[Hardware] ASUS Confirms ‘Reversed’ Memory Capacitor As The Root Cause of ROG Maximus Z690 HERO Issues, Will Offer Replacement To All Affected Users

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ASUS has confirmed the root cause of its ROG Maximus Z690 HERO motherboards which encountered several 53 code issues with some even ending up in flames. The Taiwanese manufacturer has announced that the issue occurred due to the incorrect placement of one capacitor for memory and they will be offering a free replacement to all users that have been affected.

 

ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 HERO Motherboard 'Code 53' & Burning Issues Caused Due To 'Reversed' Memory Capacitor, Board Maker To Offer Replacement To All Affected Users

Following our report, Bullzoid at Actually Hardcore Overclocking did his own investigation and found out that one of the memory capacitors on the ROG Maximus Z690 HERO motherboard was reversed on all the models that were affected by the 'Error 53' issue. ASUS has now followed up with a statement, confirming that it was true and they will be offering a replacement to all users affected by this issue.

 

It looks like the issue potentially affects all ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 HERO motherboards with the part number 90MB18E0-MVAAY0 and serial number starting with MA, MB, or MC. All of these units were manufactured in 2021 and the labels are provided on the box. So just in case you have one of the affected models, you can follow the following steps that ASUS has listed to get a replacement.

 

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, there have been a few incidents 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.

 

 

While the burns are caused on the two MOSFETs, the root cause is the memory capacitor labeled '150'. You can see in the picture above that the affected motherboards have the memory capacitor positioned reverse and not the correct away. Well, it's a good thing that ASUS was able to spot the issue on time, and kudos to Bullzoid for his quick investigation that helped several users who were going to get the Z690 HERO for the new setups.