Dell released update on Hinge issue for M11x - 3/5/2011

No specific idea, but the most obvious explanation would be that they are instructed to lie, telling you anything in order to convince you to purchase the laptop.

"We make sure the product is properly tested and inspected well with the hinges" - how... cute.

 

I can imagine, if one were so inclined and financed, a lawsuit resulting from such deceptive business practices...

Cute indeed. unfortunately, that which i desire in my women i do not desire in the businesses i make purchases from ಠ_ಠ

 

Any updates to note in first post? Maybe some more official statement?

 

Nothing new (or really even official) in terms of details from Dell. March approaches and early R1s are starting to come off 1 year warranties...

 

I cannot even begin to describe how far off this "agent" is.

From what we've been told here, almost everything the agent said was flat out wrong and, given the current state of hinge failures, can't possibly be correct unless all the 'new' hinges are failing miserably too.

I'd call this typical agent misinformation, although it's so close to outright lying I can't tell which way I'd go.

 

24 more days of warranty and then I'm a free radical.

Interesting to see if Dells mooted monitor with revised hinges eventuates some time in March (2011).

While all around me there is chaos and M11x owners are losing their hinges, I have retained mine. It's still tickety boo.

Bit of I giggle as my service tag is now stating an M11xR3, are they just going to replace my M11xR1 with an M11xR3? Guess it's one way to fix the hinge issue and keep the Dell massive happy.

Anyway, this is my dream, you guys have to get your own dream

 

Wow, that'd be great. Complain about your hinge and get an R3. Woot!

"hello Dell... my hinge failed"

 

There are going to be alot more failures if that is the case. Lol

Spiff

 

Hi, first post on these forums. I have 6 days remaining on my M11x warranty. The hinges are begining to fail but probably not bad enough to warrant a replacement screen. But Dell just phoned and offered to extend the warranty for £120 for 1 year and £140 for 2 years.
I decided to extend for as I am not 100% confident Dell will repair the hinges when out of warranty.
Just possible that they may offer this to all owners when their warranty is about to expire.
It is expensive but if I recall correctly it's cheaper that the price quoted when I oroginally placed the order.

 

Did you buy online or retail?

 

I made the purchase online. I don't know if it's a good deal but it gives me sone peace of mind.

 

I suspect you have complete cover or care... and that retail buyers do not.

 

As an Alienware m11x R2 owner, I would like to share my experience regarding the solution that Dell rendered regarding the "Alienware m11x R1/R2 hinge problem".

A week ago, I noticed that my LCD screen easily wobbled to about an inch whenever I would move the laptop from my desk to another room. I found it kinda annoying and premature as I've only had the laptop for 4 months and I never took it out of the house, I generally just close and open it for use. After reading all Alienware m11x user posts and discovering the symptoms of an imminent hinge crack, I was convinced that sooner or later this hinge is gonna give in. So I called the Alienware tech support (2/24/10) and they did acknowledge the problem and provided a solution by shipping the replacement part to a tech contractor who will be doing a visit on 2/28/10.

Today, the contractor arrived and he did fix the laptop with a new replacement LCD assembly for about 2 hours. At first I was satisfied with the service but then I realized that the LCD assembly part was in Cosmic Black (R1 LCD assembly). Being a R2 owner, I didn't find it bothersome but it was kinda awkward to have the glossy LCD assembly (LCD assembly I am about the back of the LCD) instead of the matte Lunar Shadow which the R2 has. Furthermore I did notice a gap on the upper left side of the LCD (near the webcam). Being a tech myself, I found this unacceptable. So I called Alienware tech support again and reported the error in LCD assembly color plus the gap on the LCD. The process just took a few minutes and I will be receiving another LCD assembly once the part has arrived.

Out of curiosity I did ask the tech support if this will be the R1/R2 hinge fix that Dell posted on it's forums and the tech support said that it is. I was happy to hear about it since it's just 2/28 and it looks like Dell is gonna pull through with the hinge problem plaguing the m11x.

