Ace Electronics Repairs — Local services in Schuylkill Township

Professional but incompetent. There might be other players in this space, my recommendation is to look for other alternatives.

Brand new LG TV is not able to connect to sound bar via Audio Return Chanel [an existing soundbar that I have been using for another TV upstairs]. Contacted LG support, they put me in touch ACE Electronics. Got a call straight away, spoke to Tina in regards to schedule and availability - Worked out a time, got a reminder a day before, more or less was within the agreed time - Very professional. Rich and Tina - both were at my home to assess. Straight up did a factory reset and established that if fact there is an issue with ARC; The TV is not sending audio via the dedicated ARC HDMI port - and thats all. Went back, and emailed me a very basic troubleshooting guide [Power off the TV, disconnect all connections, plug it in the right connections, check if these settings are on - Kind of guide] - Similar guides are a quick google search away. Apparently this instructions was given by LG Engineers, there was an LG email in the comms, but the word file did not have any LG branding, even the meta data / file signatures are not from LG USA. At the very least I did not see them. [Before I even called LG, I have found similar guides and have tried them]

The recommendation from Rich was to use a better HDMI cable ; Really ? If this is a known point of failure for cases like this, you knew why you are here when you got the request directly from LG, could you have not come prepared ?, and what kind of TV/Audio repair specialist do not carry a HDMI Cable in their work vehicle [not to give it away or sell, but something that is yours that you can confidently trust that is working]

Given that I do not have the original packaging of all the HDMI cables that I have to prove they are good quality ones, I agreed to buy a new one- Just to prove that the cable is up to mark. Asked Tina, after the cable is purchased and I will test it, if the issue is still present, then what's the plan ? She made it clear, that the email instructions is all they came for, and from there on I am on my own. If still having problem, I will have to contact LG support.

"The issue is outside of the TV, we don't do that kind of work" - Tina Their business card says "Specializing in TV & Audio Repair". I was completely bamboozled by the kind of kind of responses I was getting.

When they are in my home, they seems to be friendly - I have no personal vendetta or issue personally with them. During my experience with them I did not see any competence in understanding my issue or even basic troubleshooting of the issue.

In my case, I guess LG was footing the bill under warranty - LG even shipped some parts to ACE in Phoenixville PA. I did not have to pay them directly.

This was Friday last week. Today is Wednesday, by now someone else was able to come and fix the issue with the cable I have [I tested with 3 other cable I have and all of them worked]. We did not have to swap parts, replace any hardware...

The worst place to take vintage electronics. First they neglect to tell you that the $40.00 deposit is non-refundable. I took a vintage very expensive speaker and a reel to reel tape player to them. I had already done all the leg work on the speaker, the grill and old tweeter(which I wasn't sure was broke it may have just been the wiring) were removed which is time consuming on the old ones I had already purchased a replacement tweeter so all that needed to be done was to solder the fragile wires together. Not only did they ruin one tweeter by breaking off all the wires right up to the dome but they ruined both tweeters and still charged me for the repair. If that wasn't bad enough while in their care they put 2 holes in the woofer cone which was in pristine condition when I dropped it off which I even pointed out to them when I dropped it off. They never mentioned a word about it and did not respond to emails after the fact. They charged me a total of $190.00 for cleaning(which a 2 year old could have done better, buffed over an old sticker instead of removing it making the glue impossible to remove, all nooks still visibly dirty, etc.), re-lube and a belt replacement on the reel to reel. They wanted another $50 to replace a blown bulb because they said it was hard to get to. If they had the unit apart to re-lube and replace the belt then how hard could it be to get to a bulb? Maybe another 10-20 min. so I guess they charge around $200 an hour for labor. One foot was missing on the unit which I said not to worry about I would try to find another one or remove the one that was on it so that it would sit evenly. When I picked it up they had removed the foot but did not know where it was. They probably sold it. Not only did Ace Electronics not fix what I paid them to fix, they did more damage to my items. How anyone with any knowledge of electronics could be so irresponsible as to put 2 holes in a woofer is beyond me. Not to mention, they are not the friendliest people either, they don't listen to a word you say, they ask a question and talk over you as you are trying to answer. When I emailed them after the fact of course they had no response. DO NOT TAKE ANYTHING TO THEM THEY TAKE YOUR MONEY AND RUIN YOUR...

I would rate a negative number if it was possible. My experience was extremely disappointing. I asked for a repair of tape recorder that had a sentimental value for me. The address is a private house with some kind of a tiny, dirty shed turned to repair shop. It looked suspicious, shady place – shelves with old, dusty equipment with no space to turn around. Big dogs barking made me think to return. I couldn’t show what was wrong with the recorder because in this so called electronics repair shop, there was no outlet to plug it in! Rude and unfriendly lady hardly found space even to write the receipt for $60 deposit, nonrefundable. When I called after 2 weeks, Rich told me it would cost $500 to refurbish, clean it and 5-6 hours labor. He couldn’t answer what part exactly doesn’t work. I didn’t request anything additional – just repair of the not working part. I knew it couldn’t cost so much. When I took it back I noticed nobody even bothered to open it and find out why it doesn’t work. The estimates are usually free, but this wasn’t even an estimate since he didn’t look at it and couldn’t specify what was wrong. This is a fraud. He charged $60 for doing nothing, without moving the finger! Think twice before going there.

After the answer from Ace - I really don’t want to argue publicly, but you’ve never been there when we came, to tell you in person. The item is 50 years old and nobody asked you to ‘fully restored and refurbished’. Just repair the part or at least explain what doesn’t work. You even didn’t open it to check. It is not a fair estimate if you didn’t look inside and told me what the problem is. There is nothing wrong with having a home based repair shop. But your obligation is to keep it clean, in order, with enough space to plugin the electronics and without dogs. I have a pet allergy and could’ve fainted there. Other shops agreed to make a free estimate. It will take me time to go since they are much farther from me. I will not answer anymore. My review is honest, objective and I am sure it didn’t hurt the professionals who know how to do their job and don’t take...