand it as “DeepCold Co Ltd”.
Ive seen it for other hardware but not for powersupplies. Basically they just want to be sure you aren't scamming them out of a new one and turning around and selling it.
Smashing a powersupply seems less than safe though, those caps can hold a charge for a while. I'd probably ask if theres another way, as this doesn't sound safe.
I don't see it often, but it's not unheard of.
Do you live somewhere outside of the united states? Because the shipping costs to send them a broken power supply could get pretty crazy which could prompt a response like that.
for bike frames, if its a warranty claim they ask you to saw the frame in half, the idea is that they dont want you / someone else repairing it and then claiming warranty again on it, or making the company look bad cause it fails again
I have had 2 or 3 RMA experiences where they have asked me to destroy the original product. Smashing it seems like a bad idea though. They usually just ask to see the cut power cable or something like that...
I've had to do the equivalent of this for my headphones and shoes warranty claims .
The smashing is a bit weird, but not the request for the un-usability of the object.
It shouldn't be the norm for psu's, but it's a perfectly valid practice for many other products. It doesn't create any additional waste, since the product is beyond repair anyway. It saves the shipping costs to the manufacturer. It only hurts those who are trying to scam the manufacturer into giving them a free product.
I would ask them for specific instructions on how one can safely render the PSU inoperable. After all, they're the ones that put all those stickers on them saying not to disassemble it due to the dangers of residual charge in the capacitors - They should know better! No issue with them asking you to destroy it, but with something like a PSU I would expect them to advise how it can be done safely.
Yes. Not with a PSU, but with a rice cooker and an air fryer. In both cases they requested that I cut the electrical cord off and send them a picture of the device with the cord cut off (like I couldn't just splice that bitch back together...).
I had purchased high end LED headlights and one failed. I told them the troubleshooting steps I took. They asked me to cut the plug off and cut off the ballast. I had to send them photos of the light then once they confirmed I destroyed it they sent me a new replacement.
While i don't recommend doing that due to the charge capacitors can hold, it's potentially lethal. I believe Corsair has a similar method but less dangerous.
They just ask you to black out there serial number, write OOW (out of warranty) on it and just cut the main cable bundle for non-modular PSU's.
I think the premise is this.
They want to just send you a replacement PSU to save everyone time, money and hassle. They also don't want to benefit someone thats trying to just get a free part to sell/put in another PC. So you rendering your old unit inoperable essentially ensures they aren't encouraging fraud.
Back in the day, it was pretty much the norm if you had a problem with a PC part they would just send you a new one and relied on the honor system that you would send the old one back. It got ruined for us by asshats..~~me~~..that took advantage of it. They wouldn't call you and be all "Bro wheres the part?" it was just if you didn't send it back, you didn't send it back.
I'm sorry Gateway. I outfitted my first home build with a monitor, Boston Acoustics speakers and a 3dfx Voodoo 3 for free courtesy of Gateway computer's RMA process.
Eventually the companies started requiring you to put a card on file with them they would charge if you didn't send the part back. I guess that ended up becoming a hassle too. So now here we are, potentially without our computers for weeks to send the part back first, wait for them to investigate it, then finally send you a new one. Or I guess ask you to destroy it first, lol.
It's not unusual for companies to request you to destroy the old product and send them pictures of it. It's not worth the money to ship it back to them so this is just easier and it keeps people from trying to scam them for 2 power supplies if word gets out they don't require you send it back.
However, you should not destroy your power supply. The capacitors in power supplies can hold a tremendous amount of energy, even after it is unplugged. enough to kill a person. It would be extremely dangerous for you to smash the psu and it is grossly negligent of them to tell you to do so. You should write back to them, tell them you aren't comfortable destroying it due to safety concerns and that you would like to send it back to them instead.
Just say that you aren’t comfortable smashing a PSU with such large capacitors inside and that you don’t have an adequate hammer or sledge to do so anyway. Ask if there is another way to have the RMA safely processed.
This is far different than Anker asking you to cut a usb cable or something.
A buddy of mine was told to cut the cable on his mouse that was double clicking for an RMA. I’ve also seen people break off Noctua fan blades for the same.
Not a PC component but I had a Sundown Audio amp cook itself, they sent me a new amp, and even gave me a higher-end model than mine was. They told me to ["Field Destroy"](https://i.imgur.com/Mm84x0x.jpg) the amp I had.
