I’ve been back and forth with someone from support via email regarding two really bad bugs I’ve encountered. Haven’t seen anyone else talk about them here.
After about three weeks of daily emails back and forth, it seems like they just gave up on my issues. Been waiting for a response for a few weeks now and have sent multiple ping emails. Very disappointing…I threw down a lot of money for my ARmkii and it’s within their warranty. I dont think I have any recourse here other than getting a new one at this point.
I want to support this company, but they’re making it difficult.
Has anyone else experienced this? What should I do?
I’ve occasionally experienced a few day lag in response time but theyre a helpful bunch thats for sure.
You got daily communication for three weeks wow!. They must have accidentally leaked release date of the new octatrack. This year?
Some bugs seem virtually unfixable, as you can read in the many bug threads. Bummer if youre experiencing deal breaker bugs. You havent wanted to discuss them in the AR bug thread?
Yeah I can discuss them, where would you suggest I post the issues?
One is regarding overbridge and how it changes analog engine parameters and samples in a kit on power up randomly. There’s no going back once this happens…seems to make these changes permanently.
The second is a transfer app issue where backing up a project is not possible since the transfer of said project freezes.
Both are very clearly related to USB functionality. In both cases, they’d never seen anything like this before.
If it’s broken and within warranty you should create a support ticket an send it in for repairs.
The support can be touch and go, but they are wonderful at fixing issues. I’ve had a machine repaired for free over an OS issue that locked up a device, they had never seen the error before.
They don’t have support team that can handle daily back and forth with multiple customers, just be patient, but nevertheless tell em you want to send it in if it’s not functioning properly.
If the bug has broken something preventing you from using it in some way they should fix it.
If it’s just over a corrupt project and a new project works fine, you might be better off letting go of that project. Stuff like that happens.
I know it’s frustrating to deal with this type of issue on any product. As of their last communication, was it said that nothing could be done? Or perhaps the last communication was that they would get back to you with information? I’m curious only because support has always been very responsive to me, perhaps @LyingDalai is correct about busy times but weeks without response is beyond the scope of ordinary. I’m just wondering if their last communication indicated that something can’t be fixed? Best luck, as I said I know this is frustrating for you.
Meticulously detail the steps to recreate the issue whilst starting in a new empty project with nothing but the simplest of setups.
I.e. if it’s hardware/software it will be helpful to illustrate if an issue manifests given the most vanilla of configurations, then build up from there if it doesn’t
if it does show when you do the absolute minimal steps to highlight it then others here can compare easily and provide you with vital info about whether it is unique to your machine or your configuration
So i’d look to strip the complexity right down to the minimum, for the purposes of isolating the issue … no hubs, no other midi, no daw even (if the standalone OB can be tried), then daw
and as said is it project specific, if it’s unique to a project then that gives other clues
i’ve no idea what you have communicated to support, but if you aren’t aware of the bug threads here that is where to explain your issue - an anecdotal summary isn’t going to cut it - nobody can replicate your issue unless you provide every detail, that’s why i recommend starting from ground zero with a bare-bones setup - and see if the minimal of steps can trigger the behaviour you describe, that’s a crucial part of the journey to establishing if user error/misunderstanding is perhaps part of this
if you have a unique workflow you may have found a bug that nobody comes across, it’s in all our interests to have this highlighted, but there are no shortcuts to details and starting simply
this is in your best interest, you need to be able to illustrate by contrast that an issue you see is not seen by others, that starts to narrow down the possible explanations and solutions
strange things can be uncovered, but i have found through years of experience that you have to be meticulous in explaining an issue - you almost have to define it by what it’s not than by what it is - even during beta testing i have identified bugs and it has taken me multiple attempts to make what was obvious to me become understood by others … leave no stone un-turned if you want to do the issue justice
this may be a process support walked you through, so if so you have those testing steps to share, or just rather start from ground zero and see if it affects you - if not - it’s maybe not hardware
that’s not how i’d summarise having a one-to-one with any company for three weeks
everybody wins if you can demonstrate the issue here and at least one other person can replicate, and you win if it’s only you that experiences the issue because you’d know with a higher degree of certainty it’s something about your setup
Im a QA engineer, so I feel like I’ve done all I can to outline the issue as detailed as possible. I write bug tickets for a living haha.
I’ll do my best to outline the issues here in their own threads.
But as @shigginpit stated, weeks without response seems strange. I understand being busy, but come on. It’s been almost a month now. Nothing in their last email indicated that they were waiting on me for specific information. If anything, I routinely gave them updates into my findings from my own bug research…I find bugs in software every day so I was very proactive.
These are critical bugs because they block you from really using the machine on a basic level. I can’t operate my unit with the USB connected to my Mac. Otherwise, there’s a high risk that anything I do/all my progress in a kit will be erased permanently. And Transfer also fails via USB, so it’s not like I can create a kit and then back it up in case it gets erased randomly, either.
I’ve even created a NEW ticket of the same issue, reminding them of the old thread we had. Just to see if it would get picked up. Still radio silence.
Maybe I’ll keep pinging them and submitting support tickets…turn it into a game to see how long it takes them to acknowledge one of them. That’s about where I am now.
But it isn’t a game, we are all sharing the same resource, if you keep pinging and creating New tickets it’s not helping your cause or their cause or our cause
Elektronauts is here as an opportunity for you to solidify or resolve at least some aspects of this …
if a complex issue comes up at a support desk and stays unresolved after weeks of discussion and there’s an opportunity to solve less complex issues then you have to accept that there might be an ongoing triage
By demonstrating your issue from a vanilla state you either get confirmation it’s software or you support a hardware conclusion unique to your device
Start by doing that, demonstrate a repeatable case, instead of pinging them with no new insights, at least get in touch with some added information, everybody wins
Nobody wins when you keep submitting reminders on something that’s already logged
If the hardware needs attention, you’re going to get there quicker by narrowing options.
If they are basic things, you’ll surely be able to present simple ground zero test cases that others can test against to help you confirm if we all have the issue. Without knowing any more it’s difficult to add any useful suggestions, but pinging support doesn’t seem like a helpful strategy if you want it resolved quickest
Link the bug thread posts here if you get a chance, I’ll certainly try to replicate (if possible)
On May 3rd this year I submitted a support ticket for a black a4 detailing my issues, the circumstances they occur, the steps I had tried, and included the error codes. On the 5th I received an initial response instructing me to ensure my account information was updated prior to issuing an RMA. I confirmed my information and an RMA was issued the same day. I provided my tracking number that evening and shipped to the US service center the following morning. Elektron confirmed delivery on the 8th. On the 12th I inquired as to their turn around time and received a reply the same day indicating 2-3 months. I have neither initiated nor received further communication on the case.
As diagnostics revealed hardware errors in my case I don’t know that there was much opportunity for troubleshooting to occur. I hope you find this somehow helpful.
Yeah, it’s frustrating but if providing a scenario hits a wall where there aren’t repro steps, perhaps there are logs to provide, a method to back up successfully and send them the project in this state… it takes time without more specific details on the condition.
