M11x-R1/R2 New Hinge Design (see post#1)

Don't mind too much which brand they are.

I used to have AUO and don't notice much of difference.

I requested another replacement due to spec of dust under the screen.

 

Mine was the same after getting the new replacement - I just decided to check out why and fix it myself.
Appears that getting the keyboard under locating tabs on the sides of the keyboard needs a bit of work and a good push BUT DONE WHEN NOT SCREWED IN PLACE!!!!
If it's not done properly then the side keys (Tab/Caps/Shift/Ctrl and Del/Home/Pg Up/Down/End etc) all sit up too high and hold the screen up close to the hinges.
All you need is a simple small phillips head screw driver and simple small flat head screw driver.
Search the forums for the PDF strip down file, let me know if you can't find it.
Or, just let them know they didn't do it properly and you don't want to break your warranty
Get that sorted mate.

 

So what's the concensus of the "repaired" hinge design screen? Good, bad, indifferent? I may go ahead and get mine replaced if it's a home run. It seems to be doing decently, but I don't use mine daily, although it does feel more loose than it was initially. Maybe just me being paranoid.

 

No, your not parano. I've been using mine at home, and the screen is now loose. I'm just waiting a little to make sure I have the new part and the techs has made their teeth on other m11x.

 

Yeah, that's what I'd like to do. Wait until they've swapped a few and ensure the new hinge works well. That new M11x R3 is looking mighty tasty though, but just can't jump on another $1000+ . I got my M11x for $500 and so far it satisfies my needs.

 

I paid the full 2300$ for mine to make sure they shove everything they could in it, so it's better be working for a long time.

 

how long does it usually take a hinge to fail? i have had mine for just over 2 months and it hasn't failed (touch wood) so i am happy about it.

 

i think it's because of the rubber pads that are making it look like they're not fully closed.

 

Emailed as directed on Friday, got confirmation call on Monday morning around 8AM, technincian here at 10:30. That's real cool. Hope this works!!!

 

11:20 done. Working good now. Just a word of caution. If you have a lid skin it will be taken with the old lid unless you take the skin off.

 

I recently had my hinges replaced (not sure about the part number, but it is AUO).Hinge-wise I am very happy, but I have come across a situation that has completely stumped me.
Prior to me having my hinges replaced, I used to be able to go past the 7 hour mark on power saving mode. (wlan, bluetooth, and alienFX disabled, brightness 0, minimum running programs...and basically everything shut down)
BUT after having my new screen, I am only getting maximum 6 hours with the same settings as above.
Furthermore, while on balanced power plan, brightness 2, wlan enabled, bluetooth off, light internet surfing, the 5-6 hours I used to get has now come crashing down to 4 hours max!
This is about a 30-40% battery power loss!
I have not had anything changed in my system except the screen, YES I'm on the integrated intel graphics, and during all my runs the battery had been charged fully and the cpu usage was always below 10%.
The only thing I can point my finger at is the new screen!
Could there be a correlation between the new screen and my battery power lose?
P.S. I have even went as far as to disable unnecessary devices (virtual DVD rom, webcam, ethernet driver) from the device manager!
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
peace.
P.P.S According to a battery monitoring software ( http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html) my batteries current capacity is 38640mwh. It's designed capacity was 64530mwh. Calculating the difference, that's a 40.12% battery wear for one year old computer! Is that normal?
P.P.P.S Sorry for the long post

 

So do you know what previous type of screen you had? Samsung or AUO?

Also, that sounds like a lot of battery drain. Try getting batterybar and see what it says. I guess if you used your battery daily through over a half discharge then I can see that. Most batteries are designed to 500 charge cycles before basically becoming "dead". So a year = 365 days, it could be.

 

My previous screen was an AUO too.
Tried Batterybar and it's basically telling me the same thing (40.1% wear). I'm currently on battery (power saver activated) and am discharging at 15450mwh...and have only 2 hours!
This is crazy! I used to get 5-6 hours easy!
I don't use the batteries daily...mostly it's kept attached to a power source in my dorm.
If this continues I might have to contact dell tech support..maybe the tech did something wrong....
But thanks for the reply.