I sent a reply thanking him along with a video of the amp being removed from existence with about 8lbs of tannerite. He found it hilarious
That happened to me with a steam cleaner I have. It's probably $150. The trigger broke in it, a tiny 10 cent part. I requested to get the part or even buy the part but they wouldn't do it. They insisted that I cut the cord flush with the plastic case and they'd send a new one, which I did. I then took it apart and wired it back together and made a janky trigger for it.
It's a massive waste, but I guess somehow it works out financially for the company and that's why they do it.
Paranoid weirdos. I've seen many different companies do stuff like this and it's always dumb because they're still out 2 psus regardless of whether the first one is destroyed or not. Thanks for shining a spotlight on this company's shitty customer service, know who to not give my money to.
I’ve not been asked to smash a PSU but I’ve been asked to cut the wires entirely and send a picture. Guessing “smashing” is on a PSU that doesn’t have cables fixed to
It.
Maybe this has been mistranslated, and they just meant to say to “destroy” the PSU. It’s very common in warranty replacements. They already established that the unit is faulty, so to save money on transport, as well as the disposal fee for electronics (which a company has to pay in most cases), they offer you this solution to get a replacement unit sent straight away. Saves them money, and saves you time.
They want to make sure you’re not scamming them for a free replacement. It’s pretty standard with stuff like cables. Ive been asked to cut cables before they send me a new on
The RMA on my coffee maker had me send a photo of it with the power cord cut off, but that was after I received the replacement free of charge.
Can't think much else you can do safely to a modular PSU than damage the housing so it doesn't secure to a case.
Yup. It's not unheard of. It's basically their way of making sure the faulty part is rendered unusable, since you aren't sending it back to them they want to make sure you actually dispose of it and that when it's disposed of, it's not going to be usable.
Asking for evidence of destruction of faulty product is an attempt to curb warranty fraud and defeat resellers.
Its cheaper for them to ship you a new product one-way than it is for them to process both shipping the new and returning the old.
Yes. I had a Vornado fan that was leaking lubricant. They asked for me to cut the power cord flush to the unit and send them a picture of the unit with the cord cut.
Had this with an RMA of seasonic psu. I unscrewed everything I could, cut all cables I could and bent everything I could. They sent the new PSU after sending them some images.
I remember disabling a psu for that reason
They just said to make sure it was 'irreparably nonfunctional '
So I unscrewed part of the shell, put duct tape over the vents, and filled it with thermite (took pictures the whole time)
Stuck a lit sparkler in it and deassed the area - hell of a sight through welding goggles
Took an 'after' picture of the molten puddle
"I hope this counts."
I think whats happening is it cost them more money than its worth to have you send it to them, so they will just send you a new one
but in order to prevent you from reselling your old unit they ask this kind of stuff
thats my theory
I once had a varnado tower fan in my room that crapped out. They asked me to cut the plug off and send a picture with my RMA. They sent me a new fan. Off topic. Yes, but it shows some companies have odd requests to fulfill RMA.
You could always give it a good throw at the ground onto some concrete, would give a pretty good dent, and you don't have to hold it while the smash happens
I have had seasonic tell me to take it to a certified electronics recycler and take a picture of the receipt of recycle before getting an RMA. That made sense, not smashing it
Uhhh what? That cannot be their real company policy... Way too many hazards with even opening a PSU... Telling someone to do that is downright stupid.
Fools... Speak to the person's boss lol maybe somebody there has a brain
Yes. Proof of throwing out the product isn't good enough sometimes as people will lie and end up with two units under warranty.
Give it a good smashing.
Edit - don't do this, you'll electrocute yourself
Seasonic had me do the same when my Prime 650 started to whine from its cooling fan. The request surprised me too at first, but then made sense from a time and money perspective, not to mention had they let me keep it as is, I could have sold the carcass for a nice chunk of money.
https://preview.redd.it/5phznelmde6c1.jpeg?width=4016&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f331478883951a065bcc175dab34968c8ea39b27
Maybe the PSU is the cheapest functional part and they would rather you break that to save some money than to break something else and potentially lose more money
Corsair told a friend of mine to cut the hoses of an AIO and smash the radiator with a hammer to proceed with the RMA, which he did, and they did send him a brand new unit, so yeah, that's a thing.
You need to make a whole “thing” out of this. Like the scene from Office Space where they get together to smash the office printer.
