I don't think they train these people... A former co-worker of mine bought a Gateway PC last May. The hard drive developed bad sectors out of warranty this October. I told him to buy a new one and I would install it and restore his PC. Well the restore disc he had was damaged (scratched) sometime in the year he had it. I first attempted Gateways website to see if I could order a replacement online (Had to do that once before with a friends Sony PC-great exp there). Couldn't find it, but I did see a link to chat online with a tech.  
 
After explaining the situation their online tech (Steve), he confirmed the PC was out of warranty and tried to sell me phone based support. I reminded him that I didn't want/need tech support as the problem was fixed, I just needed a replacement restore disc. He tells me they do not carry them and directs me to an outside company website to buy it. Well I looked on that website and most of what they listed were for older PC's running Windows98 and earlier. I only seen a few XP's and no Vista's. I found a phone number for the company and called, they confirmed they do not carry anything Vista. They specialize in older hardware no longer supported. They did recommend to call Gateway and ask for their parts department as tech support were "idiots", the discs should be in stock.  
 
So I found their number and called their customer service line. I will say Gateway's hold times are better than most, only took about 5 minutes. The guys I talked to (Cody) said they do have the disc (really?), it was $10 for the disc + $10 for regular ground shipping. I explained the situation that my friend was going into the hospital for surgery Monday (11/3) and the needed the disc sooner. I asked if I could get it overnight shipped so I'd have it Friday (10/31). He tells me sure, but the next day shipping will be an additional $10. I said fine $30 is ok and asked to verify it was shipping the same day & also asked where was it shipping from. He said it would ship that day, and it would be coming from Texas.  
 
So Friday passed and no disc, Saturday passed and no disc, finally Monday came and the disc arrives. The label shows "Deliver by 03Nov08", checking the tracking number online it shipped from Washington and it wasn't shipped until the next day. This portion of the blame should be shared by both Gateway (overnight orders shouldn't sit around an extra day) & FedEX (three business days to ship an overnight package?)  
 
General incompetence all around... The first tech should have directed me to customer service to order the disc, the second should have been a little more forthcoming in the shipping. Lastly, FedEx...that's another review.

I lied with the purchase date - it was Sept. 4th 2006 (not a drop-down option). However, I also purchased an extended warranty for 2 years, so it's still in force.  
 
Last May it started spontaneously rebooting on occasion. I assumed it was software, and in June it got bad enough that I felt I must do something about it. In order to eliminate the possibility it was hardware (before I painfully started from scratch with the software) I asked them for a hardware diagnostic - especially a memory diagnostic since that was the error report. They never provided one even though I asked for it repeatedly over the period from then to last month (September). They questioned my extended warranty repeatedly (I even provided the number) and asked me to do a hard drive test (built in to their software). Passed. Then they said to restore to factory conditions. By this time I had found that by disabling external memory the problem became much less frequent, but they ignored that and insisted on the factory restore.  
 
I did it, installed only my anti-virus (AVG) and firewall (Zone alarm) programs and the problem still occurred (on an anti-virus sweep - one never finished).  
 
I was told they "escalated" the problem and from that point on there was no useful contact with them - each time I was told it had been escalated and they could do nothing - not even put me in touch with the escalation team. After further complaint the escalated it again, but still no contact from them. I tried a letter to headquarters and never got a reply.  
 
A selection of emails in the exchange with their customer support people is at http://www.rgcle.com/Gateway/  
 
I finally bought an HP desktop and have had NO trouble after loading all the operational software I had on the Gateway and then some.  
 
My experience leads me to the conclusion that I should never buy Gateway again.  
 
In regard to the restriction of transactions occurring within one year, i consider the exchange of emails with Gateway tech support as meeting that requirement.

