Screen blank, any guides for disassembly of an MPC one?

After the usual month of emailing AKAI and getting the cold shoulder from their awful customer service my machine finally died. The pads would get stuck and multiple ones would fire at the same time, especially if tilted at an angle. It would kinda go away if I applied pressure on a bunch of pads at once but it would always return on reboot.

I was in the middle of making a beat when I pressed two pads and the machine died on me, it rebooted and the screen was blank. Funnily enough, the pads work better than when I first got it, even when tilted. The machine also behaves as if I were in the middle of a project instead of the start page. I have seen in this forum that this tends to happen when the memory isn't properly seated so I'm considering taking it apart, but I'm wary of manufacturers putting "traps" for fix-it-yourself types, stuff that seems placed deliberately so it can break unless you know it's there, is there a guide available somewhere or is it just easy to do?

Needless to say this is probably the last time I ever buy something off AKAI and will be cautioning others against doing so too, baffles me that it's been a complaint for years and they still haven't addressed their awful customer service which is made even worse by the fact that I'm not in the US or Europe so they have no warehouses or service shops around me.

Thanks beforehand.

0/ Opening a device under warranty will void the warranty. Installing any unofficial OS will also void the warrany.

1/ Is your device under warranty? if yes then it's not AKAI you need to contact your reseller and send back the device wherever you bought it. Even if your device is not under warranty you should contact your reseller to get a quote for repair services. If you bought your device used then maybe it's still under warranty and you should contact the person you bought it from.

2/ AKAI doesn't answer mails it appears, you need to phone AKAI directly.

The phone numbers are on the right side of that page:

https://www.akaipro.com/support

Screen blank, any guides for disassembly of an MPC one?

You shouldn't have to disassemble anything to see what's wrong. There has to be a test mode like on every cellphones, with automated tests to detect which part has a defect. Maybe ask the people that work on the HAKAI project like user Ultros here how to put the device on test mode.

If a part has a defect then you need to replace it

https://www.mpcstuff.com/akai-mpc-live- ... cessories/

VictorC wrote:I have seen in this forum that this tends to happen when the memory isn't properly seated

This would be in reference to old legacy MPC models where you would add additional RAM yourself. The RAM in these new MPCs is soldered into the mainboard during manufacture of the board, there is no way it's coming loose.

Ring Akai, they are apparently pretty poor at answering emails. Or contact the retailer if still under warranty.

Thanks for the replies, I contacted Amazon and they offered to reimburse me after I explained that AKAI straight up refuses to answer, and given that I'm not in the USA or EU it's hard to get them on the phone as well. Sucks that I'm gonna lose whatever beats I hadn't had a chance to back up but it could have been worse .

I'm curious, does the MPC have any warranty seals that can break upon opening or something? Because this was bought at an Amazon outlet sale, so if by some small miracle AKAI actually replies I'd rather have it repaired or replaced but I don't wanna have to find out that somebody already opened it and voided my warranty before I bought it or something.

VictorC wrote:I'm curious, does the MPC have any warranty seals that can break upon opening or something? Because this was bought at an Amazon outlet sale, so if by some small miracle AKAI actually replies I'd rather have it repaired or replaced but I don't wanna have to find out that somebody already opened it and voided my warranty before I bought it or something.

Don't bother trying to find out, get a refund, problem solved and buy another device. AKAI's behavior regarding support is straight out unacceptable for a company of that scale (INMUSIC).

AKAI's behavior regarding support is straight out unacceptable for a company of that scale (INMUSIC).

Agree with that one. Wish they'd at least make some service manuals available or make the devices accessible to repair if their customer support amounts to hiding under the desk.

Yeah, just leave it and send it back to Amazon, ignore any response from Akai now, Just buy yourself a new one. Remember in the future to save your stuff on an SD card or USB stick rather than using the internal drive, there's no easy way of backing up (or recovering data) from that drive.

Beggars belief how many people are posting about problems getting a response from Akai support, surely it can't be that hard to take on extra staff members to deal with emails.

Beggars belief how many people are posting about problems getting a response from Akai support, surely it can't be that hard to take on extra staff members to deal with emails.

Or at least outsource it, even small-time companies do that. It's borderline scam behavior to hide from your customers as soon as you get their money. Thank y'all for your advice, AKAI is lucky to have a good community.

VictorC wrote:I have seen in this forum that this tends to happen when the memory isn't properly seated so I'm considering taking it apart

Modern MPCs are built with SoCs with the RAM surface-mounted on to the board. So you're going to have a hard time reseating that RAM.

Just go ahead and return it, get a working unit, and move on with your life.