I need your help, warranty assistance.

Okay, I've been having issues with my Alienware Laptop since last year, unfortunately my warranty expired this march, now I could renew my warranty and it would cost me about $330+ to renew my warranty since it's expired and they charge a $49 fee.

Before it expired I've tried to get my situation resolved, but it just won't fix.
They keyboard is not responsive, half the keys on the keyboard won't work at all, like you have to press them multiple times to make them work.

This happened after the tech guy came earlier this year to replace my video cards because they went bad.

I think he may have screwed up something and that's why the keyboards don't work.

I've have several issues with this laptop since I've had it, I need your advice if I were to shell out another $330 for the warranty upgrade to see if I could possibly try a replacement.

I am super frustrated with Dell and their support.

I need you help!

 

Hmm. I'd use the fact that the issues started after a technician took apart your machine as a way to get a discount on a warranty extension, and go from there. If it was the technician's fault, I don't see why you should have to dish out full retail price.

On the other hand, they will likely ask why you didn't address this then, and why you are addressing this now. If you expect to get a system replacement right off the bat - it probably won't happen. I wouldn't even mention it! Get the warranty; get some more repairs. If they try and fail several times, then and only then, bring up the possibility of replacing the system.

Also, send a PM to one of the Alienware tech support member's on this forum. I bet they will gladly assist it.

 

I did troubleshoot this with them, took 2+ calls and still didn't fix it, plus I was on my last month of the warranty when I begun troubleshooting this.
Since the month ended, life took over and did not bother coming back to this right away.

Any thoughts?

Also if you could give me their usernames of someone that is active, it would be nice from the Alienware team, I truly need their help and half of the times it feels their support team falls short, basic troubleshooting that never does crap...
Obviously I know computers and they treat me like I don't know anything.

 

I assume you reside in the States, yes? If so, this is solvable through Luis, a friend and company representative. Send a PM to Luis by visiting his profile here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/member.php?u=508846. Explain everything to him and I'm sure he will do what he can.

And I'd still get that warranty extension. It is entitlement to support - a legal contract for it. Without it, you will get nowhere.

Good luck.

 

Thecore762, here's an additional perspective.

1) A connector for the keyboard cable may not be seated properly, 2) the keyboard cable may be damaged, or 3) the keyboard itself may be damaged. It's also possible that 4) the keyboard connector on the motherboard itself was damaged, which may explain why the problem hasn't been fixed if you've had multiple service calls. That's likely the case if they've already replaced the keyboard & cable more than once.

The technician could have been responsible for 1), 2) or 4). I've had technicians damage keyboard cables before, while they were repairing something else, and the motherboard connectors can be fragile. Since you complained to the manufacturer about the keyboard problem before the warranty expired, then they should consider it to be an open and unresolved case, and they should fix it for free (I've had this done in the past with other manufacturers). If they disagree and you're in the U.S., then a complaint filed with bbb.org may change their mind. For onsite service, always check that the computer is operating properly before the technician leaves.

In fixing the problem, the first task would be to check whether the connector is properly seated. If it already is then, for most laptops, it's not very difficult/expensive to replace the keyboard and its cable yourself. Follow proper anti-static procedures. If the connector on the motherboard is damaged, then you would need a new motherboard, which the manufacturer may no longer have in stock. In which case they may replace it with a newer machine, in which case I wonder why that wasn't done earlier under warranty. If you think you can get them to give you a new computer for $380 this time, then more power to you.

Keep in mind that they're asking you to pay $380 for a warranty on a laptop near the end of its useful life that sells for ~$700-$800 on eBay, to fix a problem their technician may have caused in the first place, and that they failed to repair previously under warranty. Most business can't afford to go through what you've been through for their computers, and would switch machines and/or manufacturers. Your dual video cards/heatsinks are worth ~$300-$400 on eBay, plus $100-$200 for the display/cable, and ~$30 for the power supply. Plus you can find a year-old M17x R4 or Sager NP9170 under warranty, that's significantly faster than what you have now, for $1,000 to $1,500 on eBay. You can also use the current machine, with an external keyboard, as a backup machine or server.

Anyway, that's the view of this computer/electrical engineer, who has run IT organizations, and has been buying laptops/desktops/servers for my businesses and for my clients, from many manufacturers (Dell being just one of them), for decades. Hopefully the above will help you make an informed decision.

Good luck!

 

Was this your only service call? If you don't call back with issues, especially after a tech comes out and makes it worse, since they don't hear anything they think that everything is fine.

My advice would be to pay for the warranty, bite that bullet and then call with your problem. As someone who has worked in tech support before, you calling with this issue after your warranty has expired, but blaming it on a previous call that you did nothing about while still in warranty because "life got in the way" won't fly.

As for an entire system replacement... everyone else is, why not you too?

 

Thank you all for your input, I will renew my warranty tomorrow night and then get in touch with Luis and hopefully he can help me out getting this taken care of.

I've also started getting audio issues, making static noise when playing any videos....ah the joy of having a high end laptop.