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Did its job for four years then DIED
By: Harry
June 19, 2009 @ 10:33 AM
It worked flawlessly for the first four years, I made sure it was plugged into power surge adapters and kept it clean and harm free.
Then the power issue started recently this month, I had to unplug and replug for the monitor to work and now it has died on me just ten minutes ago.
Overall I’m satisfied with the picture quality while it lasted, but with its longevity issues, I would’ve considered another monitor.
Gateway Customer Service was also horrendous, do not bother. If your monitor is out of warranty, just get a new one (NON GATEWAY ONE) and never buy Gateway again.
Rating: 6 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
Bad
By: anonym
March 11, 2009 @ 9:44 AM
When New had To Exchange for deal pixels
… now Screen Died After A Year …
Thumbs Down
Rating: 2 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
Don't Expect it to Last
By: Rita Irani
June 3, 2008 @ 2:34 PM
Auto Rotate died after 14 months. Just hoping it will last a little longer. I bought it for the really clear display. Wish I had known about the lack of longevity and quality. I paid $730 for it.
Rating: 2 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
Will it float?
By: Dan
April 23, 2008 @ 10:21 PM
Mine quit autorotating after about six months, started hanging just after the warranty expired, and finally died just short of 2 years. Hey Andrew, tell us how you fixed them! Otherwise, I guess I’ll try to get Letterman to use it in a “will it Float” segment. I’ve had the same bad luck with Gateway support.
Rating: 4 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
FPD2185W Not Working anymore?
By: Andrew
April 20, 2008 @ 10:04 PM
I have this monitor…. actually….5 of them! I love them ALL. I have had 4 out of the 5 go out on me. But…. I fixed them all!
Rating: 10 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
Not a fan of Gateway
By: Rick
March 14, 2008 @ 10:02 AM
When I cut the computer off, the monitor will not come back on, and after 12 months a yellow line appears on the middle :(
Rating: 1 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
I Can't believe it
By: Merge
February 11, 2008 @ 9:53 AM
I’ve had many monitors and this one is incomprehensible. It just flat out doesn’t work. I’ve owned it for a couple of years and have tried it on at least 5 different computers. It worked on one of them. It isn’t even detected. You should be able to connect a monitor to your computer and see something. Not with this one.
Rating: 1 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
Worst ever
By: Pat
February 4, 2008 @ 11:54 AM
I’ve been into computers since 1980. This is the WORST monitor I have ever had. Same problems as described by others. Tech says to call service. Purchased Sept 06. Setup Jan 07. Died Jan 07. Of course, out of warranty. I’ve troubleshooter and to no avail. This will be my absolute LAST purchase from Gateway.
Rating: 1 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
POOR Technical Support
By: Gary
January 15, 2008 @ 12:02 PM
I have a problem with Component Video. Contacting Gateway Technical support was a HUGE waste of time and money (extended 3 year warranty my …). It seemed that even before she heard my concerns she had decided to reject it as not a gateway problem. Technical Support was nothing but rude and arrogant.
Rating: 1 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
There's hope...
By: Obstinado
December 9, 2007 @ 1:29 PM
After two years of problem free operation, I experienced the much discussed power problem – The unit refused to turn on. No matter what I tried, the power button stayed blue with or without a video signal.
Just when I came to terms with having to throw it away, I discovered, that if you leave it plugged in (both power and VGA) for a good hour or so, then unplug and replug the power cable, the thing comes back to life.
Since then it’s been working flawlessly.
Rating: 8 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
After 2 years I've had zero problems
By: Chri
December 8, 2007 @ 9:04 PM
I found it interesting to read these bad reviews. I bought mine the first month it got release.Two and a half years later with it being on almost 7/24/365 I have never had a problem. It goes into power save mode so I rarely turn it off.
I’ve noticed a trend in these reviews most of them are from those who bought in the last year so maybe Gateway changed the component suppliers.
Hope I didn’t jinx myself
Rating: 10 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
No good.
By: Eric Jorgensen
November 20, 2007 @ 4:06 PM
This is the worst monitor you could purchase. It lasts one year them nothing no warranty – no help – no nothing. Do not buy this product or you will regret it.
Rating: 1 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
Power problem
By: Imran
October 23, 2007 @ 9:21 AM
Same problem, after leaving it on for some time, you have to unplug the power, and then turn it back on for the screen to show or else it won’t. I paid $499….. Waste of money. Should have stuck with Viewsonic monitors/LCD’s.
Rating: 2 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
Monitor is a waste of money
By: alan
October 7, 2007 @ 6:09 PM
This monitor worked great for about 12 to 13 months. Go figure that when I cut the computer off the monitor will not come back on. This a bad problem, I have to unplug my monitor everytime I restart my computer. This needs to be recalled or something because it seems like everyone else is having this problem!!!
