I thought I would share my recent story on my dealings with Schneider and my defective APC unit. Hopefully this helps someone decide to avoid this brand.
Planned Obsolescence or Unlucky?
I purchased this device in around May 2019. 3 years and 7 months later, the device itself failed. I’m not sure if this is planned obsolescence or if I’m unlucky. This left a sour taste in my mouth, but I typically would give the company the benefit of the doubt.
The unit itself is producing a F02 error. A simple google search revealed a things I could try to diagnose the problem. All of these suggestions failed. Buried in a thread I found a guy mentioning that he purchased a new battery and his F02 error was resolved. All other posts basically said “The device has a fried component, no way to fix it”.
Being hopeful, I purchased another battery from to get past the F02 error displayed on the unit. Trying out a new battery was a longshot, but I read the return policy to make sure I could return the new battery if it did not work. Long story short, the battery did not resolve the problem.
Normally the story would end here with a nice bow, I’d return the battery, purchase a new unit, and move on with my life. Unfortunately, that is not the case.
Returning the Battery
When you go to the website to start a warranty check or return, you’re corralled through their chat system. You can either talk on the phone to a live person or via chat. When calling them on the phone, they tell you the wait times and give you the option to transfer directly to a chat line.
Chat 1 (45 minutes)
The first time I attempted to contact them for the warranty / battery return, I chose to take the phone option up on it’s offer. I transferred to text chat and I waited about 20 minutes for the first chat to start. The representative basically told me my device was out of warranty. I asked them to start the return on the battery. They were unable to do so and directed me to start a new chat. I explicitly asked them if they could transfer me to a person who could and they danced around the question and ended the chat.
During this chat, I found out that they do not service devices that are outside the warranty. No paid option. If your unit dies, you have to buy a new one. There are no alternatives.
Chat 2 (90 minutes)
The second attempt to contact them for the battery return, I went straight to the text chat and I waited another 20 minutes for the chat to start. This representative was willing to start the return process, however they insisted on going through troubleshooting issues with the broken APC. After coming to the conclusion that my device was defective, the chat disconnected on their end… which I was unaware of until a new person started chatting with me. I had to start at square 1 with the return policy. And after about 90 minutes, I was able to START the process for the return.
That’s right, at the end of the chat, I was still in a position where I could not return the battery. The representative forwarded my information to another group that does not take calls and is only accessible by email. I was instructed to wait 2 business days and was told that I would be contacted by this team with a return slip.
Chat 3 (20 minutes) - 4 business days later
The 3rd attempt I decided to call them. Surprisingly, I was talking to a person within 5 minutes. This representative informed me that my information was sent and the return was marked the month prior, 24 days prior to the purchase of the battery.
For a clear timeline of this battery purchase
2022-11-13
APC Claims the return is issued on this date. What???
2022-12-04
Battery purchased online through www.apc.com.
2022-12-08
Battery received. Battery tested in unit. F02 error still occured. Battery placed back in shipping box. Chat 1 and 2 take place.
2022-12-13
Chat 3 occurs. Clearly they made a mistake on the date. The representative forwarded my information to this other department again.
Current status - Waiting on return slip.
As it stands, I am still currently waiting to return this online purchase.
TLDR: I will never deal with Schneider or APC products again and I urge anyone reading this to do the same.