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

I don't know what or if anything is wrong with my hinges. There's definite movement on my right hinge when I open and close the lid but it's hard to tell if the hinge integrity is deteriorating.. I think it might have always been like that - since day 1. Left hinge is making a distinctive creak but only when the lid is moved across a very small arc, otherwise it's silent. Both hinges show absolutely no sign of breaking apart from the back. Mabye i'm just getting paranoid but after 8 months of ownership I can't help but feel anxious.

 

Just reporting in; four months and still going solid. No noise on moving the lid. I've also been putting in the sheet that came with the laptop between the lid and the keyboard and it seems to cut down on oil left on the screen from my hands.

 

I hear what you're saying. Eight(8) months in and I'm just making up sounds to scare myself. Still haven't noted any problem as visually the casing hasn't separated and there's no sound when opening/closing the lid. As Bendak mentioned, I too get a small squeak when I ease the lid slightly forward or back a few millimetres, but no sound when I open and close the lid fully.

People on their second or third replacement monitor or breakages within months of ownership. The Bell curve predicts there is going to be at least one person who will not have a hinge related problem for the life of their notebook.

Guess I'll have to consider whether to extend the warranty or not. I'm erring on the side of not.
My thoughts [These are my thoughts and are not based on any facts or information anywhere and have no bearing on what Dell may or may not do in the future] are that the first information we'll hear from Dell regarding hinge fixes/warranty is when someone out of warranty reports that Dell will not replace the monitor lid without them paying for it.
Any other support Dell provides outside of warranty indicates Dell formally recognises the hinge as an issue. This would then open the floodgates to all sorts of activity and I'm sure Dell would NOT want that.

I guess we assume the worst, but hope for the best.

BUT hay, happy thoughts. My hinges are still OK and may never break.

Today girls and boys, we're going to spell "Polymer degradation".
Can you spell "Polymer degradation" girls and boys?

It's sort of like the word "stress", which is what mummy gets and then she has to take two bottles of medicine to fix.

But we're going to use epoxy instead, girls and boys, but we can't drink it. no. We don't drink epoxy do we girls and boys. Noo..

 

I understand that some hinges are more equal than others but i'd rather mine break sooner rather than later due to the uncertainty surrounding out of warrenty units. I'm annoyed that Dell still haven't made an official statement ragarding this issue. I hope that they'll follow Microsoft's example and offer a 2 year warrenty extension to all customers.

 

Does Futureshop or bestbuys product warranty for 3 years cover the hinges problem?

 

Yes. Broken hinges would be covered

But all they do is ship the unit back to Alienware. That is why warranties from retail shops are always a rip off. Your unit takes 2-4 weeks to get repaired. Meanwhile, you paid as much for a Best Buy warranty as you would have if you got the next-day onsite repair plan w/accidental damage coverage from Dell.

 

It sounds like 'yo hinges gonna snap soon, really. Mines started off like you described, now the entire screen back panel (!) cracks open. ha. Calling Dell support sunday/monday.

 

Yes, that is a possibility. The problem is that I'm almost certain that my hinges came in this condition out of the box. They've always creaked and the right hinge has always looked misaligned at the back. My right hinge looks reminiscent of the one in this video YouTube - Weird hinge movement on m11x but with around 40% less play- Is that normal? It's definitely more loose than my left hinge, but doesn't make a creaking sound.

 

Mines didn't creak at first, but my left hinge was always a bit misaligned. I guess it just kept on getting worse over time, and I've made sure to treat the laptop well during both transport and use. I've got dust and all on the inside of the screen cover now - can't wait for a screen replacement.

EDIT: That video is _definitively_ a dying hinge.

EDIT+: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sfh1bYssmtc Just taped a vid of my own hinge problem. It's pretty awful, you can hear the creaking noise. ;_;

Pics: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10096339/IMAG0045.jpg http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10096339/IMAG0046.jpg http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10096339/IMAG0047.jpg

EDIT++: De-imgtagged the pictures because of MASSIVE SCREEN TEARING. soz.