Rating: 2 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
Monitor issues? Not me
By: Eric
October 7, 2007 @ 6:05 PM
I’m a gamer and i’m on this monitor 24/7 and I have left it on many times but never had a problem with it after going on 2 years.
Works GREAT so to say don’t buy from them ?
I will get the next one from them to :}
Rating: 10 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
After 8 months, USB's stopped... After 13 months, nothing but problems
By: P. Hill
September 9, 2007 @ 8:37 PM
I got this monitor as a replacement for a 19′ Sony. After about 8 months, the powered USB 2 ports just stopped working. After 13 months, if I restarted my computer, the monitor would NOT come on, yet the blue power LED was on constantly with no way to turn it off. The only way to get it to come one was to unplug, hold the power button for 30 seconds, then replug. None of the buttons (menu, pip, source, etc) work and the “press the menu button for 3 seconds to show the product tour” does not work at all. I’m assuming it has to be some sort of power supply or firmware problem and after reading the 100’s of similar problems have given up on even trying to contact tech support. While it lasted, the $600 monitor was great; however, I do not have $600 a year to spend on a monitor with no hope of any help from Gateway! BEWARE OF PURCHASING THIS MONITOR unless you have a budget to re purchase one of these every year. I know Gateway will not get another $1 of my money….ever!
Rating: 1 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
Bad monitor
By: Walter Shebib
June 13, 2007 @ 9:08 PM
The first FPD2185W TFT lcd monitor was replaced with another monitor and that one went the same way no picture. And the blue light stays on. I paid 800.00 plus for this monitor who do I call now?
Rating: 3 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
Gateway expereicen is bad
By: Jeff
April 24, 2007 @ 7:08 AM
As I write this, I am waiting for Brady at Gateway to give up the name of his/her supurvisor, so I can rant in real time. I paid $800CDN for what I thought was a bautiful Monitor/Television. I have enjoyed the clarity and have occasionally used the rotation feature as well. Now, after sixteen months, its toast, and Gateway says “one year warranty, so you are out of luck”
Rating: 1 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
Junk do not buy from Gateway
By: J Springer
April 8, 2007 @ 11:36 PM
This monitor lasted for 13 months, and of course the warranty is only for twelve months. While using it the screen just went black, the blue power button light is still on and cannot be turned off. A few months ago a vertical red line showed up in the middle of the screen,Gateway support tried to tell me it was my video card but the video card works great with other monitors. The support sucks so I basically paid $500.00 for a monitor that lasted only a year. Gateway must be aware of the problem because they only give a 1 year warranty.
Rating: 10 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
Keira is right.
By: PaulO
December 3, 2006 @ 3:32 PM
To reiterate Keira2000’s e-mail, I had the same problem with the 24″ version(FPD2485W) . I am using a tried and true Nvidia FX 5500 that supports resolutions up to 2048 x 1536. I plugged this monitor in and it registeres as a generic PnP monitor(no drivers). When I went to set the rez in the settings it only showed up to 1600×1200. I went into the NVidia setup and tolfd it to show all available resolutions for the card. When I restarted and went back into the settings tab, I could set it to 1920×1200. Woohoo! (I thought) I did this and restarted the system. Now it is showing 1920 x 1200, but it is scrolling to the width, in other word, part of the 1920 width was off screen. I changed the scaling options and one of them made it fit.
Next I installed the EZTune Software (required for the screen rotation-this monitor can be turned to ‘portrait’ mode by grasping and rotating the physical display) Rebooted the system and it was set back to 1600×1200. After removing and re-installing the drivers several times, I called Gateway. The first time I got some guy (whose name I neglected to get) who spent a very little energy talking to me before he proclaimed that he had no solution. I asked him if I should return the monitor as it seemed not to work as advertised. He was obnoxiously happy with my decision. I went back to work, thinking I was overlooking something. Tried everything again and no luck, made a few notes and called back. This time I got the aforementioned Peter, who is an excellent Tech Support person who seemed eager to help me. However, there just didn’t seem to be a solution to the problem. I left Peter and went back to going through the install process again, made a few notes and called back. This time I got another tech (maybe Teresa, it sounds like her, but I am not sure) I started going through the steps I took and the results and she at some point asked me what kind of system I had. I asked her if it had to be a Gateway system to use this monitor. She said no and asked me more about my system, I told her it was a generic system I built myself. she immediately tried to say, “We can’t help you then” I said that was unacceptable as the hardware I was using was the same as their hardware and the OS was Windows XP. she put me on hold for a while and came back proclaiming that EZTune only supported resolutions up to 1280×1024. I told her there were 2 problems with that. 1. I had the software running at 1600×1200 so it works at that rez. 2. The monitor is sold as a ‘rotating monitor’ with a rez of 1920×1200 and the only way it will rotate is with the software. I asked to speak to a supervisor who might be more knowledgeable. She put me on hold again and the next I know I am talking to a Customer Service rep instead of a tech support rep. I asked why they sent me to her instead of someone more knowledgeable about the issue. Eveidently it was her job to tell me to sod off. When I didn’t just go away, she told me that this monitor did not work with the kind of card I have. I asked her what kind of card she thought I was using and she said “What is your card?” I asked her how come she would tell me it didn’t work if she didn’t know what kind it was. She then said (after looking at her notes?), ‘I’s an NVidia 550, right?’
