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

For my notes, please send me via private message your M11x service tag number.

 

Thought I was one of the lucky ones escaping this issue... but unfortunately not!

I have my R1 about six months and over the last couple of weeks the left hinge has lost it's strength and has begun to crack/creak while opening. When lid is closed it sits 3/4mm higher off the base than the right side. It can be rectified by gently pressing down on the hinge to level it out, only to return to this position after an open/close of the laptop.

I'm away at the moment but will report issue to Dell in a couple of weeks to have hinge(s) replaced. The only thing I'm a bit concerned about is that I can't see any reason why it won't happen again with the replaced hinges... except the next time my M11x will probably be out of warranty.

 

Yes, this descriptions fits exactly what happened to me. Maybe the new screen is different... plus after replacement we might try loosing them up a little as others suggested.

 

When you say "for your notes," what do you mean? Are you guys looking into the issue or is this something Dell and Alienware are going to take care of?

 

Good question.

 

I orderd mine from Dell australia on Monday, and the EDD is 10/09/10. Lucky u, I found this thread after I ordered mine. What spec u get and how much u paid for it? Mine is i7 8G DDR RAM 500G 7200HDD and I also bought the Alienware aw2210 monitor. I paid $2040 AUD in total. What about u?

If the hinge problem do happen to me, can we get a refund from Dell AU?

 

No refund for the hinge problem. Buyer beware.

 

I am confident that Dell and Alienware will stand behind this issue and fix it for everyone.

 

See Chris's answer to that question here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m11x/502633-fixing-m11x-weak-hinge-creaking-cracking-problem-screen-opened-15.html#post6633615

 

What I understand is that, so far, there is no fix, but the good news is that dell/alienware is well aware of the problem and is investigating. It would be good to know more details, for example, the percentage of reported problems in relation to total units sold until today, or if the problems seem to be related to a specific bunch of manufactured units or are widespread among all manufactured units. Anyway, at certain point in the (near) future, dell/alienware should make clear ( and public) the result of its internal investigation and eventual solutions. This would bring more respect to the brand. The problem is not the existence of an issue per se, but the uncertainty of this issue, which makes the reputation of dell/alienware also uncertain. We, consumers, don't need more uncertainty when buying a product way more complex than lettuces.

 

I would hope that they at the very least, reduce the torque applied to the hinge bolts as suggested. It would be nice to know if this is being implemented so when I get my shipment in a couple of weeks, I can have at least some peace of mind.

 

Would a tension adjustment:
a: fix it (prevention)
b: void warranty

?

 

a: jonkjonk has proposed that it might. He's the one who was able to keep his defective LCD assembly after it was replaced. Whether or not over-tightening is really a factor in the occurrence of hinge failures is something we just can't verify easily.

b: I seriously doubt it unless other damage occurs during the process of doing so.

 

His answer is that they're investigating.

 

This is takeing so long due to focus groups and bipartisan committies? Or maybe singing a Brittney Spears song while looking at the returned units?

 

I have a m11x R2 on order and was reading these forum about this issue. I called Alienware support to see if the issue has been resolved and they told me that it has been resolved as they have changed retailers of the faulty plastic.

To add, they said that the issue is known and that they switched retailers in opt for a stronger more durable material this month. Puts my mind at ease a bit, but we will see.

 

REALLY?
Can anyone else conform this?
And if so, will Alienware take care of the people who have already bought a fault M11x?

 

i just called them 10 mins ago. if i'm dropping 1500 bucks on it, i'm gonna research the matter and make some calls.

but ya, they said "the plastic" was very "weak" and they basically dropped the parts manufacturer of the plastic and went with another which produce a more stronger product. the rep said that the new sturdy material was introduced into production this month and will be standard for the R2

 

dell rep want to confirm?

 

hmm i ordered my m11x beginning of this month, i wonder if they just use up their 'old' stock of hinge 1st or if this was universal at all their factories

 

We did have one owner report that his replacement LCD assembly was noticeably heavier than the damaged one. That could very well be attributable to a different plastic being used now. I guess we'll see.

Anyone who is currently waiting for a replacement, please weigh their laptop before and after.

 

just to make sure, i called alienware tech support again with a different rep and was told that issue is known and resolved. plastic material has been replaced with a more heavy duty specs. rep also indicated that these new specs are standard in production of the R2 and in all replacement LCDs this month. so if you do get a lemon hinge, call them and they will replace it with the heavier more superior stuff.

like i said, puts my mind at ease

make sure they give you the superior stuff too, make it clear of what you want.

 

Well if this is true, this is wonderful!
I will have to call Alienware myself.

 

I ordered mine from Dell Australia on the 23rd of this month, I just tracked the status, and the manufacture has completed and the EDD is Sep 3rd. Hopefully I'll get the new hinge. Does anyone knows how to found out if the hinge is new or not, what is the difference?

 

We at the moment have no clue...the only thing that we can think of is weight, as the newer hinges will be slightly heavier then the weaker ones.

 

Technically the hinge components themselves haven't ever been the weak point. It's possible that additional changes or modifications to the metal hinge components have been made. However it would make a whole lot more sense that the plastic used for the lid, and more specifically the mount points, has been replaced with something more durable and perhaps more dense/heavy. The issue has always been about the plastic being too brittle to withstand what amounts to some fairly average hinge tension.

