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

Oops! Too late for this advice! I had to leave him alone for a while, I got bored. I came back and he tried to turn on the laptop and it didn't work, so he disassembled it again, another 30 minutes... So I don't know how much I should trust that it was repaired correctly.

It was his first time repairing one of these, apparently. It seems to work but I heard a weird clicking noise the first time I started Civilization 5. I'm just happy to use it again, and I'll play Civ 5 on it

In any case, Cpt Zero please update my status to "Repaired after 1 month of waiting for parts".

I'm pretty happy that my little machine works again, the new screen definitely looks better. However I noticed this:


Can you see it? The middle part looks much like the hinges at the end of their life. This is not part of what was replaced, it's part of the lower assembly. As you can see on the right, the hinges now look fine. Perhaps they permanently damaged my laptop.

Can I buy more warranty time? I should've bought the 3 years...

 

LOL.... that's the look of the broken latch cover ! Damn.... I was too late. I'm going home now, so I'll take a pic of mine and show you exactly what he broke on mine. Don't worry you can just call Dell and tell them to send another one. You don't need him to replace that.

 

Umm, does this mean it will break again?

 

Not justifying a poor re-assembly by the tech - but, what you can try before calling again is snapping it closed. If I'm not mistaken, that piece snaps together.

If not, call back immediately. Get them out there to resolve it.

 

Yeah, the price should snap together, though mine still has a wee bit of a gap on it. Not a big deal, it's not likely to break (Dell used a similar design in the M1210, so I am reasonably happy with how well it will likely stand up).

 

Ok, but I don't know what I should ask for?

I mean is this part going to break? or if it's just half open it doesn't bother me. I don't like dealing with support...

I tried snapping it together but it's not like the hinges, it just opens again.

If this part breaks too I guess I'll call. This is why all this issue bothers me, I feel like I'm wasting my time with stuff that shouldn't be broken in the first place...

edit: I have to say the new screen looks much better than the old one, I don't know if it's because it's brand new. But at least a silver lining I guess...

 

Yes, try what BatBoy suggested first. If that doesn't help (don't press too hard!), take the latch cover off gently. I use a flat screwdriver in the little hole in the right top corner with the screen fully open. Then take time and gently get it out... I gently wiggle it until it pops out.

Sorry for slightly going out of bounds (according to forum rules) with image, but I think it might help to have a larger image:





The entire plastic cover is called a "latch cover" - Dell/AW tech reps should know it by that name. It's not hard to put it back on your own, it just requires patience and being gentle. The tips can break so easily.

 

Man I don't even need to open it to see that, the Dell tech himself gave me a little piece of broken plastic that he thought was from the hinges. I recognize it as the "tip" of the parts you circled.

Plus it's obvious something broke because that part was shut tight before, I even have pics to compare.

Sigh, I guess I'll eventually call them, but honestly if it doesn't affect any components (if it's just an aesthetic flaw) I'd rather be done with support.

 

Lol... so you guys had casualties, too. My tech just said he had to go and told me to just call Dell and put it back myself. *Sigh*

I just didn't have time to deal with it yet.

 

Thanks, definately appreciate it. Enjoying using the m11x on the couch like I originally planned Till the next screen replacement

 

I hope this is just an aesthetic problem, and hopefully it doesn't kill the motherboard later or something.

I honestly don't envy Alienware:

* Expensive netbook, supposedly "premium quality" for a tech savvy customer

* Expensive-to-repair flaw (seems like a waste having to change the whole screen for a hinge)

* When repaired, flaw has a high chance of breaking another part of the machine

 

Yeah the hinge problem is annoying. But the latch cover is just cosmetic at this point - its just a piece of plastic covering the electronics.

Still, m11x kind of has this Achilles' heel. m17x is really good, so I'd say m11x is more of an exception than the rule.

 

Hey guys, is it an insanely complicated procedure to replace the screen? Or do I really need an experienced computer technician?

I don't think my hinge is going to last much longer and I'm going to be away from home for about 2 months.

So I'm considering doing the job myself (if Dell agrees to ship me the part). Plus, maybe I can reinforce the hinges myself while I'm in there.

