• Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Email Get Tom’s Hardware’s best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox. • You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Update 2/20/2026 8:40 am PT:We have added Acer’s statement toTom’s Hardwarebelow, along with other updates on the situation. • It’s not a fun time to be a computing enthusiast in Germany. • Besides the high RAM and SSD prices everyone else is experiencing, both Asus and Acer’s German websites arecompletely downdue to the companies’ recentspat with Nokiaover the HEVC codec - meaning customers can’t find any downloads or reach support pages for their hardware. • (For example, obtaining BIOS updates and drivers.)Computerbase.defirst reported the news. • AI data centers are swallowing the world’s memory and storage supply Chip scarcity assaults auto industry amid the worsening Nexperia and DRAM crisis Samsung and SK hynix shorten memory contracts as pricing power shifts back to suppliers Memory makers are set to earn $551 billion from the AI boom It’s not just the German websites that are offline; any German user trying to work around the issue by visiting the US version of the websites will also be redirected to a page stating the sites are unreachable.
Article Summaries:
- Acer and Asus have shut down their German support sites following a court injunction from Nokia over HEVC‑codec royalties. The ruling blocks the companies from offering, selling or importing affected devices in Germany, leaving customers unable to download drivers, BIOS updates or access support pages. Users can still obtain some Asus motherboard drivers via the Asus DriverHub, and Acer’s Swiss support site (in German) offers a workaround for certain products. Both firms say after‑sales service remains available and are pursuing legal remedies, but the German sites remain offline and even the U.S. sites redirect German users to an unreachable page.
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