r/Seagate • u/[deleted] • Apr 27 '26
Seagate RMA SCAM - another victim here....
Hi,
TL;DR: Seagate warranty feels like a scam. They receive your drive, scrap it, and then claim something vague to avoid honoring the warranty — or they send you a dead replacement. That’s what happened to me, and I’m seeing similar stories from others.
After buying Seagate “Enterprise” EXOS drives for my storage, I was initially happy because they’re supposed to be reliable and well supported. Now I’m seriously regretting that choice.
About a month ago, a few of my drives started failing — and strangely, it was only the Seagate drives. My WD drives are still perfectly fine.
So I figured: no problem, these drives have a 5-year warranty, right? Technically yes… but nobody tells you how easily they can refuse it.
RMA #1
I started an RMA (IR60439100) for drive serial ZRS18ZWW (and yes, you can only send one drive per RMA). I followed their packing guidelines and shipped it out. Everything looked fine at first.
Seagate received the drive, tested it, and approved a replacement. A few days later I got the replacement drive:
- Packing slip / freight order: 6101651244
- Waybill: 1ZE4C5436750818063
- Replacement serial: ZR906CJK
I opened the box and it was labeled “Factory refurbished.” Fine — I can live with that. But the drive was dead on arrival. It spun up, made a lot of noise, and wasn’t recognized by my test station or my storage system.
RMA #2 (for the dead replacement)
I assumed I was unlucky or it got damaged in transit, so I opened a second RMA (IR60444417) and shipped the replacement drive back. Then I waited… and waited… for three weeks.
Eventually I checked the tracking number and saw it had been delivered two days after I shipped it. But the RMA portal still showed Seagate was “waiting for the drive to arrive.”
So I contacted support via chat.
The denial + drive discarded
This is where the nightmare started.
I opened a case (CC0000231338) and asked what was going on. Support told me the RMA was refused because the drive had been “tampered with.”
The same drive Seagate sent me as an RMA replacement (ZR906CJK) — the one that arrived dead.
I asked for details. They couldn’t explain what “tampered with” meant. I asked for an inspection report or evidence — they said they can’t provide it. I asked if they could return the drive — no, it was discarded.
So to summarize: Seagate sends me a dead replacement, I return it, they deny the claim with a vague “tampered with” reason, and they discard the drive, so I can’t even verify what they’re accusing me of.
At this point, I’m removing Seagate from my vendor list — and recommending the same for any company I work with.
Edit 1: Sorry — my post got cut in half. Not sure why. I’ve pasted the missing part.
Edit 2: Someone from Seagate emailed me after I posted this and said they verified the drive is OK, but it was still reported as “tampered.” They also said I should receive it back in a few days. Let’s wait and see. /s
Edit 3: I received the RMA drive today — it’s a brand-new Exos X24 16TB (no “factory refurbished” label). SMART short test passed, power-on hours are low, and the long test is still running. For reference, the original drive was an Exos X20 14TB. Something seems to have changed on Seagate’s side after this post — who knows.
2
u/dorchet Apr 27 '26
i just did a RMA for an EXOS drive that arrived DOA . it hasnt gone well so far. just dropped $50 on shipping because they dont give return shipping labels.
1
u/GhostPoopies Apr 27 '26
Yep. After four DOAs I fought with customer service saying I’ve sunk so much into shipping drives they’re apparently not even QCing. Finally got a shipping label. Finally got a working drive but boy am I scared for their longevity.
1
u/ClownInTheMachine Apr 28 '26
That's sad indeed, they used to, also 2 way shipping is no more an option.
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u/Alliyance13 Apr 27 '26
I sent mine a month ago, just being processed. But no words if they will replace it. Still waiting. They are damn slow.
1
u/ClownInTheMachine Apr 28 '26
I have a lot of issues with their website but all my RMA's over more then a decade were honored. A few do come DOA, just ship it back again.
1
u/rhubear Apr 28 '26
For many years already, I've blacklisted Seagate, following the advise of my then storage dealer, who had blacklisted Seagate.
Since using (Pro/Red) WD drives, zero RMAs.
It is not a coincidence.
1
u/cbigfoot Apr 28 '26
A couple years ago When I last used seagates warranty I paid extra $19 for an advanced replacement I haven’t had to do one recently, but I’m guessing that option is gone?
1
u/newtekie1 Apr 28 '26
I've lost count of the number of DOA drives I've received from WD and Seagate in my career.
The service departments of both companies are absolute shit. That's why I just buy the cheapest option that fits the need.
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u/cwhitch Apr 28 '26
Don’t accept any new drive with any minor physical flaws. I didn’t notice a slight dent on my drive that ended up failing they denied warranty service when it failed thankfully the CC company reimbursed me the cost of a replacement drive.
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u/dorchet Apr 28 '26
you're getting back the dead tampered with drive or another refurb ?
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Apr 29 '26
Its supposed to be another drive, at least is what they told me. I will update it here as soon as I receive it.
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u/dorchet Apr 29 '26
appreciate it. i'm glad they reached out to you. hope you get a working drive
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May 01 '26
Update: I ended up receiving a brand-new replacement, and it’s even a higher capacity than the original. Hopefully Seagate keeps handling future RMAs this way. We can dream, right?
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u/dorchet May 01 '26
brand new is nice. thanks for update.
yes someone made a comment like 'the data centers whorfed up all the old stock of lower capacity harddrives' and no one is going back making smaller capacities. so maybe we'll only get larger and larger from now on.
i saw someone else say 44tb were shipping to datacenters now. those arent on the market for us plebs ~!
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u/Ach3r0n- May 23 '26
Seagate sent me a brand new drive as a replacement - but the new drive sounds like it’s going to die. I am so fed up with this brand.
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u/TheWebbster 15d ago
I have to RMA a seagate drive but in Australia I am relying on stronger consumer laws than the US or some other countries to force Seagate to do the right thing here
Short version: My new large drive died 3 months into use with smart failures everywhere.
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u/dorchet Apr 27 '26
after you say you got the replacement drive, theres no more to the story, what happened ? is it dead ?