Nvidia Denies RTX 5090 Warranty Over Faded Serial Number

The GeForce RTX 5090 is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the best graphics cards. However, you'd better pray the serial number on the inside of the metal bracket does not fade over time, since that could be a reason for Nvidia to reject warranty claims. At least one Redditor has shared a case of Nvidia reportedly denying a warranty claim because the bracket's serial number was unreadable.

The Redditor Willing-Avocado-4830, based in the UK, began experiencing black-screen crashes with a GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition graphics card under heavy load. The user sent the card to Nvidia for a warranty claim. After 30 days of radio silence, the owner finally received an email stating that their RMA request was rejected with no apparent explanation for the denial.

Seeking clarification, the user reached out to Nvidia for further information. According to the Redditor's recount, Nvidia support purportedly rejected the RMA because the serial number on the graphics card's metal bracket had faded. Like many gamers, Willing-Avocado-4830 claims never to have modified or tampered with the graphics card after installation. The fading serial number does not appear to be an isolated incident. Several other owners have reported similar issues in the Reddit discussion.

The metal bracket on graphics cards is susceptible to dust buildup, oxidation, and corrosion over time. This can cause it to look dirty, stained, or sometimes slightly discolored compared to when it was brand new. These same phenomena could have affected the serial number's legibility, especially since it is printed with ink onto the bracket's surface rather than etched for better durability. For comparison, the last-generation GeForce RTX 4090 Founders Edition had its serial number laser-etched onto the metal bracket.

One Redditor said that someone in the Nvidia Discord channel recommended cleaning the area with isopropyl alcohol to restore the serial number's visibility. However, that may not work if the ink is no longer present, as previous reports suggest the hot air expelled by the Founders Edition cooler could be erasing the serial number.

Surprisingly, Nvidia rejected a warranty claim solely because of a faded serial number on the graphics card’s bracket. The same serial number is clearly printed on a sticker on Nvidia's modular PCIe connector, which the chipmaker's technicians can verify when disassembling the GeForce RTX 5090. Moreover, you can pull the serial number from the graphics card through the command prompt with Nvidia SMI (System Management Interface), assuming the card is still working, which, in this case, it is. Willing-Avocado-4830 still had the original packaging and the original invoice from Nvidia U.K., so it would be easy to cross-reference the serial numbers.

Redditor hawok reportedly sent their GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition for RMA two months ago and encountered a similar situation. The serial number on the metal bracket was only partially visible. However, customer support seemingly accepted the RMA after the user sent photographs of the packaging that corroborated the serial number. It is unclear what Nvidia's policy is, or whether the chipmaker handles each case differently. We have reached out to Nvidia for clarification.

Some Redditors have suggested taking a photograph that shows the graphics card's serial number next to the packaging's serial number. Others jokingly recommend putting a piece of tape over the serial number. It might not be a bad idea, but you would need heat-resistant tape, something like Kapton tape.

GeForce RTX 5090 stock has practically disappeared from the U.S. market, with very few units starting at $6,500, 3.25X over the Blackwell flagship's MSRP. You cannot blame GeForce RTX 5090 owners for worrying. They already have a lot on their plates, dealing with the 16-pin power connector melting woes, and now also have to worry about fading serial numbers.

Zhiye Liu is a news editor, memory reviewer, and SSD tester at Tom’s Hardware. Although he loves everything that’s hardware, he has a soft spot for CPUs, GPUs, and RAM.