Vista System Buyers Still Looking for Windows 7 Upgrades
It is an ages old marketing technique when a new OS is soon to ship — offer free (or cheap) upgrades to the new OS when it launches to prevent buyers from waiting. There are not enough computer buying dollars going around as it is, and the free upgrade ploy keeps systems going out the door. We are heading into a month after the launch of Windows 7, and both HP and Dell customers are up in arms that their Windows 7 upgrades are not available yet.
Customers are frequenting forums run by both companies, detailing their horror stories of difficulty not only getting the upgrade, but in cases even getting an acknowledgment that one will be forthcoming. While it is not surprising to hear these tales of woe, you would think these companies, who have been doing this upgrade bit for years now, would have their ducks in a row. You’d think.
So did you purchase a system entitled to an OS upgrade? Did you get it yet, or at least hear when you might?
Still waiting. Thank you Lenovo !
Confirmed by both HP and Fujitsu that I get an upgrade, order status indicates processing, not yet shipped. Still have to for my upgrade with Acer.
Bought HP DV6 in September. Have not received Win 7 yet.
Just got my upgrade kit yesterday from my Acer Aspire 1410. ….And I thought my wait was long!
You can count Toshiba in on the screw-up as well:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=431783
I am wondering if they all jobbed this out to the same firm. I know that Lenovo has outsourced this, and it has been quite a mess.
–Ken
I purchased an Acer Aspire Revo 3600 with Vista Home Premium on September 29 2009 and received my Windows 7 upgrade disks November 7th.
Best Buy purchase last Aug, still no word…
Quick update. I was reading on a Thinkpad forum that MS chose the vendor to handle all of the processing of the Win7 upgrades. I do not know if it is true, but the fact that customers from a large variety of manufacturers are having similar problems would support that statement.
–Ken
I have a happy story of the free upgrade from Sony, of all companies. I recently took advantage of the $500 off a Vaio P machine offered through SonyStyle. I knew a new version of the machine was coming, but aside from having Win7 on it, I couldn’t find evidence of any significant hardware changes. Even with the cost of a Win7 upgrade, it seemed like a sweet deal.
Come to find out when I got the Vaio that it was eligible for a free Win7 upgrade. Free. Sony. I know. I followed the instructions and ordered mine, no shipping cost at all. I got confirmation of the order in email (out of a Singapore company, must be Sony’s contractor for this sort of thing) and then about two weeks later, I got a shipping confirmation with valid tracking number.
Color me shocked and pleased.
Bought a Gateway computer at the end of June at BestBuy, one day after the eligibility start date. Received my free upgrade to Windows 7 today.
Are you serious?! I buy my computer earlier than you. I send my request earlier than you. Not only that, but you weren’t even in the qualifying dates to recieve it! And I still don’t have mine?
Fair.Real fair.
I asked Office Max for a copy of my receipt for the purchase of a 64 bit HP desktop. Not only am I still waiting for a free Windows 7 upgrade, I am also still waiting for a simple copy of my receipt. It has been 4 weeks! So glad I went for the upgradeable HP from Office Max. Not!
We got a new Dell at work in June and filled out the upgrade form back in August and haven’t heard anything since…
Send me a private message with your service tag and I can assist you with your Win7 Upgrade pirchase.
Allow me to shed a bit of knowledge I have acquired from the VISTA Upgrade program as well as the Windows 7 Upgrade program. I can attest that the same company that did HPs VISTA Upgrades is still doing them for Windows 7. Also, this company, ARVATO Digital, is also handling COMPAQ, ACER, LENOVO, E-Machines, Toshiba and Gateway that I know of. I feel SONY is not using them based on their upgrades websites appearance and system, but I have no documented proof one way or the other. As it looks to me, I think they are doing most all of the big companies and that supports the other posters comment that MS selected on firm to handle them all. Maybe SONY has the clout to say “We do it ourselves thank you!”.. I may exclude SONY as their Website and Interface looks totally different then the other sites run by ARVATO Digital.
Transaction approval and shipping times are very much varied. A friend of mine submitted his LENOVE Upgrade on 10-26 with the POP Uploaded at the same time. His Credit Card was charged less then 7 days later and he received his Upgrade on 11-8. That’s amazing. Yet I have a LENOVO Pending from 10-15, still waiting for POP approval (was sent at same time as I submitted request) and that is still waiting for approval.
There is just no rhyme or reason how these things are being handled. As you all stated, the public is pretty much up in arms over this. The Forums run by the Manufacturers, as well as independent forums, are flooded with discontent.
It really is a shame.
I ordered a Dell laptop a few weeks before the release date of Windows 7 and they had a promotion to have Win 7 pre-installed on the system if it shipped after Oct 22nd (which mine shipped on Oct 25th). However, my Dell machine arrived with Vista OS installed. Dell support simply told me that I needed to order the Win 7 upgrade (for free) and do the install myself, which is what I wanted to avoid. I did get the upgrade DVDs after about three weeks, and spent the last day and half doing the upgrade. The worst part, was finding all the drivers and apps for the internal devices in the laptop. The Dell support site had a few listed for my machine, but I had to hunt around for Vista drivers and apps on the Dell web site until I found everything I needed. A real pain.