Bought a laptop in december 2007. Now the mouse has developed a live of it's own, well at first it did. Now it isn't working at all. Was told to overwrite the hardrive woth zeros using GWSCAN and still nothing. Talking to some Techs and they want to sell me a extended warranty or other things that wont help me. Now they are telling me that my warranty is running out in November. November what? End of november hopefully because unless they are arithmaticially challenged a year is 12 month not eleven. Now I am worried, that they will try to run the warranty out by delaying my box arriving. Yes, I consented to send the laptop back and do without for 4 or however many weeks. I do webdesign and need my comp. I am even more worried after reading all these reviews. How am I suppose to buy a new comp, if I am loosing money here every day by not having a computer?  
Maybe, we should all get together and file a class action lawsuit. One dissatisfied customer may not mean much, but if we combine forces they may not like the bad publicity. A company this obviously greedy and shitty SHOULD be hit where it hurts them the most. I bought my comp at Best Buy and maybe if enough people jam Best Buys phonelines complaining about Gateway they will light some fire under their behinds. Start going on every website that sells Gateway and leave tons of bad reviews. Maybe as a combined force we consumers can get some action!!!!  
I will call the number in the States tomorrow and see what I can get done. Don't have a lot of hope though after reading all these threads.

Gateway is no longer an honest company. They do no warrantee work themselfs, they sold out the business. I purchased a new battery for my laptop on April14,2008 with a 1 year warrantee from Gateway. It never worked well and completely failed in late Sept. 2008. The tech at Gateway said they wouldn't honor the warrantee for $129. plus tax and shipping so I spoke to a supervisor who said they would credit my credit card and gave me the email of a company I could purchase a new one from. The next day I called them and they said a manager said the supervisor made a mistake and they could do nothing for me. I guess the sales of laptop are going so bad and the economy is going down fast so they are going to keep any $$$ they get their hands on. Its too late to call my credit card company and put a stop on the payment so I just have to tell as many people as I can. Please don't buy from this dishonest company. This is my first expierence with a company that is so crooked.

Got a "Gateway Certified Refurbished Product" 24" monitor FHD2400 from tigerdirect.com. I called Gateway support because  
 
1) 4 thumbscrews to hold monitor to stand was missing.  
2) Inner bezel, outside painted bezel, and the stand has deep scrapes, scratches, and chips. This was well packed so these did not occur from shipping.  
3) This was a sealed box that tigerdirect just ship out and didn't verify its contents.  
 
Gateway refused to ship the thumbscrews and they refused to believe that their refurb quality control fails. So far there are no stuck or dead pixels. Beware that you might just get something like this and that Gateway just does not care. Unfortunately I have an Acer laptop whose LCD monitor just developed problems after 2 years.

I posted over at the "main" thread of the FPD2485W at AVS. My monitor is just a bit over a year old and some faints spots which are right in the middle of the screen have become much worse. I called Gateway when the monitor was well within the support range, but couldn't get through to anyone.... I attributed it to normal LCD clouding, I work normally with dark Interfaced screens, Photoshop etc. so it never bothered me much,  
 
So now that it's worse,  
I called Gateway again, their support is beyond bad, they couldn't even find my monitor until after being put on hold 3 times. Then I was of course told that my monitor is a couple months out of warranty and couldnt be covered, I tried to explain to them that the spots have been there for awhile, but now the spots have worsened.... even had the person agree that burn-in spots couldn't happen overnight, but she didn't budge.. I of course won't be buying any Gateway products in the future, so tired of companies making products that break soon after the warranty expires... its all a conspiracy right??? hah  
 
So a warning, for others whom may buy a similar Gateway product...  
 
When I tried to call back in February, and couldn't even get past the first automated question which was enter your 10 digit Serial #... I bought mine at Best Buy so perhaps they use a different # for them? but it's a 13 digit Serial #.. When you didnt enter a serial # their computer recognizes, (i tried many different versions) it didn't send you to another menu..or an operator.. the automated person said sorry and hung up on you.. sounds like a good operation haha.  
 
When I called this week they had the same opening automated Serial #.. couldn't get it to work, hangs up on you if you don't enter the proper serial #... that's at best devious, and at worst criminal. Being a little more diligent this time, and after some investigation through the web I found a phone # which again asked the serial # but somehow got it to work, only after being on hold for 30 minutes.  
 
I wouldn't recommend Gateway for anything to be quite frank. And don't ever buy anything this expensive (comparatively) with only a year warranty, companies like Gateway use very low class screens and slap a one year warranty on them... They'll get you everytime...

