All the issues with "i" series ??

[copyman]

I only have a few "i" series and they seem to be ok so far but from what I read on this forum there are a lot of serious issues with new and low meter machines, boards needing to be replaced, bad fusers, etc etc. Not just minor things that Kon/Min can fix with firmware, bulletins, etc. but really serious issues!

Don't have much skin in the game at this point but eventually I wont be able to buy off lease "8" series anymore for my customers and will have to start selling the "i" series which concerns me.

Not sure why but seems like many dealers & techs are ok with this. Not me! As I've posted before there is no excuse for Kon/Min to put this crap out there. If I was a Kon/Min dealer I would look at changing to another OEM. Know a Pro-Tech dealership that dropped Kon/Min and switched to Canon. Also let's not forget the world wide Kon/Min toner & machine shortage a few years ago.

Does anyone else feel this way or just me?

[KMFLT3CH]

Re: All the issues with "i" series ??

I have been installing and servicing i-series for 5 years next month and they are no different than the rough start the 8 series had with all the HDD and MFP board failures, the infamous lock ups on the shark fins/pillars, CD, CF codes etc. These machine all need some time to work out their kinks.

Nowadays what I'm seeing the most is drums & dev units failing prematurely and speckling/background due to bad toner. Even some of the bottles KM sends out are dirt in a bottle...if there are three holes on the end cap = bad news. Get used to replacing dev units if your customers don't use genuine toner.

Very early i-series models from 2019-2021 with the old style (long) NVMe storage board starting to fail...replaced 3 of them so far this year. I have replaced far more MFP boards on 8 series than i-series.

The fusers/fuser drive units are much quieter on these but still crap, luckily a few settings will prolong their life and with the new style fusers now released hopefully the problems will be resolved for good... more time will tell. I've installed only 3 of the new style fusers so far with the plates and engine switches.

I keep my fleet on P8 firmware and they do just fine, but if a storage board goes bad it is what it is. Luckily the Diagnosis/Recovery tool is very simple to use and tells you exactly what to replace. Truth is I am repairing a lot more high mileage 8 series still in the field than I am i-series.

My advice: stay away from the desktop A4 i-series, absolutely garbage. Anything with four numbers and ending in an i, just run away. (or just switch OEMs if it's better for your business)

[copyman]

Re: All the issues with "i" series ??

I have been installing and servicing i-series for 5 years next month and they are no different than the rough start the 8 series had with all the HDD and MFP board failures, the infamous lock ups on the shark fins/pillars, CD, CF codes etc. These machine all need some time to work out their kinks.

Nowadays what I'm seeing the most is drums & dev units failing prematurely and speckling/background due to bad toner. Even some of the bottles KM sends out are dirt in a bottle...if there are three holes on the end cap = bad news. Get used to replacing dev units if your customers don't use genuine toner.

Very early i-series models from 2019-2021 with the old style (long) NVMe storage board starting to fail...replaced 3 of them so far this year. I have replaced far more MFP boards on 8 series than i-series.

The fusers/fuser drive units are much quieter on these but still crap, luckily a few settings will prolong their life and with the new style fusers now released hopefully the problems will be resolved for good... more time will tell. I've installed only 3 of the new style fusers so far with the plates and engine switches.

I keep my fleet on P8 firmware and they do just fine, but if a storage board goes bad it is what it is. Luckily the Diagnosis/Recovery tool is very simple to use and tells you exactly what to replace. Truth is I am repairing a lot more high mileage 8 series still in the field than I am i-series.

My advice: stay away from the desktop A4 i-series, absolutely garbage. Anything with four numbers and ending in an i, just run away. (or just switch OEMs if it's better for your business)

Glad you are happy with them. 5 years to work the kinks out? Hope the kinks are worked out before I have to sell them

[KMFLT3CH]

Re: All the issues with "i" series ??

Glad you are happy with them.

I'm not. I would rather work on an 8 series.

Just saying the i-series aren't that bad except for the desktop models.

[Lync]

Re: All the issues with "i" series ??

I'm not. I would rather work on an 8 series.

Just saying the i-series aren't that bad except for the desktop models.

I agree with the desktop models, the image units seem to fail at any moment.
The larger i series machines have toner hopper issues, if you move a machine across non stable ground, the vibrations can cause the flags in the toner hoppers to fall off the shaft, then the machine either thinks there is no toner in the hopper or the hopper is full when it's empty. Pulling the toner bottle out causes toner to drop through the hole that has the plastic that locks the toner into place and it gets toner all over the sensors under the hoppers, and the machine doesn't think the hoppers are turning. The fusers last only half what they are supposed to because the coating on the roller is not high quality. Some just stop fusing with no visual cause. We have also had 4 or 5 CPU/Storage board failures. The gears in the toner waste distributor above the waste toner box seem to squeak more than they should. These are the main issues we have experienced with the i series machines.

