Micro-Star International [MSI]
Reviews and Complaints

Bought the laptop in 2019 ended up having to replace 2 fans in 2022 that costed me 550$ and now they buzz so they're bound to fail again and my battery already has to be replaced. This computer has let me down as a paying customer and I paid a high price, and didn't get the satisfaction & I'm left having to dump money into this laptop to keep it going.

MSI has a software called "Dragon Center", and users can tweak their settings like RGB light, performance options and update applications with the software. But I would wish I knew that they also add live BIOS updates in the update as well, and that function is so broken that it fried my motherboard for good, after a failed BIOS update. The computer will boot, but all you have is a black screen, I have tried to reset the BIOS via removing the battery and with the jumper, but no success. The so-called BIOS UPDATE button the panel is a joke, it will not take any USB drives I have, range from 1 GB to 32 GB, totally 10 different sticks.

I had to buy a new motherboard because this stupid software pushes a faulty BIOS.

I bought my 3060 back in December, and in early February I realized that the fans made a grinding noise when I increased their speeds (this is most likely a defective fan bearing), so I sent it for an RMA. The process of getting the ticket was easy, but they require that I pay for shipping which ended up being nearly $50 (this card is $550 which is higher than market averages btw), so that was distasteful. In addition, the RMA process took 5 weeks, and I received the card today 3/15/2022, and as soon as I install it and check to see if the issue was gone, I find that the issue persists! So essentially, they made me pay $50 to ship a broken GPU they sold to me, then they made me wait 5 weeks while they seemingly didn't do anything to the card, and now I have a GPU in the EXACT same BROKEN condition I bought it in, only $50 in shipping and 5 weeks of a GPU-less system collecting dust later. I'm talking with the assistants right now to get it fixed, and it seems the best MSI can do to make this ridiculous situation right is email me a NEW RMA with a prepaid label, and they're making me wait EVEN LONGER TO GET A WORKING GPU. There's no offer to send a replacement ASAP, no compensation for my wasted time either.

This computer has been a lemon since almost the beginning. I purchased in in April 2018. After only 9 months of having it straight from MSI, it needed a new motherboard. Then, in December 2020, it stopped working AGAIN. It needed yet another motherboard.
I wasn't sure I wanted to pay for repairs as I thought MSI should have replace it for free since it's a obvious lemon. On April 7, 2021 I gave them authority to fix the computer, which included a couple repairs done my UPS in shipping. decided to ahead a pay for the repairs and paid over $1116.90.
I did not get the computer back until the first part of July 2021. MSI said they had been waiting on parts. I guess they had to make the parts from scratch after they harvested the raw materials.
When I got the computer back, it won't update, there is no TPR module.

Do not ever buy an MSI computer unless you like to pull your hair out, screeming so loud the dogs and cats run out of the room, etc.

I'm in Canada so can't buy direct from MSI. I bought this machine from newegg.ca in January 2021. The MSI advertising for the machine showed a Thunderbolt 3 port and full-size keyboard. All the glitzy promotional material from MSI inspired a lot of confidence so I believed I'd be getting a first-class machine from a top-grade company.

On attempting to use the machine, I discovered three really serious problems, any of which would have stopped me from buying had I known before:

a) the TB3 port does not support dual 1080p monitors connected via a Belkin TB3 dock. I've spent a lot of time on the phone with tech support from MSI, Belkin, and with Plugable, because I was considering buying one of their TB3 docks to replace the Belkin. Both companies' tech agents say there they've had a lot problems with MSI computers, and that there's something wrong with MSI's implementation of Thunderbolt-3. I'm in the process of returning my Belkin TB3 dock now. One agent with MSI suggested using MSI's USB docking station, but that is unacceptable; one reason I bought this machine is because I believed its TB3 port would allow me to move all the messy cabling onto a TB3 dock, and tidy up my work desk.

b) the trackpad design is unbelievably bad. Nobody who can type proficiently would be able to use this machine because the trackpad is mis-positioned, offset from the center of the spacebar, for no apparent reason which, when combined with it's extra-wide size, means there is no right palm-rest; in fact the trackpad sits right under where one would normally rest their right hand. It is impossible to type on this keyboard without ones' right hand and fingers inadvertently touching the trackpad, which jumps the cursor all over the place. There is no way to avoid this behavior. I am absolutely astonished this design made it into actual machines. A support tech suggested I use an external keyboard and mouse. Yes I know that works, when I'm at my home office. But I'm frequently on the road, and cannot lug all those accessories around to mitigate this defective design.

c) "Fn+Home" and "Fn+End"? With Fn hidden under the typist's right hand? What? Seriously? How about a keyboard designed for its original purpose and not buggered up by moving primary functions around for no good reason, making the keyboard unusable for an experienced typist? I can imagine this might be ok for a gaming user who doesn't actually use the keyboard for its primary purpose. But not a workstation-class laptop... This design is more than disappointing; it's absolutely annoyingly stupid! Trying to "workaround" this by using a Creator Center hack to swap the "Windows" & "Fn" keys? And without swapping the chiclets? Seriously? Clearly someone at MSI knows they messed up...

