How do I get support for a defective new product without paying "Smart Friend"?

[Ollonii]

I purchased four new HP U28 4K HDR Monitors just after Christmas. They're beautiful when they work but the problem is that, after going into low-power mode, one (or more) sometimes (about 25% of the time) doesn't come back up when the computer becomes active again.

I've contacted support multiple times but their response is always something like "This issue is beyond the scope of our service. We only help with minor setup issues. Please call Smart Friend for service. You will have to pay." Is this true? Is there no longer after-sales support to get a new product working to spec?

I haven't been successful finding any other way to contact technical support. Queries on the forum didn't receive any replies. I'd really appreciate any help or advice on this.

Thank you so much.

[BeemerBiker]

I hate to say this but the problem waking up is well known and reported by both Mac users and Windows users

https://www.google.com/search?q=HP+U28+4K+HDR+Monitor+problem+waking+up&oq=HP+U28+4K+HDR+Monitor+pro...

You need to decide if the display is worth keeping.  You may find another monitors works correctly (maybe) but is 2x or more the cost of the one you have.

Bring up the monitor OSD menu and look for a firmware upgrade.  If there is NO option to upgrade the firmware then you can rest assured there is no possibility of fixing the problem. 

There is a feedback service here

https://www.hp.com/us-en/campaigns/customer-survey/#:~:text=Thank%20you%20for%20agreeing%20to,around....

I would describe the problem and refer to google reports and other reviews and state that you will wait till the last day of your warrantee before returning for a refund as it cannot be used.  Or something like that. 

[edit]  It is possible that some systems are unable, or do not send the proper wakeup command to the monitor.  Since your system works %75 of time I suspect a problem with the monitor.  Did you recently upgrade to win11?    Windows 11 handles sleep differently than windows 10.  I just checked over at the driver download and there are no specific downloads under windows 11 for your monitor.  Be sure you have the latest assistant (9.9.58.0 Rev.A) 

https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/hp-u28-4k-hdr-monitor/38228545

[itsmyname]

@Ollonii -- after going into low-power mode, one (or more) sometimes (about 25% of the time) doesn't come back up when the computer becomes active again.

In addition to the excellent information from @BeemerBiker -- I think that HP Support "under-performed" by brushing-off your interaction with them. To me, this seems to be an issue that should be covered by the HP Warranty (12 months) on all their hardware.  Contact HP Support again, and open a warranty claim. Ask if there is any "recall" issued for your specific device.

Can you swap-out the monitor for a non-HP monitor, to see if that monitor starts to exhibit the symptom?

[itsmyname]

@Ollonii -- Queries on the forum didn't receive any replies. 

I just read: 

HP U28 4K HDR Monitors frequently don't turn on when system ... - HP Support Community - 8312680

which is your other message.  Still no reply to that thread.

[Ollonii]

Thank you both for the replies.

The issue does not happen with some Viewsonic monitors I have. I have replaced the video card with another (new) W6600 and even an NVidia pro card but the problem remains. The cables have been replaced with a variety of VESA certified cables (the cables are the commonly blamed reason for many of the cases reported online for similar issues). And I should note that the problem occurs with all four of the monitors I bought. There does not appear to be a way to change the firmware on these monitors but I do see HP has changed the model.

I don't know if I'm having the same problems reported on Google. In my case, the computer never actually goes into sleep state (S1), it just idles and the video card turns VSync off. As per spec, this will put the monitors into low-power mode with the backlight and pixels tuned off and an orange status light (instead of white). Restoring VSync is supposed to "wake" the monitor (turn on the backlight and pixels) and normally does. When a monitor doesn't wake properly, it appears to be off but the system still sees it and assumes it is fully functional. To actually restore the functionality of the monitor, you have to remove power (unplug, not use the onboard switch).

My hope was that Support would have a firmware upgrade but I can't actually find much of anything on this model on the internet and there is no obvious way of applying firmware. I'd be willing to return all four monitors to HP for a full refund but when I mentioned that to "Support", they referred me to Smart Friend again.

Any ideas? How can I initiate a return to HP?

Thanks again for your help.

[itsmyname]

@Ollonii -- on: 4AA6-7504ENUS.pdf (hp.com)

I see a monthly price of $14.99 US for monthly service, and:

Solve My Problem

One time support with 30 day Guarantee (1 primary device)

$99.99 (one-time fee) -- [US currency] 

There is some mention about an additional "activation fee".  Maybe, additional taxes?

So, "roll the dice", and make a $99.99 bet that their response will be something better than "it is what it is".

Or, just exchange all 4 monitors for some monitors that do work for you, under Microsoft Windows 11.

[BeemerBiker]

1 - See if the device manager "scan for new hardware" wakes up the monitor.  If not, then ...

2- In the device manager, delete the monitors and again try the "scan for new hardware" again

If either of the above work then a script can be created to click on and wake them up.  Post back here and I can walk you through creating the script.

[Ollonii]

Today I tried to open a warranty claim on the monitors and the response was:

3:34 PM  Fazil: Alasdair, this issue is related to laptop's settings.
3:34 PM  Fazil: Yes, its not an issue with monitor.
3:35 PM  Alasdair Turnbull: But these monitors have never worked to spec or as advertised.
3:35 PM  Fazil: For that, you will have to get laptop's settings checked.
3:35 PM  Fazil: There are customization settings for this.
3:35 PM  Fazil: this issue is not covered under hardware warranty of your device. But we have special support department for such issues, called Smart friend support. They have expertise in resolving the issue for you. But that will be paid support department. You can call on 1-866-211-5207

I explained the system is not a laptop...

3:36 PM  Fazil: Then you can refer to dell's support
3:36 PM  Fazil: However, monitor does not have such settings.
3:36 PM  Fazil: Its just an external display to external screen.
3:37 PM  Fazil: If monitor had the problem, then it would not have worked for a single time.

... thus, it is the system that isn't working!

No matter how I contact HP, it always goes back to pay-for-service and "we are not responsible." As with previous calls, the support rep says they only support (or warrant) the monitors when connected to an HP system. There are just so many things wrong with that claim.

[BeemerBiker]

As pointed out by @itsmyname there is a known problem with these monitors.  I have no knowledge of how the warrantee works at your location.  "The customer is always right" may not be valid.  If returned as "incompatible" you will have to pay a restocking fee assuming it can be returned.

Did you try those two numbered procedures I listed?  It they work then it is possible for a work-around to wake up the monitors and not have to power anything off and back on.

[Ollonii]

Thanks, Beemer Biker.

I did try your suggestions.  When a monitor doesn't recover from low-power state, it still shows in Device Manager as fully functional. The OS is unaware that anything is amiss and will continue to place content on the blank screen. Hardware scans don't find anything new.

Removing the monitors in Device Panel then searching for hardware does interesting things to resolution and icon placement, etc. but has no effect on the misbehaving monitor which sill be restored in Device Manager just as the working monitors are.