Acer Aspire S7-392 (Haswell) Owners Lounge

The Ultrabook, charging cable and a very nifty leather carrying case.

Edit: and a neat white cloth that goes over the keyboard between it and screen when closed,

 

Hi
Please is there any chance to show me your RAID utility ? and first page of bios ?
thnx

ONce you replaced SSD did you lose RAID 0 ? or you can still create raid with your 512GB ?

 

I turned off RAID feature in BIOS before I installed my 512GB drive - because I'm not familiar with RAID thing.

 

Thanks Feral. That sounds reasonable. I saw another post somewhere about the sharp edges while others said theirs was fine. It's apparently an issue with a production batch I guess. Let's see when I get mine delivered! Thanks again!

 

Hey everyone. I am posting similar messages to this in the forums for the spectre 13, Sony VAIO pro, and Acer s7. I am doing this because I am looking for a lightweight ultrabook for my first year of university in the fall (electrical engineering) and these are the three I have at the top of my list. Note: I have not had time yet to go to the mall and try out any of these systems.

I wanted to ask how you have found your purchase and is the spectre still a worthwhile purchase when compared to the current offering. Also if there are any good user reviews within these pages that you could point me too it would be appreciated. I have read almost every professional review but I am looking for something different.

Anyways I hope I'm not asking for too much in trying to research my purchase. By the way, do you think that it is likely to be put on sale here in Canada for back to school season?

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

 

I just received my S7 last week. I ordered the 392-9890 from B&H. Love the laptop but noticed the screen is actually the 2560x1440. While it is beautiful the text is a little smaller and hard to read even with the scaling at 150% which was the default factory setting. Has anybody else ordered this model in the US and received the higher resolution screen? I thought that was not available in the US on some of the reviews I have watched.

Also, I am having a problem with the Wifi. I have looked at some fixes but nothing has worked yet. My S7 will download at 6-8 MBs while my phone on the same wifi will download at 20 MBs on speedtest. net. If I go up to the wifi router it speeds up somewhat but still not as fast as my other devices that are much farther away. Are there any real fixes for the wifi issue? I noticed it was mentioned at the beginning of this thread but not sure if a fix was ever found.

 

Try updating the wireless drivers to the latest 17.0.0 version.
http://goo.gl/IgQ2E2

I have the Canadian Acer S7-392 with the i5-4200U and 128GB SSD.
Having played with all three of the mentioned ultrabooks, the spectre 13 is rather heavy in comparison to the Vaio Pro and S7.
Contrary to that, I found the build quality of the S7 and Spectre 13 to be more superior than the Vaio Pro; Vaio Pro being more flimsy and flexes even with a carbon fibre chassis.

I'd recommend the S7 amongst the three with only 2 major issues where 1 can be resolved.
1. The Canadian S7 comes with a horrendous bilingual keyboard which skews the arrangement of the Enter and \ key.
2. The hardware raid 128GB SSD setup is rather small in my opinion, hence I have replaced it with an alternative mSATA M500 480GB SSD

EDIT:

I also forgot to mention a key factor.
Price.

The S7 also costs much more in comparison to the Vaio Pro and Spectre 13. But the price speaks for itself when you get a chance to play with each of them hands down.
Price-wise, from most expensive to least expensive, S7 > Vaio Pro > Spectre 13

 

Thank you for your response. I have heard from now one else yet. I am definitely leaning towards the s7 currently for most of the same reasons.

In response to your dislike to the bilingual keyboard standard I have to say that I have grown quite used to using it and so it will not matter to me. As far as price goes, the Sony and Acer currently match each other in price at $1299 when neither is on sale.


What actual values are people seeing for battery life?

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

 

Sounds good then.

I use my S7 solely for mobile use.
It lasts me throughout the day from 9am - 7pm classes with moderate usage.
In comparison to my old laptops, the battery life is superior with the haswell update which averages to about 8-9 hours over the past 3 months I've used it.

 

That is what I was expecting. I feel like an ultra book will suit me much better in school than a full powered laptop with nvidia graphics even considering the fact that I am going into engineering. The school has spent a lot of money of digital technology and engineering labs that will be much more powerful than anything that can be put into a laptop. Plus all of the older unrenovated lecture halls do not have power outlets for students so a thin, small and light laptop is what I am after.

I have yet to find the time to try any store models out but wanted to know what your overall impression of the keyboard was considering the low travel.

I consider myself very adept at knowing about computers but I really want to make the best choice in terms of quality and functionality this time around rather than performance.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

 

The keyboard wasn't too big of an issue for me after rebinding the keys manually to make it respond similarly to a US keyboard layout;
Turn bilingual keyboard into a US keyboard) - YouTube

I had an issue as well with battery life in university. My old Surface Pro wouldn't last the day and would die before my classes were finished. Some lecture halls may have outlets but are usually taken by other students ahead of time.
For the most part as a student myself, I think it would be a very suitable choice. The HD 4400 is a nice touch and upgrade from the previous generation which should suffice for an average day-to-day user.