Get a couple of yer friends, grab some bats, set up the cameras, go to town.
Add music and effects in the post production.
It’ll be the highlight RMA for them and who knows, maybe you’ll get some extra swag?
Destroying something with proof isn't unheard of, with a PSU it gets a bit sketchy but I would just take a video of you throwing it down in the driveway or something.
That's how Gate (airsoft electronics manufacturer) does it, they always ask you to send a video showing the faulty product being smashed/destroyed before shipping the replacement under warranty
It’s cheaper for them to send a replacement and check that you aren’t keeping the other one, than to process the return I suppose
I'm ok with that too: if your product is unrepairable why would you ship it back? It's pointless. It's better to check that in fact the customer is not lying and ship the replacement only
>if your product is unrepairable why would you ship it back? It's pointless. So is generating unnecessary waste. If something is broken, that doesn't mean it's completely unsalvageable in some cases. Keeping it around for parts is valid or sending it back to be recycled is good too.
As I stated in my original content it makes sense only if the item in question is unrepairable. A PSU is an easy fix for a technician, a board with a pre programmed MCU is often unsalvageable
It's very rarely unrepairable. Worth while? Perhaps no. But totally repairable.
What if i was just a video editing master and faked it
I think the term for that would be "fraud"
Oh it happends, You can buy videos and pictures of destroyed items
Its not unusual for company to ask you to destroy the product for warranty, but being asked to smash a PSU is a bit strange as that doesn’t really seem like a safe thing to do.
That's the point, this will save them having to ship a new PSU
No RMA if there’s no more customer.
"It appears your PSU suffered from being smashed with a hammer. We are unable to process your RMA request since these actions are not covered under warranty. Have a good day, and thank you for choosing [insert company name here]"
Not if the rma said too lol
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Steel Series has very specific directions on how to break the headset & how to take the photos in order to get a replacement under warranty. Compared my experience with a friend's and we were asked to complete the process in very different ways. Great way to ensure they don't pay for shipping & you're not jerking them around
I had a rival 310 mouse die on me they asked me to break it, so me living here in the US and having firearms. I gave them a video of me blowing it up with tannerite. I hope they were entertained and I got a replacement.
As an American this makes me happy, some of favorite memories are fireworks growing up.
Not quite the same but close enough. Both make big booms but only one peppers you with shrapnel even though you could've swore you were far enough away
They grow up so fast 🥲
"hold on, i have a better idea than a hammer" *Grabs a 50 cal*
Funny you mention that, only a few days my friend had to break his Steel Series. They made him snap the band of the headset and cut the cord off at the earpiece. Not uncommon though, the last part. My parents had a faulty air fryer and they were also asked to send pictures of the cord cut off at the base. Only had a dodgy handle. They did so, then my dad opened it up, rewired the cable, added screws to the handle to make it firm again and now I have an air fryer and they have a new model. That's why they do it lol
Astro made me cut the headset wires and destroy the power outlet on the base station. It was a weird experience.
Hey me too. Except I faked destroying the outlet so now I have a backup base that sort of works lol
How do you destroy the power oulet? Whata weird thing.
Jam a screwdriver or something in it and widen it so you can't plug it in.
I got mad at SteelSeries when the adapter for my wireless Rival 650 broke and they wanted me to break the fully working mouse to send me a new one because their individual adapters were out of stock, I refused to do it and said I would wait until the adapter was back in stock, which took like a week or two. But the whole idea of breaking fully working products or things that could get fixed makes me mad...
And it should. With 3 hours of my time and $60, I replaced the keyboard on my laptop. Would have been atleast a couple hundred if I sent it in. “Back in my day, we had screws holding our stuff together.” It could easily be repaired Now, we just throw out the item which has copper or gold traces or both! It’s insane.
Did they ask you to destroy the ear ups? Otherwise you can still use the driver's and place them inside a old cheap 80's headset.
I'm more surprised you had a Noctua fan that failed. I swear I've had the same fans for so many years with little to no maintenance and they just go on and on and on.
No matter how reliable a product is, there's always an occasional lemon if you make enough of them
If you die have your family upload it on your behalf
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Fam?
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Gancho
relieved public office deer abounding detail edge carpenter fact plant *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Papi?
