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

I'm in UK, no fedex, no tech guy! lolz just glue at the moment

 

Unbelievable people are fixing this with glue, you should call support and tell them, even if it's out of warranty this is a terrible manufacturing issue that is well documented. It's like the Xbox 3 rings, they should fix it even if you go out of warranty, otherwise no one is going to keep buying this laptop.

There was only 2 other consoles competing with the Xbox, there's a thousand other laptops out there...

 

None are out of the default one year warranty, yet (too new).

However, I doubt dell will admit to the problem. Admitting to the problem with the dying optiplexs got them sued. They'll deny the issue, this time around.

 

As long as the repair warrenty lasts I'll use it, but the moment that they will no longer repair the computer for free I will use a mechanical fix of washers, molly bolts and screws and maybe a steel plate in the back.

This is just a thought, but if you put a plate under the hinge plate then screwed it down would that make the screen not touch the keyboard?

 

The center section between hinges though is a fixed height. Maybe you can shim but only if tolerances are screwed up enough to allow it.... so sure, probably would work! <bleh>

 

As long as the hinges are shimed up it does'nt matter about the center strip between the hinges that will stay the same hight. That's OK.

 

I wonder how many times they will replace my screen until I get a SEC screen?

 

Seven! lol

 

My original screen was an AUO, but I've had my screen replaced twice and both times it was an SEC screen. I'm waiting for a replacement machine now and am curious what screen I'll get (hoping for an SEC).

 

I can't believe they have to replace the whole screen just to change the hinges...

Haha, awesome design Alienware...

I have the worst luck with this laptop, today I saw a little tiny bug in the middle of my screen so naturally I pushed my finger against it to remove it.

Turns out because my hinges are broken, the little guy crawled into them and it was INSIDE the screen.

So now I got a splotch in the middle of my screen from the inside, that I can't remove. Hope that replacement arrives soon...

 

Otherwise the tech would need to open the screen and change the hinge system, replacing the screen itself in the process.

I don't think you understand the sheer volume of other things a Dell tech would break in that process.

Btw, rofl @ the bug!

 

This is ridiculous. That has been the second time that my hinge has broken. Going to try to get a refund but most likely won't get it. :|

 

You got your R1 in May, right?

 

May, Juneish. I'm on the phone with tech support and it looks like they will send a brand new m11x to swap out the old one!

 

Personally I hope that 11.6 MacBook Air rumors are true. While they are radically different notebooks, the screen quality is going to be far better, the LCD will be better, and unlike Dell, Apple doesn't ship their products with s___ty hinges. The next Air will make the m11x look cheap, for the same starting price

 

Make sure you and they are both clear on what "brand new" means. If that means not refurbished then get that in writing so that if you get it and find that it /is/ refurbished then you'll have something to fall back on. Normally refurbs should be ok, but there have been reports here of dented/damaged refurbished parts.

 

Good point, carefully inspect the screen when you get it. It's usually pretty easy to tell when it's brand new (mine was).

 

I'm wondering how it is possible for one to determine whether his or her M11x r2 is brand new? I'm having problem with hinges at the moment and sticking out palm rest on the right side and Dell might have to swap it with a "brand new one".

 

hinge problems will continue to hunt the users if dell would not address the issue soon. please come and put your name to the list.

 

I agree with your points, this is a "Design Error", once DELL admired it, they have to recall all M11x units!

I used glue&soldering and problem solved even if it breaks again can screw the hinge support to the back of LCD. The reason why I did not call tech-support is because a new replacement will not solve the problem as I said this is a design flaw. it will happen for most of the units sooner or later.

 

If an epoxy DIY job fails then you're left with a broken notebook and fixing it again yourself at that point potentially becomes very problematic. Let Dell keep throwing "new" LCD assemblies at the problem until the warranty runs out and /then/ start doing DIY fixes.

 

Not really, the way Dell replaces the entire assembly... they won't see any DIY fix. Worst comes to worst, just scrape it off...

 

I'm probably going to call again asking for more info as to what I'll be getting. Refurbished/new or m11x r1/r2. Pretty sure I'll just get the same setup.

 

I'm quite interested to see if this is true, or if it's just a shipment of faulty hinges. It would be what a big economic loss if all the machines turn out to be defective.

Only time will tell I suppose...

 

Also, I asked the tech if I would still be covered for hinge issues even after my warranty expired and he stated that I will and should just file a claim anytime it happens. The tech took care of my order and said it'll come in about two weeks. Very straightforward and painless process.

 

If I'm not mistaken that's the second report here of Dell representatives claiming that hinges would be covered outside of warranty. I really hope that ends up being the case. That would restore some of the angst I have against Dell as a brand and company.

On the other hand, if this is in fact Dell's policy then what's the upside of keeping it quiet?

 

That would imply (1) there is a problem and (2) they don't plan to produce a solution, neither portraying them in a good light.

 

I suppose it's possible that they see that as preferable to the building negative perception that some M11x owners have of their not doing the right thing. That's backwards thinking in my book.

 

They got sued over the exploding caps in their Optiplex slim series, a bit back.

Simply because they admitted they had an issue, and had documentation. While, it was an exteordinary set of circumstances*, Dell has learned their lesson



*poorly executed industrial espionage

 

It would appear that the supposed policy of fixing hinges outside of warranty is not true according to this. Chris may or may not be in the loop about such a policy. I guess we'll see how all of this plays out once early R1s start to run out of their standard 1 year warranty in a little less than 6 months.