 

Just ordered one hope I am one of the lucky ones! Feels like a lottery with this hinge crap.

 

Wait, isn't it if you order one from dell that is brand new and customize, they will assemble it in a place, why not give alienware a call or leave a note and make sure before they send it out to check the hinges right?

I mean it don't make sense them assembling your m11x then shipping it to you without checking the hinges

 

You know you are talking about dell right? Good luck getting India to do anything like this they don't even know how to look up a order #. They have the absolute worst customer service of any company I have ever dealt with in fact I get a headache when I call them and end up cursing someone out.

 

The people you call are not in the same place that assemble the units.

 

Plus hinges degrade over time. Even perfect hinges can break over a relatively short time period - it would be impossible for QA to ship only good units.

@Plectophera: Yeah, that particular hinge did die a few weeks after the video was taken. How wobbly were your hinges before the seams split? was it similar to the unit in the video?

 

When I first got the unit there was a little wobble present, and it worsened over time until it got like the one in the video. When it got slightly worse than the hinge in the video (at least 20-30% more slack) it all happened quite fast. First miniscule cracks and screen cover bulging, then it opened properly and the screen chassis began getting damage and now it's like I showed in the video. Ugh.

 

That recording of yours is horrifying, I really don't want my M11x to end up like that . Ah well, guess i'll just have to wait and see.. will post soon if things rapidly deteriorate.

 

I am wondering why Dell insists on not fixing this problem and replacing thousands of LCDs every month? They would be much better off getting the design flaw fixed. I guess they have a monkey running the show in that department.

 

Oh man, those hinges have weeks to live, you should call Dell right now!

 

After I had my hinges replaced about 2 months ago, I noticed the LCD panel he replaced had 1 single stuck pixel. I tried to cope and at this point I can't take it anymore it's right near the center and while i'm watching a movie a bright green dot makes me want to tear out my eyes.

Called dell support... apparently I need to have 3 stuck or dead pixels before they will replace my lcd.

So heres hoping my hinges break again.

 

I went on Dell.com and chatted with an alienware person, they said that they had the hinges fixed.

"They replaced with a more durable hinges"

Not perfect english, but i guess they finally decided to do something.

 

That's not the first time that owners have been told that and in every single case it's been proven to be untrue.

 

Everyone has spoken to a "rep" who doesn't really know anything. Until we get an official statement, it's just a guy on the call center trying to get rid of you, or trying to get you to buy something.

 

for those with the AUO screen when replaced under warranty with a LG or Samsung screen did you notice a difference in brightness?

 

Curious about tension...

If I open laptop with one hand the unit is heavy enough to stay on desk as I lift screen. If tension is too high I suspect the front edge to lift slightly. So far hinges are not broken. What are the experiences of others?

 

Mine used to be on that threshold of being just tight enough to want to lift the bottom as I opened the lid. I can't recall how long it took to stop dong that.

I can tell you that it still feels tighter than it ought to be. Especially compared to my 1 year old MacBook Pro. The MBP's lid glides through the full arc as it's opened and stays put without any wiggle or play, whereas the M11x has a lot more resistance. Heck, the hinge on the 13" MB Air I just bought my girlfriend for her birthday is so much better than my R2.

My M11x lid tends to wobble a bit (while maintaining its position) due to the rubber components used in the hinge. That aspect of the hinge has always bothered me as it detracts from the otherwise solid feel of the thing.

 

Same, the tension feels just about right. Hinges haven't failed after 8 months, though the right hinge is showing slight movement when opening and closing the lid.

 

I noticed that folk are implying that Dell have said they are covering hinge-failure outside of the one-year warranty - is that written down by them anywhere?

Thanks,

Voi

 

It's not written, nor is there any guarantee they will do it.

