Deletion of Original Nik Efex Software by DxO & Refusal to Accept Responsibility

I decided to try the trial of the new DxO Nik Efex Collection, kindly offered by the company. After downloading & trying the DxO software I found it was no different, but perhaps a bit slower, than the original version I had, so I uninstalled it. Thereafter I discovered that my original copy of Nik Efex had disappeared from my hard drive. I contacted DxO about this & received an affirmative email from a customer care staff member (Seth) that indeed the original software was incompatible with the new version & was removed to facilitate it. I was advised to download the free DxO version which is an altered version of the original version, but I don’t want this altered copy, I want the original version that has been, without my permission, deleted from my hard drive.

When I made a complaint & asked for my original version to be restored, the proclaimed customer care manager (Fabrice) informed me that DxO would not facilitate this action, that I should directly email the CEO of Google with my issue, that I should cease to reply by email with regards to this situation & that my complaint ticket would be closed. Fabrice wrote in the email that DxO recommend uninstalling previous versions before downloading the DxO trial, but, having followed the install procedure for the DxO version I can find no instance of this advice. I decided to pursue my complaint, but was again rebuffed by Fabrice, stating that my request would be closed & was told not to reply to his message.

I attempted to open a ticket to make a formal complaint to the DxO company, but have now had my account suspended with regards to accessing customer care.

Has anyone else had such issues with the DxO company?

No, my experience with DxO is contrary: I received good help for software actually supported by DxO even before I was a paying customer.

My advice: Restore the unsupported software from your backup or the original installation files that you downloaded back then.

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It’s better to be curious than screaming.
1" to find the solution with this site search engine :wink:

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No, that’s not my experience either; one of the things that attracted me to DxO in the first place (other than excellence of the product itself) was the patient and helpful response I received from the support team.

Yes - that would be the best and simplest resolution. The alterations referred to are simply to change branding (to DxO) - - otherwise, it’s exactly the same as the free version you originally used (as I did too).

John M

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Thank you for your reply Calle Christian. I don’t have either option to restore the original software, which should not have been deleted in the first place. There ought to be a very clear warning before the DxO download procedure is initiated.

Thank you Pieloe Pascal. I haven’t been screaming. The ‘solution’ you provide does not actually provide me with the original version of Nik Efex I previously had, just re-branded &, in my opinion, a slower than previous version.

The information you have provided also seems to indicate that Fabrice, the head of customer service has either lied to me in denying that my original version was removed by the DxO installation process, or is not in posession of correct information about the product he supports.

It’s easy enough to just reinstall your original downloaded version of the Nik Collection. If you never bothered to save the original download, for the future I hope you have realized how important it is to save and protect downloaded software. But, I understand that the original version may still be available for download from various sites. Try searching for it.

By the way, are you sure that the original downloaded Google version is not in your download folder?

With regard to the slowness you describe, I find that the DXO version is noticeably faster on my Windows 10 64 bit machine then the previously unsupported 32 bit Google version.

Mark

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Thank you for your reply Mark. Then I will search online for a download of the version I previously had. I suppose it is naive of me to think that DxO will restore my original copy, even though they obviously have the software archived.

I am running Win7 64 bit & find the texure rendering & image saving process (especially), considerably slower than before when using the DxO version.

I agree with DxO about not providing Google’s version of the Nik Collection - but for what it’s worth, I also agree that the DxO installer should warn about overwriting the old software. Though we don’t know if that will ever improve, I am pretty confident - judging by my own experiences - that your comments were heard by the software developers in the course of seeking support.