So there are two thing I'd like to say. I'm pretty happy with the tech support I received from Dell. I see other users flaming tech support and I tell you that only aggravates you. Being nice and calm to a tech support is a big thing. Remember, they're there to SUPPORT you.

Being a tech support and sysad for many years, I've experienced getting shouted at, being treated with an attitude and all those crazy things. It never does any good to both parties.

Anyway, once I get the second LCD assembly replacement, I will post my findings.

Hopefully this helps.

-Plax

 

Unless you split open your old LCD and the new one... then post some pictures... I will not trust the tech gave accurate info. Without some verification or announcement from Dell I have to have doubts.

If its the "fix" we would love to see inside.

 

I'd be cautious about taking the support rep's word on whether or not the part you'll be receiving is in fact the new design. There have been too many accounts here an elsewhere of their making this claim. Certain Dell staffers have attempted to reign in sales and phone support staff from making such claims, but it's still continuing.

Takes a long time to sort through all of the issues involved with redesigning a defective part and making that part available? OK, I guess I'm down with that, because you know getting things done often takes longer than I think it ought to. That's life.

A long standing track record of lying to owners or new buyers about there being a fixed part, and "Yes! you're getting the new part, sir!" for the past 6 months on the other hand is disgraceful and damages the brand and the level of trust. It shows a distinct lack of leadership that this sort of thing has been allowed to continue for so long.

 

The right-side hinge on my R1 purchased 4/6/2010 from Best Buy has blown out completely after a couple weeks of making loud popping noises. The screen has also started to separate and has to be "snapped" back into place while closing it. This is after months of gentle daily use being as careful as possible with it.

The hinges started out very squeaky with a visible difference in the left side gap right out of the box. Got progressively worse with a notable increase in back-and-forth free-play up to about an inch or so, while at the same time feeling stiffer when opening or closing.

Disappointed, like so many others, and don't feel that Dell is moving quickly enough or acting in good faith to their customers. They are doing what is best for their bottom line, and I, for one, won't be forgetting it.

 

login to support and see if you have complete care/cover or similar.

 

Good evening all, this is my first post, so..(Wave). Now down to business. I just ordered a M11x, and I talked to someone on "LIVE CHAT" before I placed the order and asked "I know there is a hinge issue with this model, has this been addressed on machines going out right now?" I was told, "Yes that will not be an issue on a computer you would order today (last week)". So wondering, after seeing what I am reading on this page, if they were blowing me some smoke. Believe me, if I get one and the hinge had this issue, I'm going to call up and there will be some hell to pay since I flat out asked about this and was lied to. But that is IF it happens.

Anyway, glad to be on here, hope to gain/share some knowledge (sure I will be gaining more then sharing from the looks of it). =)

 

Any time anyone from support or sales makes a claim that you aren't 100% sure of, politely ask for them to provide said claim to you in writing and sign it. That will typically bring an abrupt cessation of the bull dookie.

 

Yes, this is true Slickie. I guess I could still go on there and ask even now, since i have not gotten the machine yet, and do as you suggest. hummm, I"ll be back..

 

Either way, the thing you need to keep in mind is that if it does have the original LCD design, then chances are good that you'll never have a problem. If you do, then Dell has claimed (no details yet) that it will still be fixed even outside of warranty. Don't bother worrying about it.

 

OK, well now I'm more pissed with the run around I just got after going to there online chat! I get one person, they say they have to send me to another person to chat, I get disconnected, then I go back and get another person, they say I have to call Alienware Customer Support, gives me a number. I get some lady in India or somewhere (big surprise there), and she gives me attitude, and transfers me to someone else! Which is closed! (after the last guy on the chat tells me they are open till midnight CST, which it was only 11:40, and the website also says this!). Ready to cancel the order, not because of the hinge anymore, but because of all the freaking run around! Freakin' morons! Can I still cancel if the order is in built and about to ship?

