M11x Hinge/Screen touching Keyboard Discussion (R1 & R2)

I feel the same way, other than the hinges, the machine is awesome. But damn hinges ruin it all.

 

I predict needing replacement before warranty is out (1 year). Cannot afford extended so Im being careful to prolong.

If lucky I'll need replacement before instead of after expiry. At that point if close to expiry I'll perform a little DIY. While under warranty with first screen I'll leave it alone.

How is the screen with loosened hinges? Floppy? Falls closed? My guess is the screw supports WERE ok with original setup but quality control tests showed the hinges loosening over time to an unacceptable level... so TIGHTEN 'EM UP! was probably the instructions/destructions

 

My adjusted hinges are loose enough to easily open/close with light pressure.. but tight enough so that I can close the screen 2/3 of the way without it falling shut.

 

hey i was wondering, i've had my laptop for about 7 weeks with no hinge issues. The right side is slightly raised more than the left side but I hear that is fairly normal. Whenever I hook up my laptop to my monitor and use the m11x keyboard I tilt the screen at a 45 degree angle from the palm rest so that I can I see my monitor completely. Does this stress the hinges? Should I avoid doing this?

 

the bottom half of the hinge looks distorted compared to the top half- i went to a dell store and also find that it also looks like that, is this universal?

 

@unreal25,

Go for it, once you overclock the GPU in Windows it's very decent! You have Proxima anyway for serious gaming... My only regret is not going with univac earlier which would have saved me lots of aggravation...

Now I just need to find someone who will buy my M11x...

 

wow, this really makes me 'not' want to get the m11x

 

Yes it is a hard decision to make since there's no information from Dell on the status of remediating what is causing the issue. All they are doing is replacing faulty LCD/Hinges assembly with new ones which may or may not be affected by the same problem...

Buyers beware...

 

I recently got the M11x and the screen is tight on the keyboard. Although the keybord is aligned under the palmrest if you view from that angle, and the screen is on the two pads that is on the side of the palmrest.

The hinges are tight, perhaps to tight, I can already now see movement on the hinges when I close the screen using left/righ side of it, closing the screen by handling it/pushing it down on the middle there is no movement.

The last few millimeters the screen/lid snaps into place. Compare to some dravers and small doors on cupboards.

Despite this I am pleased with how it is built and the stiffnes actually feels good. Yes I understand that it is a contributing factor to the hinge problem as it will provide tear to the plastics. Comparing to other laptops this lid is tight.

I'll wait and see what happens, and if so losen the screws for the hinges. What I will do is to contact Dell about the issue and see what they say.

 

The tightness of the hinges will likely lessen over the next few weeks. I wouldn't really be concerned about it at this point. Just keep monitoring it.

 

Well after spending most the afternoon being passed back and forth from tech to customer support about my second R2 arriving in a bad way.
I am now getting a 3rd unit!!. A couple of things I did learn today that were new to me but perhaps people here did know are,

1. The manufacturing plant is a third party to Dell and Alienware and they build laptops/desktops etc from all different companies not just Dell. Not so personal as I thought. Here I was thinking I was buying an Alienware constructed by Alienware engineers, maybe I was just naive or plain silly?!

2. They will be honouring hinge issues outside of warranty like they did on the M15x. I didnt know if they did or didnt as I am new to Alienware I am asking for this in writing even if my 3rd unit turns up in perfect condition.

3.Managers of any kind will not speak to you directly. This seems obsurd that they get to hide behind regular staff.
Any jobs going??

I have been assured manufacturing will properly check my unit to make sure its 100% A ok this time around. I am not sure I believe them. This whole affair has made me a bit of a cynic now

fingers crossed for 3rd time lucky

 

Interesting news regarding hinge failures being covered outside of warranty. And you say that this was supposedly done for the M15x? I'd be interested in finding out to what extent this is really true. I paid for a 1 year accidental warranty at the time of purchase - I /should/ have gone with 2 since my company is reimbursing me for 80% of the cost of my purchase up to $1500.

Guess I'll see if I can find any M15x owners who can verify whether or not this supposed policy is real or not. If it is, then I can think of a number of people who have either passed on the M11x or sold theirs due to the hinge issue and our not hearing much of anything from Dell about it being properly fixed or handled as a manufacturing/design defect.

Like you, I'm not sure I'd put much faith in anyone at the factory or build facility doing any sort of special inspection of your new replacement. It should already be going through a relatively rigorous check /anyway/. At least you'd like to think so...

Good luck on number 3. Let us know how it goes and thanks for the update.

 

^ That's awesome they plan to fix it after the warranty expires. Did you happen to get that in email/writing or anything like that? I ask because I'd love to get that in writing myself if true, since it seems like knowledge varies between reps, so I bet it'll be a huge PITA trying to get it fixed with an expired warranty.

 

I have the guys name, Peter and I know he is based in Slovakia which is where the tech support is for the UK.
He said the hinge isn't as widespread a problem as I was implying it was although he admited it was a problem and in his words "like the m15 before we will fix out of warranty".
I am going to be asking for confirmation in writing.
I will post here as and when I receive it.