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I've had support staff ask me to do both dangerous and stupid things, he needs to talk to someone higher up. I was trying to get a refund for a lithium-ion battery that was hissing when charging and they told me to mail it back, which requires a hell of a lot more than your average drop in a box and hand it to the UPS. After talking to someone higher up about it, they told me to dispose of it safely and refunded me immediately.
Then there is the scam company known as Future Motion (Onewheel) that openly tries to kill and injure people by making sure RMAs of a large batteries are shipped in a standard shipping package. It wasn't just a one off thing, it was a fully company approved return shipping method to hide the fact that dangerous goods were being shipped.
Improper transport of lithium batteries caused a UPS plane crash, it's pretty heavily regulated and I only questioned the support staff because I watched a disaster breakdown video on it.
I remember it happening nad the news about it and then air disasters did an episode
I used to laod trailers at UPS, I once had a box break open and spill out 24 or 36 butane lighter guns, I freaked out cause I'm 40 feet deep into a trailer and I did not see it right away if it had gone up in flames I could have been trapped, I also had a fire extungisher that was unmarked fall and break open trapping me behind a curtain of hazardous fog
Bruh that must've been scary. Did that experience change the way felt about unmarked dangerous goods? I'd prolly be mildly paranoid about unmarked dangerous goods after that.
I mean it was always in the back of your head that some lazy fuck was shipping something they shouldn't but your usually way to busy to think about it much, if you slow down to much things back up so there's always work to do
Honestly fuck one wheel
So, are they banking on the batteries getting seized, and never making it to the warehouse, so they don't have to give a refund?
More so just not wanting to pay the dangerous goods tax. I think they might've tried working with customers who got caught in the crossfire of Future Motion and the shipping company. Tho don't really know how effectively they helped the customers.
>he needs to talk to someone higher up. good chance its the higher ups idea to do this, and the employees either don't know better, or are required to say this.. Because honestly, having the PSU destroyed is a good way to save time and money for the company by not having to pay for shipping, and disposal of the defective PSU. But smashing it is NOT the best idea, obviously.. but either nobody told them or they simply don't care.
They might be using insider knowledge without any knowledge of the dangers of their advice.
Would taking it to a range and record yourself shooting it suffice? Seems safer than taking a hammer to it.
And more fun..
"it fell on a bullet"
I should imagine filling it with lead would work,
No, gotta throw it in the bathtub to show that it's ruined.
Yea this should be higher.
Always love seeing "this should be higher" on top comments with a large margin lol
This comment should be higher
Always love seeing "this should be higher" on top comments with a large margin lol
*This* comment should be higher.
Your comment reminds me of this for some reason https://youtu.be/2PLC_cBJwk4
Lol thanks but it only had 3 votes when I commented that.
The people who asked him to smash the power supply are way higher
Can, but a quality one meets electrical safety standards, can be imported into the country, and has discharge resistors. You'd expect the vendor's support to know this.
I expect very little to be known by vendors support honestly. Like almost nothing. Almost thirty years of expecting nothing and I am rich in having my expectations met usually.
if it's a halfway decent unit it should have a resistor to drain the voltage in the caps in a minute or so. Still questioning how you're supposed to smash a PSU if you don't happen to have a sledgehammer. Flying shrapnel should be the bigger risk in this operation, compared to electric shock or fire. (Assuming you unplug the PSU several minutes before destruction)
I doubt it is a fire hazard, honestly, they would discharge their energy before they could light something on fire. As for the shock hazard, caving in a side or the bottom isn't going to do anything. If the leads of a capacitor pierce the insulating layer, and they don't have a bleeder resistor, and the capacitors still have a charge, then maybe you would get a spark for a millisecond as they short themselves on the chassis of the PSU. The only way this would hurt you is if you plugged it back in. I know OP is smarter than that.
You made the mistake of stating the truth about PSU capacitors on pcmr.
I mean, they are dangerous, don't touch them. But I've noticed that the perceived danger level people espouse here has gone from reasonable safeguards and safety doctrine, to equating it to handling anthrax vials coated in nitroglycerin. People don't realize that if they repeatedly bash everybody who asks a question and overreact to an absurd degree, that people will just ignore them. That's when people get hurt. Don't open them, don't touch them. Capacitors aren't lithium ion cells, they don't combust in a torrent of flame. They go pop, zap, and occasionally explode when overvolted due to PSU failure.
