Bird rant!

Well, they’ve finally done it, after many years of being a true Humminbird owner I maybe switching over to Lowrance.

If folks don’t already know, the entire 9 series(per Bird customer service) including my recently purchased 859 DI unit has a contour mode and demo mode glitch when connected to the 360. As I quickly found out after trying two different head units, without first visiting with customer service, the option of selecting contour mode on or off is kaaaput! Also, my specific 859 DI does a complete reboot after a given period in the demo mode or when options are selected. With that said, I contacted humminbird and went through the typically hoops. It was determined that there is a software glitch and they (the engineers) are currently working on it.

Here is where it gets sticky for me and why I’m trying to pass this info on….After a series of phone conversations with customer service(4-5 different people, including managers), which totaled approx. 2hrs. and 10 min. of my own time, they are in no way wanting to compensate me for my equipment malfunctions or my time discussing the issue. Basically, Humminbird has indicated that a software release will be coming “soon” to correct the issue, but no current compensations or discounts on future products are available.

Ok, here is my statement….in all honesty I am person who would recommend humminbird products to anyone anytime although, I feel that I basically paid (1,750$)for a product that doesn’t fully work. Now I totally understand software glitches occur and can/will be fixed in the future, but my point is that I’m currently paying for a product that doesn’t fully work and during this “meantime” I should be compensated. If nothing else, how does a company expect a customer who is paying for broken equipment, to want to purchase future equipment, with no incentive? So basically, in my own description I am paying for a 4 wheeled car that only has 3 wheels, and they will get my 4th wheel to me at a later date, meanwhile, to bad so sad, “but there is nothing we can do”. Well, that doesn’t set to well with me and that doesn’t encourage me to go out and purchase additional Hummibird products.

Thanks for reading…

What software rev do you have?

I was pretty near to going over the edge myself, but recently I have seen some evidence that they may be starting to get their act together with the software.....and I have stepped back and am watching to see where it goes from here.
The number of software problems they have had the last couple of years IS totally unacceptable.

Maybe you can give them a little longer.....after all, if you go to anyone else .... you won't have a 360 to mess things up.

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Originally Posted by BobB

What software rev do you have?

I was pretty near to going over the edge myself, but recently I have seen some evidence that they may be starting to get their act together with the software.....and I have stepped back and am watching to see where it goes from here.
The number of software problems they have had the last couple of years IS totally unacceptable.

Maybe you can give them a little longer.....after all, if you go to anyone else .... you won't have a 360 to mess things up.

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I have the latest of both…859= 7.4 something and 360=2.0 something.

Yah, they have us between a rock and hard spot, don’t’ buy Humminbird equals no 360 and someone like myself could really use this product.

My issue still stands that this is bad business and that is what is unexceptable. More importantly I wanted to let everyone that wasn’t aware of this issue know that this problem exists.

I agree BSellers! I am hoping HB gets back on point, it gets extremely frustrating!!
Problem is I can't even think of anyway they could compensate me. Well maybe 50 % off on 2 onix would make me feel better! LOL

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Originally Posted by Bill Sellers

I have the latest of both…859= 7.4 something and 360=2.0 something.

Yah, they have us between a rock and hard spot, don’t’ buy Humminbird equals no 360 and someone like myself could really use this product.

My issue still stands that this is bad business and that is what is unexceptable. More importantly I wanted to let everyone that wasn’t aware of this issue know that this problem exists.

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Did you have the problems before the latest rev, or did you get it when you went to that rev?..... just asking because I had not heard of this before

Is your demo mode issue in the "Point of Sale" demo mode or the Forced Simulator mode ...??

Rickie

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Originally Posted by BobB

Did you have the problems before the latest rev, or did you get it when you went to that rev?..... just asking because I had not heard of this before

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Both versions, the 7.0 and 7.4 seem to have the problem. The 7.0, oddly enough would be sporadic about the contour mode issue. With the 7.4 the contour mode never worked…? Also, the 7.0 version would cause the 859 DI to reboot every time the DI view was changed to the 360 view and visa versa. Neither version allowed for the demo mode to be utilized. The 7.4 causes a reboot when the demo mode is selected while the 360 is attached. Once again this was on two separate head units.

Additionally, I would like to mention that customer service stated several times they would call me back on a particular date, to continue discussing the issue, which never occurred and consequently I would have to re-contact them (ex. 5 business days after they said they would call me) in order to continue the process . Absolutely ridiculous that a customer has to call to remind a company that they needed to call the customer in the first place.