 

The speculation is that it's the most equitable and fair way to handle the problem for their customers, but that's all it is at this point. However, if they were going to in fact adopt such as policy then I'm having a difficult time understanding why it would take them this long to do so. It's entirely possible that they come up with some other solution or even nothing at all. There's no real pressure on them to speak of. The M11x appears to be selling relatively well (supposition on my part) and no one in the "media" is calling them out on it. The brand or their bottom line isn't suffering outside of a minute number of owners who are interested in the issue or have been directly impacted by it. They certainly aren't going to talk about it publicly while the largest sales season of the year is underway.

There were a few people here making noise about raising the issue with as many public media outlets as possible in order to force Dell to do something about it beyond recommending that we all pony up for extended warranties. At that point one of the super-mods here contacted someone at Dell to let them know that there was a growing concern amongst M11x owners here. However Dell was /already/ very aware of the concerns voiced here. But they did acknowledge it for the first time in a low-key yet public way. That acknowledgment amounted to, "Yes, we know hinge failures are occurring for some owners and we are taking the necessary steps to look at the issue. We'll let you know when there's anything new to pass along."

Early R1s now have less than 90 days left on their standard 1 year warranties and that's when things are going to get extremely interesting.

 

Indeed it will really get interesting to see how this design flaw will be covered out of warranty period. This will really determine how Dell wants to handle the issue.
Hopefully they'll do like Micro$oft when their Xbox were going RROD, covering the problem for free even outside of warranty period...

(side note, for now my hinges are holding with no signs of change since 4 months)

 

So I got my new alienware m11x r1 from dell yesterday. I opened up and the first thing I check was the hinges. The space between the screen and the actual body of the laptop was kinda bigger that the other side (right side).
Is that normal....or should I call dell to complain about it....

 

The hinges have been "fixed" with a more clever reply whenever potential buyers ask if the problem has been fixed.

Still the same old hinge until you hear the tearfull confession from the cheif Alienware CEO on the latenight breaking news.

 

I can't really say much from the picture. It looks ok to me.

 

I got a new replacement M11x back in October, and the plastic covers on the hinges have been making a creaking sound ever since I got it, and it's been getting a little worse over time. The sound doesn’t happen when the lid is being opened, it only happens after it is opened and if something causes the screen to wobble. For example, if I move it from one desk to another while the screen is open I can hear the creaking sound, and I also hear it if I move the screen back and forth slightly while it’s open. There is some play with the plastic hinge covers, and with the lid closed I can move them up and down slightly, which causes the sound.

Is this sound what everyone is referring to when describing a “clicking sound”? Or is it just another poor build quality issue? I ask because my original machine had no creaking hinges and the build quality felt great, it was just the LCD that was the problem, so I’m wondering if this is a sign my hinges will break.

 

I suggest you ask for another new replacement or repair as soon as possible before your m11x ends up breaking in front of your friends with a loud plastic breaking *CRACK*. I've been using mine for two months now without any clicking sound but I have problems with hearing faint high pitched noise from the fan. Hopefully I will be able to locate the source of that sound.

 

hey unreal25...yep im sorry about the pic but I just found out that the left hinge is way different from my right hinge.....I'm talking about the design....it seem that the left hinge is bigger than the right one....and from the back looks like there is something like a thermal cover....well...this is my first m11x so I don't know if this is normal...

 

I've been thinking about that, but I spent so much time on the phone to Dell, dealing with terrible techs, and waiting for a machine that actually worked that I don't really feel like going through the process all over again. This replacement is way better than my first machine, I'm just worried about the hinge noise. It's not that loud and it's not a clicking sound, but it still is making me think the hinges are bad. I still have 9 months left on the warranty, so I think I might just wait a bit more and see what happens.

The build quality issues of this machine are so disappointing. There are so many things I love about it (size, lighting, power, battery life), but the more problems that arise (hinges, faulty LCD, paint bubbles, misaligned parts) the harder it is for me to justify keeping it.

 

If the creaking sound only occurs over a very small arc once the lid is already open it shoudn't be indicatave of a soon to be broken hinge. Quite a few people (including myself) have the same issue without feeling that the hinges are deteriorating.