I've made a number of phone inquiries to try and troubleshoot and resolve my issues; and submitted a number of tickets, all of which were closed all most immediately, before a solution was found. On at least one occasion, an agent replied that I should move one of my HDMI cables from the TB3 dock, to the laptop HDMI port. Yes I know this works, but it is not a solution for the problem! Regarding the keyboard/trackpad design, I've yet to receive a suitable solution. The design is very bad, and appears it cannot be fixed. It seems the primary design criteria was to make a nice-looking keyboard and trackpad; not a functional one.

MSI support which includes the website, could really stand some improvement. I have an account and profile, and my laptop is registered there. But can I find a page where my profile, my device and its numerous tickets can be found in one place? Guess again.

For these reasons, I want a FULL REFUND. One MSI agent I spoke with today, told me I need to send my refund request to newegg. But I'd already spoken with the original selling vendor on newegg, and they told me they need an MSI RMA authorization, and that they want to withhold 15% from me. This is absolutely unacceptable.

I've left the original purchase transaction on my credit card, but am now getting ready to call the credit card company and ask them to reverse and cancel the payment because of the defects in this product and MSI's failures to address them.

I'd be interested in talking with someone in MSI management; not a tech support person.

I repair and make my own electronic musical devices, and used an MSI laptop as it was very good. I recently went to get an updated MSI laptop and one each for my kids now that they are older. I was going to donate my older laptop but found that the stereo audio headphone socket was damaged so I removed it. I could not believe that I cannot get a replacement for this. I asked the MSI Australia service centre and they can't seem to get any parts for anything. Am I supposed to just throw this away as the headphone socket does not work? I have literally hundreds of sockets but the laptop one seems a specific shape. So can I actually get one so I can donate this laptop or not?

I just received my laptop back from RMA repair that took 1 month. They did fix the issues but also somehow messed up my graphics card / HDMI output. Now not only do I have to send it back in, but it could take another month of not having my computer. I need this for work, this is highly unacceptable no matter how you look at it. Literally, they have one job in that department, to test and repair equipment. So either they didn't do their job, or they didn't care enough to sufficiently test the equipment after repair. They would have noticed this immediately after trying to connect it to a monitor. Hopefully, someone reads this and they sort their [censored] out. Not counting on it though. I will probably change manufacturers after this ordeal.

Hello there, a short time ago my laptop's(GS702QE_STEALTHPRO) battery has died and the local service offered a price to replace with the new one. That price was exactly the half of my computer's brand new one's price so I couldn't fix it. Then a few weeks later my usb ports stopped working, now they want a huge price for repairment of the computer.I can buy a brand new gaming pc with that price... Whenever I try to re-contact with the global service, I got the same answer and they redirect me to the nearest authorized service(in a different city and shipping period is also takes 2-3 days.) which they don't even have an idea for what is causing this problem. They don't even look for how to fix it, they just want to sell a new board cards instead of fixing it. My computer is lying under my bed for months. I am not that rich for paying a huge repairment price to fix my laptop. Even if I would, I would've buy a brand new gaming pc with that price. I hope this step will help me to get a real help from MSI Global Support.

I have purchased a motherboard of MSI company just 3 Months back. But motherboard was faulty it has damaged suddenly. It was sent to service center I was expecting a replacement as it is in warranty period. But they said the lan port is burnt and denied to replace. My previous motherboard was working fine for last 5 years and no internet issues, then how come this new motherboard port is burnt within 2.5 months ?!
I will say the motherboard is faulty and the port was damaged already. I feel cheated and my all money gonna wasted, I will not accept this.
MSI Motherboard was faulty and it is in warranty period so MSI Company have to replace it. 