 

Even if you can you will need to call again... so I would call.

Everyone should assume you will get old LCD panels until pictures show otherwise or an official in writing announcement from Dell is provided. Asking a sales rep for ANY company is just asking for BS. How could they know? The assembly happens in a completely different place and they have zero contact with suppliers.

Further, my guess is that you will not be able to see any visual difference in LCD panels from old to new. While possible they could use a retrofit external brace I find this unlikely in my view. There is another thread on that somewhere.

 

So I called Dellienware yesterday and they got me an onsite technician today, he replaced my entire top lid and LCD. Got it done probably in 15 minutes and also I don't know if he was being nice or if he just forgot, but he left me my old monitor D:

Anyone have any thoughts on what I should do with it? Haha

 

Well so I'm one of the customers who bought the r1 right when it came out basically and so my warranty is expiring in 2days from this post. I called tech to ask about the "hinge fix" and intially stated that he didn't know anything about it, but then said it was unlikely it would ever be implemented for r1's and r2's because the r3 Monitor is going to be 3d capable according to the rep.... he also said r3 was supposed to come out by the end of this month "supposedly" he said..... anyways I ed and moaned because I didn't want to renew my warranty for another year ($200), nor did I want to have it replaced with another defective unit (only to have it break again and without a warranty...). Eventually he ended up putting me on hold and claiming he called "Chris" from the forums who'd been leaking out all this info, and he told me that chris then told him that yes there would probably be a "fix" program, but almost definitly now not for people who aren't covered under warranty... which basically excludes me... idk i'm extremely frustrated and pretty pissed off that dell would make "crap" and then have the balls to not even stand by it and back it up..... they just leave people like me in the wind....unless i'm willing to spend 200bucks for another year of awesome service!!!!

 

Just noticed that my replacement screen from 4 months ago is starting to rotate out of place like the old one. I'm going to wait until I see a new type of hinge before calling the service dept.

 

Well I finally got a hold of an ALIENWARE person today, and I gave them my order and my concern about the hinge issue. They looked into it and assured me I would be getting the updated model with the hinge issue corrected. Sure glad they send a transcript of the "CHAT", because if it breaks and I end up with an old one, I'm going to use that! So we shall see. 1 week left till the computer arrives! And that's another thing, it takes them 2 weeks to upgrade the memory and harddrive and send the machine out? What kind cheap labor part of the world they are shipping these from, kind of people they got working on these things? geezzz! You know I got no problem if someone does it BETTER then they get the work, Foreign Cars have been better, so people buy them, makes sense. But when customer service is CLEARLY crappy as hell and these companies still continue to use these foreign countries where they can do business dirt cheap, pisses me off to no end! Means someone is saying "Ya, screw the consumer, I am making tons of money and I don't care if they don't like the service, as long as I'm getting more stinkin' rich, screw them!" Just my opinion...

 

Why assume the worst? You got completely differing info from the same rep within a single call. As said before, nothing the reps say can be taken for truth unless I suppose you get it in writing or they can link you to an official announcement. What did he say that would make you think he was informed or telling the truth? Looks to me like he pulled all that info out of his butt.

Reps have been wrong nearly every time someone reports what they say here... if that trend continues then consider your experience will be opposite of all he tells you.

 

As far as I know, there are laws here, in the northern part of our celestial body. 6 month already since I saw the first report. DELL, state your intent. Everyone, get the word out. Local media, cellphone, blog, facebook, bluetooth, radar dish... Dell, you're not fooling anyone, and whatever your decision is, it'll make a lot of noise.

EDIT: This is about the false representation and lies from DELL rep.