 

Greetings owners.

After looking at various alternatives like the spectre 13t, vaio pro 13 and the dell xps 13 I decided the S7 was probably the best one. However I have now spent hours trying to trawl through all the ridiculous configurations, none of which make sense, none of which are easy to find due to having a dozen configurations for the same bluddy machine and different configurations in different countries!! Half the sites list some of the models, the other half the sites list another few different models, and none of them have a configuration which makes any sense, i.e. i7, 8gb, 256mb, 1080p, or even the same with an i5!!! I found ONE which got close, only to find it had a WQHD screen (despite the website claiming 1080p which was wrong, so even the bluddy shops are confused) and I found one which does fit the bill NX.MG4AA.003 only to find it is available in canada and is nowhere to be found in the UK.

I finally worked out that since I require 1080p now WQHD, my only option in the UK seems to be the NX.MG4EK.001 which has 4gb, i7, 256gb ssd and 1080p. My only concern is the 4gb ram which seems low to me these days and which stupidly cannot be upgraded due to the ram being soldered on (and is the point in that? this is 2014 not 2004!). As far as I can tell I cannot get either an i5 or i7 version in the uk with 8gb and a 256gb ssd with 1080p. Ridiculously I can either drop to 4gb, drop to 128gb, or have a screen with a battery draining resolution which is simply pointlessly high. So I am hoping 4gb is plenty and will remain so for a few years, but it seems very low to me!

I may be better off with the dell xps13 then I wouldn't have the issue and it has a better keyboard. I'm not sure the aspire has any advantages over the xps now, and I can grab it from the outlet store for £816 with i7, 8gb, 256gb. Hmmmmm

 

I own a fully tricked out Spectre 13t (love it, btw) but spent a long time looking at the S7 and the XPS13 (both of which are now deeply discounted in the US) and I can tell you that you can't make a bad decision among the three. All have a few knocks and quirks - and you are absolutely correct that the Dell has a wonderful keyboard and trackpad - don't know how they do it and fit into such a tiny form factor. I think I would have gone with the Dell over the Acer, largely on price and keyboard, but then the HP came out about as cheaply bought as the XPS 13 similarly configured is available to you in UK. I find it incredible that it is so cheap with that high config given you have VAT included in that price. I agree that getting a 4GB RAM unit in 2014 doesn't make a lot of sense when there are great, increasingly affordable models with all the virtues of the S7 but easier to configure as you please.

 

Interesting issue that I've recently noticed regarding my wireless card Intel 7260-N. If I go to wireless mode I can change it from a/b/g with no choices to turn on or off N mode. If I check it out using ntesh in the command prompt. It only shows b/g/n as the available options. I only starting trying to figure this out when I looked at my adapter status, and for some reason I connect to wireless at 300mbs until the point when data is actually transmitted and then it instantly drops to 54mbs and then immediately lower. I had to tweak the settings in my dual band router just to get a wireless data rate up around 10 mbs, but with the default settings, I couldn't get above 0.50mbs. I tried Acer Support, but there only suggestions are refresh my pc. I'm sure if that doesn't correct the issue they will want me to ship it back to them.

Is anyone else having a similar issue?

The last time I dealt with Acer support, I was getting an unbootable device error which they wanted me to try and refresh and when that didn't work, they wanted me to send it in for service. I can't be without a laptop though so I finally found out that they had just pushed a bios update mentioning this problem and I was able to push that through in dos and voila. The point is that the phone support might as well be a recording telling everyone to refresh their pc and if that doesn't work, tell you an address to send it to.

Also, unrelated issue that popped up while dealing with the unbootable device error. Has anyone been able to successfully send a secure erase command to the ssd? I tried it at least 50 different ways/times de-raided/re-raided without success.

 

Not Acer's fault and they won't be able to help you. It's I tel and their terrible drivers on 2.4GHz band.
First of all update driver for 7260 to the most recent from Intel website (which is not exactly good but less-terrible than the earlier ones), secondly use 5GHz band if you can - this one works fine.

There is a thread on 7260 in networking sub-forum that might interest you if you want to get into details.

 

OI have what seems to be a major issue for me. I closed my S7 watching Netflix last night. This morning I went to turn it on and I get a blue repair screen and a quick sentence that says inaccessible boot device. I have access to the F2 and F12 menus but I don't know anything about either to help me get this to boot. It just briefly turns on to the Acer menu before freezing and going to the blue screen which says "your pc ran into a problem and needs to restart. We're just collecting some info and we will restart". It flashes, goes to a repair Acer screen and turns off. Same process with or without the power cable. I've held the power button for 30 seconds with no luck also.

