How durable are modular synthesizers?

It seems that they can not work for a long time.
For some modules, a guarantee of 1 year is given that not very much, for the given cost.
All these RGB Leds seem to be burned.
The presence of the Internet Memory in some modular synthetia is bad. This is because the Internet Memory can not simply be changed as a SD card, but it can break. Screens, if we talk about OLED, look ridiculous as they can also burn out by making a modular synthesizer unusedble.

Do you have experience of successful exploring a modular synthesizer?

How many years to your oldest modular synthesizer?

Is it profitable and easy to repair the modular synthesizer?

What modular synthesizers digital/analog work for more long?

Do you know the manufacturer of modular synthesizers with a good reputation and a minimum of built-in obsolescence?

I have modules that are up to 8 years old... I have over 100 modules, from over 40 manufacturers & have had 3 failures in that time... one of which was a button... which was fixed for free by the manufacturer, out of 'warranty'... and another of which may have been damage in transit (used module)... this I had to get repaired... it was 60€ for the repair... as the module was an uncommon and out of production one this was my best option - it ended up costing me slightly over the original retail proce, which wasnt' that much to be honest - is it better ot spend 60€ (or whatever) to repair a module than to effectively throw it in landfill - of course it is... in reality some modules will not be able to be repaired, due to obsolescence of parts - particularly things like processors for digital modules - but this is unforeseeable in most part by hte manufacturer - although covid did cause other issues - basic unavailability of non-obsolete parts...

the 1 year guarantee is ok in most cases - electronics usually fail very early or very late... plus local trading standards "fit for use" periods would supercede this in a lot of cases (3 years for EU & 6 for UK) - although getting that enforced can be problematic - so modules usually either fail almost straight away - often component faults - or after quite a long time - longer than any reasonable guarantee or "fit for use" has run out...

I think you are massively overestimating the amount of failures of modules - like a lot of things - if you spend a lot of time on the internet you will find complaints about something... there may seem to be a lot of complaints - but in reality there are only a very small & of users, most of the time... a lot of the time there will be clusters of failures - due to the manufacturere buying parts in batches - and maybe one batch has a tendancy to fail much earlier than other batches - for some reason only known to the original manufacturer of the part - see leds, encoders etc... the small % of users with failures tend to be much more vocal than the larger % of users who are happy & just get on with using their modules

i don't buy modules for their internal memory... nor have I had any digital modules fail on me - except in the above mentioned button failure (which was an analog component of a digital modules) if you arre worried about this stay away from modules that don't have it or use sd cards for storage, but again see previous paragraph!

as far as quality of build/customer service/repairs to modules - I generally see that anything above the absolute cheapest modules - it's quite good - most manufacturers will repair modules - you may need to pay for shipping and possibly parts...

some manufacturers have poorer reputations in other areas - generally this also seems to be reflected in this area as well - so if you want good customer services, repairs instead of landfill etc then steer clear of manufacturers with dubious ethics etc

unlike in fast moving consumer goods, there is no built in obsolescnce - ie the item being deliberately designed to fail or become unrepairable after a certain time... modules are generally designed to work for as long as possible... but it is also impossible to guarantee that every module will work forever...

If you keep dust out and avoid spilling liquids and foods they have been pretty rock solid. I began my modular journey several years ago and out of my 100+ modules, all work except for a few ones. Support also is way better as small boutique makers tend to pay greater attention in the customer support area.

My only gripe with modules are the Tact switches (Buttons) that can sometimes be a bit fickle and an area that quite a few manufactureres could look for more solid components.

Overall though, I only have 1 module that I bought second hand that has developed a fault, it still works and has all functions but there is an intermittent fault in either the multi-colour LED or the Tact switch on my Erica Pico DSP.

I've something like 89 modules and have been 'collecting' / 'feeding my habit' since 2019 with very good longevity of modules.

Just compare with the obsolescence of computer products (PC or Apple), hardware and software (including OS), compatibilities, bugs, and so on. Nothing is perfect, no tool. We went to the Moon with nearly nothing compared to what we have today. Only the result counts.

I think it depends how good you threat your modules.
If you have insuffiecent power in your rack it may occur that you grill a module.
If you buy used modules on MG, which gone through a couple of hands, there is always a chance that the people did some crap with it. + that they are not honest and sell you a troubled module.

QU-Bit for instance gives a lifelong guarantee. They will help always with issues and repairs for free, even if the regular guarantee time is over. I guess there are more manufacturers who do it too.

Since today, I had no function issue with my modules, only knobs or nuts got a bit loose.

But in 3 cases, MG-sellers did withold that they sell me a broken or troubled module, which I didnt see immedately. I guess the previous owners treathed them harsh.
The first module worked at the first runs, but after a short while it was not completly working - 1/3 of the features and inputs didnt response
The second module, had the problem that the nut of the trigger-input was loose and fall completly off.
The third Module had a broken clock input, the rest was working.

Things like that are pain in the *****.

EDITED Jun 18th, 16:56

Thanks, it was very helpfull

my experience with modular is good, if i compare with other synth manufacturers i will say it can stay in the top tier devices .
usually knobs are bolted to the faceplace and i have only one or two that seems to be getting old( i have 2 cases for 6 years now).
i tend to stay away the most i can from the tall trimmers modules as they're plastic shaft and tend to be wobbly.
my 2015 braids i bought used is still working fine ( the encoder is very smooth and has a tendency to skip menu items but it works ). as every hardware you'll need maintenance sometime but i feel i can go a long with my eurorack. i hope ..
look at vintage synth ,some are still going after 30 years.

as long as you keep dust and food/drink away they last a long time. In five years, only a couple have failed me.