List of Owners of M11x That Have Hinges Damaged or Repaired Already

Thanks for the lengthy post. Just to clarify: Dell will allow self-repairs of the hinge, correct? From that I mean that they will send a user the parts a technician would use and allow the user to replace the parts? If it's just replacing an already-assembled LCD assembly, the replacement couldn't be too bad, and it beats having the idiot technician in my area that I know from my numerous XPS 720 repairs.

 

There are three possibilities.

• Dell will send a tech out to replace your monitor lid.
• Dell will have you return you M11x for the lid to be replaced.
• Dell may send out a monitor lid for you to replace (unconfirmed in general)

I myself would argue strongly for the monitor lid to be sent to me so I could replace it. However I have no experience of whether this is possible or not in a given country.

New Zealands postal contact for Dell is in Dubai. And I believe parts are sourced from Australia, with support desk in Malaysia. So either way in NZ it'll all probably end in tears.

There may be one NBR member who is receiving a monitor lid which he'll install himself. However I've not heard of this as a widely accepted practice by Dell.

As an aside, anyone who's had an M11x monitor swap in NZ.. or OZ I'd be interest to hear how it went.

 

I did have Dell send me a new motherboard for me to replace the motherboard in my XPS 720 myself, so self-repairs don't seem too rare, though you'd probably have to talk to the right person who is educated in the matter. I think better luck is possible through Dell's live support chat, so I'd recommend using the support chat until you find somebody who lets you do the self-repair.

 

Looks like there's a fix in the works for r1 and r2. Here's to hoping it's more then pr.


"IMO Dell are acting like galoots in this matter.
* I disagree with your opinion.

Yet, nothing is being done.
* That is false. We are meeting weekly to discuss the issue with the manufacturer and test their changes.

it will be washed over by bare faced lies until they can release a new version with hardware modifications.
* That is also false. The upcoming R3 has nothing to do with the design changes being made to the R1/R2.


Chris M
Liason


See here-
m11x hinge issues? - Alienware Forum - Alienware Club - Dell Community

 

Talking, talking, happy talk....♫

I'm looking forward to the bun fight towards the end of February.

I hope it doesn't impact Dells weekly meeting too much. Nothing worst than an angry mob at the door when you're trying to have a weekly meeting.

 

I still believe they are genuinely trying to fix this. The product is too hot to let it get a reputation of being defected.

Never underestimate beraucricy in a corporation to slow down progress

 

Chris clarified later on that they meet weekly to discuss Alienware laptops in general, not just a hinge fix. They need to stop making excuses and manufacture an LCD assembly with a new hinge design instead of continuing to manufacture M11x systems and parts with the faulty hinge design.

 

i love how they "talk" and still nothing has been done (they never have any real proof that anything is being done... just assurances that things are "GETTING DONE"...i bet they have a file with that label and they open it and then close it at every meeting quickly, grin excitedly at each other and let out little repressed giggles and go running outside and race to the company cafeteria to see who can be first in line)

 

Based on additional hints from Chris on their forums, I think we're soon about to see both a fix and some sort of warranty extension for the LCD assembly materialize. I've dealt with Chris offline in on an issue recently and I trust the guy.

And wouldn't you know it, I got impatient with the scratches on my screen and pulled the trigger on a replacement last week.

 

Guys latest from chris

Quote from chris at dell
"For the hinge issue, I would not be concerned about the originally purchased warranty end date"

so its possible this is close to resolution.......fingers crossed

Sorry Slickie didn't see your post - yes I trust this bloke to pity I just paid for a replacement screen but as they say - s@#$ happens.

 

Just started happening. I can push it back down and it clips into place, but still... Its kinda annoying. I am a second owner of this computer and I transfered the warranty/ownership though dell's site so hopefully I can get some support for it.

 

And your warrenty doesn't cover hinges on your system? Paid?

 

How much did you pay? I would possibly pay if a new system of hinges was developed, but as of right now this is a growing problem with these machines, and its kinda pointless when you know its just going to happen again.

 

I am not sure about other countries besides US.
I have my screen replaced once due to hinges issue back in Sep. last year.
I just called in 2 weeks ago to have my screen replaced again.
For these two replacement(fixes), I did not need to pay anything out of my pocket.

Anyway, the last call to Alienware and it turned out that the screens were out of stock. it won't be available for couple weeks( at least that was what the rep(LOL) said.).

I am thinking that they are probably developing new hinges(screen??).

 

If that was true, why would they still be selling M11x systems at a steep discount when a lot of owners are going to want their hinges to be replaced with the new assembly, costing Alienware more? I'm worried that Alienware may even use a cheaper LCD panel with the new hinges to reduce the price it costs to have so many hinges replaced.

