Keysight U1253B freezing up.

[itsmerandy]

Hello, I purchased a Keysight U1253B a few years back and have only used it a hand full of times, This week I have blown the dust off it and using it to set Idle current on an old Pioneer SX-880 receiver and noticed the display would just lock up on whatever Millivolt reading it was showing last. I turned it off and back on a few times but would get the same reading on display also noticed that none of the function buttons would work either. So I pulled the battery for a couple of minutes and reinstalled it and it was back to normal. Just curious if anyone else has ran into this problem with theirs? It will also lock up on Ohms, diode modes. Thanks

[CapLeaker]

My original one that I got in 2012 did similar things in 2014. Mine would count real slow, freeze and the buttons didn’t work when it froze.

I’ve sent mine back to Agilent and they had it replaced with a new one.

[itsmerandy]

Yes, that is exactly what is going on with this one. Just wish I would have noticed it when it was still under warranty.  I would take it apart and try to repair it but chances are it's probably firmware related. Anybody else have any ideas let me know.

[CapLeaker]

Agilent didn’t give me an answer about what went wrong with it. They just replaced it outright, calibrated it and sent it to me back, less the probes etc. The turn around was fast.
How old is yours?

[itsmerandy]

Actually I was thinking I purchased it around 2019-2020 but i can't find the receipt. I purchased it online from Testequity and called them today and they found my name on file but nothing else. He then told me they went to a new system in late 2019 early 2020 and older purchases wouldn't show up on their new system, said if it would have been in the last 30 days they would just swap me out for a new one but now I would have to go through Keysight. Then I called Keysight and they found me in their system but couldn't tell when I purchased it and said all they could do is swap it out for $560 plus shipping.
  So guess I am just screwed.  I think I paid close to $800 for it and probably has less then a couple of hours use.

[CapLeaker]

Being that new they should replace it. I can’t remember if I needed proof of purchase or not… been too long ago. Call Keysight up and see what happens. They are usually very good.

[itsmerandy]

I did call Keysight and was told my only option was to pay $560 to exchange it out for a refurbished unit. They were no help at all! It's all about the almighty dollar to them.

[CapLeaker]

Ouch… that hurts. If you bought it online, you should be able to get the original slip. It should be still showing if you log into your account.