I seriously think the T9 was introduced to address these reliability issues. I have been waiting and watching to see how many of those units turn up with the same S9 and R4 issues. So far it has been quiet on the T9 thread. So if we give it a month or two and it is still quiet the T9 might be the only reliable Bitmain option in BTC miners. Too early to know for sure.
I got a really bad vibe from my R4 B4 so I sold it shortly after I got it. I was able to update the firmware which appeared to help with some temp issues I had right out of the box. But after that I just didn't trust it so I decided to sell it. It was working fine, but I just chickened out. I am glad I did when reading threads like this. There is something seriously wrong with the S9 and R4 design and the autotune isn't successful in working around the problems.
Thanks guys for sharing your stories. I hope you are able to find a way to patch up your miners.
Topic: Antminer R4 - dead hash board? Shitty design, read before you send it back - page 4. (Read 12358 times)
January 31, 2017, 10:54:23 PM
January 31, 2017, 10:28:46 PM
I think I found the issue..
Guess the chip (VRM?) decided to kill itself. I tried to fix this bridge but the chip just disintegrated. ;(
Guess the chip (VRM?) decided to kill itself. I tried to fix this bridge but the chip just disintegrated. ;(
January 31, 2017, 09:56:44 PM
You're right.. I tested it with a multimeter and it's a non-conductive material.
So, this hashboard broke when my internet dropped out last night as I was asleep for around 4-5 hours.. strange that these miners continue to eat up full power while there's no connection or work to be done. That I think is no conspiracy, or is it?
So, this hashboard broke when my internet dropped out last night as I was asleep for around 4-5 hours.. strange that these miners continue to eat up full power while there's no connection or work to be done. That I think is no conspiracy, or is it?
Doubtful... no need to ascribe to conspiracy that which can more easily be explained by mere incompetence. 
I believe notfuzzy's got it right, leftover fluff from ramshackle processing. A shame, really.
I believe notfuzzy's got it right, leftover fluff from ramshackle processing. A shame, really.
January 31, 2017, 09:41:06 PM
Doubtful... no need to ascribe to conspiracy that which can more easily be explained by mere incompetence.
I believe notfuzzy's got it right, leftover fluff from ramshackle processing. A shame, really.
I believe notfuzzy's got it right, leftover fluff from ramshackle processing. A shame, really.
January 31, 2017, 09:18:20 PM
Upon inspecting my 2nd failed hashboard, I found another of instance of the strange plasticy strand. It looks like this one was placed purposely as I see a bit of glue on the heatsink. Strange that the strands on both boards are touching the capacitors as well?? Makes me wonder if this is some kind of method for disabling bad chips..
January 31, 2017, 07:50:48 PM
Someone please tell me there is no way this dingy strand was actually doing anything?
Errant bristle from a brush used to clean it?
January 31, 2017, 07:28:35 PM
Because I'm not willing to bring my miner back home to China, I opened it up to try to see what happened.
I learned a couple interesting things. This failed hashboard definitely had a lot of prior usage on it, it's supposed to be the 7.5TH model but after removing some stickers I learned the board was a 8.7TH model in its previous lifetime. I also found this strange thing..
Someone please tell me there is no way this dingy strand was actually doing anything?
I learned a couple interesting things. This failed hashboard definitely had a lot of prior usage on it, it's supposed to be the 7.5TH model but after removing some stickers I learned the board was a 8.7TH model in its previous lifetime. I also found this strange thing..
Someone please tell me there is no way this dingy strand was actually doing anything?
Unplug whole working board (incl. datacable) and start miner with "bad" board only. There is no failing part, it is mess in IIC comunication and PIC firmware. Single board usually helps to bring it back.
January 31, 2017, 07:17:10 PM
If I unplugged this board, there'd be no boards left because the other one bit the dust as well. ;(
Unplug whole working board (incl. datacable) and start miner with "bad" board only. There is no failing part, it is mess in IIC comunication and PIC firmware. Single board usually helps to bring it back.
January 31, 2017, 05:58:22 PM
Just lovely.. got another R4 board now reporting 1 asic. ;(
Unplug whole working board (incl. datacable) and start miner with "bad" board only. There is no failing part, it is mess in IIC comunication and PIC firmware. Single board usually helps to bring it back.
January 31, 2017, 04:19:09 PM
1 month pre-order, what a shame ...
January 31, 2017, 03:08:46 PM
Phil,
What a pain in the ...
What a pain in the ...
Well I had hoped they improved from my s-7 issues they did for a bit now they are giving bad service and more.
By more
Take a look
BTC is 917 if you buy an s9 from them but on another part of the website btc is 956
this is a ripoff of about 60 usd per s9 plus it will not ship until March 1st
January 31, 2017, 02:48:23 PM
Phil,
What a pain in the ...