I called tech support and they tried to get it to safe mode by turning on and off three times but that doesn't work. Also tried to do a boot repeatedly pushing F8 and shift F8. I was told they will have to reload Windows and I didn't make a back up prior to any issue occurring. Lesson learned if I have to send this in. But any other suggestions will be helpful prior to me sending my laptop in for service.


EDIT: after a bunch of reading on my phone simply holding the shift key allowed me to boot to Windows. I'm up and running, updating drivers, turned of automatic defrag and I'll make a backup disk and save my data more regularly.
my fabulous HTC one

 

When you run into issues like that where it requires constant repair, there's a small hole that cuts the battery and power on the back. I periodically require the use of it just to get everything working again. Try it out if you run across the same problem again

 

Help!

My Bios update failed and now my S7-392 won't power on.

I looked at the service manual linked earlier in this thread but it was unfortunately for the S7 391. I followed the instructions anyways for recovering the BIOS by copying over the isflash.fd from a S7-392 bios update to a clean USB flash drive and renaming it as HeliumX64.fd. I then booted the laptop when pressing FN+ESC and I did notice the USB drive was being read. After 10 seconds the machine powers off and powers on again and does the same thing again. I've tried this several times and it has failed. I read around that the filename for the recovery bios can vary so I've tried renaming HeliumX64.fd to BIOS.fd, Storm2X64.fd and even back to isflash.fd with no change in outcome.

 

I'm interested in purchasing this notebook most likely from the Canadian Microsoft store. After reading this forum it appears the big issue is the wifi on certain models but looking at the reviews on amazon there seems to be a fair amount of other complaints about the laptop. Obviously, amazon reviews are usually from people who either REALLY love it or REALLY hate it. Could also be from older models that they're only now reviewing, etc. Which is why one can't trust the numbers on there.

Haven't seen too much about those issues in this forum. Anyone else have the same issues as complained about on amazon?

 

Does anyone know how to secure erase the ssds on the s7-392 in order to attempt a clean install? It seems like I read somewhere that there were issues with trying to perform a clean install with Windows 8.1. Can anyone speak to what issues those might be? Thanks

 

Has there been any news of a model refresh for the Acer Aspire S7? I've been thinking about purchasing one, but I remember the last refresh happening around August of last year. Wouldn't want to buy one just to see the next model a month later.

Thanks!

 

Also...anybody play SWTOR on this thing? Any feedback on the quality / FPS / heat?

 

Hello. I just purchased a brand new Acer Aspire S7-392-9439 laptop. Almost everything about it seems really great, but I have a quick question for existing owners. The connection on the power jack seems less tight than other laptops with which I am familiar. When I move the laptop around, it tends to come unplugged. Is this just how the laptop is, or does mine have a problem? Has anyone encountered problems with the power connector breaking?
Thanks,
Todd

 

That's how it is. and it is indeed annoying

 

Thanks for the reply. I can definitely deal with it so long as it does not break, and so long as mine is not defective. Computer is great in so many respects this is not a big deal. The power plug seems like it just goes in and out so freely though, unless there is something like a table underneath to hold it in.

 

Asking here to possibly save my purchase...

I bought this yesterday and did the full set of windows updates and installed Office and similar programs. I noticed afterwards my keyboard backlight was no longer working and the function keys associated with it were not responding. I did update the BIOS from 2.09 to 2.12 during the aforementioned update process but I'm not sure if that was the cause, although it seems likely now.

Anyway, I tried everything typical including re-installing all drivers but couldn't recover the backlight, so I did a full restore to the stock configuration. The backlight still isn't working, and I've noticed some other weird behavior. Any thoughts, or should I return it? There aren't any left locally and I got a great deal on the i7 at about $900 with office 365 for four years. Next step may be to uninstall all drivers and do each manually, but I honestly have no idea which driver is responsible for controlling the backlight, and there's nothing in the BIOS that I saw regarding it.

Interestingly enough, after some more testing, I noticed the up and down function keys for the backlight cause an increasing and decreasing hum associated with their level, but no light. I assume this means the backlight being commanded to come on, but is not. Oh well.

 

I just purchased this computer and was wondering if a current owner could answer a quick question about it. I see that on my computer there is a tiny notch or possibly a chip on the bottom panel, on its front rim near the left front corner of the computer. Is this supposed to be on the computer? The only reason I am concerned about this is that I hear creaking, from this area, sometimes when i rest my left hand to the left of the mouse. If this is a defect, I will have to exchange the computer for another one.
Thanks,
Todd

 

Is this the model refresh you're talking about? Amazon.com : Acer Aspire S7-392-7863 13.3-Inch WQHD Touchscreen Ultrabook (Crystal White) : Computers & Accessories

And for currenet S7 owners, is it possible/ easy to upgrade/ replace the wireless card? I am thinking about getting the ultrabook.

