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

No point doing anything yet - you may be lucky and have a good one. If warranty has expired then try and get another replacement - u never know.

However if you can feel the wobble and dell are no forthcoming on a replacement screen then don't wait until the posts are destroyed and the screen flaps about.

 

Cars get recalled because this fault can kill you, a flapping screen is only a hazard if the wife decides to toss the computer at you and the screen breaks free and smacks u in the head.

 

New screen is on its way! hope I get wwan with it

 

despite the fact that my warranty is about to run out

How can it be? We all have minimum one year warranty and first models were received in late February, so you've got plenty of time.

 

Well, I meant "about to run out" as in I have 100 days left, so 75% of my warranty is already gone. I guess time-wise, it is a while. Sorry about the confusion.

 

Ok, I'm not real clear here. What is Dell's fix for the broken hinges? Looking at the DIY repair guide, even if you replace the screen, it seems it's the screw bosses in the chassis that are failing, nont the screen bracket. If that's the case then they need to replace the whole chassis. Not sure why Dell doesn't change the design to include metal screw thread inserts in plastic. This would eliminate the whole issue.

 

The notebook chassis is the magnesium "cage" in the body of the notebook and there's nothing wrong with the hinge/chassis juncture - it's rock solid. It's the weak plastic mounting points (3 on each side) within the LCD assembly that are failing.

Dell's fix is to replace the entire LCD assembly (under warranty) with another that has just as much potential to fail. Their recommendation to date for owners is to extend warranties.

 

slickie88 is correct.

@slickie88 - Have they stated that, with regard to the M11x hinge mounting point failures. Or are we just talking about generic warranty recommendations?

I have not been drawn to any statements recommending extending your warranty outside of generic warranty safe guards with regards to the M11x hinge mountings.

Dell would always recommend/suggest you have a valid warranty for your device(s) over and above the standard one year warranty, hinge mounting failures or not.

Currently Dell repairs faulty hinge mountings under existing warranty which for most doesn't expire until after February 2011.

1st of March 2011 and onwards should be a interesting.

The chassis is not the issue. It's solid.

The hinge is solid(-ish) *(caveat, more to follow).

The 'plastic' mounting posts that the hinge attaches to on the lid of the monitor is the current weak point(s).

Because the hinge attaches to the monitor lid in a VERY small surface area the hinge and monitor posts are continually attempting to 'rip' apart from each other, each time the monitor is open/closed. (During both compression and expansion)

If the hinge had 'arms' which extended a bit further up the monitor lid where they could be attached to ' strengthen' mounting posts, then the stress would be distributed and alleviate.

When people epoxy their monitor lids to 'repair' any existing damage, they are attempting to create a greater surface area to 'bond' the hinge to and re-enforce the existing and 'weak' mounting posts. There is still a great deal of stress on this area and the hinges can/could still break away from the monitor lid.

I saw a post where someone had their hinges 'repaired' by a third party and posted back to say all was now well. The third party even posted and said that it wasn't just an epoxy job. I believe they may have attached additional surface area to the hinges and then attached this further up the monitor lid, thus reducing the stress points.

Note - ( *) The surface area of the left and right hinge attachment area which faces onto the monitor lid could/should be larger.
This would alleviate the stress that the hinge attachment is placing on the posts on the monitor lid.

It would appear TO ME Dell has done a lot of work themselves on strengthening things. i.e. harden corporate bunkers, reducing lines of contact and alleviating there own stress. Bless them. They are good. Pity they don't focus some of that energy to strengthening the hinge mounts of the M11x.

 

What I found when the tech came and replaced mine was for some reason the hinges had bound up so tight, they caused the "screw bosses' to simply disintegrate. I suppose if the bosses were also metal, and anchored in metal, they would not have failed. But something in the hinge design allowed the hinges themselves to get so tight as to break their anchors. I was surprised at the pressure I had to apply to the hinges, themselves, in order to get them to move. I wondered if something as simple as lubrication could have prevented the breakage and tightness I witnessed?

 

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

To be fair it was a suggestion from one Dell employee. Nonetheless, that's still all we have "from Dell" on the subject of what options they're providing us.