What a pain in the ...
January 31, 2017, 02:00:21 PM
Just lovely.. got another R4 board now reporting 1 asic. ;(
January 31, 2017, 01:52:50 PM
The asic chain being broken and chips going missing seems to be a very common issue with this last batch of R4s.
For me, I refuse to bring my R4 back home to china, so I opened it up to take a look. Does anyone know which part is failing when these chips go missing?
Is it the chip going bad or the resistors / capacitors around the chip? To me, it looks like the thermal glue they use on the chips is extremely messy as it melts into the chip's pins looking like it's very probable to cause a shortcircuit if it manages to lift the pins out of place.
For me, I refuse to bring my R4 back home to china, so I opened it up to take a look. Does anyone know which part is failing when these chips go missing?
Is it the chip going bad or the resistors / capacitors around the chip? To me, it looks like the thermal glue they use on the chips is extremely messy as it melts into the chip's pins looking like it's very probable to cause a shortcircuit if it manages to lift the pins out of place.
January 31, 2017, 08:58:36 AM
Bitmain Warranty (Denver) IS NOT Bitmain (Hong Kong). I have not used Bitmain Hong Kong for repairs but wish that I did after experiencing this. I should have inspected the returned R4 while at the UPS store before sending off another R4 to Denver for repair. Live and learn
I emailed Bitmain Warranty in regards to this situation and waiting to hear back.
I emailed Bitmain Warranty in regards to this situation and waiting to hear back.
That truly is fine example of fuck you on someones part in Denver. I have to say I am done with them.
I will mine the 1 and ½ r4's = 11th
I will mine the 2 and ⅓ s9s = 29th
I will grow the avalon 721s 13th soon to be 19.5 th
January 31, 2017, 07:41:53 AM
If this is true then I don't think this is anywhere acceptable.
I seem to have a better luck this time with my R4B6 that failed one board after 20 hours of running. Bitmain offered me free round trip shipping (Canada <-> Hong Kong) for warranty service. I will see how it goes in the end. I am still hopeful that there are good people working in Bitmain but the quality of customer service does seem inconsistent from time to time.
I seem to have a better luck this time with my R4B6 that failed one board after 20 hours of running. Bitmain offered me free round trip shipping (Canada <-> Hong Kong) for warranty service. I will see how it goes in the end. I am still hopeful that there are good people working in Bitmain but the quality of customer service does seem inconsistent from time to time.
Bitmain Warranty (Denver) IS NOT Bitmain (Hong Kong). I have not used Bitmain Hong Kong for repairs but wish that I did after experiencing this. I should have inspected the returned R4 while at the UPS store before sending off another R4 to Denver for repair. Live and learn
I emailed Bitmain Warranty in regards to this situation and waiting to hear back.
January 31, 2017, 04:50:42 AM
**ATTENTION ALL POTENTIAL BITMAIN WARRANTY CUSTOMERS**
Today I went to my local UPS store to ship out my Batch 4 R4 that needs repair and picked up my Batch 2 R4 that was shipped back on Friday (I have been out of town).
When I opened the box, I was shocked to see they shipped the miner back to me without the foam packing that goes on each end of the miner which was on there when I shipped to Denver. This means the R4 was not tightly packed and sliding around inside the box. In addition, I found one heat sink that had fallen off and one of the protective plastic sleeves for the hash board slots missing.
Seriously??? Crap product from China, slow repair service from Denver, and $225 later I still have a damaged miner. I do not even want to power it up out of fear of causing more damage.
Today I went to my local UPS store to ship out my Batch 4 R4 that needs repair and picked up my Batch 2 R4 that was shipped back on Friday (I have been out of town).
When I opened the box, I was shocked to see they shipped the miner back to me without the foam packing that goes on each end of the miner which was on there when I shipped to Denver. This means the R4 was not tightly packed and sliding around inside the box. In addition, I found one heat sink that had fallen off and one of the protective plastic sleeves for the hash board slots missing.
Seriously??? Crap product from China, slow repair service from Denver, and $225 later I still have a damaged miner. I do not even want to power it up out of fear of causing more damage.
If this is true then I don't think this is anywhere acceptable.
I seem to have a better luck this time with my R4B6 that failed one board after 20 hours of running. Bitmain offered me free round trip shipping (Canada <-> Hong Kong) for warranty service. I will see how it goes in the end. I am still hopeful that there are good people working in Bitmain but the quality of customer service does seem inconsistent from time to time.