 

In regards to "Getting it in writing", would a transcript of the Chat where I flat out said, "OK, so your saying my order I'm getting now, will NOT have the hinge issue, and is the fixed version, is that correct?", and agent : "Yes that is correct you will not have an issue". So me having the chat transcript where they tell me that when I ask it as clearly as I can, and also give them the Order number to actually look it up on there end, wouldn't that be "IN WRITING" and can be used down the line should what they told me be untrue? All I have to do is pull up the transcript and email it to whomever at Dell and say "See, I asked them flat out and I was told it was fixed, so either I was lied to, or your reps don't know what the heck they are talking about, either way it's YOUR problem!"?

 

(Transcript and what I was told).
ime Details
03/01/2011 11:09:13AM System: "Thanks for choosing Chat to assist you in making your purchase on Dell.com. An Alienware representative will be with you shortly."
03/01/2011 11:09:13AM Session Started with Agent (Shiela M)
03/01/2011 11:09:16AM Agent (Shiela M): How can I help you today?"
03/01/2011 11:09:24AM Agent (Shiela M): "Hi there Anthony, I hope you're doing great!"
03/01/2011 11:09:28AM Anthony Koyer: "Good afternoon. Before I get into my issue, it is related to an ALIENWARE machine, do I need to get transfered else where to inquire with questions relating to Alienware Machines?"
03/01/2011 11:10:03AM Agent (Shiela M): "I'm glad that you chatted with us today. I'll be happy to help you today "
03/01/2011 11:10:32AM Agent (Shiela M): "If you currently have the system, you should be talking to our tech support dept. "
03/01/2011 11:10:54AM Anthony Koyer: "ok, good. My question is in relation to my recent order. 6xxxxxxxx"(BLANKED OUT BY ME)
03/01/2011 11:11:04AM Anthony Koyer: "no I don't have it yet, it's being shipped in the next day or two."
03/01/2011 11:11:37AM Agent (Shiela M): "Oh, thanks for the info Anthony "
03/01/2011 11:12:23AM Anthony Koyer: "my question those is in relation to the HINGE issue I have seen all over the Internet in regards to the M11x verison. I was told before I placed the order that the issue was fixed in the R@ model. BUT I am seeing on message boards people with the R2 veri"
son of the M11X are having some Hinge issues. SO I want confirm that the model being built for me will have this issues addressed and I won't have Hinge issues.
03/01/2011 11:14:22AM Agent (Shiela M): "I understand that, and its glad to say that the the issue about the hinge has been fixed. "
03/01/2011 11:15:32AM Anthony Koyer: "OK, so the model that I'm being sent within the next week will NOT have the issue then, that's what your saying to me?"
03/01/2011 11:15:34AM Agent (Shiela M): "The system that you will get on or before 3/8/2011 has the new and improved hinges. "
03/01/2011 11:16:03AM Anthony Koyer: "OK, great..that is what I was concerned about. I'm glad to hear it has been addressed and it will not be an issue I may have to deal with."
03/01/2011 11:16:20AM Agent (Shiela M): "Precisely, so nothing to wory about "
03/01/2011 11:16:54AM Anthony Koyer: "ok, very good. thank you for looking into this and putting my mind at ease. that's all I needed to inquire about today."
03/01/2011 11:17:04AM Agent (Shiela M): " "
03/01/2011 11:17:07AM Agent (Shiela M): "Happy for you "
03/01/2011 11:17:15AM Agent (Shiela M): "You are welcome. It's my goal today to provide you with excellent customer service. Was there anything else I could've done differently to better your experience with us?"
03/01/2011 11:17:19AM Anthony Koyer: "Why thank you, lol"
03/01/2011 11:17:29AM Anthony Koyer: "NO, we are all set. thank you for your help."
03/01/2011 11:18:05AM Agent (Shiela M): ": just to make sure that I have assisted you well today "
03/01/2011 11:18:26AM Anthony Koyer: "Yes you have."
03/01/2011 11:18:28AM Agent (Shiela M): "I 'll appreciate if you have sometime to answer the survey after chat and/or e mail my manager"
03/01/2011 11:18:30AM Agent (Shiela M): "Our Chat team strives to provide the very best levels of customer service. If you have a minute, we would really appreciate your feedback on a quick survey that will pop up in a new window once the session ends. My manager gets all the feedback and we use"
it to help our customers. Thank you for choosing DellÆs Sales Chat and have a wonderful day!
03/01/2011 11:18:31AM Agent (Shiela M): "Please be the first one to disconnect the chat on your end by hitting "EXIT" not "X" and you'll be directed to chat survey. Thanks."
03/01/2011 11:18:53AM Session Ended

