Not even four months since its release, and some Asus ZenFone 6 (aka Asus 6Z) devices already need a motherboard replacement. Not a good omen! Confused about what’s happening? Read on.

Asus recently released a firmware update (16.1220.1906.167) for their newest flagship device ZenFone 6. Unsurprisingly, the patch was yet another camera-centric update, like the earlier builds. However, this one left some users complaining about crash, reboot & shutdown.

ZenFone6-fourth-update
Asus ZenFone 6 update (16.1220.1906.167) release notes

As we highlighted recently, after installing this latest patch, reports about the phone hanging, randomly crashing/rebooting began to pour in. Users say it took multiple trials to turn on the device, and in extreme cases, the phone literally died after these frequent crash sequences.

This bug was confirmed by a ZenTalk forums moderator who suggested the affected users to visit a service center to get things sorted.

We have concluded that all devices with these issues must be sent in to your ASUS Service Center. It’s most probably related to hardware issue even though it started with the latest update for some customers.

While the moderator didn’t give a clear picture about the root cause earlier, now it is coming to light these crash/reboots have to do with the device’s motherboard. You heard it!

Sharing more insight into the crash issue, the mod explained the problem reared its ugly head after the recent update which somehow instigated a motherboard fault in some ZenFone 6/Asus 6z phones. So it’s basically the case of a software update crippling the phone’s hardware.

In addition, the mod suggests users to get in touch with a nearby service center, as the problem requires a motherboard replacement. Reason being, a software fix may re-trigger this hardware problem with updates in future. Here’s how the moderator confirms and explains this:

The .167 update triggered a motherboard malfunction which only some units have had and it’s natural that their owners find their way here.

Furthermore, they add:

“Fixing” it with software would only cover up a hardware related issue which will most likely popup later with some other update. You will get a new motherboard when you send it in and I’m sorry you were one of the affected people.

Asus-zenfone-motherboard-bug
ZenTalk forum moderator’ response

There you go. Those of you who were facing the crash/reboot/shutdown problem discussed here after the latest update, head to an Asus service center to get the motherboard replaced.

Note that there’s currently no clarity on whether or not customers will be charged for this replacement. However, ideally this kind of service should be free.

NOTE: For more Asus-related news, bugs/issues and updates, interested readers may head here.

PiunikaWeb is a unique initiative that mainly focuses on investigative journalism. This means we do a lot of hard work to come up with news stories that are either ‘exclusive,’ ‘breaking,’ or ‘curated’ in nature. Perhaps that’s the reason our work has been picked by the likes of Forbes, Foxnews, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Engadget, The Verge, Macrumors, and more. Do take a tour of our website to get a feel of our work. And if you like what we do, stay connected with us on Twitter (@PiunikaWeb) and other social media channels to receive timely updates on stories we publish.

Dr. Aparajita Sharma
1261 Posts

A budding entrepreneur by profession, and a psychologist by education. As a founding member of PiunikaWeb, I am nurturing this firstborn with my sharp-eyed expertise and even journalistic writing when needed.

Next article View Article

[April 10: Official acknowledgement for recommended videos bug] YouTube Library tab broken and sidebar missing, users say

This story is being continuously updated…. New updates are being added at the bottom….. Original story (from 2019) follows: Incoming are reports related to two separate YouTube-related issues. The...
Apr 10, 2020 0 Min Read