In the most recent episode of the ROG Pulse show, Whiston Gordon received approval from ASUS to discuss the ongoing Micro SD reader issues that have affected the ROG Ally for the past year.
TLDR
- ASUS has released multiple board revisions that have improved the reliability of the microSD card reader. The new boards will be widely available at RMA centers roughly August 1, 2024. The most likely explanation is that it’s a combination of an underside PTC fuse in combination with poor soldering.
Summary of events that happened.
- As soon as the community raised the issue, their team began investigating it immediately.
- Some initially suspected a temperature correlation, so they released a BIOS with steeper fan curves as a precaution.
- Their early RMA data indicated a failure rate in the low single digits, making it challenging to identify the root cause due to the difficulty in reproducing the issue.
- Even with revised fan temperatures, the failure rates did not change. They then revised the board’s power circuit to the SD card reader, issued new boards, and monitored for reduced failure rates.
- The board revision improved the SD reader, reducing failure rates, and further revisions are ongoing based on these successful results.
HERE’S THE CURRENT STATUS OF THINGS
- New boards will be widely available at RMA centers in 6 weeks (at the time of the statement, that puts it at roughly August 1st).
- A board replacement is only necessary if you’re currently having issues.
- You can send a message to https://us.asus.click/supportcase ( [email protected] )
Want more information on it?
- You can check out his full statement on our Pulse Q&A 2 Summary (HERE)
- You can watch their full video below which covers the statement