January 30, 2017, 07:46:46 PM
Damn Phil, I never would've considered doing that vs a warranty repair, but that makes a lot of sense. I am with you in re: to Bitmain, they have no respect for their customers. If you're not buying 100+ units at a time, it's just not worth the risk of failed equipment. I'm starting to feel like legitimate Group Buys hosted at DC's by purchasing shares (and paying out mining reward according to shares regardless of who's unit actually breaks down) might start making sense again, like an insurance policy against being the unlucky one with a failed unit taking out a huge chunk of your revenue stream.
Will Bitmain not accept the dead hashboard back to China for repair by itself? Last time I tried warrantying an S7 they specifically mentioned NOT to send the whole miner, only to send the dead boards and grossly under-declare value for them. Doesn't really help you with the fan, but if I was you I would just source a furnace fan and duct it in instead of the type that ships with the R4. If it's covered under warranty it would be a shame not to try to get your value out of it.
Will Bitmain not accept the dead hashboard back to China for repair by itself? Last time I tried warrantying an S7 they specifically mentioned NOT to send the whole miner, only to send the dead boards and grossly under-declare value for them. Doesn't really help you with the fan, but if I was you I would just source a furnace fan and duct it in instead of the type that ships with the R4. If it's covered under warranty it would be a shame not to try to get your value out of it.
yeah With 3 of 4 boards running I WILL run them til they croak.
If you have 10 or more units that interchange parts they start to become better.
I just wish I could buy spare parts.
I did order 2 extra s9 controllers I now use on of them to run a single s9 board. and I have 1 spare s9 controller
along with 2 spare fans for the s9.
i would have purchased more r4s but they did not sell spare parts.
the avalon 721s are really good they just run.
January 30, 2017, 06:01:10 PM
**ATTENTION ALL POTENTIAL BITMAIN WARRANTY CUSTOMERS**
Today I went to my local UPS store to ship out my Batch 4 R4 that needs repair and picked up my Batch 2 R4 that was shipped back on Friday (I have been oput of town).
When I opened the box, I was shocked to see they shipped the miner back to me without the foam packing that goes on each end of the miner which was on there when I shipped to Denver. This means the R4 was not tightly packed and sliding around inside the box. In addition, I found one heat sink that had fallen off and one of the protective plastic sleeves for the hash board slots missing.
Seriously??? Crap product from China, slow repair service from Denver, and $225 later I still have a damaged miner. I do not even want to power it up out of fear of causing more damage.
Today I went to my local UPS store to ship out my Batch 4 R4 that needs repair and picked up my Batch 2 R4 that was shipped back on Friday (I have been oput of town).
When I opened the box, I was shocked to see they shipped the miner back to me without the foam packing that goes on each end of the miner which was on there when I shipped to Denver. This means the R4 was not tightly packed and sliding around inside the box. In addition, I found one heat sink that had fallen off and one of the protective plastic sleeves for the hash board slots missing.
Seriously??? Crap product from China, slow repair service from Denver, and $225 later I still have a damaged miner. I do not even want to power it up out of fear of causing more damage.
Oh man, don't know what to say about that...
Mine's still chugging away at 1/2 speed in a DC until they send out a bunch of their S9's that need repair, my R4 will then go along for the ride. Sorry you're getting the big green weenie on all this. Must be nice being a monopoly.
January 30, 2017, 05:56:01 PM
Damn Phil, I never would've considered doing that vs a warranty repair, but that makes a lot of sense. I am with you in re: to Bitmain, they have no respect for their customers. If you're not buying 100+ units at a time, it's just not worth the risk of failed equipment. I'm starting to feel like legitimate Group Buys hosted at DC's by purchasing shares (and paying out mining reward according to shares regardless of who's unit actually breaks down) might start making sense again, like an insurance policy against being the unlucky one with a failed unit taking out a huge chunk of your revenue stream.
Will Bitmain not accept the dead hashboard back to China for repair by itself? Last time I tried warrantying an S7 they specifically mentioned NOT to send the whole miner, only to send the dead boards and grossly under-declare value for them. Doesn't really help you with the fan, but if I was you I would just source a furnace fan and duct it in instead of the type that ships with the R4. If it's covered under warranty it would be a shame not to try to get your value out of it.
Will Bitmain not accept the dead hashboard back to China for repair by itself? Last time I tried warrantying an S7 they specifically mentioned NOT to send the whole miner, only to send the dead boards and grossly under-declare value for them. Doesn't really help you with the fan, but if I was you I would just source a furnace fan and duct it in instead of the type that ships with the R4. If it's covered under warranty it would be a shame not to try to get your value out of it.
On the autofrequency miners they require shipping entire units back. I shipped back some S9 and R4 boards, and they held the repair until I shipped the complete cases. Then they put the systems back together for repair.
It gets expensive sending multiple units back. I'm going to start checking for bad capacitors, at least, before sending boards back in the future.
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