I absolutely share this sentiment. I'm not going to be shocked if some of the DIY epoxy jobs that people have done also fail - at least in those cases where there was already some pre-existing damage to the bosses. Some of the ones we've seen posted here do look promising though. The hassle of ensuring that no dust gets into the interior does seem like a beating though...

I must have missed that post. Would be very interested in hear more detail on what their repair entailed.

Indeed.

 

I think for those that haven't had hinge mounting failure (yet) there must be a sweet spot between the resistance of the hinge swinging action, the screw alignment and torque of attachment within the mounting posts and etc.
How long the 'happy time' lasts is anyone's guess. Probably no longer than it did in the 1940s.

I'll probably never find that post again and I'm not sure it was even NBR. As I remember it was a Mexican crowd that did the repair on the mounting points. The OP was discouraged from divulging further information on the fix as the 'company' that did the fix said it was their 'trade secret'.

All very secret squirrel. Pity I can't remember where the post was. Two days later and I'd probably forget where my own nuts were...

 

I got my m11x R2 about two weeks ago, and I think there might be a hinge problem. So far no squeaking, but when opening and closing the lid, the right edge of the screen opens and closes without wobbling around, but the left edge 'flies' out a little. It appears the left hinge is a little wobbly.

I've got extended warranty on this so I'm not that worried, but I'd rather it not break period.

 

Opened my laptop today and I heard a CRACK.

*sigh. On the phone now.

EDIT: Alienware has the best support. Will report back in later on how the repair went.

 

Good news today! My screen arrived! The bad news: Dell sent me a 14.1 inch screen. And it's not even the entire screen, it's just the LCD panel.

 

14.1 inch for an M11x? Make it fit!

 

Duct tape it onto the new one!

 

My left hinge seems to be breaking it clicks every time i open up the laptop and it stick out more that usual. the other one is fine but will this problem get worse or should i be fine if i just stick with it. I know others have had problems with the hinges, the laptop is still under warranty ive only had it for about 5 months

any advice?

 

Yes ring Alienware and get a new screen.

 

I heard the replacement screens dont look as good as the original is, any truth to that?

 

Not true. If it were you would have heard people here stating such and that hasn't happened. Where did you hear that?

 

im pretty sure somebody posted it here in another thread if im not mistaken

am i going to have to send them my laptop because that sounds like a pain, what will happen if i just deal with it how bad could it possibly get?

 

Keep in mind, if you perform a 'Do it yourself fix' you are voiding your warranty. Something goes wrong, you are out of luck. Have Dell fix it on-site. Not sure why you would send it in as all systems have on-site repair for the 1st year (or length of the warranty purchased).

 

(866) 287-6727

Have your service tag ready.

 

i had a DIY fix on the hinge by having epoxy placed and i still complained to dell/alienware and they still replaced my whole LCD screen under warranty

 

I just had my m11x R1 since 18/11/2010 but I am a bit worried about my hinges..but it can also be that I am really sensitive about it becuz it is a known problem..

Right now the left hing moves a bit up but really really minimal and it makes a slight pop sound when it is opened..

edit: well nvm they are working perfectly fine

 

Possibly, because they often fix one thing but destroy the other? The main problem is, technically, it's not Dell fixing them on site, but a contractor. Even though I'm not really sure whether it would really change anything.

 

It's already broken. Call to have it replaced now. The sooner you get another LCD assembly the longer you have on your warranty should the second one fail as well.

 

Are u serious, if I show it to others they all say it looks very normal. The construction is just very weak but it doesn't look broken (yet)..

I have made some vids, maybe you can confirm if it is broken or it is going to be broken soon..sorry about the bad lighting. It does not make any cracking or popping sounds.

 

Guy came a day early, fixed it in 25 minutes, and was super nice. Thank you Dell/Alienware.

 

The hinge movement in that first video looks normal to me - there's very little offset movement as you rotate the lid.

EDIT: After looking at that first video again, YES, your hinges are broken without a doubt. That movement you see in the lid is not normal. Call to have it replaced.

I can't really see anything in the second video. However if you're hearing popping/cracking noises then your hinges are very likely horked and it's just a matter of time until the internals deteriorate to the point where you have obvious dislocation/separation. Squeaky noises on the other hand are not necessarily an indication of imminent hinge failure.

