Smok Alien Faults

[AlexanderTheVape]

Hi all.
I've owned the Alien kit (well 2, but I'll get onto that!)
The first one started giving me issues after a week. After 3 days the paint began to fade and wear which wasn't the most comforting feeling considering how new it was. The first actual issue I had was getting the 'ohms too low' error, this lead to me having to buy 2 new coils because the 'Vape Genius' at the shop insisted that I had burned the new ones out even though they were less than a day old (they were properly primed and I didn't go above 55w).
I just ended up using the 0.15 coils which gave me no issues at all.

The fire button then began to play up on the 2nd week of owning, it would put me into the menu screen when trying to vape.
After these 2 issues, I began to doubt Smok's build quality. But the icing on the cake was when the fire button decided to FALL OFF ENTIRELY.
Another trip to the vendor who says that it is acceptable for a mod to fall apart 29 days after purchase (their warranty is 28 days so I could tell they didn't give a rat's a** because they were under no obligation to even look at the mod)

I then had the pleasure of buying another Alien Kit. Within the first 2 days, I've realized that it doesn't like to charge through the USB port, it begins to charge, I have to either hold it in a certain position or the screen constantly flashes. If the screen isn't flashing then the battery bars don't change percentage.
I've tried multiple USB's, power outlets and 2 different batteries; I know you're supposed to charge the batteries externally and I have an external charger but its useful to charge it through the port for quick charging.

A friend who bought an Alien Kit from the same place has owned hers for roughly 6 weeks and her display has gone completely blank., she says she is going to the vendor to get a repair/replacement but she's not holding her breath.

So, to conclude this long and boring story:
The Smok Alien kit is amazing, excellent vapour production, good flavour, decent price and the most informative vape display I have seen.
But the 0.4 coils, fire button, paint job and the displays seem to be shoddy.
I was a MASSIVE Kangertech fan before this, at first I thought I had been missing out in terms of build quality.

My question now is;
What should I do?
Do I get a third Alien kit (3 times lucky, maybe?)
Or do I go for an alternative, if so, which ones are good?

I hope this helps as 'I'm apparently 'the first person to have issues with this kit'

 

[MrDJ]

hi and welcome to the planet.

there are a couple of posts about paint wear on the boddy and fire button but not heard of any other issues.
ive got 2 that are 3 weeks old and running perfect with no wear and tear even though both are used every day.
could just be a dodgy batch which doesnt help much.
also the usb should only be used for software upgrades.

you could try tech support but dont hold your breath http://www.smoktech.com/support

 

[krang]

Did you buy the second one from the same place? Sounds a bit dodgy to me. How's the saying go? fool me once shame on you fool me twice shame on me.

I've got one of these on order and there certainly is a lot of hype about them but not heard anything of the issues you have had so far. Smok have really tapped into this market with this product, its hard to go five minutes without someone spunking some jizz about the Alien on here. I hope the product matches the hype but hearing stuff like this don't sound good.

 

[pete146]

Also - it doesn't matter how long the store gave you in warranty (assuming you are in the UK). The consumer rights act gives you 30 days.

TBH I don't know of an alternative that has the same power AND is of similar size / quality. The IPV6x is simalr size and power, but truly awful quality.

 

[Darksoul]

I bought mine having heard of no issues other than paint which I could live with as I rewrap anyway. A few days ago it stopped reading coils properly would read "ohms to low" even without an atty on. It has started reading about .2 ohms too low and occasionally will bounce about randomly. I can adjust the ohms manually ,which is a faff as it only let's you alter .03 ohms each menu cycle but it works. The main issue with this is I like my builds at around 0.2 ohms so because it reads to low it registers at 0 ohms and won't let me adjust. Unfortunately I'm away so can't get to the vendor for a replacement yet but hopefully this is a one off as it's one of my top mods when it was working. I have noticed more and more issues with them starting to pop up though.

 

[Ryanlast45]

I've had my alien for about a week now and I am loving it. I have had no problems with mine or anything but then again I didn't buy the kit. Just the mod and I popped my cleito 120 on it. No paint has chipped off mine yet . But maybe you didn't get a authentic one and got a clone cause there has been a lot of clones going around.

 

[Ryanlast45]

Actually I just looked at mine and there is some paint chipping on it already, and I have been so gentle with it. But , in my eyes , no mod is going to be perfectly clean and it's always going to show wear and tear i'm one of those people that don't like paint chips or scratches on my mod but it's nothing that a case or a wrap can't fix I move my alien though and hope I dont have any technical problems with mine.

 

[ivansai]

Ummmm. I was thinking of switching my Wismec RX200S to alien mod. But after reading this, it is giving me doubts

 

[ivansai]

I've had my alien for about a week now and I am loving it. I have had no problems with mine or anything but then again I didn't buy the kit. Just the mod and I popped my cleito 120 on it. No paint has chipped off mine yet . But maybe you didn't get a authentic one and got a clone cause there has been a lot of clones going around.

Where did you buy it from and how much? I can't find a place to get the mod on it's own

 

[marineio]

I'd go back to the place you bought your first and second ones (if the same place). For the first 6 months, it is up to the shop to prove that it was not a manufacturing defect, and they have one opportunity to repair or replace the item. After that first 6 months, up to 6 years (or reasonable time), it is up to you to prove it, but the consumer rights act provides the recourse for you, as a consumer. Warrantys are above any statutory rights.

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/consumer-rights-act#the-first-six-months

You may have a hard battle, but keep at it.