Jacquie,
Here's a link to the iOptron Users Group.
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ioptron/
I'm a great believer in "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".
How many of the "problems" with these mounts were caused be compulsive tinkerers?
I've never opened the case of either of my mounts, so I don't know if anything seems loose, or had trouble putting things back in, trying to work out where they belong. As for firmware upgrades, I've never done one of them either. Again, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".
It's a small vocal minority who've had problems, the many thousands of happy customers are out having a great time with their new mounts.