My story with AW M17x R3

Hello,

I am so pissed off that I need to share my story with U.
I brought AW on April. Was so excited and so dissapointed with M18x arrival ;-) But M17x R3 proved to be just quite good piece of HW, running SC2 and other stuff amazingly. However, from the beggining, there was one minor problem with battery, that doesn't fit perfectly. In fact, it fits only if NB was upside down, which is not usuall position for usage ;-) If it landed on a table, battery fall off right on the table, so there was a gap approx. 5 mms between chassis and battery. Not a big deal one would say but on so much expensive machine, it disturbed me quite a lot during usage. Especially when I used machine on my knees and battery changed position all the time I moved (however it was working, which is quite interesting due to so big motion). So I logged an incident. Dell representative wanted to see the machine just to confirm the issue. Ok. He has ordered new battery and chassis, just for sure. It was on some nice Friday and he said on Monday it will be there. After one month he managed to changed both battery and chassis. It was much better, however still far from perfect. The bigger problem was that when I tried to run the machine I can hear just 7 beeps and nothing happened on the screen. I thought OK, he just did bad work in reassembly and can repair it by some unpglugged cable fix, although I couldnt understand why he didnt try to turn the machine on just for sure. However they said that there is something damaged - can be graphics card, motherboard or cpu. WOW. And they said it has nothing to do with previous battery/chassis change. For me, this sounds so unlikely and I am so angry that they cannot admit they fault that I am almost thinking about getting my money back. I just love this machine so much and dont see really an alternative ... ;-)
Now I am waiting for replacement and hoping it will be here soon ... at least till the end of the summer

 

Wow, that is really unacceptable.

If I ever have to get repair work, I will try to do it myself. If I am unable to do it myself, then I would just return it and get an ASUS.

I hear too many horror stories of repair work.

 

yea its pretty ridiculous that we have to go through these kinds of fights just to ensure we get our moneys worth. i've heard some horror stories from all manufacturers. i went with AW thinking they they are a top brand among gamers - hoping that the warranty work would be at least somewhat respectable. but it seems dell has managed to water down the name

 

.......oh Dell/Alienware, if it is the GPU, CPU, or the mobo, at least you went the smartest route of getting a replacement. From all the stories ive read just fixing the m17x with dell, just leads to more problems, and the only way it got fix is by a replacement.

 

airacutie,

I can feel your pain. I had a keyboard problem and it took 3 weeks for my Next Business Day warranty to be honored. Through that fight and my 15 calls into technical support, I've learned that Dell service for XPS, Vostro, Inspiron, and Precision is totally separate from Alienware and is vastly superior. Alienware is like the red haired step brother and the customer service reps for Dell laugh at the Alienware reps and know how badly they botch service. By far, the best way to get resolution for problems out of Dell concerning Alienware products are to file complaints to the Better Business Bureau. Within a few days, Dell's Corporate Escalation Department will respond and they bend over backwards to get the problem resolved.

It's just sad that it takes a BBB complaint to resolve warranty issues.

 

If you want an alternative, check out some Clevos

 

So expected delivery of replacement in the middle of July. Nice ... Really thinking about returning it, especially when it is 600e cheaper than it was when I bought it.

 

well tell them you are thinking about returning it, maybe you will get some goodies out of it. Ive heard Dell starts to give free stuff once that threat is used. and then if you truly return it get something better for your money

 

I have had 7 beeps as well. I got a replacement and then they send out a 3rd and it still has issues. Forget Alienware and Dell their QC is absolutely horrendous.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/568540-r3-only-problems-defect-poll.html

Forget this POS guys.

 

I've had 3 aw m17xr3s so far and they work like a charm. I returned one after 3 months of use because their customer service has been great to me. You have to understand what your rights are and understand their warranty and policy. If you are unhappy with the gap they will want to replace the battery. SAY NO I WANT NY MONEY BACK. the very next thing they will say is ok sorry we will send you a replacement. If not just return it and get another. Why did you wait so long? If my battery didn't fit right I would have mailed it back within 5 mins or demanded a new one.

 

So update, replacement arrived last Wednesday. Battery is now aligned almost perfectly and Dell send me 8GB ram in this one (although I have 8GB HyperX modules so this doesnt mean too much for me). However, Page Up button is falling off when I touch it on the left bottom corner and screen is now misaligned with body. Argh ....

 

You can fix the screen issue yourself, its easy. Ask Dell for a replacement keyboard.

 

I have persuaded that key to work using brute-force good for now, don't want to deal with service anymore, if not necessary. however, how can I persuade that screen? Any clue? thx.

 

If you remove the media panel surrounding the keyboard you wil see 6 tiny screw. Loosen those a little, adjust screen and tighten again.

 

will give it a try, thx.