ASUS
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| Basic information | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1989 |
| Legal Structure | Public |
| Industry | Computing, Electronics |
| Also known as | ASUSTeK Computer Inc. |
| Official website | https://asus.com/ |
ASUS (ASUSTeK Computer Inc.) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan. It is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of computers, laptops, motherboards, graphics cards, and other electronics. ASUS is known for its gaming hardware under the ROG (Republic of Gamers) brand.
Consumer impact summary
[edit | edit source]This section is incomplete. This notice can be deleted once all the placeholder text has been replaced.
User freedom
[edit | edit source]- ASUS permanently shutdown its bootloader unlocking service for smartphones (Zenfone and ROG Phone series). Despite original promises to release a tool for newer models, the utility was quietly removed, preventing users from installing custom ROMs or having full administrative control over their purchased hardware.[1]
- Famously voided hardware warranties if users opened their devices, replaced thermal paste, or broke void stickers, which conflicts with regulations like the US Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act as stated by the FTC.[2]
User privacy
[edit | edit source]Business model
[edit | edit source]Market control
[edit | edit source]Incidents
[edit | edit source]This is a list of all consumer-protection incidents this company is involved in. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the ASUS category.
Removal of bootloader unlocking tool (2023)
[edit | edit source]In May 2023, ASUS removed a tool they provided for unlocking the bootloader of their Zenfone and Republic of Gamers (ROG) smartphones. This tool was mentioned in advertising to appeal to tech-savvy customers and was provided free-of-charge. By early 2024, ASUS was charging approximately €185 for this same service.
Warranty Repair practices
[edit | edit source]- Main article: ASUS voids warranty of devices sent for repair over minor damages and performs unrelated repairs
ASUS customers reported that the company was rejecting their repairs under warranty due to alleged "Customer Induced Damage". An investigation by Gamers Nexus revealed that ASUS's repair process would void the warranty of products and charge for unrelated repairs, despite the customer only mentioning issues that are covered under warranty. A dispute had to be made for ASUS to finally agree to perform the repairs under warranty.
ASUS sells replacement parts on their website, which can be cheaper and less hassle than going through the warranty.
Systemic firmware negligence and PCI-SIG violations (2021–2026)
[edit | edit source]Between 2021 and 2026, flagship ASUS ROG laptops (including Strix, Scar, and Zephyrus lines) shipped with firmware that violated fundamental hardware programming standards, rendering devices unstable for real-time tasks. Independent forensic analysis revealed that ASUS engineers had placed blocking `Sleep()` commands (specifically `Sleep(0x64)`) inside high-priority Interrupt Service Routines (ISRs).[3][4] This practice, which is strictly forbidden in kernel-level programming, caused the CPU to hang for over 100 milliseconds at a time, resulting in rhythmic system stutters and audio failure.[5]
Additionally, investigations in 2025 revealed a "broken by design" violation of the PCI-SIG specifications regarding Power Management. The firmware hard-coded a mismatch in Latency Tolerance Reporting (LTR) values between the CPU Root Port (765µs) and the NVIDIA GPU Endpoint (0ns).[6] This synchronization failure caused "Blue Screen of Death" (WHEA 0x124) crashes and black screens on high-end models.[7]
Despite user reports spanning four years, ASUS support routinely misdiagnosed these firmware defects as software or driver conflicts, instructing users to perform ineffective Windows re-installations or RMAs for hardware that was defective by design. While the ACPI stutter was patched in late 2025 following media outcry,[8][9][10] the PCIe stability violations persist in 2026 model generations.
Products
[edit | edit source]- ROG
- Zenfone
- Strix
- Scar
- Zephyrus
See also
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ Sharma, Adamya (8 Aug 2023). "ASUS reportedly removing ability to unlock the bootloader on its phones". Android Authority. Archived from the original on 26 Sep 2023. Retrieved 23 Jul 2026.
- ↑ "Compliance Warning Re: Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act" (PDF). FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION. 9 Apr 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 Jul 2018. Retrieved 23 Jul 2026.
- ↑ Zephkek (17 Sep 2025). "The ASUS Gaming Laptop ACPI Firmware DPC Stall: A Deep Technical Investigation". GitHub. Archived from the original on 2026-02-06.
- ↑ ZephKeks (17 Sep 2025). "Asus Gaming Laptops Have Been Broken Since 2021: A Deep Dive". Linus Tech Tips Forum. Archived from the original on 2025-10-14.
- ↑ AleksandarK (21 Sep 2025). "ASUS Gaming Laptops from 2021-2024 Have Buggy BIOS Causing Stuttering: Report". Tech Power Up. Archived from the original on 2026-02-23.
- ↑ ZephKeks (26 Dec 2025). "ASUS ROG Laptops are Broken by Design: A Forensic Deep Dive". Reddit. Archived from the original on 2025-12-26.
- ↑ Slytha (25 Oct 2025). "High ACPI.sys DPC Latency (>34,000µs) on new ASUS ROG Strix Scar 16 (2025) - Causing 0x7E NVIDIA BSO". Intel Community. Archived from the original on 2026-02-23.
- ↑ James, Luke (27 Sep 2025). "Asus addresses stuttering issues plaguing its gaming laptops — beta patch released for ROG laptops, final fix due in October". Tom's Hardware. Archived from the original on 2025-12-16.
- ↑ Alderson, Alex (28 Sep 2025). "Asus releases major updates to ROG gaming laptops with stuttering and performance interruption fixes". Notebook Check. Archived from the original on 2025-11-02.
- ↑ The WAN Show (22 Sep 2025). "ASUS Laptops Are Broken". YouTube. Archived from the original on 22 Sep 2025.