Also they wouldnt budge when I asked for a free warranty upgrade. Hit a stone wall dead with that.

 

Thanks for the explanation, and thanks for posting the document when it comes.

 

Until Dell comes out with an official announcement on the hinge issue good luck getting anything in writing. This guy would most likely loose his job if he did provide you with something in writing at this time.

We've even seen a Dell rep remove his post from the Dell forums where he had announced the hinge issue had been resolved. His subsequent comments recommended people keep their M11x covered under warranty.

The resident dell rep has not posted in this thread in 1.5 month even though we now have over 600 posts and 29k views...

I would not bet a penny on Dell fixing anything after your warranty is expired unless they have publicly said they will like with the NVIDIA 8600M 2 years ago.

I would also caution potential buyers here, nothing regarding the hinge issue has been announced/acknowledged by Dell so far. Dell will fix your hinges while under warranty. Since we do not know if the root cause for hinge failure has been corrected it is possible the same issue will re-occur after the screen has been replaced.

 

Is this problem still exist in new M11x?

 

Yes, but not all of them obviously.

 

This thread really needs to be sticky'd for a while so potential buyers are made aware of the hinge issue...

 

+1 for sticky

 

I wonder if erawneila (Brain) would care to have a bit of a dig around on this subject and see if there is any factual information regarding hinge warranty.
I'm sure he would only contribute if he had officially supported Dell/Alienware information.

The reason I ask, is that I'm getting a few emails from people in NZ asking about warranty satisfaction in New Zealand and at this time I can't comment on it.

Now if the 'hinge issue' (even if not as wide spread as we think) could be repaired even outside of warranty then this would go a long way to boosting Dell/Alienware customers confidence.

On the hinge thing, I had myself a little coffee moment and had to remove the keyboard to clean/dry it out. Just a small splash, but better to be safe than having sticky keys in the future.

Cause I could now see part of the hinge mount, I noted somebody had gotten a bit artistic on it. Now this could be no more than quality control testing with nothing to do with the hinges/monitor themselves but it did catch my eye.

Note on the left side of the hinge mount is a black angled tip pen mark and on the right side is a red star.

My M11xR1 has WiFi, but no WWAN if it pertains to in screen antennas and it's an AUO105C monitor.

Just thought I'd share as don't remember anybody mentioning markings on their hinges.

 

^Mine are marked also. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

Mine is marked as well.

 

OK then I'll be the muppet that theorises on the introduction of the LG monitor.
Seemed odd a Dell rep (who I believe knows his stuff) would allude to a date at the end of June and indicate the hinge issues had been addressed.
Now we see LG monitors as potential replacements.
Is there something different about the hinge assembly of the LG monitors?
Just a thought.
If monitors are now replaced with 'modified' monitors upon failure then Dell is fixing the issue by stealth. No bad thing.
Then there is just the out of warranty conundrum.

[Hope I'm not just opening a whole can of worms]

Update - This is just a thought!!!! And maybe not even a good one.
Nothing in this comment is based on any screed of evidence. It's pure speculation.
I wouldn't go running around saying an LG panel in a monitor addresses any known hinge issue. Best just one person looks a bit stupid, you don't want to join them.

 

The panels /should be/ wholly independent, structurally speaking, from the LCD assembly and more specifically the hinge mounts. In other words, I would think that any changes made to improve the situation with the plastic mounting points in the LCD assembly could just as easily have an AUO, Samsung or LG.

 

Also, let's say that something was done by Dell at the end of June to "fix" the problem. I would assume that this fix might very well not show up in units that were shipped immediately following that time frame. Whatever new components involved in the fix, let's go with the the LCD assembly for argument's sake, would have changes made at the factory in China. Those parts then go in /behind/ whatever non-fixed parts were already in the supply channels which would likely continue to be used in new builds. This makes sense from Dell's point of view as the number of hinge failure incidents are probably statistically pretty low and removing the "defective" components would, I think, sharply cut into the profitability of the M11x.

That's all 100% supposition and a lot of assuming there, but that's how I'd imagine a "fix" being deployed in the real world.

 

XPS1530 - heating issue

M11x - Hinge issue.

I guess as long as the CPU/GPU/etc is okay (no issue same as XPS1530) and M11x performance is great - who cares of hinge problem

 

Because once hinge breaks and lcd loses its support from the base, you'll be holding your lcd with one hand and gaming with your other hand

 

Kidding aside, somebody from this forum already reported that their hinge break and LCD loose its support? Sorry for not reading from page 1 and so.

 

off topic: how should i know if mine is R2?

anybody have R2 with this same problem?

 

Oh believe me, they haven't fixed it with the R2 yet. You have an R2 if you own an M11x with a core i5 or a core i7.
While I myself haven't run into hinge issues yet, quite a few people have reported hinge issues with their R2s.
Though rumors have been going around that Dell might be using LG screens (was samsung screens) as replacement screens. The rumor goes that somehow, this LG replacement screen might actually fix the hinge issue. But of course, this is just a rumor....don't get your hopes up.