I only have access to dial up internet and during my telephone conversations with gateway, I was told that there were not problems with this computer and dial up . After numerous contacts with the gateway technical dept the problem was not fixed. I was told that there are a lot of problems with this computer and dial up and it does not work. Why couldn't they share this information in the first place and I would have purchased another system? I returned the computer and was told that there would not be a restocking fee because I had been in frequent contact with them to correct the problem. They charged me a restocking fee anyway stating that it was not their problem that I could not connect to the internet. When I called many times and spoke with customer service and the escalation department they would not return my calls. I was able to contact a person who stated that customers were not allowed to talk to anyone else at gateway if they did not agree with their decisions or customer service issues.

Trying to resolve an issue using the online chat session is awful, and the online agents are clearly trying to push all support to telephone support at $2.95/minute (and the charge begins even before they answer the telephone!!!).  
 
One agent did send me a useful link,to the beep code diagnostics. That indicated bad memory, and we pulled the defective chip and it booted fine. I then ordered new memory from Gateway based upon Gateway's recommendation.  
 
The computer failed same way next day, and when I engaged another chat session, the agent (Morgan_badge???) only said to send it in for repairs for $387.95 plus tax.  
 
When I asked another question about the diagnostic message, the agent terminated the session immediately.  
 
THIS IS NOT THE GATEWAY THAT EXISTED IN 1999. THE NEW ACER MANAGEMENT IS TRYING TO MILK EVERY LAST CENT FROM FORMER CUSTOMERS. IT IS DECEPTIVE BUSINESS AND COASTING UPON THE REPUTATION OF THE FORMER, AND ORIGINAL, COMPANY!  
 
My personal feeling is, "DON'T BUY GATEWAY"!!! I certainly won't buy anything more from them.

I originally ordered a computer on 1-20-08, and waited a week before I check online to discover that it was still in 'processing.' I called my representative at gateway who told me that they oversold the computer I ordered, and they don't make them anymore. He told me that they have new model coming out soon, and I agreed to wait for that one to replace my order. He said that was going to be released on 2-7-08. When that day rolled around, I called my rep to place the order, who then said that they weren't actually being released until 2-14-08, so I agreed to wait another week to order it. I ordered the new model on 2-16-08 when my rep started working again, and told me that it should arrive in ~8 days, which would be around 2-26-08.  
 
I waited a few more days and checked my order status online, which said that the estimated delivery date is now the 3-3-08, which is another week after my first quoted delivery date. I checked the next day, before calling my rep, and it said that the estimated delivery date is now 3-11-08, ANOTHER week after the quoted delivery date. I called my rep asking for some compensation for my wait, and he gave me the run-around, explaining that it isn't their fault and and they can't do anything about it. I asked to talk to his manager, who was even less help than my sales rep.  
 
All I want is comparable compensation for my wait and the deprecated value of the computer, or a free warranty extension or something.

No malace in my heart on this. Was with GATEWAY over a decade bought many machimes but seems like upper management is the problem. Bought Desk top DX441S - beautiful PC & 22" HD Display.  
 
Colors were way off. Only Green & ugly yellow - no reds. Was to have had a white wire, came with blue. Tek & Salesmen were genuinely helpful.  
 
Some supervisors very bad. Was told "No custom PC's anymore only out of the box". Ok no problem here.  
 
Wanted it partly for CIV 4 graphics. Went over what was needed, All stated it was there but evidently was not or couldn't recognize the mother board graphics or sound.  
 
I had to buy a graphics card from GATEWAY about $90. THEY DIDN'T HAVE THE SOUND CARD! Had to purchase from STAPLES ($70.)! I KID YOU NOT.  
 
Add to this with tek help I checked the hard drives & they were used by someone. The job was partially done as indicated on the screen & dated 3 weeks before I bought the PC.  
 
So was the PC was refurbish??? Nothing but problems. I was then willing to just exchange. These thisgs can happen.  
 
I spoke to a woman in "escalations" & she seemed to agree. Defective possibly refurbished & we were to exchange.  
 
I called Returns Dept. to set thisngs in motion.  
(Not to loose out with the return period).  
 
Then "M" (male guy) tells me that I can't remove the "VISTA" software & Can't return until I install the graphics & sound cards!  
 
VISTA software MUST go with PC. I wanted XP told couldn't get it with PC. Told him I would do it myself, then was told I couldn't remove VISTA.  
 
Then I ended it all & demamded a refund.  
 
Don't believe it - I don't blame you. Then I get  
some more management types that were a nghtmere.  
15% restocking fee on a possibly used PC that never worked properly.  
 