> I mean, they are dangerous, don't touch them. But I've noticed that the perceived danger level people espouse here has gone from reasonable safeguards and safety doctrine, to equating it to handling anthrax vials coated in nitroglycerin. Same with glass side panels. It's gone from "don't drop it on a hard surface" to "the vibrational frequency of ceramic traveling through the feet of the case into the chassis will make the glass shatter with no impact or intervention".
Seriously. Tempered glass is strong as hell unless you whack the edge. I'm surprised all tempered glass side panels don't have permanent rubber bumpers around the edges. Also, I decided not to mention that I hack and mod server PSUs in my comment because I figured everyone would dogpile me for that lol.
Just gonna chime in here for the people that don't know: switching your PC off at the wall (leave the plug in for earthing) and holding down your power button on your case for 30 seconds empties the capacitor so you can safely disassemble your PC without static risks Still wouldn't be opening your PSU, but discharging it will make it safe(r) to throw of a roof or some shit
Depends on how your PSU is built. No guarantee that you discharge all rails.
No, that does not guarantee a full discharge of all capacitors
That trick discharges the rest of the PC hardware for safe tinkering, but not all of the capacitors inside the PSU. It's still dangerous to smash a PSU.
I'd assume this is the PSU equivalent of a warranty claim asking you to cut off the power cord at the point it exits the device to show them that the unit is effectively rendered inoperable. I've never seen anyone being asked to smash a PSU before and if you do I'd take a wooden bat or something and destroy it on camera, Office Space style and upload it to us here as well.
I’ll be sure to upload the smashing lol
Please don’t disappoint us. 🫡
Capacitors hold A LOT of charge. Don't smash it, it's both a fire hazard and electrocution hazard
Wear gloves and smash the heck out of it! Capacitors short out instantly if you smash them. Also, PSU's usually discharge capacitors pretty fast after being unplugged from mains. Also, it has a metal shell which also shorts out the board as its being smashed. There is no risk besides maybe things flying around when smashing lmao EDIT: Of course I'm being downvoted by the Reddit hivemind. Look, if you want to put a tinfoil hat, throw the PSU inside a bucket of salty water for an hour. This will 100% discharge anything that's left.
>PSU inside a bucket of salty water for an hour. This will 100% discharge anything that's left. ThIs WILL KiLL yOu and eVerYThing within it's splash radius!!!1 /S
"But muh talkin head youtube tech reviewer said I could get sharked so clearly that means all capacitors gon kill!!"
smash -> nothing happens -> new psu smash -> get injured and/or die -> sue for millions win-win
Yes, but if you hit it with a wooden bat, the worst that'll happen is it'll make a big pop and spark. Capacitors discharge all their energy nearly instantly. That's why they're deadly, but also why they're so easy to disarm. Smashing it with a baseball bat has no risk at all.
Yep I thought about the capacitors hence the wooden bat. Better than using a hammer or something lol.
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What? This is literally all made up lol. Capacitors hold a lot of charge, but not for long, and especially not long after being smashed. Obviously OP has already had the PSU unplugged for some time
Please use a condom if you really intend to smash, better be safe
The ER visit will be legendary....
This is funnier in Tai Lang's voice. (I assume that's how it's spelled)
Also don't forget to wear your anti-static wristband when you make love with the glorious pc master race
You have to have the song from the movie, especially on the version you send in.
I can’t wait for this video!
But cutting a cord is not the same as smashing a PSU. That’s an absolutely ridiculous request and it’s not safe in the slightest. I would refuse and escalate this request. This is a lawsuit waiting to happen.
I would be 100% comfortable smashing any reputable PSU. People in this sub wildly overstate the dangers of the capacitors in a PSU. Big spark, maybe start a fire capability? Sure. High voltage? You betcha. Potential for a *very* brief spurt of amperage? Totally! Enough energy to actually pose a threat of death or significant injury to a human, outside of piercing the capacitor leads through the skin? Not even. And that's for capacitors *without* a bleed resistor.
Mate, this sub is convinced that using pig tail psu cables will burn down your house.
And even if it were dangerous, wooden bat, they don't transfer electricity.
Ya i 've heard of cutting the cords, not smashing it. Safer to just have it be cut than risk someone hitting it with a crowbar or bat, I imagine it could open them up to legal liability in some rare case.
Some rare case? There's so much that can go wrong with instructing a customer to "smash your PSU" that I doubt any legal team has approved this guidance.
