Arctic Does What Others Won't: Defective Liquid Freezer II Issues

Arctic discovered a defect in its Liquid Freezer II coolers that we've heavily reviewed (and generally recommended), and now, it is offering repair kits (or replacements) for anyone affected. The defect pertains to the gasket breaking down and causing gunk buildup, staining of the coldplate, and loss of performance over time. This didn't affect all units, but it affected enough for Arctic to be faced with a hard decision: Hide it or handle it right. Fortunately, Arctic chose to handle it right. Arctic is firm that this isn't a "recall," but it does have a procedure in place to repair affected units. This follows its previous actions to implement a 6-year retroactive warranty for its coolers.



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TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Arctic's Problems with the Liquid Freezer II
02:17 - Correct Responses Are Rare
04:08 - Here's The Problem
05:14 - Slow Degradation & Damage
06:14 - The Worst-Case Scenario
07:17 - How to Know What's Fixed
09:24 - How to Repair the Arctic Liquid Freezer II (Tutorial)
18:55 - Our Concerns & Flushing the Fluid Discussion
21:52 - Arctic Does It Right

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Host, Writing: Steve Burke
Camera, Video Editing: Andrew Coleman

[gamershadow]

Good on Arctic for reaching out to you guys before you even knew about it. That’s a refreshing change from a lot of other companies.

[BT]

Genuinely feel like Arctic deserve a spot in every build I do, purely because this kind of behaviour needs supporting!

[BB_BELCHER]

Arctic is a company with one of, if not, the best customer service. I bought a used Arctic Liquid Freezer II 240 and some mounting hardware was missing. I contacted them and asked if they could sell me some. They shipped me the missing parts for free! No shipping fees etc. For USED hardware!

[TheTortuga]

Funny how Arctic had a slip-up and contacted GN before Steve found out himself and prepared the shovel, really shows how huge you guys became.

Good guy Arctic. Both saving their face and helping out their customers.

[BeerOClock]

When I built my new rig, I bought a Fractal Design Meshify 2 Compact and an Arctic Freezer II 240 AIO, based on GN's recommendations. After how both of these companies have handled their issues, I'm incredibly glad I bought their products, and unless they don't have a product that fits my needs, they'll be my first stop for new stuff. Bravo GN, Fractal Design, and Arctic!

[Queldonus]

Arctic just jumped way up on my priority list of companies for hardware.
And thank you GN for how you look at this type of issue. Every manufacturer will eventually have a mistake or defect, its how they deal with it that ultimately matters.

[tns]

Steve out here single-handedly improving case airflow across the board in addition to holding companies accountable for this mistake. Changed the industry for the better. Thanks Steve.

[hahalolha]

This is excellent. Rubber naturally degrades after a few years, to see a company actually address this issue *PROACTIVELY* is incredible!

[AuriceStillwater]

I'm actually not the user who like to comment on YT-videos - I just watch/like them and move on. This time, after years of writing nothing, I'm going to make an exception. After your recommendation of the Liquid Freezer II 280, I ordered it for € 76, 77, - and slammed it onto my 5900x. Runs like a champ and makes me happy to this day. This video helped me getting in touch with Arctic immediately (which was quite simple btw.) and ordering the kit. I'd watch this video again in case I mess something up. Thanks for the support, you are a lifesaver.

[Spushed]

Well I've been going over my options and now I know I'll be buying an Arctic II. Even if I do get one of the bad ones I won't be disappointed. THIS gives absolute buyer confidence even if you know there's an issue. Good job Arctic!

[kringelsworkshop]

EFFING amazing from Arctic! I think that is even above the "What you should expect" scale already but way above "What you really should expect these days" scale

[torvasdh]

This makes me want to use Arctic in all of my PCs now. Knowing that they're proactive about issues is really nice to see.

[ACoTam]

Wow. Just wow, Arctic. Having a right to fix something instead of sending it back is what i expect from other manufacturers to start doing in every category, especially with "non-servicable" things like AIOs

[exileelixe]

Thanks for being ethical Arctic and for pushing this information out to reputable sources of information dissemination! Thanks again Steve, throw this on the pile for something shiny and new.

[Squilliam-Fancyson]

NIce one. Would never know about this issue without this video. Already ordered the repair kit. No big deal.

[TriccyViccy]

If anyone from Arctic (or even a competitor) sees this, this response will MAKE me recommend you. That you’re willing to do the right thing unprompted? Kudos. Keep it up, you’re doing good.

[TheEthNick]

Essentially “We want as many people to know about what we did wrong”….Arctic have been a fave of my PC component companies. This is why.

Glad I decked out my air cooled Case/CPU with their fans.

[matbailie]

How a manufacturer treats you when things go wrong is one of the most important qualities I can think of. I'm glad I own Arctic products and this will likely buy my loyalty in the future. Good performance, good quality, good price, and good customer care, top marks.

[nichtodysseus]

i literally bought an Arctic liquid freezer II last week and it already had the QC sticker. I'm insanely happy with the performance of this AIO. Previously i've always done my own custom loops but the price/performance of this cooler is just completely off the charts.

[techienate]

Mad respect! Arctic Freezer it is, if I ever need a CLC in the future. Also, quite clever of them in reducing the overload on repairs by creating the DIY kit and getting Steve to show everyone how to do it.