Thanks for all the replies everyone, this kind of stuff needs to be addressed.

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Originally Posted by rnvinc

Is your demo mode issue in the "Point of Sale" demo mode or the Forced Simulator mode ...??

Rickie

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Forced simulator mode, if I stated this correctly.....after warm-up and from the setup menu I select simulator, then all heck breaks loose. This isn't really important to myself, just added it to my comments for the fact if someone spends x amount of dollars on a product it should work to it's full potential.

Do you have an Ethernet Switch, or is the Ethernet connected directly from the 360 to the 859?

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Originally Posted by BobB

Do you have an Ethernet Switch, or is the Ethernet connected directly from the 360 to the 859?

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Directly

Are you able to use the 360 at all? Why don't you return it to dealer for refund? Humminbird will get it fixed, they always do. All these electronic companies rush these products out trying to beat the competition from robbing their technology as Lowrance did Side Imaging from Humminbird who had been producing it for military for over 20 years.

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Originally Posted by crappielimits

Are you able to use the 360 at all? Why don't you return it to dealer for refund? Humminbird will get it fixed, they always do. All these electronic companies rush these products out trying to beat the competition from robbing their technology as Lowrance did Side Imaging from Humminbird who had been producing it for military for over 20 years.

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Yes, the 360 seems to work...

Humminbird has indicated the 360TM is not the problem. I guess I could return the 859 for a refund, but I am unsure what that gets me...like I mentioned Humminbird indicated that all 9 series have this problem.

Have you tried reaching out to the store/dealer you purchased it from? IMHO the first step would be to deal with them in expressing your dissatisfaction and seeking some compensation of some sort. I was self employed for many years before retiring and generally I took care of my customers and if I was then able to recoup any or some of that from my suppliers then great but even if not I still took care of my customers. Really the burden falls mostly on the retailer to satisfy you. Manufacturers have customer service for tech help to assist consumers but for refunds and the such since you paid the dealer you are his direct customer and refunds should be expected and sought from him and he can take that up with his supplier.

The place you bought it from made a profit off of you and should look to keep you satisfied in some way. Ideally in the form of at least some type of refund but if nothing else maybe future discounts off other times you may need or could use for your inconvenience of having to wait for the updates. Generally with most industries manufacturers don't offer direct refunds to consumers

One thing though I don't know that I would expect much in the way of compensation for your time. The reality is everyone has dealt with the frustration of something not being right and usually time invested in correcting that while frustrated is sadly just part of life and other than souring you on the product which could effect your future purchases being paid for time spent trying to correct something is generally not a common practice.

Good luck, I hope you get some resolution.

One other thought. I don't know how long ago you made the purchase or what form of payment you used, but if it hasn't been too long ago and if you paid for it with a credit card you can file a grievance with your credit card company and explain you were sold something that doesn't work correctly and have not been serviced properly. They will contact the retailer and hear their side of it and if they conclude you have been wronged will charge it back to the retailer and refund you.

However prior to doing this you need to contact the retailer and give them ample opportunity to correct the problem for you. Be fair to them as well because this is a pretty severe measure to take because if chargeback occurs they lose all the money which can be a real burn to a small business person.

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Originally Posted by Slow Retrieve

One other thought. I don't know how long ago you made the purchase or what form of payment you used, but if it hasn't been too long ago and if you paid for it with a credit card you can file a grievance with your credit card company and explain you were sold something that doesn't work correctly and have not been serviced properly. They will contact the retailer and hear their side of it and if they conclude you have been wronged will charge it back to the retailer and refund you.

However prior to doing this you need to contact the retailer and give them ample opportunity to correct the problem for you. Be fair to them as well because this is a pretty severe measure to take because if chargeback occurs they lose all the money which can be a real burn to a small business person.

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I ordered this setup from Cabela's and we all know that they will take this equipment back with no questions asked (great customer service), but having no graph doesn't do me any good....Guess I'm being picky when I state I would like a graph and one that does everything it's capable of doing. LOL.

Thanks for the feed back...

You might think about posting your issue here ... There are more bass boats with 360 than crappie boats ...

Humminbird Sonar/GPS

There even may be a workaround available ...