 

If it's the entire screen assembly, no, it's rather easy.

Remove the bottom tray, remove the battery.

Unscrew the KB from the bottom. Remove the panel above the KB that has the Alienhead power button (there is an indent on the side to help...) Unscrew the KB from the top. CAREFULLY remove the KB and it's two cables.

Unscrew the 4 hinge screws


There are only two types of screws for the m11x (and a few others for the MB, but are a nonissue for hinge/screen replacement).

 

hmmm i might apply to dell for the job of General Screen Replacer lol

 

Wow, that is much simpler than I thought. I pretty much do all of this except unscrew the 4 hinge screws everytime I clean my fan.

On a side note, I'm suspecting that unfolding the laptop screen all the way maybe damages the hinges? Like puts abnormal stress on the them or something? I don't really have any proof (just a need to blame something >_<),
but basically my hinges were perfect when I received my laptop. Then, after I cleaned out the fan the first time (which required me to unfold the laptop as much as possible to remove the plastic strip above the keyboard) my screen became wobbly. After my 2nd cleaning, my hinges began to click. A month later my hinge broke =[

 

yeap just simple as doing anything above the normal will initially make a stress towards the THIN PLASTIC that is holding the Bolt thnat hold the metal hinge. so it wont be a surprise if it will break easily.

but i really do believe that by putting a small amount of epoxy bond between the metal hinge and the magnesium alloy would be a more secure and additional reinforcement to the LCD Replacement.

i'll repost something below for clarification.

This is great info for us John.

would there be any chance of making a fix with the old design or just sticking to replacement scheme? We just want to know if the Right People in DELL are working on a fix on the R1 or R2 m11x version so we have something to look forward to.



I can see that, in many locations, replacement of the broken hinge part have gotten and are met with quality service attention but Would that hurt more with regards to quality of AW product? With each replacement is painting a contrasting image to Alienware Products which are aimed to be the premium category of dell. Its like the Lexus of laptops. However this issue is like the brake recall of toyota.

Premium reputation like this is top priority and I am grateful that we are met with premium attention from John and Chris. We are just hoping that we will be given with premium end result soon... Better late than never. thanks again. This FIX will be a sort of Christmas Wish that you guys from DELL can give us as a gift and make a lot of m11x owners very happy indeed.

 

The reclaimed parts that aren't broken go right back into the supply chain after going through "refurbishment". Your LCD panel will more than likely end up on someone else's laptop. It could very well end up on an 11z or any of the other 11.6" models that Dell churns out.

 

Documentation

This was my tech followed when he did the replacement .... -.-

 

ah i thought i saw some bonding instructions on the manual hehehe

Are you guys optimistic that DELL right people are making moves in finding solutions or fix to the current version or will they stick to the replacement options?

 

truth to tell, the M11x service manual does not tell you anything about how to access the hinge and repair it yourself

i was better off watching the video on how to access the hinge. this video was posted on you tube

 

now i have included a poll question regarding what will be our guess to the DELL final option of approach to be implemended regarding our hinge issues.

updated list also.

 

Ah nope it tells you how to replace the entire screen. Hinge is not supposed to be user serviceable. I don't think DIY fix is a good idea, because first - you can't be really sure it's not going to break again. And in that case, you loose your warranty.

 

Not sure I see the point in the poll you've added.

In any event I don't think it's likely that Dell is going to implement any sort of fix for the current model based on what I see as the economics of such a decision. I think it's far less expensive for them to simply offer some sort of an extended warranty for the relatively small number of units that are impacted by faulty hinges.

And to be honest if that were the path they were going to take with this whole issue then why is it taking so long for them to make that decision known? They've recently issued an "official statement" on the matter which amounted to nothing more than recycling what they already told us almost 2 and a half months ago - "that they know about it at the highest level and that they're investigating it".

Everywhere the statement has been put out there by a representative of Dell, it's been the same quote, copy/pasted from a memo that was sent out. You can find it on the Dell AW Club forum, in the Engadget comments section of the article they published last week and in the forum here. What making that statement did do for them is to give the impression that they're being proactive and "rapidly" responding to the issue to those people out there who weren't aware that the M11x had such a flaw in the first place.