More often than not, I’ve had good support through the ticket system - but yes, unfortunately, I’ve also had a number of experiences during the past 18 months where certain agents gave me ridiculously wrong information, would not admit mistakes or apologize, and blew me off very rudely. I’ve said my own piece about it and was even compensated a bit for my troubles. This system is what it is, though: very simple and imperfect. I’ve found no explicit terms of service and no means of escalating a problem beyond Fabrice. Best to be courteous and accept his say as final - I believe he doesn’t just speak for himself, but for other key decision-makers as well. Aside from that, I find that when things go awry, one can politely ask for clarification, ask that another agent take over a ticket that’s languishing, or ask that Fabrice decide what should be done about a problem. It also helps that we have other resources - like this very helpful forum right here! :relaxed: Peace be with you.

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Hi Greg, thanks for your response.

I don’t expect compensation from DxO, but I neither expect to have software removed from my hard drive by them & then shunned when I raise a complaint. I believe I am polite enough in my approach, though direct. I previously worked in retail & customer care management for about 13 years, & have anough knowledge to understand both sides of the situation. This experience may have somewhat tainted my opinion of the company, but I won’t burn bridges, despite DxO’s sharp practice.

I have since found and downloaded a copy of the google Nik Efex software from a German website & it does indeed seem to be faster on my system than the DxO version.

As for customer care, I am now suspended from contacting them, with no reason offered.

Peace to you too :slight_smile:

I do have a zipped copy from the last 2 versions of Google’s NIK COLLECTION. It is almost 500 Mb. It will fail to function in brush mode with PS which is why I purchased DxO version. How would you like to proceed. I can use dropbox and send you a link.

Hi Carl, thank you very much for the offer. I have downloaded a google version, but I don’t know if it is the latest version. So, I am glad to accept. Thanks you.

It is version 1.2.11 dated July 13, 2015

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Hi Carl, apologies for my tardy reply.

Thank you for the download link, it’s much appreciated.

I have, unfortunately, somehow lost all of the about 60 personal presets I have created over the years for my work, during the process of re-installation. Oh well, I suppose it’s time to get creative!

All the best,

Justin

@Eightysevens: You desperately need to implement a backup strategy. Everything that is not backed up will be lost sooner or later. If you had created a system image in time you would haven been able to restore your system to the state before the trial installation. Yes, DxO could have been more helpful but all in all it’s your fault. Backing up is the first and most important rule when it comes to computers. Failure to do so is a guarantee for disaster as you have experienced now.

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the_digi_picture_com, thank you for your input, however, you do come across somewhat as victim-blaming. I don’t consider myself a victim of this circumstance, but DxO have employed sharp business practice, which I do consider unethical. I believe that they are aware of this & hence have decided to refuse to allow me to make a formal complaint to the company, simply by refusing me access to customer service. I will be honest & admit that I completely overlooked the option to make a system restore, which would have resolved the situation. This is first time in over 20 years that a company has purposefully deleted a software product from my pc without prior indication or permission. I also don’t consider this a ‘disaster’, a volcanic eruption or a tsunami is a disaster, this is experiencing the application of sharp practice by a company behaving slyly.

Thank you for your concern, but I am not interested in dramatics, just principles.

You should keep a copy of every install program to which you would like to return. It’s not up to DxO to insure your life or your data. Particularly a version which predates their purchase of the software. Nice that Carl was able to share with you the Nik version which you want.

Hi uncoy, thank you for your input.

I do not expect anyone to insure my life or my data. However, neither do I expect them to purposefully delete software products from my pc without prior indication or permission. It seems principles are not valued much these days…

Keep in mind that relatively few software packages allow for multiple installations of the same product. and much more often than not will overlay or remove the current installation. I don’t recall if there were any warnings when DXO’s version of the Nik Collection was installed over my existing installation. If not, there should have been. But, as I mentioned earlier, I always keep backup in versions of all installation packages, just in case.

Matk

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The Nik by DxO don’t use the same plugin folder the Google Nik used, so you can choose which one you want as they used different script unless you deleted this folder yourself in your app folder. Installing the new Nik by DxO using AP was making the software to force quit as it was freeze screen, using the other plugin folder was just like running the old Nik by Google, without reinstalling the software.