I said, ‘No, they don’t make a 550, can you tell me what it does work with?’ She said, ‘Just a minute’ and put me on hold for 2 or 3 minutes. When she returned she said, ‘It works with the 5600.’ I said ‘Any others?’ She said, almost as if asking a question, ‘5800?’ I said “any others?’ She said, ‘Um, 5900′ I said, ‘What about the 6000 series?’ She said, I think , let me see, the 6800?’ It was literally intoned as a question. Frankly, I was a little perturbed by now. I asked her why a company would sell hardware with features that require software to operate properly that doesn’t work. I really liked what this monitor promised, but it did not deliver. In addition, the hubris I encountered from some in tech support (which is sort of a given) and Customer Service (which should never happen) reminded me why I quit pruchasing gateway Products 15 years ago.
Rating: 1 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
Worked great while it lasted......
By: keira2000
October 19, 2006 @ 8:07 PM
This monitor was working really well, but it only lasted for ten days. If you are thinking of buying one, just beware of the poor quality of Gateway tech support. Here is my experience. After that great initial ten days, I could not set the lcd monitor to its native resolution. Called Gateway tech support. A tech named Peter tell me to uninstall the ZA Security Suite and Gateway’s EzTune utility. Reboot and reinstall EzTune and it should fix the problem. It didn’t. Called back and spoke with another tech, named Teresa. She told me to uninstall EzTune and the nVidia graphics driver. Reboot and reinstall the graphics driver and EzTune and that should fix the problem. When all that didn’t work, she told me that I have a problem with my computer. Furthermore, she told me that she should not be talking to me because I don’t own a Gateway computer. Problem unresolved, I returned the monitor to the retailer.
Rating: 1 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
Great Monitor
By: Marty H.
June 22, 2006 @ 8:18 AM
I bought one of these about 3 months ago, and haven’t been happier. I set up my computer with the DVI input, and my Xbox 360 on the component.
Looks wonderful.
And to the guy who complained about no DVI cable…you don’t want to use DVI cables that would come with a monitor anyways, invest in some better ones (preferably Monster)
Rating: 9 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
Could be better on it quality.
By: James
April 2, 2006 @ 4:23 AM
I also have the problem about the plug n play, it lost the function both on VGA and DVI in the first week that I got it.So, the EzTune features was lost.
Rating: 7 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
Great for playing games
By: Tazman
January 29, 2006 @ 3:27 PM
(I have been testing mine for 2 days and this LCD is Super.No dead pixles and tons of hook ups.wish it came with i DVI cord had to do the wal-mart thing to get one.Even hooked up to the VGA the pictures is Super rich colors and Text is very clear and easy on the eyes.I have not had to adjust anything on the screen and the respond times are so quick even beats Dell Lcd,Glad i got this one..
Rating: 9 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
Almost gave it a 9...
By: Belzebutt
January 27, 2006 @ 12:51 PM
… If it wasn’t for the quality issues.
I’ve had this monitor since Dec 26th and it’s beautiful and great for games, but I have concerns about quality. I exchanged my monitor once already because the DVI input on it malfunctioned, it just wouldn’t work anymore. On my current monitor, the DVI input does not work with plug n play which means I’m missing some features, and I’m getting an RMA from Gateway. I hope this one will work…
Some things people might find annoying:
- Visible “spotlight” effect in the four corners from backlight, you can see it when the screen is showing nearly all black.
- When you’re looking at the screen head-on, shades of nearly black color appear as black, but at a slight angle shades of nearly black can still be made out. I fixed this with upping the gamma. I think it’s a by-product of the S-PVA technology used for this screen.
- Screen does not easily rotate to 90 deg, you have to force it a bit to actually go all the way to 90.
Other than that, it’s a gorgeous screen. I find it works great for both games and work.
Rating: 8 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No