Insteon Decora Paddle Problem Fix
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upstatemike
Senior Member
This is good news! I didn't have a lot of switches with this problem but what a pain when one does crop up. Glad to know it won't be an ongoing issue!
i am not as happy as most about this - this problem has been around a long, long time and they are just now addressing it? the problem seems to take awhile to surface - are they extending the warranty?
i guess they did have to admit the change, but i don't see this as some kinda sister souljah moment
i guess they did have to admit the change, but i don't see this as some kinda sister souljah moment
Sloop,
I dont know what they are going to do about out of warranty but given their recent attempts to improve customer service I would "guess" (my opinion here) that they will try and do the right thing for people. This is not a fact just my opinion.
For me it doesn't matter anymore since they already told me to tough luck long ago (which is what pissed me off with the constant we will replace, no we will refund, no we will replace but never actually doing it for 4 months) but the resolution that they came to is what I was pushing for. I personally am very happy that they publically acknowledged the problem and publically acknowledged a corrective action. That is why I was in their face about this so that they would be publically forced to do something for everyone (I know that people dont beleive that but I dont care about what they think). If you notice once the hint was there that the issue was coming to an end I backed off. Now I no longer have complaints since they resolved the issue. I give them credit for actually doing it.
Give them a call and swap out any defective ones and ask if they will honor out of warranty claims. If they say no to you then I would not blame you if you drove your car through their front door :unsure:
ginigma
Active Member
I actually called today to swap out 2 switches. I didn't have any issues. However, when I asked what I should do about my other switches, i.e. should I RMA them also, I was told that it was a very small amount of switches that have the paddle problem. And no, I could not swap them if there wasn't a problem with them.
Well they would go bankrupt if they replaced every Decora switch they ever made. Its also unfair if people just swap every switch they own. But in all fairness to customers SH should state what the policy will be if you switch has this problem a month after the warranty expires. They had a problem and have finally fixed it but every Decora is a "potential" problem. Customers of course will be concerned.
I had nearly 20 go bad with the paddle problem (out of about 80 or so devices). At one point I tried to exchange about 14 of them and SH made every excuse in the world not to. My suggestion is to exchange them as they happen (one or two at a time) or SH may deny the exchange.
I still have a box in the garage of bad ones. Most are the paddle problem and a few have that flicker problem from long ago.
Every PRODUCT ever made is a potential problem, everything has the potential to fail. I realize some people have had much higher failure rates than others, for whatever reason, but personally I'm not seeing more than a 2% or so failure rate after 1 year+, and there are plenty of people who have had no issues.
I'm not sure what their policy is for post-warranty issues, but I have a feeling they will be accomodating - as they should be.
Now, a full recall replacing every switch sounds a bit crazy to me (but maybe not to people who have had high failure rates). Personally, I'd rather not replace my 60 switches if I don't need to. My thumbs are barely healed from the initial install.
it took my x10 switchlincs about two years to fail - might not hurt to ask them to throw in the extended warranty gratis on the others - because i don't believe them when they say there is a tiny number that will develop the problem - they denied the problem existed for years
hult
Active Member
Inquiring minds would like to know exactly what the "issue with the manufacturing process" consists in.
It if the problem is simply a batch of faulty micro-switches, they might be repairable by the owner at some future, post-warranty period if needed. If it is something more complicated, and warranty doesn't apply, they may become junk.
I have one ICON relay switch near the basement stairs with a bad microswitch/paddle. I am usually carrying something in my arms when I go up or down, so the switch is activated using an elbow move learned playing hockey ;-) I assume/d that had something to do with its failure ...
Marc
Anyone get any paddles replaced this way? I have two that are starting to bug me (require multiple, deliberate presses to get them to work). Will I have to send the paddles/switch in to them, or are they doing the right thing and sending the paddles out no questions asked?
Skip
Skip
I actually had a couple of switches with the paddle problem that were out of warranty that SH replaced. No charge for shipping either.
mtwalsh367
Member
I just received 3 replacement switches that were still within warranty by 3 weeks (-: They shipped them out for free but I was charged for the new switches until I send my old units back in similar to any warranty item that you ask Smarthome to cross ship.
I have not installed the new switches yet but am keeping my fingers crossed that they will live a long and happy life.