I haven't seen anything from them yet that gives me any reason to trust that whatever it is they end up doing is going to be an equitable solution for owners. I do understand that massive companies like Dell are inherently slow, so I guess we'll see how they play it.

 

Excellent post! They do fix some things, some time. m17x mouse polling rate, 5870 drivers and m11x fan problem. It just took a bit of pushing from their folks that are active on this forum. But all those things were fixable with installing either BIOS, VBIOS or other updates. How did it happen when that was not possible, i.e. XPS m1330 8600GT GPU overheating problems? Screw the user, after the warranty expired. The only things you are buying with your warranty, is a source of replacement parts.

 

the poll purposes is making educated guess regarding the final outcome of DELL's approach to hinge's issue.

this however is necessary to inform new buyer of the issue and how DELL addresses these issues. Moreover, the current owners are also assisted with the information if indeed DELL will be making good their promise of making solutions or anouncement regarding thier inevitable approach that will be part of their policy in handling m11x hinge issues in the future.

but the more glaring intention of the poll it to make it known if DELL have REALLY engaged in a more SPECIFIC solution in dealing with the issue or just making a PR thing to appease us customers and make damage control on the hinge issue at hand.

most of the problem in big corporation in handling such issues are if indeed the problem can even make it to the DELL BIGS. but i am just hoping that they do reach for a solution... as i always say, with the positive exchange of dialogues here, BETTER Late than NEVER hehehe.

 

i wonder if dell technical is done with their "internal meetings" and have an official stand/solution to the hinge problem?

 

Are you kidding? It's still too soon and they haven't had enough time yet. I mean it's only been 5-6 months since they've known about this issue, they've seen the growing list of owners that has had their hinges break and it's only been a week and half since they've acknowledged that they are "aware" of this issue and there are discussions going on. That obviously isn't enough time for them yet

 

I once was a short clip that had a man carrying his master on his back.
After some time the man grew wary and could not go on, but the master encouraged him, "It's not far now, just a bit more". This continues time and time again. The master on his back coaxing and encouraging him to continue, "We're almost there, we're going to make it".
As the camera pans away above the struggling and exhausted man with his burden, we see what he can't see. He's walking endlessly in large figure of eight.


I think there is something in that for all of us.

 

You forgot the 4th option: No fix at all!

But realistically I think it's going to be an extended warranty sort of deal. How did they solve the m15 hinge issue in the end?

 

I'm also curious how they handled the m15 hinge issue. I think it may be the best indication on how are situation is going to be handled.

 

the m15x hinge issue is not as prevalent as the m11x has. i cannot imagine having these numbers of owners and the numbers of replacement some m11x owners had.

hikarate@
can i add another poll for this thread?

i might add date choices of when DELL would announce a fix for the m11x issue.

 

The m15x hinge issue never had anything beyond "fix it under warranty".

With regard to my statement about the poll. We can all speculate on what the think Dell will/ought to do, but that's all it is - wild speculation that doesn't have any chance of impacting Dell's decisions or providing either current owners or potential buyers with any meaningful data to base decisions on. It's no more useful than the WAGing that goes on the in the M11xR3/13x threads here.

 

yup we are just making guesses here. but i guess DELL will really opt for replacement scheme with extended warranty with a special instruction of applying epoxy bonding. its just wishful thinking that they would go for a redesign.

 

just had my lcd screen replaced under, ummmmmm, "special warranty(?)"

 

I'm fairly certain the m15x hinge issue was just as bad as this if not worse, its just the m11x gets more attention for when something goes wrong it looks a lot worse.

Alienware before being bought out would never have allowed a thing like a bad hinge, thats like spiting in someones face. That fault lies solely on dell.

 

bro good to hear that. DELL really is putting the pedal to the metal with regards to hinge replacement under warranty.

but i think DELL should not rely on the replacement alone because every replacement is a proof of the hinge design flaw... replacement can only do more damage than good to the reputation of ALIENWARE.

 

Please add me as well. After 8 months of being an R1 m11x owner, the left hinge started breaking and crackling... DELL Support here is really bad and giving me a hard time to even fix this to begin with. Had same issue on m15x and i thought it was fixed.... too bad they lie too much at DELL

 

What country are you in?

