Asus Recalled ROG Maximus Z690 Hero Motherboards Due to Burning Components
For the past couple of days, I've read reports entailing Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Hero motherboards encountering several 53 code issues, even some motherboards engulfing in flames. Various social media outlets displayed pictures of the damaged motherboards, causing widespread concerns from the PC enthusiasts community. Upon further investigation from the Taiwanese company, they have confirmed that the core issue is the incorrect placement of a memory capacitor. Simply put, the capacitor is in backward.
A YouTuber (Bullzoid) at Actually Hardcore Overclocking conducted his investigation. His findings were that the memory capacitors on the ROG Maximus Z690 Hero motherboard are backward, encountering the 'Error 53' code issue.
image source: ASUS
This issue has potentially affected all Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Hero motherboards with the following part number, 90MV18E0-MVAAY, and serial number starting with MA, MB. All the units were manufactured in 2021 with a label pasted on the box. If you're one of many who have these defective motherboards, Asus is offering a replacement. Follow the list below.
To our valued ASUS Customers,
ASUS is committed to producing the highest quality products, and we take every incident report from our valued customers very seriously. We have recently received incident reports regarding the ROG Maximus Z690 Hero motherboard. In our ongoing investigation, we have preliminarily identified a potential reversed memory capacitor issue in the production process from one of the production lines that may cause debug error code 53, no post, or motherboard components damage. The issue potentially affects units manufactured in 2021 with the part number 90MB18E0-MVAAY0 and serial number starting with MA, MB, or MC.
You can identify your part number by referring to the product packaging: Please reference the attached image.
As of December 28, 2021, a few incidents have been reported in North America. Going forward, we are continuing our thorough inspection with our suppliers and customers to identify all possible affected ROG Maximus Z690 Hero motherboards in the market and will be working with relevant government agencies on a replacement program.
Thank you so much to everyone for your patience and support while we are working through the replacement program.
If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact ASUS customer service.
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Best regards,
The ASUS Team
While there are burns on two MOSFETs, the core problem is the memory capacitor labeled "150" displayed in this post. You can see the memory capacitor is positioned incorrectly—much respect to Asus for promptly addressing this issue.
