Broken GoPro
I thought that “Horizontal Hold” and “Vertical Hold” were things of the past. I had no idea that the screen could “roll” on a new machine like a GoPro.
This is my Hero 9 Black. It acted strange one day and after leaving the battery out overnight, then recharging it, it seemed to work fine. It did it again when during my commute a few days ago and today the screen is dead.
I reached out to GoPro when it happened the first time. No response.
I reached out today and I am waiting for my response…
Update!
I was able to get in touch with a rep. They asked me to try updating and factory resetting the device. The update seemed to be successful but there was no change with the device. The screen was still black.
I had to contact them again the next day. They told me that I would be able to send it back and have it replaced!! THANK YOU!
They gave me a shipping label. At first, I was not really sure how to send it out. It was clearly UPS but it is not common at all in Japan. I tried taking it to a regular post office and they looked at me like a deer in headlights. They were clueless.
I looked up UPS on the web and found that they do have some drop boxes in Tokyo. They are all downtown. I don’t live downtown. I did see that they had a pick up service available. I tried using their web form for a pickup but it kept saying that my zip code was invalid. I think they need to update their website. I decided to call them and arrange the pick up. It was fine. They picked it up without issue.
It took about 2 weeks to get my new camera. They warn you not to include anything but the camera. That includes the battery. The new camera they sent did not include a battery. I read online that some people were able to resolve GoPro issues by replacing their battery so I splurged on an Enduro battery. I have the old one as a back up but I think I will sell it. I think it is OK but if it breaks my camera, I will be frustrated.
Conclusion
From my experience, GoPro service wants to help you! They can tell you where you stand and what your options are. The only thing I will say is: Be patient! From their website, I had them call me. It took longer than I wanted but I was patient. They did not wait for me to try the service so I had to have them call me again the next day. I had trouble with the UPS site. Due to patience, I was able to get it all squared away without too much trouble.