You might give DellChrisM a private message here to see if he can help facilitate some decent support for you on this issue. If he can't then keep at it and do not settle for anything less than a full repair.

 

Vallejo, Mexico receives support from Dell, they must exchange your hinge ("Bisagras") for free as long as you're under warranty.

However I had to call them 3 times in a month. Then I called again and they had cancelled my repair for some reason and they made another and it was repaired within a week. Keep at it.

It's my last Alienware too.

 

LOL, no joke i was on the phone for 10mins. as soon as i said ehh im not happy with it they were like "let me send a tech"...usually you have to answer 400 questions and they still dont want to do anything. thanks for the good deal to Jshaw, its been working well =)

 

John and Chris,

there is a fuzz that most of us is asking here, are we going to have the official statement regarding the hinge issue before christmas?

hope to hear from you guys soon.

 

You already have it - they are working on it.

 

waah i hope they can make the announcement before christmas... i will be in states this christmas and hopefully can buy the r2 there hopefully i can get a very good deal hehehe

 

This is kinda off topic but just looking at this thread again wanting something from dell in a statement still Id just like to point out taking into consideration the amount of people that have had problems here on the forum take that x10 with many people that cant get theres fixed plus others that dont wont to hassle with dell. Just thought Id point that out.

 

I want to believe.

I'm so looking forward to Dells next statement.
I'm of the option that Dell has placed themselves in a situation that they can now no longer comment on their position regarding M11x hinges.

Come on Dell make my day. I dare you.

I wont extend my warranty as that's like rewarding mediocrity and sends the wrong signal. Your design(hinges) is crap, but I'll give you more money. Not!

I think the best one can hope for with Dell is monitor replacement when hinge fails out of warranty, but I wouldn't bet on that either.

Edit: I've done quite a bit of work with resins and metal brackets years ago (Motor bikes). So when out of warranty I'll engineer my own fix if there's a problem.

Of course this is not for everyone.

 

That's a great viewpoint. I've never thought about it that way and you've convinced me to not get the extended warranty. I'm not paying for Dell's stupid hinge design and mistake.

I've come to accept the fact that this laptop will just sit on my desk and be used as a desktop replacement. It will always stay in the open position and so why would I need to pay extra for the extended warranty anyways. Even if Dell extends the warranty to 3 yrs for hinge issues (very wishful thinking here, but I doubt they'll do anything), I don't want to deal with having a "certified" tech come and work on this laptop only to make it worse by breaking other pieces on it.

 

both hinges broke after 5 months. a call to alienware and they were on the case(pun intended). the phone support tech seemed quite familiar with this issue.

alienware sent out a tech with new screen assembly to my work location. the repair went HORRIBLY. tech put a long screw thru a hole meant for a short screw and punctured the keyboard. reinstalled the WIFI antenna cables incorrectly(over the hinge) so now there is a bulge along the panel just above the keyboard that keeps the lcd from closing fully. once the re-assembly was complete, there was an extra screw left over. "hmm, wonder where that one goes? oh well, all finished."

i tried to point out the cable placement, but he'd hear none of it. i didn't argue, i wasn't paying him. just let him finish his manhandling and called tech support again.

luckily alienware tech support is quite helpfull. they are sending a repair man to my house when i get there, with a new keyboard and that panel above the keyboard. i told them i thought the panel was fine, but they said if it's bent, they didn't want to take any chances.

can't wait to find where that extra screw goes.

kudos for alienware hopefully putting in a REAL fix for this problem. i hadn't bought an extended warranty, but with their helpfull phone support and this problem looking to re-occur, i just might.

 

I posted in another thread before I saw this one, so I'll say it here again -- m11x R1 owner since June 11. About a month ago, I noticed my left hinge was crooked and you could move it with a light touch when closed. I haven't contacted Dell yet because I'm more curious to know what their response to the current problem will be. Also, I use the laptop for work and would rather not be without it as much as possible.

I'm a computer tech of 13 years and repair laptops all day, but I haven't bothered taking this one apart to inspect because I figure it's under warranty and I will let them deal with it.