Share Defective Sony XQD card

[ITEPfoto]

A piece of plastic on one of my Sony XQD cards chipped off last week. I contacted Sony -- and after hunting down the receipt and answering a ton of questions -- I got a email response telling me it is not a defect, suck it up. Anyone else have this problem? Sounds like a good reason to avoid Sony products, but maybe I should just calm down. Thoughts, similar experiences?

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[nuclearjock]

The customer is ALWAYS right. Contact whoever you purchased it from and ask to retrun it. If they won't help, try another brand. I have several Sony XQD cards none of which exhibit such a defect.

 

[bpdougd]

A piece of plastic on one of my Sony XQD cards chipped off last week. I contacted Sony -- and after hunting down the receipt and answering a ton of questions -- I got a email response telling me it is not a defect, suck it up. Anyone else have this problem? Sounds like a good reason to avoid Sony products, but maybe I should just calm down. Thoughts, similar experiences?
View attachment 1682522

Profoundly stupid customer service.

I must add that the companies that I have had the worst customer service experiences with have been Japanese tech companies. From what I can see they simply do not invest in their customer service organizations and do not empower customer service employees or give them any discretion in how to resolve complaints. While I HAVE had a few positive interactions most have been very disappointing.

 

[Palouse]

Send 'em a link to this posting.

 

[gchappel]

Does the card still work?
Shoot, I would just fill the hole with a little silicon glue or something and go on. Not worth the time and effort to replace unless it is not working.
gary

 

[Mike Buckley]

If the card still works properly, I wouldn't even take the time to fill in the gap.

 

[acnomad]

I've had a similar issue with a Lexar card. In my case, the plastic lip that protrudes to make it easier to remove the card broke off. No loss of read/write ability. I presume that is the case with yours?

 

[ahinesdesign]

I have three of the Sony 32 GB XQD cards, and one has an almost identical section of the plastic case missing. The damaged card has not been subjected to any kind of mistreatment, and I'm not sure when the damage first appeared. The damage does not affect the card use in any way, and from what I can tell, it does not appear to be a sign of imminent failure. But yes, for a $100 card, I expected a bit better durability.

Because the card housing seems to be an off-the-shelf component (even for CF Express cards) it may be a problem with other brands, too.

I plan to go with CF Express in the future, and will pick a brand that is more likely to replace cards with physical defects.

 

[bpdougd]

Does the card still work?
Shoot, I would just fill the hole with a little silicon glue or something and go on. Not worth the time and effort to replace unless it is not working.
gary

If the card still works properly, I wouldn't even take the time to fill in the gap.

I've had a similar issue with a Lexar card. In my case, the plastic lip that protrudes to make it easier to remove the card broke off. No loss of read/write ability. I presume that is the case with yours?

I have three of the Sony 32 GB XQD cards, and one has an almost identical section of the plastic case missing. The damaged card has not been subjected to any kind of mistreatment, and I'm not sure when the damage first appeared. The damage does not affect the card use in any way, and from what I can tell, it does not appear to be a sign of imminent failure. But yes, for a $100 card, I expected a bit better durability.

Because the card housing seems to be an off-the-shelf component (even for CF Express cards) it may be a problem with other brands, too.

I plan to go with CF Express in the future, and will pick a brand that is more likely to replace cards with physical defects.

My point was (and is) that I judge companies by how they behave when customers have issues. Yes, the card remains functional. But Sony should have simply replaced it out of enlightened self interest. I continue to do business with Amazon because, in every case, they have stepped up, even going so far as replacing items sold by other vendors. Sony does itself no favors by being hard-nosed with customers. I say again, profoundly stupid customer service.

 

[Mike Buckley]

My point was (and is)

An excellent point that you stated very well. However, the other points made about the card itself and whether it remains operable are also valid and don't in any way contradict or even lessen the importance of the point you made so well.

 

[Lucky Duck]

I assume Sony verified that the card is genuine? The only reason I bring it up is because of the flood of counterfeit products that can be found on Amazon. If it's the real deal, I guess I side with the let it go crowd (and buy other brands from here on out).

 

[gchappel]

I will likely find myself in the minority, but I do not think a cracked piece of plastic trim that in no way effects the functionality of a device, be it a card or anything else, constitutes a defect that requires card replacement. This is essentially a cosmetic defect. I see it having the same effect as if the sticker on the card started to peel off.
They have no way of confirming useage/misuage etc. Cosmetic dings happen.
Now if the card was like this at time of original purchase- yes I would expect an exchange.
If the card stopped functioning, I would expect an exchange.
But after even a couple of months of use I would continue to happily use this as a normally functioning card and move on.

gary

 

[gchappel]

One other thought, this type of crack does not just happen. It would be like a piece of a picture frame breaking off and falling to the floor while passively hanging on the wall. Something had to bump, pull, chip to cause the crack.
I were the company- I would not replace it either
gary

 

[Mike Buckley]

One other thought, this type of crack does not just happen. It would be like a piece of a picture frame breaking off and falling to the floor while passively hanging on the wall. Something had to bump, pull, chip to cause the crack.

The cracks that eventually led to the piece of plastic falling out could have already been in existence but not observed when the memory card left the factory.

I had an air fryer for a few months when, suddenly and completely unexpectedly, a triangular-shaped piece of plastic about the size of an inch on each side of the triangle fell off the front of the fryer. Though it seemed to be only a cosmetic issue and though the air fryer worked perfectly, I asked Amazon to replace it. That's because it might have been just one of other manufacturing defects that might become apparent in the future that might lead to inoperability after the warranty had expired. Amazon completely agreed that the air fryer should be replaced immediately at no cost to me.

A couple weeks ago a framed photo fell off my kitchen wall onto the floor after having hung there a few months. Nobody knocked it or bumped into it. Sadly, my cleaning service probably never even dusted it. Yet it fell. That's because the plaster where the nail penetrated the wall apparently was weak and ultimately crumbled under the weight of the wall hanging.

Objects sometimes fail that can't be explained by someone hitting, bumping or otherwise damaging them.

 

[acnomad]

I will likely find myself in the minority, but I do not think a cracked piece of plastic trim that in no way effects the functionality of a device, be it a card or anything else, constitutes a defect that requires card replacement.

The plastic piece that broke off my XQD is most likely because I was in the habit of pulling cards out by that piece alone. For me, that is a "live and learn" cost, not a manufacturing defect.

 

[Bohdan]

I have a similar piece of plastic broken off on a Sony 128 GB G card. The card is not always recognized now, in the D6

 

[Clix Pix]

When I made the switch to the Sony A7R IV I also switched to their Sony Tough cards, which, as the name suggests, are supposed to be much sturdier than the usual cards.... I haven't had any issues with them in the just over a year and a half that I have been using them.

 

[pe1125]

Consider yourself lucky (so far.) I had a piece breakoff a Sony XQD in my D500 which caused the catch on the D500 card slot to break, costing $450 to repair. (The card reader is part of the main board.) I contacted Sony and they replaced the card under warranty. They didn't offer to pay for the Nikon repair.
In your case I would contact them again, say that you are worried about damage to your camera, and ask them if they are willing to accept responsibility if the defective card damages your camera. See if that gets their attention. At least you would have it documented.

 

[Panther]

How old is the card?
I mean...if it's from 2012....2015....is it really defective?

 

[gchappel]

supposed to be much sturdier than the usual cards

I use the tough cards as well. They are a little "thinker" I think. They fit snug into my camera card slots, in fact you have to pull a little to get them out- other cards come out more easily. Connie, did you experience the same?
gary