Based on what you stated about being able to push in the lid a bit in order to get rid of the popping sound makes me think you're witnessing the early stages of hinge failure. We've had owners who have reported doing this for more severely dislocated hinges in order to have the lid open and close properly for brief time, but it's not a fix by any means. See if you can work the hinges back to the point where you can determine if there's any clearer signs.

 

chalk me up for a repair, hinges went a few weeks ago, but it wasn't an issue until today, phoned alienware up, got a guy on the phone and arranged a repair in under 5 minutes

 

I would think they would have come up with a better solution by now considering the number of screens they probably have to replace.

So far mine is smooth, but it makes me nervous seeing all these.

 

Just so everyone understands, the popping or cracking issue is very simple.

The screen consists of 2 half's the back half which is screwed into the hinge and connected to the front cover. The front cover is not screwed into any part of the rear cover, and relies totally on little clips that secure the top, bottom and sides. When the hinge begins to fail this places stress on the front cover which tries to stay in position on the rear cover. As the screen is pushed or pulled up any hinge failing causes a twist on the base of the screen which pulls the front out of alignment.

The net result of this is the base connector (extreme LHS & RHS) on the bottom of the screen (small round bulge hiding the hinge) unhooks from the ear panel, this is the clicking sound you hear. Now most people simply click this back on and think it is a simple bit of cheap plastic popping out. In reality your hinge has already failed, and this popping will only get worse as the metal screws firmly attached to the failed steel nuts continue to work at the plastic supports destroying them.

Don't assume because it is a minor annoyance and that the screen remains upright that your hinge has not failed. There is very little stress on a non moving display and I would expect it to stay upright all day with stuffed hinges. If you have any cracking or popping noise and the rear gap opens up on the bottom of your screen then you already have broken hinges, if you have a warranty ring dell and get it replaced.

If you don't have a warranty then don't ignore the problem it will only get worse unless you intend to never close the lid. The repair is incredibly simple if the posts are in good condition, and even after the repair I suspect it will again fail as long as you don't ignore the issue and the posts are in good condition you can repair them many times.

So far my LHS has failed, I have no warranty I repaired then 2 weeks ago so it's early days. I was very careful only to re-bond the nuts into the posts, making sure there was no excessive adhesive being spread into the screw threads and allowed it to cure over the day before placing any stress on the joint. Currently all is quiet, the screen feels like it did when new but I do believe it will fail as the inherent design is flawed next time I suspect I will spend time engineering a better solution but right now it's OK.

 

I haven't disassembled mine yet (although I end up doing that with all my laptops eventually), as I'm basing this on photos I've seen. But isn't there a way to drill a hole and use a machine screw and nut to replace the existing crappy setup? It might not look finished underneath, but who cares, if you don't have to worry about it breaking, and I don't trust any type of adhesive bond. Superglue is great with two like materials together, because it can actually bond the two surfaces. But metal to plastic is just waiting to break again.

edit: after looking at the photos more closely, seems like you could just take some snips and cut off those screw bosses, and put a washer or make your own rectangular washer to fit undernath that metal bracket, replace the existing screws with a machine screw and run a nut underneath. Then you avoid interface to the plastic altogether and clamp metal to metal. Wish I could get ahold of a defective unit and toy around with it.

 

Srsly don't they have endurance tests at R&D like HP:
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You sir, are my personal hero for the day. Awesome video!

 

The problem is the posts being plastic and part of the rear display are the only things holding on the actual hinge. So once the post goes you have limited options on fixing the actual screw boss onto anything. Yes the metal bracket on either side is the logical solution and this should spread the load but it's a bit of fiddly work to weld the screw heads onto these. We may have to weld the entire hinge onto these two metal brackets, this should spread the load but right now having good posts will also help as it still provides support, even if you weld the hinge.

By the way great Video - maybe we should raise some funds for Alienware to allow them to buy one!!!!

 

Awesome find. What is Dell's email b/c I'm going to fill their inbox with this youtube link.