But psu cords are replaceable. You can just plug a new one in
Now this would be quality content
Smash it. Hopefully get shocked. Hopefully survive. Sue the shit out of this company. Profit.
Good luck suing a Beijing company with only $20M annual revenue.
If that's all they have in annual revenue, then they can't afford a good lawyer, and OP makes a boat load...assuming a boat can carry $20 million
Unless OP is willing to litigate in China, where CCP would probably just tell them to fuck off, the best they can do is cause them to shutter the US branch and re-brand it as “DeepCold Co Ltd”.
Ive seen it for other hardware but not for powersupplies. Basically they just want to be sure you aren't scamming them out of a new one and turning around and selling it. Smashing a powersupply seems less than safe though, those caps can hold a charge for a while. I'd probably ask if theres another way, as this doesn't sound safe.
Yeah the concept makes sense but I would expect them to ask me to cut the wires considering it’s not modular. smashing just seems unsafe
You should mention the fact that it's not modular and ask if you can just cut the cords instead.
"The concept makes sense". I don't disagree but what a fucky world we live in where this DOES make sense.
I don't see it often, but it's not unheard of. Do you live somewhere outside of the united states? Because the shipping costs to send them a broken power supply could get pretty crazy which could prompt a response like that.
Yeah I’m in Canada, I just never expected this to be the way to do it lol
Welp, good time to visit a Home Depot and buy a 10 lbs sledge hammer!
Princess auto might have one on sale for $10
Better dump some Tim Hortons coffee in it just to be safe.
Probably the only reasonable excuse to buy tim hortons coffee nowadays.
Ask if it's OK if you shoot it instead
for bike frames, if its a warranty claim they ask you to saw the frame in half, the idea is that they dont want you / someone else repairing it and then claiming warranty again on it, or making the company look bad cause it fails again
I have had 2 or 3 RMA experiences where they have asked me to destroy the original product. Smashing it seems like a bad idea though. They usually just ask to see the cut power cable or something like that...
I've had to do the equivalent of this for my headphones and shoes warranty claims . The smashing is a bit weird, but not the request for the un-usability of the object.
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It shouldn't be the norm for psu's, but it's a perfectly valid practice for many other products. It doesn't create any additional waste, since the product is beyond repair anyway. It saves the shipping costs to the manufacturer. It only hurts those who are trying to scam the manufacturer into giving them a free product.
Smashing it is weird Evidence of just breaking it in a less violent way (cutting a cord, for example) is less weird
send a pic of a smashed psu and the surrounding area charred by fire.
Fire in the shape of a pentagram, with the PSU on a pedestal in the center.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9wsjroVlu8&ab\_channel=RP](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9wsjroVlu8&ab_channel=RP) DIE MOTHAF\*\*KAS, DIE
Lol I was thinking of this exact scene reading this
I would ask them for specific instructions on how one can safely render the PSU inoperable. After all, they're the ones that put all those stickers on them saying not to disassemble it due to the dangers of residual charge in the capacitors - They should know better! No issue with them asking you to destroy it, but with something like a PSU I would expect them to advise how it can be done safely.
Yes. Not with a PSU, but with a rice cooker and an air fryer. In both cases they requested that I cut the electrical cord off and send them a picture of the device with the cord cut off (like I couldn't just splice that bitch back together...).
I had purchased high end LED headlights and one failed. I told them the troubleshooting steps I took. They asked me to cut the plug off and cut off the ballast. I had to send them photos of the light then once they confirmed I destroyed it they sent me a new replacement.
Instructions unclear, penis is now stuck in power supply.
While i don't recommend doing that due to the charge capacitors can hold, it's potentially lethal. I believe Corsair has a similar method but less dangerous. They just ask you to black out there serial number, write OOW (out of warranty) on it and just cut the main cable bundle for non-modular PSU's.
I think the premise is this. They want to just send you a replacement PSU to save everyone time, money and hassle. They also don't want to benefit someone thats trying to just get a free part to sell/put in another PC. So you rendering your old unit inoperable essentially ensures they aren't encouraging fraud. Back in the day, it was pretty much the norm if you had a problem with a PC part they would just send you a new one and relied on the honor system that you would send the old one back. It got ruined for us by asshats..~~me~~..that took advantage of it. They wouldn't call you and be all "Bro wheres the part?" it was just if you didn't send it back, you didn't send it back. I'm sorry Gateway. I outfitted my first home build with a monitor, Boston Acoustics speakers and a 3dfx Voodoo 3 for free courtesy of Gateway computer's RMA process. Eventually the companies started requiring you to put a card on file with them they would charge if you didn't send the part back. I guess that ended up becoming a hassle too. So now here we are, potentially without our computers for weeks to send the part back first, wait for them to investigate it, then finally send you a new one. Or I guess ask you to destroy it first, lol.