 

Funny thing is, similar issue occurs with the keyboard. My first refurb M11x I got had the screw boss broken on the keyboard that secured to the chassis by attaching underneath the battery. Man, this is fundamental engineering screwup. Dell, hire me and I'll fix all these issues.

 

Seems they're still looking into it... It's a "Hot Topic"!

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

Last post on that page.

 

I'm fairly confident they're going to handle it. They've had too much success with the product, and the problem is too out in the open for any discerning gamer who does any research on the product to not catch it, and in effect potentially lose a sale.

How long it's going to take though is another issue. There's going to be a lot of corporate heads butting in on how best to proceed so the problem can be effectively resolved in the most cost effective manner.

But I do believe it will get done.

 

@THX5334 - Very positive. I like that.

What I don't like, is that Dell is still saying the same thing they said two months ago.

We've like a bunch of small furry possums in the middle of the road staring at the head lights of an on coming truck. We're transfixed with what may be coming. We'll be fine for a while, but my gosh when that truck hits us...

And lets say a new shiny M11x (or M13x) comes out with completely different monitor mounting structure (that probably wouldn't fit an existing M11x to further alienate itself from any parallels of older models) and who'll remember or even care about olde worlde M11x hinge mountings.

I suggest someone is playing chamber music to calm us while we bumble along in line to learn our fate.

Poor old DELL-Chris M. I don't envy his job at all. He's had to say the darnedest things in the name of Dell over the years, way beyond just the M11x.

 

If they were at ALL serious and planned to actually address the issue, I hope for THEIR sake they do so before the warranties start expiring. After warranty things get messy IMO.

Naturally the above works in our favor also. Win/Win.

 

I'm also doubtful of a fix. I have no memory of any notebook manufacturers fixing an issue like this for a model that's approaching 1 year. I feel the costs involved with engineering and deploying a fixed part or repair kit are too high. I think the best we can hope for is warranty extensions for the hinge - a solution I would be happy with for the most part provided it's implemented universally and in good faith by Dell.

 

Well, add my name to the list of M11x owners with a hinge problem. Bought mine on Nov. 27th, and today it started the creaking in the left hinge. Looking down from above you can see the hinge casing sticks out further on that side than the right, and there is a greater gap in the inside of the hinge. Compare that to the M17x I have used religiously opening repeatedly in a day since last February with NO problems besides a dead GPU fan.

Gotta make sure that warranty stays extended now for sure! Shame, I rather enjoy gaming on it despite how weak it is compared to the M17x-R2.

 

Are you serious? That just me made me swear badly.
No one will be happy with constant breaking hinges even with free warranty extensions mate.
The ONLY solution is for them to redesign the hinges and distribute to all m11x users.

 

Actually the warranty extension isnt too bad. They would by default probably do 1yr extensions but this opens new possibly cool options where maybe for a small small fee you can have just hinge coverage for 3 or even 4 years. 50bucks for a 4 year hinge warranty? I might do that.

Anyway if you hold out on a redesign there is no promise it wont have other issues and the "new" design would NOT extend your existing warranty. So for most that only have a couple of months left this means you would get the new design hinge but still have zero warranty. Im guessing the new hinge would not carry any agreement to replace it twice.

 

In my opinion the likelihood of Dell designing a new LCD housing as a fix for the presumably small percentage of systems impacted by hinge failures isn't much more than zero unless they've determined that a) it's going to be an issue for a very large number of M11xs and/or b) the cost analysis proves that doing so works in their favor.

We don't have any idea how widespread hinge failures are now or will be in the future. But I can guarantee you that Dell knows both.

 

+1 for the same problem with the M11x, mine is the first batch bought on 3/2010, it's the right hinge and I believe its off already as the front of the screen actually protrudes as if something (assume its the hinge) that is pushing against it outwards.

Called Dell, waiting for them to confirm my sent photos and sending a repair tech.

edit: tossed in some photos, same ones I sent to dell..

 

Trust me I'll remember these hinges in the future...