Acer Certified Refurb Predator Neo 16s hitting 99C at idle on DAY ONE, tried everything, can't get a real support agent
Hoping someone here has seen this or can point me to the right person at Acer.
Bought an Acer Certified Refurbished Predator Neo 16s (PHN16S-71, Intel Ultra 9) through the official Acer listing (ebay). $1,300 out the door with tax. Purchased directly from Acer's official refurbished listing, not a 3rd party seller. It was supposed to be my work machine for content creation and editing.
Unit is PHN16S-71, BIOS v1.21 at the time, now flashed to v1.26. Temps didn't change.
First boot, sitting in the BIOS screen, it was already at 96C. Figured maybe a fluke, booted into Windows, idle was 68C. Warm but livable. Then I actually started using it and temps sat in the 70s just browsing Chrome with nothing else open.
Went to update BIOS thinking that might be it. BIOS was also laggy as hell while it was cooking itself, which is weird because BIOS shouldn't be doing anything.
What Ive tried so far:
- F9 reset to BIOS defaults
- Disabled overclocking and MSR locks in the hidden advanced BIOS menu
- ThrottleStop with PL1/PL2 at 80W, PROCHOT offset adjusted, Sync MMIO
- Disabled Processor Performance Boost in Windows power options
- Toggled PredatorSense between modes
- Turned off fast boot
- Full clean install of Windows 11 (this was its own nightmare. Drive showed up as MBR with only 200GB visible during setup, had to extract Acer IRST drivers to my install USB and load them manually because every other option was greyed out. Wifi driver didnt install on first boot so I couldnt even finish OOBE without plugging in ethernet)
- Multiple reboots, all the standard stuff
Current state after all of that:
- BIOS still hits 99C at idle with fans screaming
- Windows idle sits at 75-80C doing literally nothing
- Chrome with a few tabs pushes it past 70C
- Fans do eventually kick in hard, so cooling isnt dead, but clearly somethings off
At this point its gotta be hardware. Dried thermal paste from the refurb process, a sensor reading wrong, a heatsink thats not seated right, something. No software fix should matter at this point, Ive tried all of them.
Where Acer support is at:
Called the main number and it told me Im out of warranty. Its a Certified Refurbished unit sold directly by Acer OFFICIAL (ebay) so it has its own warranty, this shouldnt apply. Then it transferred me to a 3rd party line (956-405-6456). By the time I got transferred the line said no agents were available and to contact them through "marketplace," whatever that means.
Why this matters:
I bought this specifically to record and edit gaming footage for a project I have May 1-3. I create content full time and had contracted work lined up specifically around this machine. A 7-14 business day depot repair window means I miss the shoot. Ive already spent an entire day on this.
What Im asking:
- Anyone dealt with a certified refurb Acer unit doing this exact thing? Did they actually repair it or did you have to fight for a replacement?
- Is there a real Acer support channel Im missing? The phone tree is a dead end.
- If anyone from Acer sees this, I want the unit repaired, not refunded. Its sold out at the price I got it for and I actually want the laptop, I just need it to work. Willing to ship it in immediately if theres a fast-track option.
Happy to DM SNID, purchase confirmation, logs and photos of the BIOS temp readout to anyone official. Not trying to stir drama, Im just exhausted and out of options.
TL;DR: Acer Certified Refurbished Neo 16s idles at 75-80C in Windows and 99C in BIOS out of the box. Tried every software fix including a full Windows reinstall. Its hardware. Acer support phone line dead ends and claims Im out of warranty on a certified refurb. Need a real support channel, not a refund.