The monitor needed a white wire & none was there. Yup had to order for something that should have been there.  
 
The Sales & tek were excellent. They really were upfront & put in the effort.  
 
The automatic answering service just schuffles you around. Management should try it sometimes.  
 
In fairness much of the other problems was from the new "VISTA' software. It clearly is not ready for the market so beware.  
 
Called windows "VISTA" support & they actually didn't have any answers for some of their own error codes! Also cases that no drivers existed for your hardware even if less that a year old. In one instance they blamed the MFG. for not having drivers.  
 
Had difficulty understanding some people.  
 
Windows blames manufacturers & sent me to Gateway & Gateway sent me to windows.  
 
Suggest get XP PC for now until Vista bugs are solved. The 'VISTA' software problems will take time to sort out so be careful.  
 
Me, I bought 2 XP machines from Tiger.  
 
BTW - GATEWAY - I have ALL the documentation. Even sent email to alleged VP of sales - no reply. (Not that I expected one.  
 
Last thought for everyone. Why can't Bill Gates let the customer choose the software?  
 
I understand that manufacturers are forced by contract to only sell "VISTA".  
 
SO AS WE COMPLAIN ABOUT BUGS THEY FIX.

This review was modified by its author, ED-SI, on 2/8/08 9:31 PM.

I recently purchased a computer from Gateway.com as I wanted a new computer and it was a good deal. The price was actually cheaper than if I ordered the parts and built it myself. However, I have had nothing but trouble since. The computer was slow in coming and when I tried to get information on why it was late and when it would arrive, the support said they could not get any information on my order until it had been processed for 1 month. This was just the start of my support troubles.  
Instead of writing a very long rant on their technical service, lets just say I've spent several hours talking to them, much of it trying to explain what I needed from them as 3 of the 4 people I talked to did not understand how computers work. My computer was not shipped with a backup disc with drivers/application, my video card did not work so it was RMA, and finally asking which codecs were needed to watch a DVD (I hung up on them when they gave me an exact address to download codecs that were listed on the page as adware). So, while I have many bad things to say about Gateway, these are just a few to mention.  
While the price is right, you should consider buying from another company.

This was the laptop MX7525. Had trouble with the screen. Sent it back 2 times. They got it right the second time. Right after it went off warrenty the power button went out. Paid $250 to have it repaired. It lasted about three monthxs. Now the screen it starting to go out again and the power button is going bad on me. Their customer service was good. With a fast turnaround time. The computer is a lemon.

this is the worst company in the world. I bought a notebook from them, they quoted me 1500 dollars for a repair. THAT COST MORE THAN THE NOTEBOOK DID! They were very unprofessional. The Warranty is shit, as well as their AC Adapters I had to continually buy because they broke after the first month. Never buy from Gateway. NEVER.

I Bought a Gateway FPD2185W from a reseller that promised me that Gateway would sell me an additional 2 year warranty. Gateway refused to sell me the extended warranty. So I had a $600 monitor with a short 1 year warranty. Of course the monitor went bad a few months out of warranty and I now have a $600 piece of junk. Gateway refused to replace/ repair the monitor even if I paid for the repair.  
Gateway has turned into another skid row company that misleads the customer. Live and learn.

This review was modified by its author, Jazzpicker308, on 11/4/07 11:08 PM.

Gateway misleads consumers by indicating a "deliver by date" then doesn't deliver. My computer is now scheduled to arrive 3 weeks later than promised, on a date I will be out of town for Thanksgiving. I think Gateway should provide some form of customer incentive for this since they are responsible and I have already paid for the computer in full. When asked, Gateway said they would be happy to delay my order even further so it would arrive after I returned but said they would not provide any further incentive for the delay in delivery as I had already been given a student discount (which one either qualifies for or doesn't and which has nothing to do with their failure to meet delivery expectations) and their "off the top" discount, which they advertised and offered. Update 10/30: Attempt to cancel order. Now Gateway says computer is "ready to be shipped" even though I got a message from another Gateway person saying it would be ready next week. Now they say delay is due to me "paying in advance" which put a hold on the order. Plus, it will take 7-10 days to refund my money IF the order hasn't already been shipped. Then I will have to wait till they receive it back and process it which will result in another delay.

This review was modified by its author, rlindsey, on 10/30/07 5:17 PM.