Problems with hosted IceRiver KS5Ms
Background: Purchased a KS5M miner hosted by BT-Miners in August 2024 (first online in September). Operated well for ~1 month, then experienced significant offline issues, with over 50% downtime for the past months. BT-Miners claim to be an official IceRiver repair site, but they failed to provide a resolution despite the miner being under warranty and a 95% uptime agreement. I also have 2 Antminers (KS5, KS5Pro) hosted at BT that run properly. Key Events and Updates: Initial Issues (Oct - Nov 2024): Miner frequently offline; no clear explanation provided. BT refused to send the miner for repairs or offer a replacement initially. Repair and Diagnosis Attempts (Dec 2024): 12/3: BT began contacting IceRiver and considered warranty repair. 12/4: Miner running for only minutes at a time; various strategies tested. 12/6: BT suggested a potential control board issue and agreed to reduce hosting fees for downtime. IceRiver recommended replacing the control board. 12/19: Control board replaced, but the miner still experienced ~50% downtime. BT promised to discuss options with IceRiver, including replacement or refund, but no action yet. Temperature-Related Findings (Late Dec 2024): 12/28: Extreme hosting temperatures (-26°C) identified as a potential cause. BT started working on a special enclosure for temperature regulation. Improved but Inconsistent Performance (Dec 28 - Jan 2): KS5M showed brief improvement (up ~24 hours on 12/28 and 12/30) but continued sporadic downtime. BT repeatedly promised to adjust hosting fees, but no reductions were made. Current Status (Jan 2025): 1/2-1/3: Miner down again. BT acknowledged similar issues with all IceRiver KS5M miners and admitted difficulty managing them. Outstanding issues include unmet promises for refunds/replacements, lack of reduced hosting fees, and unresolved downtime problems. Review of BT-Miners: Strengths: Initially responsive in diagnosing issues and contacting IceRiver. Hosted Antminers run properly. Weaknesses: Poor communication and delayed responses. Failure to honor promises of hosting fee adjustments or replacements. Unacceptable downtime (>>50%) and inadequate handling of IceRiver miner-specific issues. Conclusion: BT-Miners have failed to meet their 95% uptime commitment and resolve persistent issues in a timely manner. Despite minor improvements and efforts, they appear ill-equipped to manage IceRiver miners, raising questions about their suitability as a hosting provider for IceRiver KS5Ms. Note that I did have 2 Antminer (KS5, KS5Pro) hosted with BT and they ran properly. In Jan of 2025, BT announced shutting down its hosting site in NY due to new laws. They shipped out miners. Meanwhile, they still have not returned hosting deposits and refund for down-time after several weeks - I've been asking them to do this regularly - hopefully they will honor their agreement. Feb 18 - I received the hosting deposit from BT in full.