ASRock DDR5 Installation Stickers Blamed for Motherboard RMAs

ASRock DDR5 Memory Sticker Peel Failure
(Image credit: Reddit - u/PalmMallMars)

In an official statement by ASRock earlier today, the company announced that it would allow anyone who has issues peeling the DDR5 memory installation sticker off their AM5 motherboard to return it for a newer version if necessary. Some users report that the sticker can leave significant adhesive traces behind, potentially blocking some of the DDR5 contacts in the DIMM slots.

This story started a few days ago when some ASRock X670E users reported that ASRock's DDR5 memory installation sticker guide - stamped right on top of the DIMM slots, was a bit too sticky to remove. The issue leaves users with the potential risk of non-working memory DIMMs.

Fortunately, we haven't found any users reporting any damage occurring with this problem. All reported users have either replaced their motherboards or figured out a way to remove the adhesive manually. Either way, it is a problem ASRock needs to address. 

Thankfully, these stickers are going away, according to ASRock. These stickers are only present on the first shipment of ASRock's AM5 motherboards due to abnormally long boot times. With the first wave of BIOS revisions, the first boot could take several minutes, depending on the memory capacity.

But thanks to new BIOS updates, these initial lengthy bootup times are now gone. As a result, ASRock will no longer be applying these stickers onto their DDR5 AM5 motherboards. 

But beware, there's still a chance some of ASRock's initial batches of AM5 motherboards featuring the super sticky sticker could still be on sale. So this could be a problem for a few more weeks until all the initial batches have been sold.

If you find yourself with this issue, you can instantly contact the retailer you bought your board from and request an exchange, or you can try ripping off the sticker yourself and hope all the adhesive comes off. Alternatively, you can manually remove any remaining adhesive if the peel fails. 

Generally, applying a gentle heat source to the adhesive should make complete removal relatively easy, so there are still ways to get around this problem if you don't want to wait for an exchange.

Aaron Klotz
Freelance News Writer

Aaron Klotz is a freelance writer for Tom’s Hardware US, covering news topics related to computer hardware such as CPUs, and graphics cards.

  • blacknemesist
    Send them to Europe, we don't mind peeling the stickers for a better price :)
    Reply
  • digitalgriffin
    Hair dryer and 70% iso alcohol on qtip. Rub off with fingers.
    Reply
  • thisisaname
    For the price of these boards I would not want to play around removing the gunk and maybe (however small the chance) damage it.
    Reply
  • Co BIY
    I might be annoyed at this ... but

    I can't see this resulting in an RMA for someone interested in building their own computer.

    And I am a stickerglueaphobe.
    Reply
  • BFG-9000
    Not that I would use it for this application, but even 50 years ago there was "Hagaron Peel" for conservators and stamp collectors. I found scrubbing with mineral oil, and then removing the oil with soapy water or alcohol worked way better for price tags and other stuff you don't need to save.

    In this case and for this kind of money, if I couldn't get enough residue off with just some more tape and dry scrubbing, I'd let them replace it as it's their own dumb adhesive selection. Heck, nowadays you can buy genuine 3M Post-It glue sticks to turn dollar bills and such into repositionable/removable Post-It notes so there's no excuse for it.
    Reply
  • razor512
    With how much they charge for the board, Why couldn't they just use the plastic stickers that you normally see on heatsinks, cases and various other consumer electronic devices. You can still print full color on them, and they do not fall apart when people pull the sticker off quickly.

    With paper stickers, you need to pull them off slowly to avoid having the paper rip and leave behind chunks like in the photo.
    Reply
  • RodroX
    I wonder who was the brain behind this stupid idea?

    There are many place to put a sticker on a mobo, and you don't need to put adhesive all around. They could just added a piece of paper inside the mobo bag, or with a small piece of adhesive tape hanging from the socket cover, which you don't need for motherboard operation.
    Reply
  • Robairex
    I may have been lucky. Slow, steady pull, sticker came off with no residue. Hopefully all works OK once I get things together.
    Reply
  • DRagor
    So, they put those stickers on RAM slots to stop people from RMAing those boards because "it is not starting just bootlooping". And now they will get those boards RMAed because RAM slots are full of glue. Talk about when the cure is worse then disease.
    Reply
  • RodroX
    Robairex said:
    I may have been lucky. Slow, steady pull, sticker came off with no residue. Hopefully all works OK once I get things together.

    Lucky you!!!
    Enjoy, its always a fantastic feeling building up a PC.. well... at least I love to build PCs.
    Reply