At this point all of that is wishful supposition based upon a few scraps of inconclusive evidence and hearsay from a couple of Dell support or sales reps. We need to see additional evidence from those who are having theirs replaced now or in the past couple of weeks. The owner, CaptainMorgan, who reported a heavier laptop after his LCD assembly was replaced reported that on the 7th of this month.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m11x/493140-m11x-hinge-screen-touching-keyboard-discussion-r1-r2-52.html#post6567931

 

seems strange that the phone reps can talk about a fix but the forum reps can't...not that it isn't awesome if it's fixed

 

Yeah, I would think that they'd be the last to know. Well, besides us.

 

Possibly the reps haven't been informed yet...?

 

One of them we know has weekly AW meetings which include the AW brand manager and the other one is QA [lead/dude/guy/guru?] for the M11xR2, M15x and M17xR2. They know.

 

Hmmm, ordered mine July 29th and my m11x R2 was shipped out August 12th, wondering if I got the newer assembly on mine or not.

Well, at least it looks like Alienware may have rectified the issue, although I would be curious to find out when they began using the newer assemblies (really hope I got one).

 

I had purchased my M11X from Best Buy a few months ago, and I am noticing my left hinge is faulty, almost to the point of breaking now. I was told I was covered by the 1 Year MFG warranty, so I should be OK with getting it fixed through Dell correct?

And how long does the process take to get it sent in and fixed?

 

I'm getting mine in about 2 weeks. So hopefully it will Have the gooood hinges and to that guy from aus I'm buying it from the U.S and it's 1300 usd Inc shipping for i7, 320gb hdd, 4gb ram

 

@sailboat yea you should be covered if you have any problems contact chris the Dell rep and he'll help you out.

 

my order was placed on 2/8/2010, the "item number" on the invoice was 230-11533, am I able to tell if this is the new hinges?

 

You should ask the rep.

 

my m11x r2 shipped out today, arrives on monday, so i will let ya guys know if the upgrade material was included.

 

I'll be surprised if you're able to tell whether or not there's a difference in the LCD assembly without something else to compare it to. If you're game for doing a fairly easy teardown then that might provide some insight. Also weighing it wouldn't hurt so that we can see if this is really a determining characteristic or not.

 

I had:

1 LCD Back Cover : Soft Touch – Stealth Black (No WWAN) 320-11381

(1 Display : 11.6in WideHD 1366x768 (720p) LCD 230-11341 )

The article 320-11381 was found on a document date 22nd July, so the part is at least that old.
If yours is newer, I can't tell, do you have with WWAN?

Also perhaps your item number is referring to the LCD screen, when you get yours check if what type of LCD-screen you got.

 

Hmm... I ordered mine on 06/09, so this was one of the earliest R2s.

-- System Color --
-- Alienware M11x, Soft Touch Stealth Black
-- [224-8847]

-- LCD --
-- 11.6-inch WideHD 1366x768 (720p) WLED
-- [320-1467]

My panel is the AUO105C and I don't have the WWAN option.

 

My numbers are the same as slickie's, and my panel is the SEC (Samsung) one without WWAN, so we can see at least that it is not dependent on brand. I ordered on 6/12.

Wasn't it the 20-something of July when the forum reps first said it was fixed? If so, that "The article 320-11381 was found on a document date 22nd July" correlates.

 

lol... I was doing a search on items id's, at which point I got to "320-1467" and behold your post showed up mere minute before I posted this.

I'm still looking but I have not found pck83's number on any invoice on this forums. I'm looking to see if there is any difference from invoices posted at your orderdate and later.

Thsi three invoices are about 1 month apart, but they hold the same Item Id. fopr the two things I cared to compare, "320-1467
11.6-inch WideHD 1366x768 (720p)" WLED and "430-3773 No Internal WWAN Antenna Installed"

(As for my numbers, perhasp dell is using different Item Id's in US and EU. As I'm confused to not being able to find any of those Item Id's I had in this forum.)

It is also intruiging that a search do not come up with "230-11533" except for pck83's post.
If it means something perhaps.

06-10-2010
http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...iscussion-thread-part-2-a-38.html#post6339725

07-17-2010
http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...scussion-thread-part-2-a-126.html#post6483437

08-23-2010
http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...scussion-thread-part-2-a-183.html#post6627677

 

Well that sucks. I was hoping it would be an easy way for those of us who might end up needing a replacement to have something to reference specific to a given panel. Panel lotto is for the birds...

 

Ok, so my m11xR2 hinges have started creaking whenever I open or close the lid, and I also noticed that my hinges are uneven. Can anyone confirm if the issue has really been fixed with the newer m11xR2's, and if DELL will replace the screens with the newer hinge materials for us folks who purchased the m11xR2s before the fix?

DO we have to send DELLChrisM a PM to get the fix? Are we guranteed that the tech who comes to replace the hinge parts will be bringing the newer stronger parts?

 

I bought my R2 in the US but am back in the middle east now where I live. If I encounter any problems with the hinges would I be able to have my screen replaced in Canada? I may be going there later this year. Do they have in home technical support over there? I have the basic 1 year warranty..

 

Call Dell and ask.

 

Oh really? How about it, they said the same thing in June/July.

I'm waiting to order another M11x but I just don't buy that.

 

I don't trust phone reps, I've known them to make stuff up just to get a sale, so... there's that.

Forum reps probably don't want to post because "anything you say can and will be used against you".

 

Anyone with the R2 have this issue? I don't.....for now....thank god...and I hope I never have it.

 

Yeah I don't trust phone reps...