 

The chances that an LG panel having anything to do with a fix for the hinge issues is pretty much zero IMO.

 

Absolutly! The 2 are independent of each other. Dell will uses LCD panels from multiple sources and usually you get what was available to the factory when your order was processed.

 

there is something we can do to prevent this hinge problem?

 

Batboy can you go ahead and move my posts here please. If you would. From my post what can I do? http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m11x/511185-what-can-i-do.html

 

The mention of the LG monitors gives me pause. Still as others have pointed out, the LCD panel shouldn't make a difference in the hinge issue unless there is a large difference in the weight of the panel.
I went ahead with the extended warranty because of past issues with an Area51 m17X. Those warranties are ridiculously priced, but it seems that all companies are charging almost the same amount for different types of warranties. Still it would be nice to know that this design defect will be covered regardless of warranty status.
With the start of school, my M11X R2 is travelling with me. Thus far it has been completely closed 4 times. That number is about to change exponentially. I have all the visual clues of problems to manifest with use; extremely tight mvmt, uneven distance between screen and base on left and right. Plus I have the keys touching the LCD which could lead to scratches (trying to prevent with protective cloth).
I would have hoped to hear from a Dell rep in this thread by now. Oh well I'll keep checking back.

 

Tightness in the hinge is very likely going to lessen over time as it breaks in. I think I can recall that mine was once tighter than it is now.

 

I hope that Dell/Alienware has not abandoned us yet....
---
Now say (Theoretically speaking of course) they were to release a "M11x R2.1" which basically was the exact same as an M11x R2, only with a redesigned chassis that fixed the hinge. Do you think we could demand that they send a replacement for our M11x R2's?

 

All the signs point to a quasi total abandonment from Dell. They replace the faulty hardware with more faulty hardware, that's the only conclusion to be drawn from comments by a Dell Rep about keeping the M11x under warranty coverage... I sure would be happy to be proven wrong on this one though.

The problem is not with the chassis, it's with the LCD panel having weak plastic encasing metal nuts where the hinges are screwed in. I'm 99% positive the panels are interchangeable between the R1 and R2. A fix to the LCD panel hinge retention system would be most likely deployable to both version of the M11x.


I'm repeating myself here...

If they did announce a fix they would be swamped with exchange requests which are costly. In addition many people would not purchase an extended warranty as it is quite expensive and with the hinges issue resolved it becomes less necessary. The only incentive for them to proceed this way would be on the company reputation side which this kind of action usually help improve.

If they don't announce a fix but put it in place then we have the situation where they only replace broken screens. M11x owners who intend on keeping their system in working order are buying extended warranty even though they may not need them. Dell minimizes replacement costs and maximizes revenues from extended warranties have typically a huge profit margin.

I would not expect Dell to announce any fix to the hinge problem unless the story breaks into the news media. A few articles on the M11x being plagued by faulty hinges could be what's needed for Dell to actually address the issue and provide customers with a fix.

Having this thread sticky'd would also help, the issue is serious enough to warrant this.

 

Why are you selling your M11x and then tagging it in your signature as having self-destructing hinges?

 

Because it's just a matter of time before the hinges self destruct... They are fine right now but that's because the lid has not been closed more that a dozen time since I bought. I have no doubt the next owner will end up dealing with Dell, I just have no appetite myself for further self inflicted pain from calling Dell so the system must go.

 

lucky me my keyboard doesn't touch the screen, even with a screen protector on it

 

While this means your screen won't get scratched your hinges may still fall apart...

 

My screen is fixed
YouTube - M11x hinge fixed

i got lcd replacement + hinge cover replacement cause these were scratched

 

OK, my turn now, after about 6 months of trouble free, my left hinge cracked and broken the day before yesterday, called Dell yesterday and the screen changed today. Now I have a samsung panel.
The service is quite good. But after viewing all these posts, I'm worrying about what to do when the garantee goes out

 

Unless they changed the hinge connection design on the plastic panel..or the type of plastic they use, it's inevitable that you'll get the same issues depending on how often you open/close our m11x lid. Unless you leave it always open, no stress will be applied over time so no cracks will develop.

Best prevention is to loosen up the hinge while yours is still in good shape.

 

Well, the Dell/Alienware rep is posting in other threads in this very same forum, so I know he's at least reading this. Hellooooooooo?

 

Guys, really, give it a rest. He's very likely not permitted to comment on the matter beyond what he already has.

 

On the contrary, if we give it a rest then it looks like it's becoming non issue. By keeping there's hope the Dell Rep is informing his superiors the issue is not disappearing...

The bottom line is they shipped a product with a poorly designed hinge system and should be held accountable for it.

Honestly I for one do not care what he can or cannot say or do. The fact he's not saying anything looks bad for Dell.

 

Ok, have at. Rage at him all you like.

EDIT: Our collecting the instances of hinge failure and exploring the why, how, etc. is what keeps this issue front page. The silly requests for him to make some public announcement here, which isn't going to happen, doesn't serve any purpose.