Dude: My Rock Band hub caught fire, EA: Plug it in again
Ahh, customer service, it ain't what it used to be. Just 10 minutes after plugging his Rock Band instruments into the supplied USB hub, Jim Squires noticed that the cord to the unit was smoldering and had created a totally non-rocking electrical fire.
Upon informing EA of the problem, Squires was told by the company to plug the USB adapter back in to test it. No, seriously, he was. Now Squires is still trying to talk to an actual human at the company to let them know about the whole "the Rock Band adapter could have burned my house down" thing. You can follow his progress here.
Upon informing EA of the problem, Squires was told by the company to plug the USB adapter back in to test it. No, seriously, he was. Now Squires is still trying to talk to an actual human at the company to let them know about the whole "the Rock Band adapter could have burned my house down" thing. You can follow his progress here.












Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Phizzy @ Oct 21st 2008 10:04AM
He probably used the wrong adapter.
Metal Geario 360 @ Oct 21st 2008 10:28AM
Thats what i thought.
Too much current.
TVGenius @ Oct 21st 2008 10:37AM
The thing is, where this allegedly burned is between the hub and the 360. I find it very hard to believe that, given the fact USB is only rated for 5VDC, the wire itself caught fire, but the hub didn't fail and the instruments and 360 apparently also continued to function while the cable smoldered. I find it hard to believe the power needed to melt down a cable somehow magically didn't ruin anything else connected to it.
[playwhutyalike {C.E.P}] @ Oct 21st 2008 10:41AM
EA meant to plug it back into his ass.
dark_inchworm @ Oct 21st 2008 10:08AM
I wasn't aware customer service was ever good.
Bleu @ Oct 21st 2008 10:09AM
A hub is a hub bro. The device is defective and EA needs to replace it....frankly speaking as an I.T. professional I would never use hub given to me with a game that just doesn't feel right to me.
Obie @ Oct 21st 2008 10:12AM
Psh, it was not electrical failure.
It was 110% rockitude!
baby sea tuna @ Oct 21st 2008 10:28AM
Deploy extinguisher to save!
Zertoss @ Oct 21st 2008 10:25AM
Well, did he plug it back in?
Josh @ Oct 21st 2008 10:26AM
*facepalm* @ EA
Foetoid @ Oct 21st 2008 10:28AM
Burnt hubs just sound better then their unburnt brethren
meist3r @ Oct 21st 2008 10:30AM
Have you tried rebuilding your house?
baby sea tuna @ Oct 21st 2008 10:30AM
Maybe this'll stop them from boxing in the cheapest fucking hubs ever manufactured.
...naaaaah, probably not.
Ryan @ Oct 21st 2008 10:34AM
Its not defecive, its a USB Hub/Smoke machine.
Zertoss @ Oct 21st 2008 11:03AM
Been a while since I've seen a good "It's not a bug, it's a FEATURE!" joke. Thanks for that.
Kevin @ Oct 21st 2008 10:35AM
Message to EA:
A USB adapter is not software! Software might work successfully in apparent identical conditions, hardware will burn more!
Monkeys Suck @ Oct 21st 2008 10:48AM
Lars Ulrich: FIRE BAD! FIRE BAAAD!
steveliv @ Oct 21st 2008 10:50AM
when i had to call rock band support, i was able to speak to a human almost immediately, try the number on the box or in the manual...
Mark @ Oct 21st 2008 10:59AM
Now that EA was winning a bit of respect with Crysis, Rock Band and upcoming Dead Space and Mirror's Edge... this reminds us of the day we couldn't stand the days is only rehashed the same game every year!
Watching the drama as it develops I felt inspired to write a movie script based on it.
Million Dollar$ from Hollywood, here I come!
Popfrogs @ Oct 21st 2008 11:30AM
"this reminds us of the day we couldn't stand the days is only rehashed the same game every year!"
wut
Mark @ Oct 21st 2008 12:19PM
Sorry mate, I was a bit drunk!
" this reminds us of the day we couldn't stand EA because of them rehashing the same game every year! "
That's the patch 2.04 release of my statement.
In other news... the movie script is shaping up awesome ($__$)
Hunts314 @ Oct 21st 2008 11:06AM
hmm I have this hub...never had problems before, but I'll definitely be keeping an eye on it from now on
cody @ Oct 21st 2008 11:32AM
I'm guessing since it said in the article that he hasn't talked to a human yet, what he heard were some prerecorded trouble shooting options. I'm sure he failed to mention that and went for the most scandalous of statements to get anyones attention.
Chris @ Oct 21st 2008 12:51PM
The two responses he got were through email. He never even tried calling their support line. All you ever get through email is automated responses. He should know that.
MatsJn @ Oct 21st 2008 12:46PM
They seem to be cutting corners a little too much with Rock Band. I doubted the quality of the USB-hub the moment I took it out of the packing. But it still worked, I still had to return the entire set because of the connector in the drums where the bass-pedal is supposed to go, didn't work.
So one Rock Band instrument set returned beacuse of one failed smoldering. Way to go EA.
Arturis @ Oct 21st 2008 1:34PM
My fiance wrote the training manuals for EA's customer service, and according to her they are supposed to replace the USB hub without further question in response to any evidence of defect. So the finger shouldn't be pointed at EA Customer Service as a whole, but more at the foolishness of the specific EA Customer Service Rep involved.
Jack @ Oct 21st 2008 2:14PM
This reminds me, what ever happened to firewire?
Arturis @ Oct 21st 2008 2:20PM
Firewire is still very commonly used, but mostly when dealing with video devices or Mac hardware. It never grabbed the broad-scope appeal that USB managed to snag.
Jack @ Oct 21st 2008 3:05PM
Ohhh.
Haha, thanks for the informative reply.
brother.rope @ Oct 21st 2008 2:40PM
lmao @ ea.. always a laugh :D
Ridgecity @ Oct 21st 2008 3:52PM
If he's under warranty ask for a replacement, if it's not, buy another one. If they won't sell you a new one, sue their asses for 1 million.
Ridgecity @ Oct 21st 2008 3:53PM
I'm not a lawyer by the way, so don't listen to me.
jquadman @ Oct 22nd 2008 11:22AM
They offered him a new one and he doesn't want to sue. The real mystery is, what does he want? I suspect that he just wants to rant and rave about something that never happened for web traffic.
Whingnut @ Oct 21st 2008 4:39PM
That's not the hub that came with my X360 RB. Is that from another bundle or an aftermarket hub?
LameDuck @ Oct 21st 2008 6:23PM
I
LameDuck @ Oct 21st 2008 6:24PM
I heart India. *Disregard my fist post. failtag*