Uwatec frustrations

[scubamania007]

I used to be a quite satisfied Uwatec (Scubapro) until I discovered that my beloved Aladin AirX with transmitter had lost its battery power, and that it was not possible to change the battery. This and my backup Air Z, bears the exact same design flaw, they cannot have their battery charged nor will it be possible to change it, once it has lost ots power. I do not know if Uwatec did not think they would be in business long enough for anyone to experience this or they simply just did not care about customer service.

Anyway, I went to my local dealer who is also the national distributor of Uwatec, and he told me that there was a interchange program, which meant that I would most likely be presented with a good deal if I was to buy another Uwatec dive computer instead of trying to change the battery in the Aladin AIR X.

Now 4 months have past and I got the word that I could receive a rebate of 140 Euros off listprice on a Galileo Sol. As a simple search on the internet would conclude is that I could get a good 20% off listprice by buying the unit on scubastore.com. This means that not only will Uwatec not change the battey,but it also means that they will try to trick you into buying another product at a premium price compared to what the street price would be. What this ultimately means that both AIR X & AIR Z are products with a built in limit on how long time you can actually use it, and I clocked this to be around 250 dives which makes the price about 5? pr dive. You could argue that I could have found out about all this prior to bying their rather expensive gear, but I was never told that owning an Uwatec computer would be like buying milk, having it around to long, it will ultimately turn sour !!!

Giving the extremely bad customer experience I have had, I have always enjoyed diving with my Uwatecs, but I guess I have to end this marriage , and look for another manufacturer of dive-computers with more moral than Uwatec.

On the Uwatec homepage you can read the five most common questions and three of them are :

Why do I have to pay for an upgrade on my AirX when I just need a battery change?
The housing seal of an Air X is outdated technology. Repairing or changing a battery on an Air X is not suggested. The best option is an upgrade for a new, totally guaranteed, under warranty, computer.

I guess 'upgrade' should have been ; find the cheapest dealer on the net, because we will rip you off !

Why is my computer beeping/ticking/displaying ERR?
Most probably a battery change is needed. Contact your local Authorized Dealer for repair or battery change. You can locate the Authorized Dealers in you Region or in your country by clicking on FIND A DEALER on the menu at the top of the page.

Probably a good idea if you do not own one of our legacy products, in that case you can throw i out, we really do not want to help you anyway?

How do I get my UWATEC computer battery replaced?
Contact your local Authorized Dealer for repair or battery replacement. You can locate the Authorized Dealers in you Region or in your country by clicking on FIND A DEALER on the menu at the top of the page.

Again this only goes for new products, not legacy Uwatecs..

Any suggestions on where to look for replacements for my Uwatecs ?

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Welcome to Scuba board.

And I am very sorry Uwatec has been so slow to adopt the idea of user replaceable batteries rather than what amounts to a designed obsolesence model of doing business.

What warranty did the computer have on it? In the past, most had either a lifetime warranty or a lifetime free battery replacement policy. If the computer still works and the battery is just dead - push the issue as they owe you a new battery not 20% off a new computer if you bought it from an authorized dealer - otherwise there would be no advantage to buying from a dealer. If I read their comments above correctly, they are saying battery replacement is not "suggested" rather than saying it is not available.

 

[scubamania007]

Thank you and thanks for the answer !

I believe both my AIR X and AIR Z came with a lifetime warranty, I already raised this with the local distributor, and he read from a letter he got from Uwatec on what they were prepared to offer. The bottom line was 20% off lidt price, and as said before that is less than a simple google search would get you.

Both the mentioned models were top the range, when I bought them. They have functioned well, but that aside, when you find out that the producer has build in obsolesence in the the product, you get really frustrated.

You are right they claim that battery change is not suggested, but that is a a mild statement, the reality is that they cannot do it, and combined with the fact that they do not care to have a suitable plan in place, when divers computers run out of battery, makes the hole case seem like fraud.

The computer works, just out of battery ..

I will talk to the dealer again today and claim a battery change. See what comes out it.

I will post his answer later!

 

[RockonbigB]

I had a US Divers Monitor Air 3 that need a battery replacement from Uwatec. They told me they no longer service this model and that they would give me 25% off on a computer. I just wanted to use it as a back-up computer, but no go. I find I could replace it cheaper on-line also.

 

[scubamania007]

I did a simple search on the internet, and it seems like it is a known fact that they do not honor their product warranty at all, many people has been left in a similar situation. My dealer told me today that I could get 200$ off any computer, as a result of my claim with Uwatec.

This really makes me angry, I bought this computer for roughly 1500$ years ago, which ultimately means that I've paid more to Uwatec pr dive than the various Divecenters in Phillipnes, Thailand, Bali & Egypt that I dove with in the past.

It is by the way a really bad business model as my rebate gets lesser the more expensive computer that I'll buy, where is the sense in that ?

@RockonbgB - I am stunned by the lack of business ethics of Scubapro / Uwatec.

A fellow dane send me a PM with a link to a CZ site where they tell how to change the battery, I think that could be my path out of this mess.

I would not recommend anybody to buy a Uwatec / Scubapro computer, they might be able to change the battery now, but mime and others case shows that their ethics sucks and the product support is none-existing.

 

[AbyssalPlains]

Oh.My.God. Unbelievable. I knew that you had to send in an Uwatec computer for a battery replacement, but I can't believe they're selling transmitters in which you can't change the battery AT ALL. I'm sorry for your experience. Thank you for posting, though. I own an old Aladin Pro and would have considered buying another Uwatec product. Not anymore.

Edit: Buy a DiveRite Nitek Duo. Cheap and reliable. All you will ever need.

 

[scott&sara]

My Air Z Nitrox died in October (dead battery). I took it to the local Uwatec dealer and 4 weeks later I had a new battery in the wrist unit and a brand new tank pressure unit. Maybe I just got lucky... I will find out soon as my wife has the same unit with almost the same number of dives on it so it should be dying soon too.

Scott

 

[scubamania007]

@AbyssalPlains

It is worse than that, there is a battery in both the transmiter and the computer (Aladdin AIR X), they both can't be changed..

@scott&sara

From what I've heard they do not want to change on the AIR Z anymore, I have a couple of these also with a few hours left on them.. They are far easier to change the battery on as a DIY option, but again it should be something a producer should take care of, especially when they made such a mess designing the product in the first place.. Lots of stores does this themselves as a charged service, you might want to consider that ?