Products > Test Equipment
Keysight officially lost the plot - don't buy if you're a hobbyist
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J-R:
I will not fault anyone who is on a tight budget for buying what is just good enough, but personally I now prefer the higher quality equipment, even if I don't need it.  It's just nice to have things you enjoy using.  So far all of my HP/A/K stuff is worth a lot more now than when I bought it.  (Same for Fluke and Keithley.)

Keysight has been great to work with the last year.  I've purchased various new & used items from different sources and they have been happy to sell me warranty/support for everything so far.  I am not a business, and on the quotes/invoices it just has my name/address listed.  I had one item sent in for repair this spring, and they sent me a replacement.  The pricing for the KeysightCare is a little odd, such that it might be $50 for a $250 DMM but only $75 for a $2k power supply.  Obviously it's hardly worth it for the $250 DMM.  Most likely a lot of the cost is a calculation from a base-line administrative/shipping perspective.

I have called in a few times and have always been able to get a live person.  I do wish they would allow me to purchase/extend coverage through their website.  For now you have to work with someone via e-mail/phone to get the quote, then call in and give a credit card over the phone (or mail a check).
TwistedTransistor:

--- Quote from: nctnico on August 10, 2022, 06:38:02 pm ---My very recent (last month) experience with Keysight support was very positive... More likely the problem is that some people simply have poor communication skills and therefore ended up on the 'ignore' stack at the support department.

--- End quote ---

--- Quote from: nctnico on August 10, 2022, 06:50:19 pm ---This whole thread smells more and more like a hoax to me.

--- End quote ---
It's a phenomenon that's been reported by a multitude of people for a period spanning several years now. Your experience is merely one (very recent) data point. I give it an appropriate weighting, epsilon.

As to your theory that we are all either liars involved in some grand hoax, or are too stupid to communicate our problems effectively... well I give that an even smaller weighting, nought. There's no reason to suppose that that's true and frankly it makes you a bit of a dick.

You should withdraw your egregious accusations.
nfmax:

--- Quote from: nfmax on January 19, 2022, 10:44:47 am ---In August 2019, as a personal buyer with an account of some years standing (and identifying myself as such at the time) I bought a used Keysight MSOX-3104T oscilloscope, with included software bundle, from Keysight via their eBay store. This came with 1 year warranty. The following year, I bought a 2-year return-to-Keysight Repair Agreement for the instrument direct from Keysight UK to extend this to the full 3 years. It will run until August 2022.

Although I am now working as a part-time contract engineer (for a company I am part owner of) I bought this for my own use, from my own funds, as a personal customer.

Will Keysight honour this agreement? That is the question! So far, nothing has gone wrong, but...

--- End quote ---

Well, nothing went wrong  :)

I received an email just before the support agreement expired, offering me another 3 years support and a calibration (This scope has a 3-year cal cycle). I accepted, paid by bank transfer, and arranged the scope be collected for recal. They asked me for a company name, I just said I'm a Sole Trader using my own name, which is the actual situation, and they were happy with this.

No problem: the scope was collected the following Monday and FedExed back on Thursday, with the annoying offset on channel 1 gone. The only problem is, I can't log in to the Keysight web site to download my cal certificate - some sort of Oracle database problem, by the looks of things. I've raised a support request.

So maybe not as bad as we had feared - but I am a professional, as well as a hobbyist
ralphrmartin:

--- Quote from: nfmax on August 29, 2022, 09:09:14 pm ---I received an email just before the support agreement expired, offering me another 3 years support and a calibration ... I accepted... They asked me for a company name, I just said I'm a Sole Trader using my own name, which is the actual situation, and they were happy with this.

--- End quote ---

Then clearly that is a business purchase, and you would not be covered by any consumer legislation (e.g. right to return mail ordered goods within a limited period, without giving a reason). I'm pretty sure that's what this whole thing is about. Keysight presumably have decided that consumers are given so many rights, that it is not worth the potential problems and costs of handling such customers. By limiting sales to businesses, they will be much more able to set the terms and conditions to their liking. While they may have reckoned that losing the few consumer sales they used to have was a price worth paying, it is less obvious whether they have correctly factored in the loss of goodwill of such a decision, especially where such (potential) consumers influence businesses.
J-R:
FYI, Keysight pulled all their listings from ebay around the first few days of September and one person I spoke with said they have no plans to resume sales on ebay.  They wouldn't give a reason.  It could be related to this topic where they want to focus on larger/business customers, or it could be due to ebay's "secret" Refurbished program or some other ebay policy.  Or some other business decision.
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