[avecosat]

Re: All the issues with "i" series ??

I'm not. I would rather work on an 8 series.

Just saying the i-series aren't that bad except for the desktop models.

+1

[KMFLT3CH]

Re: All the issues with "i" series ??

The gears in the toner waste distributor above the waste toner box seem to squeak more than they should.

Ah yes, completely forgot about this issue and I've had to lube dozens of those plastic shafts that the gears ride on. That and noisy exit rollers on the main body. Oh and squealing drum unit shafts. Luckily all are simple to diagnose and maybe 10 minutes to fix. Seems like there is some laziness or lack of lubrication on the assembly line.

Thank you KM for the job security.

[Synthohol]

Re: All the issues with "i" series ??

a bit dated but still has valued info...

[copyman]

Re: All the issues with "i" series ??

Ah yes, completely forgot about this issue and I've had to lube dozens of those plastic shafts that the gears ride on. That and noisy exit rollers on the main body. Oh and squealing drum unit shafts. Luckily all are simple to diagnose and maybe 10 minutes to fix. Seems like there is some laziness or lack of lubrication on the assembly line.

Thank you KM for the job security.

It's one thing for the Chinese to screw us but to not even use lube really hurts!

[adecanmin]

Re: All the issues with "i" series ??

Good information.


Fortunately I have not had to work on the a4 i series machines. I will not sell them. I have a bunch of c3850s and c3851s. They have their issues. I couldn't image something new having more problems than the previous versions. I will sell the a3 i series and hope for the best. I'm curious about the i series enhanced.

[Miltan]

Re: All the issues with "i" series ??

I've been servicing lots of c4050i's and i can list most of issues that can happen very often on this model:

-Drums failing prematurely because of stuck developer. The tcr sensor has trouble reading so it constantly adds toner until A, it depletes it completely or B, it throws internal error.

-Newly installed drum sometime later can also cause problems because of high tcr. The new firmware is supposed to fix this.

-Paper jam 11-02 because of worn out cushions in paper feed unit.

-Transfer belt having a tendency to completely break.

-Fuser has also a tendency to prematurely fail, leaving smeared prints or back markings.

-DF Control Board randomly dies. It can cause overload and shut down the printer, fooling you that power supply or base board needs to be replaced.

-Rarely but the storage boards can also fail. The printer will end up freezing or stuck while trying to boot up.

That's all i can list from my head when it comes to this model. I'm also servicing c458 and 450i but in fewer numbers and less often.

[adecanmin]

Re: All the issues with "i" series ??

I've been servicing lots of c4050i's and i can list most of issues that can happen very often on this model:

-Drums failing prematurely because of stuck developer. The tcr sensor has trouble reading so it constantly adds toner until A, it depletes it completely or B, it throws internal error.

-Newly installed drum sometime later can also cause problems because of high tcr. The new firmware is supposed to fix this.

-Paper jam 11-02 because of worn out cushions in paper feed unit.

-Transfer belt having a tendency to completely break.

-Fuser has also a tendency to prematurely fail, leaving smeared prints or back markings.

-DF Control Board randomly dies. It can cause overload and shut down the printer, fooling you that power supply or base board needs to be replaced.

-Rarely but the storage boards can also fail. The printer will end up freezing or stuck while trying to boot up.


That's all i can list from my head when it comes to this model. I'm also servicing c458 and 450i but in fewer numbers and less often.

Based on what you've seen first hand this series is a nightmare. What makes it worse most of these machines are put in a low use environment. I may sell the Sharp A4s. I've worked on a few and they don't have the issues these units have.

[Miltan]

Re: All the issues with "i" series ??

Based on what you've seen first hand this series is a nightmare. What makes it worse most of these machines are put in a low use environment. I may sell the Sharp A4s. I've worked on a few and they don't have the issues these units have.

The i series was advertised to be simple, secure and smart which is mostly misleading. It isn't simple because it breaks at the most absurd reason. Definitely not smart because of mentioned problem with developer and cushions. But they are indeed right when it comes to the word "secure" because you need to secure lots of money if you want to buy spare parts for this printer.

[engage1000]

Re: All the issues with "i" series ??

The fusers/fuser drive units are much quieter on these but still crap, luckily a few settings will prolong their life and with the new style fusers now released hopefully the problems will be resolved for good... more time will tell. I've installed only 3 of the new style fusers so far with the plates and engine switches.

I am curious about which settings you change for the fuser. I've recently gone through educating myself on extending fuser life on Kyocera TaskAlfas, and would be curious about what you've found with the new Konica's, especially with extended sleep settings (ie 60 minutes).

Thanks!

[Ziggy]

Re: All the issues with "i" series ??

a bit dated but still has valued info...

I have V1.6 of the best practice guide dated 08/05/2022 but its to large for me to attach here