 

Ya never know. But you are not the first person to have a promise of "fixed" hinges in a chat window...

By "in writing" I suppose I mean more of a contract style or obligation or promise. What if the first 10 units sold had a diff design? This could make statements about current units with improved panels true.

That said, with the right person having a statement in chat could be helpful. You will never know unless put in that position. I would rather you never had issues to find out.

Panel lotto!

 

Amen GnandGS, the last thing I want to do is have to play games with the hinge on the thing! But even if the hinge is bad, this is more or less my fall back to throw up at them should the hinge have issues when I get to the end of the 1 year service, or some other situation. I even forwarded the above on to her boss, who's email she put in the conversation, and told him that this was what I was told, and I hope there is no issues, but if there is, I"m going to reference the chat transcript and the email sent out. At least I have a Mgr's name to name drop if something comes up. All about the CYA, you know what I'm saying? My luck is the hinge will be rock solid and the HD will crash, the keyboard will be messed up, the lights won't work, the memory will go bad, but that Hinge will hold strong! LOL

 

I can't tell for sure, but IMO, until I see a diagram or picture or at least description of a new fixed part, I wouldn't count on that. That just like my opinion. Can't wait till we have a reliable source or statement (an official date will do too). I'd like to mention that this is nothing against Chris M, he's bound to tell us what he's told to. Reps are downright lying to sell, and I don't see any light down the tunnel.

 

I have spoken with Russian dell representative concerning my hinge problem (ye, it will be my forth screen)

1) He confirmed that they aware of this hinge issue, it exists and they just replace displays, but
2) They know nothing about new revision but asked me for a link to read about it.
3) Every new display have 3month warranty, and that’s usual life period of my hinges, so even if there will be no replacement program I’ll have new display even after warranty ends.

By the way, my warranty ends in 7 days

Bonus:

 

I wish I knew for certain because I would just fix it myself then other than play games waiting for them to or not fix it.

Plus, I believe there are "lemon laws" for electronics. Usually if the same defective part has to be replaced four or five times or more then they have to replace the whole unit with an entirely new unit that has corrected the issue. It varies from State to State in the USA, but I think the laws are very similar.

I can see class action lawsuit written all over this thing. Even if they do continue to fix it past the warranty period, what's the point in having your machine repaired every 3-4 months? That's ridiculous.

 

The LCD with the fixed hinge is now partly in stock, according to Chris-M on the Dell forums. You can go ahead and request a technician to replace your faulty one with the fixed one.

 

Post#1 updated - thanks for the heads-up Mackan.

Chris-M posted an update on the Dell Community Forum (and yes, he is an official spokesperson)

Quote src:
Re: m11x hinge issues? - Alienware Forum - Alienware Club - Dell Community

 

Now were speaking!

 

A couple questions, can we still get the replacement (fixed) hinge if our current one isn't experiencing any issues? And does the hinge replacement involve replacing the LCD as well?

 

Good question, I'd like to know if a failed hinge is a requisite too.

But I do know hinge replacement involves a whole new LCD assembly, so you'll get a new LCD, which I'm not 100% happy about considering I like my display and also spent a good deal of time installing a matte screen protector.

 

So far Dell, via Chris-m, have not indicated they will repair defect free hinges. Hinge replacement does include replacing the display assembly, as you can see in the parts list quoted by batboy.

