Today I want to tell you about my experience with bambu support. I am aware that there are some posts about it. Still I want to add to it - because some are negative and after this ride I feel as if I should tell you.
So it was mid July ('24) when after changing the nozzle something was wrong with the printer (X1C with AMS). It displayed an abnormal nozzle temperature dropping to 0°C when I waited a minute or so. Also there was something wrong with the fan near the nozzle. So I ordered some replacement parts including the temperature sensor and a new fan. After having replaced the fan and the sensor twice (I wanna be sure before I ask for help) I reached out to Bambu Lab and opened a support ticket.
After a few messages back and forth they sent me a replacement TH board and a replacement USB cable. Replaced that and the issue remained - temperatures now even dropped to below 0°C. Then they sent me more replacement parts: MC board, AP board, MC cables and a lidar replacement. I should replace them in a specific order. It then started to get really hot in my flat so I decided to wait the summer out because I couldn’t work in a hot environment. I just tell you this, so you can see, it was mainly my “fault” this took so much time… During that hot period I missed my printer so much that I thought buying the A1 mini could sweeten the waiting period. And it did!
In late september I was able to return working on the printer due to dropping temperatures. I replaced the MC board (no effect) and continued to replace the AP board. This was kinda the boss fight and the AP board lost. I managed to damage/destroy the replacement board AND the original board. And this was where I got frustrated with all these procedures and asked the support if it would be possible to just send me a new printer.
That question was ignored at first, which made it even more frustrating. What also was frustrating was that to replace some parts you needed to use a hair dryer (which I did not possess at the time) to loosen some of those small connectors. And - if any of those repair attempts would have been successful - I would have to use silicon and UV glue. That is a thing beyond my experience. Of course I would have tried it and possibly learned something … still I felt like the technician that Bambu Lab wanted to rationalize - at my cost. I have read some other reviews that suggested the same.
Having that peak of frustration at that time, I asked again, if it wouldn’t be more efficient to just send me a replacement unit. Suddenly they responded to my question. And I should do one or two steps more that are needed to “escalate” the ticket. So I took a deep breath and did those steps - including making a video and sending logs (which I was certain that this wouldn’t even work, but it did).
So the ticket was escalated then and… guess what … they agreed that my experience until now was a long and frustrating one and that they would send me a replacement unit! Since I disposed of the original packing I had to literally “buy” a new printer (but they labelled it as a deposit on the invoice) and paid 1249€ (the then actual price of a new unit) and promised a refund when the old printer was returned successfully. So I took another deep breath and did what they were suggesting.
And what shall I say? It worked! Today I got the refund!
So being able to review the whole process, I would say: Excellent support. Or at least good support. What I want to suggest that you could improve is:
- Try to not let your customers think that they are your technicians. Maybe you’re even able to place kind of a last-resort technician in major cities as you’re growing.
- The next gen printer has already been announced for 2025. Try to design it in a way where you don’t have to use any glue on connectors.
- Try to not ignore customers’ requests. At some point I felt like talking to a bot.
Still: I’m glad I was patient and it worked out that well. And the A1 mini is a nice addition. So it was worth the wait after all
Thank you Bambu Lab