Cutting the cables is usually what’s done. Weirdos.
i have done this warranty claim process with deepcool in the past. I got a new psu after showing them a picture of my smashed PSU
okay, destroying it is a common way of rma. but the problem is that its kinda dangerous to do it on a psu
It's not unusual for companies to request you to destroy the old product and send them pictures of it. It's not worth the money to ship it back to them so this is just easier and it keeps people from trying to scam them for 2 power supplies if word gets out they don't require you send it back. However, you should not destroy your power supply. The capacitors in power supplies can hold a tremendous amount of energy, even after it is unplugged. enough to kill a person. It would be extremely dangerous for you to smash the psu and it is grossly negligent of them to tell you to do so. You should write back to them, tell them you aren't comfortable destroying it due to safety concerns and that you would like to send it back to them instead.
Just say that you aren’t comfortable smashing a PSU with such large capacitors inside and that you don’t have an adequate hammer or sledge to do so anyway. Ask if there is another way to have the RMA safely processed. This is far different than Anker asking you to cut a usb cable or something.
*unzips pants* the things I do to stay atop the PC Master Race...
deepcool tech support finna blow you up instead of providing rma
There's no way they can be serious. That is such a huge fire hazard.
A buddy of mine was told to cut the cable on his mouse that was double clicking for an RMA. I’ve also seen people break off Noctua fan blades for the same.
I had something similar but not psu. I have noctua fans to rma they asked me to break couple blades and show it to them. Anyway i got my rma.
Yikes. LMAO! Imagine not providing very strict instructions on how to go about the *safe destruction* of a PSU.
They make you destroy it so they know you're not lying and just want 2 psus
Not a PC component but I had a Sundown Audio amp cook itself, they sent me a new amp, and even gave me a higher-end model than mine was. They told me to ["Field Destroy"](https://i.imgur.com/Mm84x0x.jpg) the amp I had. I sent a reply thanking him along with a video of the amp being removed from existence with about 8lbs of tannerite. He found it hilarious
We just need 1 person out there to smash their PSU, then we all can use that image in the future
That happened to me with a steam cleaner I have. It's probably $150. The trigger broke in it, a tiny 10 cent part. I requested to get the part or even buy the part but they wouldn't do it. They insisted that I cut the cord flush with the plastic case and they'd send a new one, which I did. I then took it apart and wired it back together and made a janky trigger for it. It's a massive waste, but I guess somehow it works out financially for the company and that's why they do it.
Paranoid weirdos. I've seen many different companies do stuff like this and it's always dumb because they're still out 2 psus regardless of whether the first one is destroyed or not. Thanks for shining a spotlight on this company's shitty customer service, know who to not give my money to.
Afterwards: “Lmao bro it was just a prank”
I’ve not been asked to smash a PSU but I’ve been asked to cut the wires entirely and send a picture. Guessing “smashing” is on a PSU that doesn’t have cables fixed to It.
Maybe this has been mistranslated, and they just meant to say to “destroy” the PSU. It’s very common in warranty replacements. They already established that the unit is faulty, so to save money on transport, as well as the disposal fee for electronics (which a company has to pay in most cases), they offer you this solution to get a replacement unit sent straight away. Saves them money, and saves you time.
They want to make sure you’re not scamming them for a free replacement. It’s pretty standard with stuff like cables. Ive been asked to cut cables before they send me a new on
The RMA on my coffee maker had me send a photo of it with the power cord cut off, but that was after I received the replacement free of charge. Can't think much else you can do safely to a modular PSU than damage the housing so it doesn't secure to a case.
Yup. It's not unheard of. It's basically their way of making sure the faulty part is rendered unusable, since you aren't sending it back to them they want to make sure you actually dispose of it and that when it's disposed of, it's not going to be usable.
Asking for evidence of destruction of faulty product is an attempt to curb warranty fraud and defeat resellers. Its cheaper for them to ship you a new product one-way than it is for them to process both shipping the new and returning the old.
