Meraki AP RMA

[ArshadSafrulla]

Was anyone ever asked to submit video or photo evidence to prove Meraki AP's are faulty by TAC? If yes what pics or videos I have to submit?

[DarrenOC]

Not in my experience.  Seems like a pointless request. What if you’re the admin and you’re on the side of the world to where the APs located? How could you be expected to take a picture or video then?

Argue your case and push back.

[KarstenI]

New business-opportunity: Bundle an MV camera with every AP to have a video of the AP ... 😀

[AjitKumar]

Hi @ArshadSafrulla 

I had a similar experience onMX. We recorded the overall process of resetting, showing the LED status etc. We got the RMA for same.

[MerakiDave]

@ArshadSafrulla is Meraki Support asking for specific pictures prior to processing an RMA of an AP?  That is uncommon but if they have a reason they should state why and specifically what pics or vids are needed.  Maybe they just want to get a picture of the AP's label with the S/N and MAC address.  Or if it's a dead AP that will not power up, then perhaps a video that shows a good AP powered up and status LED on (therefore proving it has good PoE power), then unplug the good AP, plug the same wire into the bad AP and show that the status LED doesn't come on.  But that seems like quite a hassle to prove an AP won't power up. 

Perhaps they want to better understand the deployment environment, or to see if something has voided the warranty, like if you have an indoor AP mounted outdoors, or the AP was painted, etc.  

Why is the RMA being requested?  What is faulty with the AP?  Like maybe if the AP stays in a continuous reboot cycle, they might be requesting a video of the status LED and the pattern it cycles through.  This is the type of case where I have seen videos requested, to document and understand a specific (perhaps faulty or unexpected) status LED sequence.

[ArshadSafrulla]

Hi Guys,

I was trying to RMA 4Qty of AP's which got faulty within the course of last 9 months, our access to the site was limited due to Covid protocols in place and now we tried to process the RMA for 4 AP's (MR42 and MR33) at once. I have clearly mentioned in my request that we have tested the below;

1. Tested by connecting the AP to different switchports in the same POE+ switch

2. Tested by connecting to different switches (Cisco and Meraki)

3. Tested by connecting Meraki POE injectors

At no point of time we saw LED's in the AP flashing. This is the first time I was asked to share pictures and videos of the AP which sounded like a strange request for me. That's why thought of clarifying this with other Merakians to see whether this is a standard practice. This network has more than 1500AP's and 100 Switches. This is the first time we are requesting for RMA for an AP, we had only one faulty switch before which was RMA's without any hassle.

[MerakiDave · Accepted solution]

@ArshadSafrulla thanks for the details.  Based on your input, (although I haven't seen the case notes) I'd say this request is non-standard and not necessary.  You clearly stated that all 4 APs are faulty and you have tried multiple tests on each individual AP and there is no status LED of any kind on any of them.  You even tried PoE injectors. 

I cannot imagine why they might want a photo or video, this seems pretty simple, and if you have 1500 APs deployed, you are well aware of how to diagnose a faulty AP.  I don't see what a photo would or video would prove beyond the info you provided. 

I would call into the Enterprise Support hotline for your area https://meraki.cisco.com/support/ and select option 1 for an existing case and when the next available NSE picks up the call it might be best to re-explain this on a live call and ask them to process the RMA.  

It's possible since you might have a single case to RMA all 4 APs, they may have a different protocol for "bulk RMAs" which might have prompted the request, not sure.  And if that's the case, you certainly have the option to take a few minutes to open a case for each failed AP, but I wouldn't think that should be necessary.  Will have to speak with your NSE.  And if there is still pushback, engage with your local Meraki sales team to assist.  Good luck.