Dell = Fail

 

Great video, and it confirms my own experience: HP hinges are way stronger than Dell hinges. I recently got an Envy 14 as my home notebook, and the hinges (along with the entire build quality) are so much better than my R2.

I want to love this little powerhouse, but the hinges and overall poor build quality means the M11x will probably be my first and last Alienware computer.

 

sori double post

 

for a re run of my design suggestion of the hinge

first here is a visual of the hinge current hinge HOLDER design. the CULPRIT is the fragile plastic that holds the bolt where the metal hinge is being screwed. The question now: is the plastic casted on the bolt reliable to hold? The answer is really obvious and i hope they would ADMIT it. see the pics below:

hehehe

now some design proposal:







but i am really interested in DELL making the official statement in their stand regarding hinge solution

 

Yes, those are screw bosses holding threaded nut inserts, and it is a bad engineering design for anything holding a transitional load. Securing directly to that existing metal bracket makes a lot more sense. You can secure to plastic, but those bosses need to be much more robust. It looks like they are just pushed in place when they should actually be insert molded.

If you could find a good U-nut you could almost cut off those bosses and slip the u-nut around that magnesium part of the chassis (bracket) and secure to that, as long as you could get a good clamp load.

I pray mine doesn't die on me. If it does, I'll be sure to fix it myself, because I'm certain Dell's "fix" will only replace it with something with the same failure mode.

 

now here is the latest up to date statement from DELL People:

 

Well the real question is, will they fix new production units only or will they have a good fix for existing owners?

 

Most likely fix new ones only.

 

I thought it curious that my old inspiron 6400 had to get repaired twice for something quite similar to the m11x hinge issue. The plastic around the hinges on the left side snapped and caused the screen to be wobbly, and that looked mostly due to the plastic being quite thin.



Essentially they're trying to save a few $ by using less materials and causing major problems because the resulting product is clearly not durable enough.

 

What do you guys feel the chances are that they actually come up with a fix? A fix might entail a redesign of the LCD lid where the bosses are located, but seriously, what would the costs be for that? In my uninformed opinion I think it's much less expensive in the short and long term for them to keep replacing with the same part.

A fix might also entail some sort of field repair kit, which I would think would be easier and cheaper to develop and deploy than the scenario above. Having said that, I have my doubts that we're going to see this type of solution either unless the money equation makes that a clear choice for them.

I honestly believe that /if/ Dell does anything it's going to be a warranty extension for the hinge where defective LCD assemblies will continue to be replaced by the same parts. Is there any historical precedent for Dell or even other notebook OEMs actually engineering and deploying a fix/new part for something like this? I do know there's a truck load of precedence where companies have simply ignored the issue altogether.

 

All depends on the number of returns. I'm sure they have a calculated point where it'd be cheaper to issue a more significant fix than just replacing the LCD. It's too bad it's based solely on money and not on customer satisfaction.

 

You can absolutely count on it being all about cost analysis. That's just how the world works. And companies can't just say, "Ok, that's the 3,125th LCD assembly we've had to replace. Let's now deploy that fixed part we've already developed and had waiting in the wings since the money equation has now tipped the other way." IF a fixed part or repair kit is in the works I would think (my very uniformed opinion again) that they would have needed to have projected the cost/risk/reward factor months ago and gotten that ball rolling already. Maybe they have, but again I'd be shocked if that were the case. It's also possible that the costs involved are a lot less and their production pipeline a lot more efficient in handling this than I imagine.

 

actually the real fix and solution for now is the DIY epoxy bonding solution that we can see in the first page of this thread. thtat would be a very minimal cost solution but its really a messy one.

if dell would apply this bonding solution themselves for every hinge replacement, i can really say that this replacement would be a much reliable replacement if the bonding is done.

i am one of the example and many others who have gotten themselves the epoxybonding solution can attest to this fix. mine is already standing at 8 months old without any sign of breaking.


But for me, DELL doesnt yet feel the sting of customer complaints because they make it TOP PRIORITY in their REPLACEMENT list. That is why every time a m11x user complains for a replace, it is as swift as card reload.

But DELL would be really hard pressed if the warranty period for most of the m11x owners will expire and these customer get to deal the replacement cost, i can say, that would be the start of an uprising. but i hope we wont get that far.


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