A Complete Sandy Bridge Recall List

Figuring that many of our readers might have questions or concerns over the potential recall of their motherboards, desktops or laptops I thought I'd try to post a complete list of details as we know them.

First and foremost, as the chipset flaw is said to only potentially affect a couple of SATA ports on most boards most motherboard manufactures are offering a voluntary recall. This means if you are already running a Sandy Bridge setup and are happy with it, or are willing to take the gamble you DO NOT have to return it. They are also offering you the option to wait until new the new boards are out sometime around April before you have to make any returns. There might be a few exceptions but here's a list of details from each manuf.

Motherboard Recalls:

ASUS

ASUS will provide total warranty services this includes the hassle-free return and/or replacement of all affected ASUS products. For all customers who already own any ASUS product affected by the design error identified by Intel, simply visit this page for detailed warranty and service hotline information.

ASUS notebook and desktop products are covered by a warranty service that addresses the design error, with both swap and sales return offered as options to customers.

For motherboards, ASUS is offering you the option of returning any possibly affected motherboard for a swap or sales return. All warranties for affected motherboards will be reset to give you enough time to carry out any exchanges.

Gigabyte

GIGABYTE will provide a replacement motherboard with the new 6 series chipset onboard at the end of April in order to reduce any inconvenience to customers who are affected by this issue.

GIGABYTE recommends that all customers who purchased GIGABYTE 6 series motherboards contact their local dealer (retail store where you purchased the motherboard) at the end of April for a motherboard exchange. GIGABYTE will provide an equivalent new motherboard replacement.

MSI

As mentioned in our previous post MSI plans a full replacement of any affected product. The MSI product you revieve will have similar or better specs than the one you are currently using. These new MSI products will become available in April and you can keep your current board until then. This way you will miss your product only for a very short period of time. MSI will release details about their return procedure before the end of February.

If you are not confident about your current MSI based 6 series product MSI offers you the possibility to return the product to your point of purchase which will credit you.

ECS

Upon availability of the new B3 Stepping of the Intel 6 Series Express Chipsets, ECS USA will replace customer’s product with a brand-new one. New motherboards are expected in April. ECS USA will keep its customers updated on this schedule.

Replacement for products currently in the market that are affected: P67H2-A(1.1), P67H2-A2(1.0), P67H2-A3(1.0), H67H2-M(1.1), H67H2-M3(1.0)
Work closely with its distributors and reseller channel on the return and replacement of current inventory
For end users in the U.S. (48 contiguous states), ECS USA offers the following:
o Customers who wish to keep the product or have any issue returning the product at the point of purchase, ECS USA will absorb the cost of the product exchange 100% by offering a product swap. If a customer has one of the above products, please communicate with ECS USA via one of the following methods to arrange a replacement once they become available: 1. Via e-mail (preferred method): elite@ecsusa.com 2. Via voice-mail: 510-771-0208. This is a voicemail, only.

Desktops and Laptops

Toshiba

Toshiba is offering a full recall of all affected models. At this time, Toshiba requests you return the product to the place of purchase for a full refund. You should back up your data and remove any confidential, proprietary or personal information before returning the product. Below is a complete list of affected models.

For more details please see the Toshiba recall page

HP/Compaq

HP said customers can return their PC and either "choose a comparable product" or receive a full refund. We are waiting on further details as to which models were affected and where to return them however its safe to assume you need to return them to the retailer you purchased your product from.

HP said only a small number of consumer desktops and laptops were affected, along with one commercial desktop PC model sold to small-business customers in the Europe-Middle East-Africa market.

Dell

Dell has confirmed that only four Dell products on the market were affected: XPS 8300, the Vostro 460, the Alienware M17x R.3 and the Alienware Aurora R.3.

"We're committed to addressing this with customers who have already purchased one of the four products," the company said in a statement, however no further details were given.

Update: A Dell representative posted the following post on the Direct2Dell blog
For customers impacted by this issue, Dell offers a couple of solutions.  Customers experiencing issues will be supported under the warranty and service terms.  Once we have new chipsets from Intel in early April, we will provide a motherboard replacement that corrects the design issue at no cost to our customers.  Replacements will be provided at the customers’ location and convenience via authorized Dell service providers.  Affected customers may also take advantage of the applicable return policy, which may vary by region. 

Samsung

Samsung will allow refunds or exchanges for six computer models sold in South Korea and one in the U.S., no details on which models are affected or the return procedures was given

Several other companies as well as system builders like Cyberpower were also affected by the chipset flaw. Many of these companies have delayed shipping products, canceled orders or are contacting customers directly to resolve the issue. I suggest anyone with questions or concerns contact either the retailer they made their purchase from or contact the manufacturers directly.

Most retailers are offering full replacement or refunds of not only the boards but also the cpus and most the other components purchased with the boards.