Repairs

Why Is QTpod Sunsetting Service for my M3000? My unit still works fine.

There are multiple reasons why QT is ending support for older M3000 units on a rolling basis: 1) QTpod designs products to be rugged and last, which is why your unit is working fine. However, the M3000 was designed in 2002, so it utilizes older technology that is difficult to source and not compatible with many modern components. In fact, many of the components that populate the motherboards on the M3000 are no longer manufactured, so the only option in some cases is to source surplus parts in the secondary market. 2) The M3000 was designed in 2002 to operate on the telecommunications infrastructure which was common at the time, the copper analog network. The M3000 transmits data at a very slow rate, compared to today’s speeds, and it does so without error correction. This worked fine on a well-maintained copper network. However, the issue today is twofold: a. The telecom companies do not maintain the copper lines like they used to. This causes reliability issues for customers trying to send data over this network. b. Much of the copper in this county is increasingly being replaced with digital and fiber lines. These lines were designed for speeds much faster than the slow modem speeds used by the M3000 and its competitors. This results in lost packets of data, which means failed authorizations and batches and no sales. 3) The liability shift for chip card acceptance goes into effect for automated fuel terminals like the M3000 in October of 2020. Due to the limited programming memory available on the M3000 and the antiquated nature of dial up modems, we will be unable to update those terminals for chip card acceptance which means you’ll have greater liability for unauthorized transactions.



Why purchase the M4000 now?

QTpod understands that evolving technology results in additional investments required by small and medium sized businesses. To help facilitate the transition to newer technology, we are offering limited time discounts to our customers when they return their old M3000. This reduces the investment by several thousands of dollars. While your unit may work fine, it is possible you will begin see some service degradation due to telecommunication issues or payment card authorization requirements. Additionally, with the scarcity of spare parts, you may not be able to keep you unit working in the event of a part failure.
Many of our customers report that their customers appreciate the new features on the M4000 that make it easy to use. For example, the large, sun light readable display, capacitive, backlit key pad make the M4000 easy to use in any light conditions. You’ll like too as with automatic software updates and anywhere/anytime access you’ll have fewer visits to the terminal and more uptime to sell more product.



Why reinvest with QT when I may have to replace the M4000 someday?

All equipment eventually has to be replaced. However, we designed the M4000 with the intention of being able to evolve with technology. We used a Windows operating system and peripherals with USB interfaces. We anticipate that with Windows you will be able to upgrade to a newer version. If a printer or card reader becomes obsolete, we can find dozens off the shelf with Windows drivers to easily integrate into the current design. Plus, the M4000 has many new customer and user-friendly features that you and your customers will appreciate and make the M4000 a more useful terminal for providing self-serve fueling.