Motherboard details ----
RMA NO: APNU-[protected]-8589 MODEL NAME: Z370-A-PRO SERIAL NO: 601-7B48-010B1901000503

I have a serious complaint regarding your salesman Winlorie Castro - WO183. I purchased a MSI laptop on the 5 May 2014 and had a 512 SSD placed in the laptop with extra RAM.
I was told by the salesman that they can upgrade the ram and install the SSD for me as they are an authorized MSI dealership and therefore authorized to open the laptop and work on it.
I had the laptop for about a week when I kept getting notifications saying my laptop is running low on memory and I must close all programs to avoid any loss of information. I took the laptop to COREX, and actual MSI Authorized dealership in Cape Town, South Africa and they kept it for a few days to run diagnostics on it. I was contacted by Corex and told that my 512 SSD drive is faulty and needs to be replaced. I told them that the laptop is less than 4 weeks old and I find it hard to believe that the ssd is busy breaking. The MSI Technician told me they have to remove the SSD and take it to Samsung as they need to replace it. I told the technician to go ahead. After a while I was called by the technician and informed that the ssd drive was not installed using the proper bracket that it need to secure it in the laptop but that it was secured using double sided tape. This of course is completely unacceptable as this has now caused me great trouble as the laptop is not working, a $4100 laptop I add, and I live in South Africa and cant just fly to Singapore to get this problem solved.
I have added the receipt of the laptop and when it was purchased.
I suggest you get back to me regarding this gross negligence on your salesman behalf and explain to me how this will be resolved as I am not going to leave this be.
It is completely unprofessional to treat customers like this just because you think you can get away with it.
I am now in South Africa and I cant get my brand new laptop to work as the MSI Technicians wont touch my laptop as Newstead opened it up and they are not authorized to do so.

Continually misled and overcharged for there services. Not honoring a retraction of an unwanted service and overcharging me for 3 years.

