Man, I feel stupid
I post this as a PSA for those who might be dumb enough to find themselves in my shoes. In August of 2025, I bought a Vitamix Ascent X2 blender/food processor. It had come highly rated by friends, and I was tired of the crappy ones I bought that burned out every few years.
It had been working fine since I got it. Everyone in the family had used it. It worked right out of the box and handled everything we threw at it. However, last week, Dexter texted me saying the blender would not turn on. I didn't think much of it as I was seeing patients, and he didn't press it. Then, a few days ago, I was preparing a pesto-style dish that required blending a bunch of ingredients smooth. I plug it in, and nothing. No lights. Switches on the front did nothing. I checked multiple outlets. No dice. I had to use an immersion blender to take care of it.
The next day, I call Vitamix customer service as it has a 10-year warranty. The agent (a real person, BTW) asks me to give her the serial number. When I turn it upside down to read it, I see a power switch. I admitted my stupidity. The agent was very understanding, telling me that she gets 20-30 calls per day about this same thing. I don't know if she was trying to make me feel better. However, if she was, let this be a lesson to you.
The power switch is on the bottom right of the machine, right where you would put your fingers if you were going to pick it up. We don't keep it out, so it is something we do every time we use it. It must have been in the on position right out of the box, or I accidentally turned it on when I first picked it up. My guess is that when Dexter got it out to use it, he turned it off, and I failed to turn it back on the next time.
Maybe the troubleshooting rule of making sure the unit is turned on is a pretty good one.