Maybe Alienware did quietly fix the hinges before they sold tons of M11x systems before the Black Friday sale, but they have to work out how they're going to put the new parts into circulation for those who purchased a system that was built earlier than the end of November.

 

Because they always have Black Friday sales and nothing regarding the timing of a supposed fix would ever, ever, ever change that. Ever.

Equally as important is because not all M11x are having this problem. It makes financial sense to only replace what you have to. If it fails, fix it with the new part.

We're already using the cheap LCD panels in this size. No need to make up things to be worried about until there's a reason to.

 

I'm actually pretty content with the LCD panel now, it's still miles better than any screen I've seen on a netbook. My biggest concern for if my hinges fail will be that I get a worse panel.

 

My hinge completely broke now. I can see the inside of the screen. So much dust. idk if I should renew my warranty soon or wait for the R3.

 

The wait for the R3 is likely going to be a longer one that most people here seem to think.

Get this one fixed under warranty for sure. It's starting to sound as though there may be a fix coming (new part number that is current not available until Feb 4th). There are also hints that this issue may be covered outside of warranty too. Hope to hear more about that in the next week or two.

 

Good, good. If it was to be covered outside of warranty that'd be even better.

 

We'll see. There have only been hints so far that may end up not panning out. Nothing official yet.

 

Just got finnished reading at the dell forum about the hinge problem. I feel encouraged by the comments that Chris is making and feel quite positive about the direction of developments.

As in any forum please remember that the people who read have feelings too. Do not leave spitefully directed comments about Chris. We all are upset about the hinges, but remember that working for a large corperation has it's drawbacks also.

 

THIS.

Is exactly where I'm at after finding dust under my screen. So far it's not showing up when on, so I'm living with it. But should it start to show, or the hinges fail, that is my exact concern.

I also believe they're going to continue to fix this issue even if it's out of warranty. Hopefully with a new part that will keep it from happening again.

 

Even if Alienware doesn't use different panels than those in circulation now, there is a big flucation in panel quality already. Mine has proven to be one of the better, with good black levels and contrast, but poor viewing angles and shadow detail. Some have been measured to have awful contrast, while others like mine, are just about average. But mine reproduces color much better than any netbook screen after a simple calibration.

Anyway, slickie88 where did you hear about a new part for February 4? I'll be really annoyed because that's four days out of my return window, and I don't feel like going through a repair, period, on my new system, but want the peace of mind.

 

It's rumored here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m11x/493140-m11x-hinge-screen-touching-keyboard-discussion-r1-r2-154.html#post7076875

and the date is referenced again here in tvtripper's post:

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

Not definitive by any means, but promising.

EDIT: And returning your current one and re-ordering would very likely not give you the new fixed part if it exists. There's probably 30 container ships sitting somewhere full of M11x R1s and R2 that your new one would come from. I'm exaggerating of course, but really it is quite possible that a new part isn't necessarily going to be inserted into pre-existing production lines until later on. Hard to say.

 

The cost in Ausi (including postage and gst) is $390AU - there is not difference in price between the WWLAN and non WWLAN screens. You can't just buy the backing plate, but the entire screen.

The only reason for the purchase is - firstly I'm sick of pulling the unit apart to fix the screen - have done this 3 times so far. First time was the best but I dropped the laptop off my lap - yes I know. Second time I was in a real hurry and forgot to mix the two pot adhesive together (to be fair is was 12.30am and I was stuffed!!). Last time was on Friday and because I used the screen over Christmas I managed to stuff the posts further.

So while they are holding together I believe they will re-crack again.

So after I heard the rumor that this may have been resolved I thought stuff it I only paid $700 for this laptop which I salary sacrificed (wonderful thing you can do in Ausi - comes out of pre-tax income) so I paid around $500. I normally buy laptops from Graysonline which by default have no warranty. You can buy a warranty but for a unit which has cost $500 the cost would be close to $350 so I tend to just take the risk and this is the first real issue I have had doing this. I normally make a profit doing this - because I use this for work I also depreciate it in my tax return and after 2 years sell.

As a rule I come out ahead

 

If there's a new part list, the service tag for another system would probably mention the new part. Maybe I should wait to see what other owners say. I'm definitely selling this before my warranty is up, either way. I see no value in an extended warranty and I won't keep it when Alienware systems have historically had fairly high failure rates in one way or another.

For everybody considering extended warranties: selling and buying a new revision before your warranty is up is a much better value. For your sale price, that extended warranty money, and a little extra, you get a new and improved system instead of the same system that wears over time and deals with the hassle of repairs.

 

I'm closing this thread with the release of updated information from Chris. If you want to comment on his update, you can do so here -

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...eased-update-hinge-issue-m11x-01-24-11-a.html