Chris-M has stated explicitly that no production m11x's feature the newly designed hinge. Thus, every m11x rolling out of a factory prior to the r3 will suffer from the ill designed hinge.

Lastly, Chris-M has been made aware repeatedly that dell sales tech's have for months informed buyers that the hinge issue is solved and promised buyers they will receive machines with the new hinge.

If your purchase was based on a similar conversation with an agent, I urge you to follow the link to the dell forums batboy provided to share your story.

 

REMOVED - review the forum rules and do not post email addresses, phone numbers or any other contact info

 

I was looking at the list of people who have hinge problems, Do we have statistics on the number of hinges who did not fail? I know it s moot since it's going to be repaired anyway but I'm getting my laptop on the 8th and leaving abroad on the 20th. T_T

 

"have them... going forward" vs "since middle of 2010" <-- bs talk

You may never see any official announcement. Im sure they are quite happy letting Chris handle it with the ASSUMPTION that support will just do the necessary as needed - quietly.

 

Hinge issue or not, Dell is OK with me. I just called to try to cancel my order, and they gave me another 10% off my machine! So that with the other discounts and online coupons I found, I'm over 300.00 discounted now! A i7/8gigs/500gig HD Alienware M11x R2 for 1068.00 (that is with tax and shipping included). You kidding me!? Go Dell...Go Dell..Go Dell.. (Just don't give me a bad hinge now!) lol.

 

@GNandGS

Yeah, my thoughts exactly. I think it's safe to assume that we won't really know anything unless Dell or Chris sheds anymore light to the "hinge repair program"

Customer support is too "uncoordinated" for us to draw conclusions based from chats, phone calls, and technicians. T_T

 

Yeah, Mine is arriving on the 8th with similar specs. I really hope that they're smart enough to put in the new parts on the "still being produced" machines. It's hassle for them if they don't.

 

Working for the quality group of a large company that produces machines, I can tell you that the first goal of any resolution to a quality issue is to fix the new units rolling off the assembly line. You have to stop the bleeding before you can fix the ones already sold.

Getting parts for repair is a secondary item in comparison... Usually. I say that because if there is a situation where a new model (R3?) is soon to be in production, a fix can "wait" until the assembly line is retooled and ready for the new units.

So I can completely buy into the idea that Dell had this fix in new computers for a while (a couple months might be reasonable) and did not get parts for field fixes until now. BUT the ONLY way we are going to know is if people with relatively new computers a)see failures, or b) are willing to tear down their screens to look. Even then we'll need to see a fixed lid to compare with (which shouldn't be too long from the sounds of it). Its obvious that the CSR's mean well but don't know all the details. Chris's statement that only R3 would get the new fix in production would mean that R3 is close or they are totally crazy for continuing to produce M11x with a likelihood of failure.

What does all my rambling mean??
1. There is a likely hood that the fixed lids have been used or at least are now in production
-or-
2. There is a R3 close to production/release (keep in mind that R3 may be nothing more than a hinge change with no spectacular announcement. Only an internal designation for the change in design)
-and/or-
3. Dell's quality and business practices are questionable

 

I would do like I did. Call them up and say "Some things have come up that are costing me some money, so I may have to cancel the computer, or send it right back when I get it". That is when he offered me a discount of 50.00. SO I said, "well that the best you can do?" then he took off 10%. So what do you have to lose, call him up and see what they can do for you, "Else you may have to cancel or send back". Can't hurt to try. And now that I think about it, they did the same thing when I was going to return my Nokia N900, they gave me like 50.00 off that as well. So I believe they don't want to deal with returns and they offer discounts. AND THIS IS NOT A SCAM OR ANYTHING, IF THAT IS THERE POLICY, WE ARE ONLY MAKING USE OF IT, THEY DON'T HAVE TO DISCOUNT ANYTHING FOR US IF THEY DON'T WANT TOO. SO PLEASE NO FLACK FOR THIS POST! =)