One of the most known motherboard manufacturers, MSI (Micro-Star International), are ripping off their customers… They won't help you, once you've purchased from them, they'll leave you on your own, with no customer support or technical inquiries. I've purchased an MSI P35 Platinum Motherboard from them & about a month after I got it, I contacted their technical support, for a BIOS modification. The reason I contacted them I because the coding of their BIOS are causing a slow-system-startup & are damaging Hard-Drives. Every time the user turns on his/her PC, it will go on for 4 seconds, then turn off for 4 seconds, then it'll turn back on again. Thus, the user would have to wait more than 10 seconds, before Windows starts loading. The thing is: The MSI P35 Platinum was intended as a High-End motherboard, which ISN'T for office use. It is for use in environments where power users do benchmarks, game benchmarks, etc. This is not a motherboard for the average user just to do office work. It was designed for High-End users, which demands a lot of power from their systems for 3D Multimedia, High Definition Audio & Ultra Fast Processing. The motherboard is also intended for overclocking, which is exactly what every High-End user wants. The stock speed for this motherboard is 1333Mhz FSB, while their website states that the motherboard is capable of running at 1600Mhz, which means it can be overclocked well. So, I am an overclocker, I want to run my Processor at 1600Mhz FSB, as their website states it can run. The only problem is: when overclocking, the system would turn ON(4secs)—OFF(4secs)-ON(4secs)-OFF(1sec)-ON. This means that the user will have to wait an extra long period of time & this is a High-End board…? When you're running the system at stock, the ON-OFF-ON sequence will only happen once, which is still unwanted. So--- I contacted their Technical support, telling them that I want a modified BIOS (software 1-mb in binary size), which doesn't do the ON-OFF-ON procedure every time I switch on my PC. They then gave me a Reply, telling me that this isn't possible, it's a "Chipset Limitation", which means that it physically isn't possible, because the motherboard was designed that way. So--- I kept moaning for about 6 months, because I know a lot about computers & the hardware, I know when someone is taking me for a ride. Other "nice" manufacturers like Asus, Gigabyte, Biostar, used the EXACT same Intel P35 Chipset on their motherboards & their motherboards doesn't go ON-OFF-ON-OFF-ON. So, after a total of 9 months I was still moaning & a representative gave me this reply: "if you insist on this, we may try to contact with the relevant BIOS engineer on this issue." & "we have checked the bios engineer and they may modify a new bios file for the issue of turing on-off-on, but it will influence the performance of memory. Actually, the motherboard turning on-off-on, it caused by P35 chipset. and it will influence your hard disk.". I waited 9 months for this! because this is how long I had to keep fighting, however the BIOS modification took THEM less than a few hours. The issue was somewhat resolved, except they took away the FSB:DRAM ratios. The motherboard doesn't go ON-OFF-ON anymore when running it at stock, but when overclocking with more than 12.5%, then it would still go ON-OFF-ON (this is better than ON-OFF-ON-OFF-ON). But still, they can fix it (if they want to). I told them that the system is fine with stock speeds, but still does the ON-OFF-ON when overclocking, but again, they just told me:" For your concern, we have sent you bios A7345ICI.104 last time which has remove full reset completely." There is no use in a High-End motherboard, which doesn't have FSB:DRAM ratios. So--- I contacted them again, asking them to put it back, with the code which doesn't require the ON-OFF-ON procedure. The representative told me: "Sorry that we could modify a bios for you as we checked with some bios engineers that because of the chipset and hardware designs, the two functions could not be achieved synchronously." ? Again, they are LYING! I modified the BIOS myself & uploaded it on Rapidshare, where quite a lot of people have been downloading it. They LIED! If I could do it myself, then why couldn't they? I managed to modify a BIOS which doesn't have the ON-OFF-ON & which does have FSB:DRAM ratios. Other P35 Platinum users are willing to do anything to get this BIOS (that's if they haven't already gotten them an Asus or Gigabyte & got rid of the MSI). I wrote an article on a forum, where I've put the BIOS, which I modified & a lot of people have been downloading it. The users even gave me comment: "Thanks a lot for your work on this." & "I'll try this one tomorrow! The on-off-on procedure is killing my SSD partitioning table! And it's an OCZ Vertex 120 - not a cheap one! Thx for your help!" I also told them to add an option to the tRAS list, for the memory timings. My RAM supports tRAS = 8 & the P35 chiset supports values up to 3 (the lower the tRAS, the better the performance). So, I asked them if they can add an option for this, because I want to run my RAM at tRAS = 8. Again they told me: "we checked again with the bios engineer and they said it cannot add '8' option for tRAS list due to the limition of P35 chipset." ? Again, they are LYING! So I just kept fighting & moaning, when after a looooooong time they gave me a reply: "We had asked bios engineer to try to add the option of 8 for DRAM RAS# Activate to Prechar. we will let you know ASAP if the new beta bios is finished.". ? Again, now suddenly it's possible, but before this, they accused Intel. This is MSI which are the monkeys, not Intel. MSI are a bunch of LIERS! I'm still fighting with them to modify a complete BIOS which doesn't require the ON-OFF-ON. I'm not making any progress & I'm NOT the only user complaining about this. I've even spoke to people on some forums, which told me they have the exact same problem, with customer support lying to the clients, customer support which doesn't want to do their work. Some people even told me that I should get another motherboard, which also has the P35 chipset, but just of a better brand, because MSI is too weak to do it. I suddenly gain respect for ALL other motherboard manufacturers & finally understands why some people says : "MSI Suck", "MSI has weak technical support", "MSI is junk", etc… Come On, a manufacturer, lying to it's clients? A manufacturer who indirectly tells it's customers F*** Y**, we won't help you! This is MSI! By the way, EVERY single Reply I got from them contained Spelling & Grammar mistakes. I even contacted them to tell them there are spelling & grammar mistakes on their own website, which they got fixed quickly. I'd rather keep fighting & get what I want, I just can believe that there are people which are as dumb and idiotic as they are, I thought it was only the monkeys in the zoo. I've spend more than R1800.00 ZAR on this motherboard & now I'm sitting with problems. Luckily, I'm not the only one which has problems with MSI. They work like this: You contact the Representative, He contacts the BIOS Engineers, They give feedback to the Representative & He contacts You! The representative always has spelling & grammar mistakes in the Replies. They once gave me a reply, containing such a huge spelling mistake, I couldn't even make sense out of it: "As the option to adjust PCI frequency, it is not obviously functioned actually." ? WTH I'm also still trying to get them to fix a mistake in their BIOS, where the computer would freeze when entering standby, which means, you'll lose all you work. Guess what? They won't fix it, because it's a "Chipset Limitation". Hmmm, Just tell the client: " Chipset Limitation", then you don't have to work…? They are also telling me that they can't add Command Rate to the BIOS menu for the RAM, because it's only for DDR3. Every user can agree with me, that this is definitly a lie! I know a lot of people with DDR1 & DDR2 motherboards, which does have Command Rate options. Next, they'll most probably be telling me it's "Chipset Limitation". There are just too many problems with this manufacturer. MSI REALLY STINKS!

Even though online portion and mail-in portion were all completed properly and I received a confirmation number the rebate has never been acknowledged. As is with others that have failed to get MSI rebates I feel as though I have been scammed for $20.00

I also can't really say that my experience with MSI customer support has ever been pleasant... They are really not good at their jobs.

I own an older MSI board, but I don't think that this means I don't deserve proper customer support.

I've contacted them about something that I would like changed in the BIOS, and luckily the first time they agreed to make the BIOS. But after I flashed the new BIOS I discovered that they didn't put in all of the features I asked, and changing the settings (vCore) had NO effect.
A few months later I decided to contact them again and ask for the settings that they didn't put in. But this time they plainly refused!
"we have checked the bios engineers and they said K9N Neo-F is much old now and would not add FSB/DRAM ratio setting accroding to the BIOS Spec.."
Old board means no support? After some nagging and asking very nicely they agreed, but after I flashed the BIOS I saw they simply removed a feature, and renamed it to what I asked for, assuming I'm an idiot.

But at this stage I don't even want to argue with those idiots anymore. In the future I will avoid MSI as far as possible, because their BIOS engineers are ###ed and lazy.