 

No, I was wondering if they were going to make a 3rd generation of the build (Like an Aspire S7 393).

Either way, the Microsoft Store has some amazing sales on the Aspire S7's. Just picked up an i7, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 4X HD touch screen model for $1050. Definitely worth a look if you're on the edge of buying. But with such deep price cuts, a new model could be on the way.

 

I am thinking about picking up the S7 from the microsoft store because they are on sale...probably means a refresh is coming but its such a good deal for a great computer! How is the battery life with the i7? I am torn between the i5 with 8 gigs of ram or the i7 with 8 gigs of ram. I want to use photoshop and lightroom on it but I also want battery life.

 

I think the price difference is only $50 between those models, right? I think the i7 is definitely worth the extra $50.

 

Ya, its totally worth it price wise but I'm concerned about the battery life with the i7.

 

How long of a battery life are people seeing with the i7 8 gigs of ram model?

 

I'll certainly let you know after a few days of testing.

 

Depends on usage but I get about 6 hours or so on full brightness and that is mostly just reading websites and the occasional video.

 

Wow. I have the same model and so far its not anywhere near the same. Okay, quick question: When you put your power plan on balanced at default brightness levels (with Wifi on), what is the estimated "time remaining?" As soon as I popped mine on around 95%, it said "2 hours and 25 minutes remaining," and only decreased from there. On power saver it still only said around 6 hours, but those numbers just seemed extremely low, especially since I'd expect the estimate to overshoot?

Thanks for helping me know if I got a lemon of a battery!

 

I never pay attention to the time it shows. It deosnt mean anything.

 

I've actually gotten less than 6 hours doing nothing but simple browsing and word document editing. The timing was surprisingly accurate (within 10 minutes accuracy). I had gotten about 5 hours total, on power saver with lowest brightness...

 

Do you have the i7 or the i5? Hoping to pick up the i7 tomorrow but that low battery is a little nerve racking...

 

Well, ymmv. I looked at my battery run time and it said 2 hrs and 49 mins remaining at 60% battery. Checked it a half hour later and it went up to over 3 hrs. That's why I don't look at the timing for battery.

 

The battery meter is not magic or an algorithm. It calculates the remaining time based on current power draw.
That means that if you are watching clips on YouTube for an hour your remaining battery time will be calculated based on that power draw, so if you then give up on YouTube and start typing something in Word the remaining battery time will increase.

What it does very well is shows for how long you can continue doing exactly what you are doing at the moment.

 

Hi guys,

I havn't had the time to look all 55 pages through, but I'm wondering if there is any fix /work around to the buzzing backlit keyboard issue? It sounds to me like it is some power supply issue, like a high pitched voltage-tone...

Anyone had any luck to get rid of it or turn off the backlit keyboard completly?

Thx
B2Fish

 

I haven't heard of that being issue. I just ordered my acer with the i7 and I get it on wednesday so I will let you know if I have that issue. If its annoying I might have to return it and get something else...

 

Well, I love my S7-392 i7 (running 256 gb SSD) to bits! - it's an awesome machine in my opinion. The fastest booting laptop I've experienced, great battery time and an excellent screen. What a laptop should be like. It is actually pushing my Ipad into the shade a bit, since it is almost as fast to power up and use this baby.

However, the faint noise seems to be common on all the Acer S7's... I guess it depends on your hearing weather you consider it a nuisance or not. When I'm working late night and it is all quiet, I can get annoyed about it... So, I was just curious if there is a fix out there.

Cheers,
Bfish

 

I know someone asked earlier in the thread, but I'm consistantly getting 6 hours of battery life on the i7 8GB model. Sometimes more. But I usually use it at full brightness.

Overall, very impressed. Just have to get used to scaling everything with the HD+ screen.

 

Bfish, I haven't experienced any buzzing with the backlight at all. Sorry you're having an issue.

 

Just got my S7! Installing photoshop, lightroom, and all my other programs!

 

I also have the high pitched whining sound issue when the backlight is on...sat in a dark room for a few minutes with it on and it gave me a little bit of a headache...danget.

 

Does anyone else have an fan noise issues? As soon as I turn on the computer I get fan noise that sounds like someone blowing out of their mouth at a moderate pace. After a few minutes it shuts off but then once I open a few internet windows it turns back on.

 

Is this a common issue, seems like some people are not experiencing this issue?

What model do you have Snowman?

I'm was thinking of getting the - Acer Aspire S7-392-9890 Model
Seems like this noise issue is steering me away, I might just wait for the next refresh which will hopefully include broadwell and will fix this issue