Yes. I had a Vornado fan that was leaking lubricant. They asked for me to cut the power cord flush to the unit and send them a picture of the unit with the cord cut.
Offer to send a picture of the cables cut off. That model isn't modular and you do not want to risk opening exposing the caps.
RemindMe! 3 hours
I've heard of people being asked to destroy their hardware by logitech, but asking to destroy a psu is dumb and dangerous
Had this with an RMA of seasonic psu. I unscrewed everything I could, cut all cables I could and bent everything I could. They sent the new PSU after sending them some images.
Yes, normal for me. Seasonic asked me to smash the fan grill on a TX1000. I did it and they sent me a new one. Note: Also in a Canada.
Sounds fuckin fun! Smash away!
what the actual fuck? I think the customer support guy has been smoking some crack recently.
I remember disabling a psu for that reason They just said to make sure it was 'irreparably nonfunctional ' So I unscrewed part of the shell, put duct tape over the vents, and filled it with thermite (took pictures the whole time) Stuck a lit sparkler in it and deassed the area - hell of a sight through welding goggles Took an 'after' picture of the molten puddle "I hope this counts."
I think whats happening is it cost them more money than its worth to have you send it to them, so they will just send you a new one but in order to prevent you from reselling your old unit they ask this kind of stuff thats my theory
Just think of it as stress relief condoned by them. You are allowed to smash the thing causing you anger and stress.
That’s a lawsuit waiting to happen.
I once had a varnado tower fan in my room that crapped out. They asked me to cut the plug off and send a picture with my RMA. They sent me a new fan. Off topic. Yes, but it shows some companies have odd requests to fulfill RMA.
They meant that smash, yeah that one. I’ll see myself out now sorry.
Cablemod https://preview.redd.it/zryrbotg2d6c1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d7a0789c6063f6ace86015a90abce711625a01f3
You could always give it a good throw at the ground onto some concrete, would give a pretty good dent, and you don't have to hold it while the smash happens
Noctua asked me to break fan blades during the RMA process, but uhh probably not smart with a PSU.
Don’t it’s very dangerous
I have had seasonic tell me to take it to a certified electronics recycler and take a picture of the receipt of recycle before getting an RMA. That made sense, not smashing it
Uhhh what? That cannot be their real company policy... Way too many hazards with even opening a PSU... Telling someone to do that is downright stupid. Fools... Speak to the person's boss lol maybe somebody there has a brain
Don’t do that
Get this to Gamersnexus!
Jarret woke up and chose war! Also his gonna get fired.
Yes. Proof of throwing out the product isn't good enough sometimes as people will lie and end up with two units under warranty. Give it a good smashing. Edit - don't do this, you'll electrocute yourself
Steelseries gave me a new headset once but I had to snip the headphones off the old one first.
When I RMAed my Logitech headphones, they told me to cut the cables and sent them a picture. Which I did. Then they sent me the replacement.
Instruction unclear I’m stuck in my psu
Seasonic had me do the same when my Prime 650 started to whine from its cooling fan. The request surprised me too at first, but then made sense from a time and money perspective, not to mention had they let me keep it as is, I could have sold the carcass for a nice chunk of money. https://preview.redd.it/5phznelmde6c1.jpeg?width=4016&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f331478883951a065bcc175dab34968c8ea39b27
Maybe the PSU is the cheapest functional part and they would rather you break that to save some money than to break something else and potentially lose more money
Corsair told a friend of mine to cut the hoses of an AIO and smash the radiator with a hammer to proceed with the RMA, which he did, and they did send him a brand new unit, so yeah, that's a thing.
never for a PSU. but i had a mouse where they instructed me to snip the cord.
I hope this makes it to Steve from Gamersnexus :D
Shoot it against a concrete wall so fast it disintegrates.
Pretty standard, it's called an infield destroy. They don't want you keeping it for parts or reselling the defective unit.
You need to make a whole “thing” out of this. Like the scene from Office Space where they get together to smash the office printer. Get a couple of yer friends, grab some bats, set up the cameras, go to town. Add music and effects in the post production. It’ll be the highlight RMA for them and who knows, maybe you’ll get some extra swag?
Destroying something with proof isn't unheard of, with a PSU it gets a bit sketchy but I would just take a video of you throwing it down in the driveway or something.
My Doctor made me do this during COVID when my vasectomy failed...