Bought my HP 2009M from Best Buy in Sept and waited until the release of Win 7 to send in for my free upgrade (which was promised by Best Buy when I bought it loaded with Vista). Did the order and uploaded my receipt through the processor, Avarato. After waiting since 10/22 and checking the status on Avarato’s order checking website (status has shown “Accepted” the entire time), finally called them and was told “we can not ship the Windows 7 upgrade because the disk we have for HP doesn’t contain the needed drivers – we are waiting to receive the proper disk from HP with the drivers. They had no idea how long that would take. I contacted Best Buy – they offered to install the “free” Windows 7 upgrade at their location for $39.95. The Geek Squad person there explained to me this was a very good deal since the full price of the upgrade was $129.00. If possible, I plan on contacting HP to ask their take on this. I’ll update this post as soon as I get their response.
UPDATE FROM AVARATO as of 11/12:
This is in response to your email regarding the Windows 7 Upgrade Program and we’re more than willing to provide you the status of your order. We’ve experienced a high volume of responses which we did not anticipate, we appreciate your business and do wish to keep you as a customer. We apologize about the delay and hope you will continue to be patient with us as we are diligently servicing customers around the world.
We are happy to inform you that your order has been accepted and confirmed. Be aware majority order that were submitted earlier will be sent out by this month end.
Due to the overwhelming response to the Windows 7 Upgrade Program, we can assure you that your order will be shipped as soon as possible. You will be sent a confirmation email once the order has been shipped.
For more information and to review the status of your order, please visit our website at:
https://www.hpwindows7upgrade.arvato.com/north_america/Endcustomer/TrackYourOrder.aspx
For further assistance, feel free to give us a call at 1-877-280-2279 Monday through Friday from 10AM-10PM EST and Saturday 12PM-4:30PM EST and we will be more than happy to help you with your concern.
We appreciate your business and patience during this process.
Thank you,
NO MENTION OF THE “HP DRIVER” PROBLEM THEY STATED THEY ARE HAVING WITH THE DISKS THEY CURRENTLY HAVE.
I purchased my HP Desktop with free upgrade to Windows 7 64 bit from Costco on 11-09-2009 and immediately uploaded the POP from the side of the box and my register receipt. Arvato received and took 7 days to send me DENIAL due to POP not being legible and I needed to resubmit, so I have done that. But there WAS NOT a problem with the image being legible, just seems to be a delay tactic. Maybe Arvato NEEDS A NEW COMPUTER to view the images! I am playing along with this game, but the joke is on HP and their vendor Arvato, because I have a 90 day no questions asked returned policy at Costco. But Costco will be provided documentation to let them know of the upgrade screw up with HP and Arvato. I can order a new computer from Costco online with Windows 7 already installed and have it long before this matter is resolved. So why wait any longer?
I would strongly suggest…don’t take the crap from Arvato..fight back, especially if you charged your computer on a charge card. Call your bank and file a dispute based on the item being not as described. Your bank will file a CHARGE BACK with the vendor, whom you purchased your computer. I bet the computer store will get the attention of the computer manufacturer. If enough people do this…then upgrade offers will be handled in a timely manner and as described in the purchase offer.
I will never fall for another upgrade offer again…because of this crap. Good luck….maybe Santa will deliver your upgrade for Christmas. I really feel sorry for the person (with no prior knowledge of Windows 7 upgrade screw ups) who buys the HP desktop unopened box computer with Vista Home Premium, and expects to get a free Windows 7 upgrade anytime soon from HP and Arvato.
Over a month since I sent my proof of purchase, still waiting. Put in a question via their ‘contact us’ link, automated response says I will hear from them within 10 business days.
This is enough to ensure I will not buy another Lenovo.
Never.
Not a tablet, not a netbook, not a MID, not a Thinkpad, not an Ideapad. “Not nothin’, not nohow.”
What these geniuses fail to realize is that consumers have a loooong memory.
To this day, I refuse to buy anything Apple-branded because of their rude cancellation of the Newton project…..
I have an HP and am still waiting although I have been in the so-called “Accepted” status at Arvato for weeks.
Many of our HP tales of woe can be found on HP’s Support Forum that they don’t appear to monitor or participate in themselves. It would be a real service if they would drop a note in there from time to time at least trying to explain what has transpired.
I would invite anyone who would like to see the particular thread I have been involved with to drop on by:
http://h30434.www3.hp.com/psg/board/message?board.id=OS&message.id=24745#M24745
Ordered a hp dv6 from best buy 8/14 submitted pop on 8//15. Arvado accepted pop a week later. Window 7 upgrade shipped today(11/20) out of Hebron Kentucky. Wow, talk about fast service! I’ve been patiently waiting but this is ridiculous. That said I’m excited(hoping) to recieve my upgrade next week, over a month after the release. WOW!