 

Well, worst case scenario...the battery has a 1 year warranty regardless of the one you bought for the system? It is clearly broken so if it is under a year for you have Dell replace it

 

Well, I surely will have a chat with them. But seeing as my warranty recently expired and I was too cheap to renew it, I don't know how they'll react.
P.S. They have already fixed my screen 'out of warranty', so I'm not expecting them to be particularly helpful.
I'll see though.
Thanks.

 

Try recalibrating the battery by running it to 0% and charging it back up.

 

I'm confused on the model of mine. Seems like it is never listed on the fist page. What I have is below:

51XC4 Module,Cover,HNG-UP,NO WWAN,Black
9MGG7 MOD,LCD,11.6HDF,WLED,TLF,SMSNG

Are those the old model? I find slightly weird on my right hinge but not sure. But seems good still. Is this an easy install to do by yourself? Since mostly I won't be home till 6pm due to my work.

 

hmmm...I didn't think of that.
I'll give it a shot.
Thanks for the input...much obliged.

 

Well they may have fixed the hinge, but broke something else. So it's not "fixed". I'd call and explain that your battery wear suddenly became excessively low and it drains much more quickly. The tech could have crossed wires or who knows what if not grounded properly. I'm sure you would have noticed the battery wear previously.

And don't drain the battery to 0%. Set your system to shutdown at 5%. 0% can cause damage. Then plug in and let it fully recharge before booting up again (at least I would).

 

Its quite unlikely the tech did anything to cause these symptoms. If you WANTED to it might not even be possible.

 

So is the Samsung screen better than the AUO in terms of black levels and viewing angles?

 

Well, sitting in my chair after having talked with tech support, I feel like an .
After having followed troubleshooting instructions over the phone (which included removing and re-attaching the battery a couple of times and holding the power button down for 30 seconds...), I realized that laying blame on the technician was not only unfair but downright shameful. There is only a single socket (connector) between the battery and the Motherboard and the fit was snug and secure.
The tech is blameless and so is, apparently, the screen (part no. 4FFHC) because it doesn't have a higher power consumption rate than my previous screen. (My hope of a free service went out the window )
So, my drastically reduced battery power is apparently inexplicable.
Instead of crying about my problem though, I just went ahead and ordered a new battery ($135.99).
To those of you who responded to my posts, I am very thankful.
peace.

 

well, I just got my screen replaced with an updated one. I still have a samsung panel. Anybody created an icc profile for it lately (I haven't been here for a few months)?

 

Well the tech came to fix my screen and palm rest.

However he scratched up bottom panel using a flat head to pry the palm rest grills out. My space bar is also malfunctioning likely due to the fact he didn't push the keyboard down properly while installing and snapped it in post screwing in everything. To top it all off, I went from Samsung to AUO.

What do you guys think I should do? Can I get the Samsung panel back? Will the replace my bottom panel?

 

That ain't right. Report that incompetent tech to his supervisor or Dell for doing a terrible job.

 

I've ordered a new screen, and it was supposed to be here the 11th.

Got a call from a Dell contractor looking for it. FedEx delivered it to the wrong apartment, and I can't get it back so they're delivering another one. They knocked on the wrong apartment, then went and chose a different door when nobody was home.


Let's hope this time next week Fedex will get it to the right door so I can get my hinge fixed.

 

Sent a e mail off to Dell through this thread on the 20th sill waiting for a reply or notice of recipt. Does it take more that 5-7 days before they get in contact with you for screen replacement on M11x r1?

Please return this thread back to a sticky.

 

So they'll let you swap it out yourself?

 

Dell will usually let you replace the parts yourself if you really wanted to. Honestly if you have the knowledge, thats what i would opt for. Half of these techs don't give a crap whether they damage your system in the process of repairing it. Occasionally you'll get one that actually cares and knows what he's doing, but those are rare gems.

 

Hmm, I'll have to give that a shot because when I ordered my M11x refurb originally, the keyboard was fubar. I asked if they could just send me a replacement keyboard and they said no a tech HAD to install it. I ended up getting a whole new machine because of other issues, but no luck getting it on my own.

Maybe I'll have to try harder with the screen. I'd much rather do it than a tech, have to schedule a time, worry about the job their doing, etc.

 

Is the R3 have the new hinge directly?

