Just Returned My G7 To The Shop

Logitech is one of the best manufacturers of PC peripherals: mice, keyboards, game controllers, webcams, audio speakers, you name it, they have it. Since 1982, Logitech's fame and reputation comes from their mass-produced mice and its improvements made over the years. Such improvement still exists today with their wide range of mice, each with its own size, style, features, and purpose. Their recent innovation, called "Darkfield Laser Tracking" technology, eliminates the problem of using the mouse in surfaces that recent optical and laser sensors won't read, especially clear glass. For the PC gaming enthusiasts, Logitech offers PC peripherals specially designed to aid them in their games. They call it "Logitech 'G' series". Read the Logitech's press release regarding their 'G' series here.

That's the reason I bought the Logitech G7 Cordless Gaming Mouse last year. There are a lot of cordless mices out there, but I find the G7 unique. It has the same bean-shaped look and its on-the-fly DPI switch button (+ and -) found on its predecessor: the G5 Gaming Mouse. The difference is the G7's side button has only one (G5 has two), and the G5's weight tray slot is replaced in favor of the Lithium-Ion battery for the G7. For the batteries, Logitech provides two of them, with a span of 2-3 days or a minimum of a day when heavily used (mine was more or less 2 days). When one battery runs out, there's another to replace in as easy as 3-5 seconds (or even less), thanks to the spring-type eject mechanism on both the mouse and its charging station. The provided lithium-ion battery takes 10 hours in normal mode (or 2 hours in boost mode) to be fully charged. With that in mind, you don't have to worry about running out of batteries. It's on-the-fly DPI switch buttons is darn useful in FPS and RTS games with its 2000 DPI max resolution (there are 3 default settings:400, 800, and 2000; and up to 5 settings through Logitech's Setpoint software). 2000 DPI is useful for fast movements, while 400 DPI is for slow movements (like sniping). The USB reciever has 2.4Ghz of cordless power with 500 reports/sec; the g7 can even be used for at least 20 feet (that would be insane range, but surely is assured coverage wherever you use your mouse or put your reciever).

I really liked the G7. The design is appealing to my eyes (mine is a black edition with black&grey checkered style). The DPI swtich buttons are not only useful for games, it's also useful for applications that needs accurate yet sensitive movements like Adobe Photoshop. Its shape is comfortable on my hand and grips well even when my hand is a bit sweaty. Although a bit heavy at first, I've gotten used to it. Its teflon feet glides so smoothly that you don't need a mousepad for it. Oh yeah, priced at 4,350 Php, it's pretty expensive, but it's all worth it.

Well, even the best products have one or more problems. And G7 isn't an exception.

My G7 mouse is slowly showing its common problem: the freezing. Yep, that's what others called it as I've read some complaints from other G7 users on Logitech's support community forums, although I thought of it as "hang". It happened last July at a computer lab in our school while I was browsing for the MS Office 2003 menu bar. I thought maybe the battery is kinda loose, so I ejected and re-inserted it, and it was back to normal. Several minutes later, it froze again. Then I remember about wireless devices like wireless routers may affect the G7's wireless performance, so I tested it at home. But as usual, freezes still occur. After days of finding and trying all solutions, from the manual to the forums, and even searching on Google, the freezing problem is still there.

Losing my hopes on getting it fixed, I sent an email to Logitech (it was on October 1), citing my problem. After more than 3 weeks of contacting Logitech through email, I got nothing but copy-paste response. For one last time, I sent them an email, while being frank with their copy-paste response. Then I got an email from them on the 25th, telling me that my problem is escalated to their management and I'll get a call or email from them for 3-4 weeks. I'm glad that they already acknowledged my problem and they'll do something about it, but what the hell? A month of waiting?! Oh well, I guess I have no other choice but to wait.

It's now December... wow, time sure flies fast. So fast that I forgot about the last email they sent me. I was looking for something on my closet, when I saw the G7 mouse I've set aside since its freezing distracts my everyday PC use. Then I remember the email about getting a response from them in regards to my problem with my G7 mouse within 3-4 weeks. After checking the inbox, I still don't get any of their replies. I sent another email to them on the 5th of December:

It's been more than a month now since the last email you guys sent me, stating that "Your issue will be escalated to our management and expect a call from them or an email regarding this issue 3 to 4 weeks from now." I still don't get a response from your management, while I didn't use your so-called zero-lag cordless gaming mouse for a month now due to severe freezes that it makes my everyday computing irritating. It's so depressing everytime I'm stuck with a generic optical mouse.

I thought it would last for 3 years, since it has a 3-year warranty, right? I even thought that Logitech makes the best peripherals. I thought that G7 cordless gaming mouse is so cool and has great features. I put my faith in your company's good reputation, that's why I bought it, even though it's expensive. I thought that it's all worth the hard-earned money. But you think I would buy the G7 cordless gaming mouse just to get back to a generic mouse with generic fuctions after a more than a year of use and proper treatment? I don't think so, and you guys wouldn't think otherwise, right?

You guys said "3-4 weeks". That may be a long week to wait, but I decided to wait patiently. But knowing that I didn't get any responses, I'm starting to slowly losing patience.

Please, do something about this matter.

At first, I thought that "man, it'll be the same old copy-paste response", or "maybe they won't bother helping me on my problem, as other Logitech users have experienced". But surprisingly, I got an email on the 10th of December, and it was from Aileen Chua, asking where I bought my G7, the receipt, and my contact details. So I immediately sent a reply email with the things she asked for. Then I get a reply from her:

I have already arranged the replacement of your unit with the owner of Thinking Tools. The only concern now is the distributor does not have G9x to replace your unit. You will have to wait for 1-1.5months to get the replacement since the distributor will have to order the unit from the region.

Now THIS is the email response I've been waiting for the past 2 months!! Thank God for the shed light of hope! 1-1.5 months is pretty long, but I'll try to wait. I was hoping for the same G7 replacement though (I just love the G7 that it's hard for me to let it go). But I think G9x Gaming Mouse, although corded, is enough for a replacement. Too bad the G7 is discontinued. I hope they'll do something on the problems with the G7 and release a successor for it, as cordless mouse is my type.

After getting back home from school, I got a text message at 3pm this afternoon (as of this writing) from Aileen, that she tried to call me but can't. I intentionally turned off my cellphone since I'm still at school that time. I texted her back to call me again. She indeed called, telling me to return my defective G7 to Thinking Tools, the PC shop where I bought it, so the staff can send it back to Manila as early as possible. Knowing that SM City Davao closes at 9PM, I immediately returned the whole G7 package: the mouse, charging station, USB receiver, batteries, manual, and the software CD. The Thinking Tools staff issued a claim stub to me, as they need it in order for me to get the replacement.

Oh yeah, I took pictures of the G7 box and me holding it before returning it to the shop, as that will be the last time I get to see my G7.