Rickie

Last year I went thru a similar situation with Humminbird CS. I bought a 859 C non HD model. I was going to use this as a set-up for ice fishing. In conjuction with a quad beam plus transducer. This set up should have worked but it did not. With the quad beam it only read the left side. I called CS and the rep had me wait while an engineer tested a unit with the quad ducer hooked up in their lab. Said they could not duplicate the problem and to send it in. Unit came back with same problem. But they packed me a new 2d transducer. Which made me scratch my head because it was problem free with the 2d ducer. Any way after several phone conversations unit gores back.Second time unit comes back same identical problem. I ask to speak to tech that worked on it. Against company policy customer can't speak with tech. which is very frustrating. I am describing problem I am have in enclosed letter as per Humminbird instructions on returned units.

But somehow no one seems to be reading as to what is exactly going on. Several promises of returned calls never occurred and I started seeing red.Finally I call on my own and CS lady has spoken to engineer. I now must take pic of problem with unit and a pic of my other unit that does work with the transducer. Several times over the course of all this they wanted to blame the quadducer. They finally took my word with the pixs I returned with the unit for the 3rd time.

Another 10 days I hear nothing. Finally I email the CS lady about it. Next day she calls and says the unit is being replaced by a more expensive unit. Humminbird finally came through in a big way. They replaced the 859 with a 899. Made me feel a heck of a lot better. But the whole scenario was not very pleasant to have to go thru.

I wanted to give an update to everyone and specifically thank everyone for their comments.

After visiting with CS a few more times I think the issues have been resolved. The first issue of the contour mode not working was simply corrected by having a 2d transducer connected. This was not clearly stated by Humminbird in the initial visits and actually was conveyed to be the opposite…? As far as the random reboots the software was re-installed, and for some reason which has yet to be explained, the factory defaults have to be adhered to while in simulation mode or a reboot will occur. Still hoping for no real-time reboots while on the water.
Basically, ever thing works now, just a difficult path to reach this point.

I want to specifically thank BobB and rnvinc for their help. Also, Humminbird made it right with me and deserved thanks goes out to their Customer Service.

Bless the stars for 360…! This product is revolutionizing fishing as we know it.

Thanks

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Originally Posted by Bill Sellers

I wanted to give an update to everyone and specifically thank everyone for their comments.

After visiting with CS a few more times I think the issues have been resolved. The first issue of the contour mode not working was simply corrected by having a 2d transducer connected. This was not clearly stated by Humminbird in the initial visits and actually was conveyed to be the opposite…? As far as the random reboots the software was re-installed, and for some reason which has yet to be explained, the factory defaults have to be adhered to while in simulation mode or a reboot will occur. Still hoping for no real-time reboots while on the water.
Basically, ever thing works now, just a difficult path to reach this point.

I want to specifically thank BobB and rnvinc for their help. Also, Humminbird made it right with me and deserved thanks goes out to their Customer Service.

Bless the stars for 360…! This product is revolutionizing fishing as we know it.

Thanks

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Glad to hear you got it resolved ....Humminbird CS is a huge asset for them........The good thing about all this is that you probably learned a LOT while trying to resolve this problem .... and the info you provided will help others.:ThumbsUp

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Originally Posted by BobB

Glad to hear you got it resolved ....Humminbird CS is a huge asset for them........The good thing about all this is that you probably learned a LOT while trying to resolve this problem .... and the info you provided will help others.:ThumbsUp

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I didn't no that there was simulator issue while the 360 was hooked up either, until I read this post.:ThumbsUp

imo both big companies are a joke. their 'technology' is light years behind where it should be. pick up an iPad, Galaxy phone, even a $250 laptop...that's modern technology. HB and Low are so caught up in selling/marketing their 'latest/greatest' product that they never bother fixing problems from 5-10 years ago. let alone actually updating their technology. heaven forbid it becomes plug and play. it reminds me of the 1990's when ur computer didn't recognize ur printer or modem or blue linksys wireless router or digital cameral b/c they were all from a different manufacture. only HB/Low literally have no excuse why all their equipment/hardware/software can't communicate properly. if only Gates or Jobs was an angler

Gates went open ..... Jobs went proprietary

I don't think we want windows software or apple controlling our sonar.

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Originally Posted by skigill

I don't think we want windows software or apple controlling our sonar.

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I can't really say my units lock up - and don't want them to either.

:highfive

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Originally Posted by skigill

I don't think we want windows software or apple controlling our sonar.

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I'd let apple run my FF any day! Windows not a chance. Not meaning to be inflammatory Skigill, just how impressed I am with Apple after 20 years experience.