M17x R3 Problems, Sending it to the infoumus repair depot.

My brother has been having problems with his Alienware m17x r3, in the past couple of weeks the usb ports would just shut off, as if the devices were disconnected, one example is when gaming the mouse or when using a wired xbox controller it would just disconnect. I have to plug it in again to make them work. He also noticed when he plugs in his phone it charges but does not fully charge. ie. phone is at 39% 1-2hrs later when he checks its not charging, not even connected but its plugged in and the phone is only at 48%. He has to reconnect so that the computer recognizes it then charges it again.

2nd problem is the speakers, the sound is distorted when the volume is about 3/4 or full, it just sounds horrible, didn't bother him much since he uses external speakers, but since i'm already calling why not mention the issue.

What I did today is call Alienware Tech support, the rep did he's thing ie. installed chipset drivers, audio and what not & flashed the latest bios even though the computer already has the latest one. After all this he told me to test it out. The speakers still sound distorted at the volume level and the usb problem still continues (i was playing cs while on the phone with the rep to test it out), the mouse disconnects. about an 1hr20mins on the phone with the rep and nothing. He tells me that I have to send it to the repair depot, I explained why I can't do a in home service. He said that due to the complexity of the problems that's the only choice, I spoke with the supervisor and said the same thing. extended

Now I have a case # for the repair, I suspect this has something to do with my mobo & the speakers are the speakers itself. Is there a way I can make them replace these without sending it in? I've had great experiences with in home service in the past, but definitely not the repair depot since I never opt in for that, all I read about that is bad & negative. Plus my brother can't have his computer missing for a week and who knows how long. Warranty is until May 2014.

 

i've sent my R4 in twice with no problems.. once for a bricked bios and second time for a completely different issue and had mobo & keyboard replaced..

i have also read about numerous depot nightmares.. so as an incentive for the tech to provide extra care for my R4, i left a note offering lunch on me and taped $20 to my laptop when sending in..

both times shipped out on a monday and received it back in working condition the following friday with no problems nor cosmetic damages..

hopefully they will get your R3 back into working order.. good luck!

 

You sent $20, wow, I just hope for the best and send er in. Praying that my upgraded components won't get stolen lol ..

 

When you said upgraded components I hope you meant from Dell? If you sent any 3rd party parts like drives or memory they may get replaced. You should never send in after market parts on a warranty repair. Hopefully its a mobo and they will ignore the parts you put in if they are non Dell parts.

 

Well of course they were aftermarket my gpu and cpu .. It's been there twice for mobo replacements with the infamous sound issues .. All have been fine though . With out the 20 bucks lol

 

Opps I meant the OP sent it in with aftermarket.

 

It normally goes fine, it's not that common to see those issues. the thing is that most of the people that write new threads is because they had issues, they don't normally post to tell everyone that they had a great experience with the depot service (they just continue playing as always) xD

 

Thanks for the input guys! Perhaps Luis can answer this question, I just got the box to ship it out today, is it possible to ship out the laptop 2-3 weeks later? Or do I have to void this service call and request a new one? I got my brother to agree to send it but needs time to finish his things.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

 

You can still use the same one.