ASRock B450M Pro4 5v ARGB header and RMA question

FritzG · August 2020

1st RGB build (2nd build overall) and no other issues. Boots fine, no crashes or instability.

Bought this board last month and have found that this header on the motherboard seems to be defective. Any 5v ARGB cable I try to plug into it (accessory/ 5v LED strip, fan, hub/controller) is loose/wobbly and any connected devices do not light up properly. It only lights up Yellow/Green/Blue and appears to be "breathing". When I connected the LED strip, only the first 3 LED lit up and each one was one of the three colors that a fan lit up with (1- Yellow/2 -Green/3 -Blue).

I've been searching the entire internet for the last few weeks so I know that almost all RGB firmware/software is atrocious. That said, I have carefully followed all of the regular steps to try and diagnose/resolve the issue via configuration and updates with no luck. I tried configuring through the BIOS instead of Polychrome, reflashed the firmware (latest and BETA versions), plugged and unplugged / rebooted in all kinds of orders. Nothing has helped.

Is this an RMA type defect? Am I doing something wrong? Anyone else with this board have this same issue?

I've never had to return or RMA anything so not sure how it works because when I went to the ASRock site, I see this message

"ASRock provide 1 year warranty service to Authorized Distributor, users should refer to the retailer or original vender RMA & Refund policy."

Then on the Microcenter site, I see this:

Return or exchange timeframes

Eligible return or exchange timeframes are from the date of purchase:

15 calendar days

Motherboards

Does this mean I am stuck with something that doesn't work because I didn't realize it until after the first 15 calendar days?

TSTonyV · August 2020

Ah okay, I did have that backwards. Looking around online I can't seem to find anybody who has reported this specific issue with this board. Hard to say if it's just a defect and you got unlucky with a couple of bad boards in a row, or if it's an actual design flaw for these.

If you'd like, I can get a message to the managers at your local store to see if they might be willing to let you exchange it for a different board. I can't promise anything since it is outside the return period, but it never hurts to ask.

TSTonyV · August 2020

I looked up your email address and I found two purchases for a B450M Pro4, one from June and one from August. I assume you're referring to the one from June.

As far as the warranties are concerned, you'll want to contact ASRock directly. We cannot perform replacements for their products under their manufacture warranty. If the board is defective, they should replace it. There's very important line there after the one you mentioned that says "If experiencing difficulties in warranty service through your dealer or place of purchase, ASRock will attempt to resolve this issue." Basically what they're saying is "check with where you bought it first, see if they'll help, and if not we will."

There's more than one RGB header on this board, have you tried all of them?

FritzG · August 2020

Thanks Tony. Yes, the one from June.

As far as trying the "other RGB headers" the only unaccounted for header is a 12v header and so plugging in anything 5v into it is not only pretty hard to do (4 pins vs 3pin thing) but it would also fry whatever I connect to it (if not damage the board itself). Not sure since I'm not a put the square peg in the round hole ... with a hammer kind of guy.

- 1 x RGB LED Header * (4 PIN,12v)
- 1 x Addressable LED Header ** (3 PIN, 5v)
- 1 x AMD Fan LED Header *** (4 PIN, 12v)

* Supports in total up to 12V/3A, 36W LED Strip
** Supports in total up to 5V/3A, 15W LED Strip
*** The AMD Fan LED Header supports LED strips of maximum load of 3A (36W) and length up to 2.5M.

Any other suggestions?

I was just going to toss the one from June in frustration and replace it with the new one but changed my mind when I literally just took one of the Touchaqua ARGB fans I have, the DRGB controller the 3 pack came with and an ARGB 5v LED strip I have and tried to plug them into the 5v header of the second board (unpowered). Unfortunately, the same issue existed (loose/wobbly connection) so I didn't bother building it or plugging it in. I just returned it. Its such a hassle after 15 days but its my own fault for not validating every single part of the board in the first 15 days. I decided to work through the issue instead (if possible before either selling the board as is or RMA'ing it). Why I ended up here as well.

TSTonyV · August 2020

Yeah, the 3-pins are a little different so unless you specifically had a fan/controller for it then there's no reason to mess with it. I was primarily talking about the 4-pin RGB header and 4-pin AMD fan LED header.

These types of headers are standardized and having a fitment issue is rare, especially across multiple boards. I'd be inclined to believe it's something with the fan/controller you're using since the issue occurred with two different motherboards. Do you have another system with RGB headers you could try plugging them into?

FritzG · August 2020

TSTonyV said:

Yeah, the 3-pins are a little different so unless you specifically had a fan/controller for it then there's no reason to mess with it. I was primarily talking about the 4-pin RGB header and 4-pin AMD fan LED header.

These types of headers are standardized and having a fitment issue is rare, especially across multiple boards. I'd be inclined to believe it's something with the fan/controller you're using since the issue occurred with two different motherboards. Do you have another system with RGB headers you could try plugging them into?

You kind of got this backwards.

I ONLY have 5v 3-PIN fans/controller/LED strips.
I cannot use the 12v headers.
I only have one 5v header ... which is where the problem is.

I probably should have added this earlier.

My 5v 3-PIN fans which have been proven to work perfectly using the external DRGB controller does not work when connected to the motherboard.
My 5v 3-PIN LED strips from a different manufacturer have been proven to work perfectly using the external DRGB controller.
The external DRGB controller can act as a pass-through (HUB mode) when connected to the motherboard and when I did that, it passed the issue on to any devices connected to the controller in HUB mode.

I would have to say that it is most definitely the motherboard. Chances of me getting two motherboards with the same issue from the same Micro Center? Maybe it is a design flaw. I am hoping someone else with this model of motherboard either has the same problem or has one that works. Either way, I will know it isn't just mine.

FritzG · August 2020

That would be very kind of you. No expectations of anything. Thanks!

FritzG · September 2020

Just to tie off the post, I was contacted by a store manager regarding this (Thanks Tony). The ending of the story is that I am stuck with the board/problem and my only recourse would be an RMA to the manufacturer.

I was told that manufacturers try to push their quality control customer service issues to resellers which is why the return window is so short (unspoken implication = so MicroCenter doesn't have to deal with that). I always thought that any defective stock they received could be returned to the manufacturer as part of B2B sales. Apparently, this is not the case with MicroCenter. I guess they just take whatever the manufacturer sends them and pushes it out the door. After 15 days, its your problem not theirs.

I will most likely just deal with the problem until I upgrade my board. I don't trust the manufacturer to send me a "new" replacement board so better the devil I know.

If I buy from MicroCenter again, I may just crack open whatever I buy right there in the store and check everything before I leave. This way, I don't have to rush at home to check it and then make another trip to return defective products sold in store within 15 days.

I always try to support my local retailer when it makes sense to, but they don't make it easy. Another option is to buy via Amazon Prime and get free returns for 30 days (+ if you count the amount of time you can get a credit instead of a refund). Probably more of a risk to get gray market or used products sold as new but I can always send it back without running into a short, inconvenient return window.

TSTonyV · September 2020

I know that in some situations we can extend the return period up to 30 days on motherboards from our end, but once it's past that only a manager in-store can make an exception and depending on the time frame and situation they may not always do it. Thanks for the update, and of course let us know if there's anything else you need

ASRock B450M Pro4 5v ARGB header and RMA question

Return or exchange timeframes

15 calendar days

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