After enduring several days of simmering criticism from popular TechTubers surrounding voltage, BIOS update and warranty coverage issues during and after the Ryzen 7000X3D burnout debacle, Asus has released a statement that addresses concerns on multiple fronts.
In a statement that went out via email and press release, Asus affirms that, despite repeated claims elsewhere last week, its AM5 motherboard warranty covers not only recent BIOS updates to Ryzen 7000 boards designed to fix voltage issues that led to chip and/or board failures for some users, but also all AMD EXPO, Intel XMP, and (Asus' proprietary) DOCP memory presets. It also stated that all recent BIOS updates follow AMD's voltage guidelines for Ryzen 7000 CPUs.
In a clear effort to save face after being called out by multiple high-profile sites and YouTube channels, Asus' statement, included below, promises coverage above and beyond what is typical of most motherboard coverage, after which the company lists phone numbers and links for US, UK, Australian and EU support for those experiencing issues.
We want to address the concerns that have been raised by our users about whether recent BIOS updates will impact the warranty of ASUS AM5 motherboards. We would like to reassure our customers that both beta and fully validated BIOS updates for ASUS AM5 motherboards are covered by the original manufacturer’s warranty. We would also like to confirm the following points:
1. The ASUS AM5 motherboard warranty also covers all AMD EXPO, Intel XMP, and DOCP memory configurations.
2. All recent BIOS updates follow the latest AMD voltage guidelines for AMD Ryzen 7000 series processors.
Furthermore, we would like to reiterate our commitment to supporting the AMD AM5 platform and our customers. For any further inquiries about your ASUS AM5 motherboard, please contact our customer service for support.
-- Asus
This story gained momentum last week after Gamers Nexus posted a YouTube video severely criticizing Asus for the way it handled itself surrounding the recent Ryzen burnout fiasco. According to Gamers Nexus, Asus was caught publishing private AGESA code revisions in its BIOS updates that were never meant for public use and was publishing buggy untested BIOS updates that resulted in Ryzen 7000 SoC voltages operating at unsafe levels, as well as deleting older BIOS updates on its motherboard support pages as it published new updates at the same time, without informing users of the changes.
Gamers Nexus also accused Asus of uploading a BIOS update for the Crosshair X670E Extreme that voids the warranty of the motherboard and accused Asus of constantly recommending users to "run defaults" (disable AMD EXPO/DOCP) on its AM5 motherboards if users are running into problems.
Now the company has seemingly sprinted hard in the other direction, reassuring users that AMD EXPO memory profiles are actually covered in the motherboard warranty, and recent BIOS updates do address the Ryzen SoC voltage problems.
The former is particularly surprising. Because typically, EXPO profiles (and their Intel XMP counterparts), while common in the world of enthusiasts and gamers (and heavily advertised as part of high-end RAM specs), are technically considered overclocking and therefore not traditionally covered under motherboard warranties.
Clearly, someone high up at Asus has taken note of the potential damage being done to the brand over the last several days and has decided a strong statement and some extra assurances were warranted for the sake of long-term sales. While it's nice to see the company step in to assure its customers that it will stand by its products (many of which are very expensive), time will tell how well its customer service reps actually back up these assurances. Had the company issued a similar statement mid-late last week, or just used better messaging when rolling out its recent Ryzen 7000 motherboard updates, much of this controversy (and lingering doubt) could have been avoided.