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

 

Actually the way that Dell is handling the M11x hinge issue shows that to some extent they haven't learned anything. They're still more than willing to continue following the some of the same policies they did in that case. And yes, I do understand the point you were making as to the lesson that they /did/ learn.

The lawsuit (which was from 2007 btw) had more to do with demonstrating that Dell knew about the defective caps, continued to ship systems affected by it and then had actively tried to avoid responsibility for it in some cases. Warranty replacement of the failed motherboards were made with the same faulty part.

I think it's safe to say that the M11x's hinge failure rate isn't anywhere near as prevalent as the above case, but for the sake of argument let's say that it was? Do we feel like Dell would be stepping up to the plate in order to take care of this any better than they are now? I certainly don't. I think that as long as the scale of the hinge issue is perceived as being relatively small in scope, which it might very well be, they aren't going to feel compelled to do anything different. Ultimately that's why we'll never hear anything from Dell.

The fact they they're replacing a faulty part with the same faulty part rather than coming up with a permanent solution, shows that they aren't interested in standing behind their product. The scale of the issue shouldn't matter. The fact that this is obviously either a design flaw and materials defect should at the very least entitle customers to out of warranty coverage for the problem.

 

Asked for new screen. Because of hinge up. It will be my third screen.

 

DIY glue and soldering did wonders for my R1's hinges!

 

So you have m11x on warranty and still you opened your screen and worked there?

 

Doesn't void warranty. Since dell replaces the entire screen assembly - not just the hinges.

 

How you opened screen without damaging it? any guide with pics and video?

 

Hard to do so. On the R1, the screen "cover" (the glossy on top of the LCD) is part of the screen assembly itself (I'm not sure why....).


If anything, remove the entire assembly from your laptop, and start from the bottom (where the hinges are). Bump it up in the middle, to avoid breaking any parts.

I'd recommend NOT doing this until your laptop is broken... and out of warranty.

 

That's an extremely risky supposition to make. Technically it does in fact void the warranty. Yes the techs are going to remove the LCD assembly from the chassis and thus aren't likely to open up the lid. However, the damaged parts they take away are sent off for refurbishment at which point someone's probably going to take note of the epoxy glopped all over the hinges. I'm not willing to take the risk that it is discovered and later traced back to me with a bill from Dell to follow.

 

Yeah, I think you and I have had different stances on this for a long time...

 

Fair enough and that's fine for you or anyone else who wants to go ahead and do a DIY job on their system. I just think that telling people that there's no chance of their DIY hinge fix voiding their warranty and possibly creating a situation where they're stuck with a broken notebook should their DIY fix fail later isn't a great idea.

 

Unless if you were slathering on craploads of epoxy or superglue... the only amount should be inbetween the metal contacts. If it's visible bewond that, then something was being done wrong. I know somebody had pictures of epoxy drowning the entire assembly, but IMO, that's the wrong way to do it. The right was is just to bond the metal parts (screen assembly metal with hinge metal - unlike the current screen plastic to hinge metal!!) discretely together. The only wierd part might be a bit of gluelike material on the underside of the hinge contact (once taken apart), but that's it...

 

Everyone who has posted photos of their epoxy jobs has had enough to encase the plastic mounting points in order to provide support. It's the plastic that's breaking and no amount of metal-to-metal bonding is going to change that. In any case I suppose we're done hashing out this particular topic.

 

Not really. The only youtube video of the m11x hinge fix has a small amount of adhesive in the metal-metal contact point.

 

I can see what you're talking about:



Instead of trying to bond to the stock mounts, you're talking about bonding the hinge to the more substantial cast-metal block in the corner, which also has another bracket that runs up the sides of the LCD. Those side brackets would seem like they would now re-distribute the load, and remove it from the stock mounting points. That's just my guess from looking at pictures though.

Here's what the guy in the video did:

 

1. use a small screw driver and press it between the edges of front panel (you may feel it is going yo break but it will not) once it was loose, use force to separate the front panel from the main display frame.

2. Before soldering use E6000 (felixible glue) to repair broken parts. fill all screws with glue on both hinges. afterwards solder the metal part of the hinges support to the metal frame of display panel.

3. Use " Gorilla glue" to fill 2/3rd of the entire hinges place (cylinder shapes). you only have a few mins to close the front panel before that make sure there is no dust on display as once the glue dried you can not open it again! Gorilla glue increases its volume up-to 4x times and fill the entire hinges. make sure you open and close the lid 2 times in every hour for a-few hours to prevent lock-ups when glue fully dried.

I suggest if you know how to use industrial glues then go for it. You can practice before working on actual hinge.

Now my hinges are like ROCKS as Gorila glue filled the entire hinges surface and cylinder shape covers. Hinges and front panel are now one solid piece!

Do it at your own risk and sry for my broken English, good luck

 

Great instructions varnado.

 

This computer is the biggest pile of crap I have ever owned. I was on a trip and the hinges crapped out and the computer became unuseable. You get what you pay for, and the M11x is too good to be true, they cut major corners to get this type of spec for this price. Attached is a picture of what my hinges look like just from normal use. An E-machine is better than this turd.

 

do you guys leave a piece of microfibre cloth between the screen and the keyboard to prevent scratching up the screen?

 

Mine shipped with a white piece of cloth that I use. It's fairly thin.

 

To keep the screen with that "new look" all you have to do is keep your dell service 1800 number handy. Constant screen replacement will keep that puppy "looking new" for as long as your warrenty lasts.