In my experience when these products are first setup they are really tight. They do require some force in order to turn them or angle them. I dont see how yours that you got could be locked up in such a way unless you got a completely defective unit. I have used this product specifically and it does adjust for swivel, rotation, tilt, height, depth, everything. If you continue to have problems please contact Massdrop's support or I would suggest contacting Vivo direct at 309-278-5303.