 

Yes, it does. The M11xR3 does not use the same hinge design as the R1/R2.

 

Do the M11x R1 systems in-production use the new hinge design yet?

 

No. All new r1's in the future will still use the old ticking time bomb hinges. The good news is that if something goes wrong with it, I think that's when they will replace it with the new/improved hinges.

 

Yeah, makes no sense, but whatever. They probably have tens of thousands of old hinges and would rather just replace the warranty ones than all of them.

If anyone else has success with getting them to send the new LCD/hinge assembly directly to you instead of requiring a tech, please let us know. I may call and request that just for fun and see what happens. Mine is still fine, a little looser than when I first got it, but otherwise fine.

 

I sent an email to [email protected] but I have not gotten a response yet. Sent last Monday.

I told them that I had a first gen/first day M11x that has had the hinge repaired 5 months ago, and that I would like to have the upgraded hinge.

Would this program apply to me? Also my warranty is gone since I bought it on day one of last year.

 

Yes as per info in this very thread

 

My "new" LCD is starting to make the squeaking sound again... I'll call dell tomorrow to make them change my screen again. And for my first time, the screen is touching the keyboard.
By the way, now the problem is not really one of the two hinges... Now is the middle "hinge" (the large one/middle one).

 

Sounds like the plastic hinge cover is not connected/seated well

 

Hi Guys,

Just an update on the UK availability of the new Hinge. I spoke to a rep today and he said that it would be available in a few weeks, although he couldnt put an exact date on it at the moment.

 

Just called tech support about my hinge. I used the Email link to contact alienware to have my hinge fixed on 4/20/11 after waiting for some form of reply and not reciveing any I decided to call today. It seems as though if your warrenty period is over they will send you a box instead of home service to send your computer back to them to fix is this normal?

 

I cannot find a part number that matches the first post of this thread. Am I missing something?

My original configuration:
Quantity Parts # Part Description

1 7HWGV Assembly, Base, Bottom, STCH-BLK, M11XR2
1 8P6X6 Battery, Primary, 63WHR, 8C, Polymer, Samsung Power Division
1 81F49 KIT..., DOCUMENTATION..., PHTM, ARN, M11XR2, ENGLAND/ENGLISH...
1 KVCX1 Card, Wireless, Half Mini-Card, DW1520
1 0MJ7Y Keyboard, 86, ENG-US, Alienware, M11XR2
1 G6KV0 ASSEMBLY..., BASE (ASSEMBLY OR GROUP)..., NO BIOS..., I5520UM-K0, M11XR2
1 P2PCP ADAPTER..., ALTERNATING CURRENT..., 90W, FLEXTRONICS..., 3P, WORLD WIDE..., M09, ANW
1 DW6RN Kit, Software, W7HP64, Multi-Language, Alienware
1 DWVMD Liquid Crystal Display, 11.6HDF, White Light Emitted Diode, True Life, Samsung
2 F073F Dual In-Line Memory Module, 2GB1333MHZ, 256X64, 8K, 200
1 381DH ASSEMBLY..., COVER..., HNG-UP, NO WWAN, STCH-B
1 DV7KP HARD DRIVE..., 250, S2, 7.2, P11, 2.5, HIT-PANC
1 RM948 Card, Wireless, Internal Bluetooth, 365, Small Form Factor, Notebook
1 GN344 CORD..., Power, 125V, 2.5A, 2M, C5, E United States

Please help. Thanks in advance.

 

Just check what color you have and whether you have WWAN or not. Probably won't list it in your sales bill of material.

 

I guess I'll call them also. They won't reply to my email.

 

does anybody know if dell will replace the front LCD cover (the plastic covering the lcd assembly itself) also? I managed to get dell to send a technician for next week, and im hesitating to believe that they'll replace the lcd cover as well, which sort of makes sense.

 

The entire LCD assembly gets replaced including the plastic cover.

 

I got my new hinge (again). It feels a way more solid than the last (new) LCD

 

Did a tech install it or did they let you do it?

 

Wow after a year of joining this forum and ending up getting the envy 14 it seems many people are still experiencing hinge issues..

 

Well the hinge issue was addressed, and we have part numbers and everything to fix it. But it was only until recently, so many people had their hinges replaced a few times, some I think to just make the point.