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

What exactly do you mean by that? Have you opened yours up to compare with your old one (which would have had to have been opened too)? The metal components of the hinge was never a problem. It was the weak plastic bosses on the inside of the outer lid shell that was failing.

 

hmmmmm....
my screen feels alot lot looser than i remember , It seems very loose when open , it does not snap,crackle or pop when opening and there is no gap visible in the hinge but it has alot of play in it.
it sort of flaps about a bit.
does this sound dodgy?
cheers
Ork

 

how do you know if the screen is hitting the keyboard?
i cant tell it when my lid is closed...

 

Anyone here is going to be receiving the newly designed hinge next week?
I called Dell four days ago and they told me that there is no stock for the new hinge.
I would like to know if they are B.S-ing and just waiting for the news of new hinge.
I think they are actually waiting for the announcement rather than requesting for the new hinge...

 

Depends on where you live. If you're not in the US, most likely you'll have to wait till they ship a batch to your country.

 

No i didnt open it, at least not yet, but from what i see they did change the structure of the metal. It is alot larger in diameter. when i open it i can give a better insight.

 

Wheee... Dell NZ patched me over to a tech as soon as the rep heard "Alienware M11x", "hinge" and "snapped".

 

I'm getting the new hinge around this coming Tue.

AW rep told me there's an back order, so the parts are being delayed, it will be in my 'in home tech' hands on 14th.

btw I'm in northern new jersey.

 

Have a question

A few days ago AW support told me my r2 which was ordered on 2/17/11 had newly designed part.

All is working well so far, smooth, no noise, no problem yet.

My question is tonight, when looking at my r2 from behind, you can see the two hinges at eye level. They look fine but just out of curiosity, I touched the hinges and kinda moved it to see how sturdy they were. One was fine, the other one was somewhat lose. Lose I mean you know how the cylindrical shaped hinge was piece together by 2 half rounded plastic. Both pieces could be moved easily and not glued together tightly.

In addition, I just realized when looking at my r2 with LCD open, the left side is slightly lower than the right side, space were uneven.

What do you guys suggest>

 

I suggest you to ask Dell what part number you have for the newly designed monitor.
Don't ask them by asking "is it this this part number?" but ask them by "what is the part number for my monitor?".
If it doesn't match the part numbers in the very first post, then Dell lied to you.
02/17/11 is way too early for the newly designed hinges to be put into production.

 

I did, and they gave me one of the new part number listed on the first page. I guess my question is just wait till it has problem then fix or return and order R3 when it's out?

 

The newly designed hinge wasnt released until early march. With that said they rarely had any in stock for those who had been waiting for months with a broken hinge (And to this day the new designs are still on back order in most areas).. My guess is that dell lied to you. You most likely have the older design..

 

I have a nasty suspicions as well. Also when I paged to earlier related posts, this one guy had a tilted screen that ultimately ended up with a busted hinge and his repair was months on hold waiting for new parts. As much as I dont like this hinge, I hate being lied to. Might not keep this one afterall.

1) I seriously doubt the newly designed one will result in a loose hinge cover let along my screen is lower on left and higher on right side.

2) If mine is the newly designed like the guy said and the hinge cover is loose with screen tilted to the left side, this is bad news.

Debating to keep or not, tomorrow will be 16th day, still can return.

 

Call up dell and explain that your hinge assembly is uneven and making cracking noises or whatever. Have them send someone out WITH the NEW hinge design and make sure its the new one. Mine wasn't broken when i got it replaced. I just told them that is was uneven and about a rather uneven gap on the left hinge. On my first call the guy was ridiculous and wanted pictures but I demanded to speak to his supervisor and it got pushed through without any questions at all. So if they try and deny you demand to speak to a manager and you'll be fine... by far i see a HUGE improvement in the quality of this new hinge design. its very solid and everything is completely even on both sides. It was shipped and installed the day after i called. I recommend you keep it and get the updated hinge. Its worth it.. hope this helped

 

Yes it did, thanks. How long ago did you call? wonder if they have it in stock at all.

 

I called about 7 days ago and got it installed the next day. the tech showed me one of the differences (since the hinge is enclosed) which is basically a larger metal for the hinge. I want to open the hinge but i fear of getting dust in my lcd monitor. but i do notice the difference in my everyday use compare to my last hinge which felt weak and was completely uneven, not to mention the constant contact my screen had with the keypad.

 

I'll try it tomorrow morning! thanks for all your help!

 

A couple of things to mention here folks. I don't think mid-Feb orders would be too early to get the new hinge.

For one thing...in general...manufacturing tends to get new parts before field service does...it's just the nature of how companies stop the bleeding.

Besides if I remember correctly delivery times jumped a bit during that time frame... which may have been due to waiting for the new hinges to arrive before more systems went out the door.

Just seeing a lot of FUD (Fear-uncertainty-doubt) posts going on about Dell lying etc. lately and it's getting to be a bit much.

If you call and the tech admits that there was a problem with the hinges in the past what would be Dell's motivation to have the tech support guys LIE to you about already have the fix in your build? I mean think about it for a second.

Either enjoy your M11x or don't. I ordered my R2 Soft Touch Black on the 18th and rec'd on the 2nd. I was told mine has the new design. And I have a year of warranty left so no reason to panic at this point.

 

Amartin56

Re:" fear of dell lying, etc", you might not be aware some members of dell's phone sales team have been telling people for at least two months that the unit they buy will arrive with a redesigned hinge.

You may also be unaware that over the same time, some tech support team members have been telling people that their newly ordered replacement displays will include a newly designed hinge.

Both of these statements are false, and it has done nothing to foster confidence in dell. See the m11x hinge thread on dells suppport forums for complete details, if you like.

The hinge issue is just one design issue with the m11x. Others include: uneven keyboards, overclocked shaders leading to insability with many common games, variable display quality depending on which panel you receive, a high pitched whine from the motherboard, a gap in the top of the display assembly, and general issues with optimus.

This is a fairly exhaustive list of quirks, and not everyone experiences all of, or any of these issues. Many people with issues are exceedingly happy with their machines.

It's my opinion that people will be much happier with their purchase if they make it knowing full well what they are getting for their money. Glazing over the details, or blindly placing your trust in dell to provide you a flawless product or service is just setting people up for disapointment.

 

There actually should be more posts about how fail Dell is in regarding to many things, especially the hinge.
I see you are sticking up for Dell just because they finally initiated the hinge fix program.
I don't think you would be saying the same thing if you have been lied to in October 2010 and November 2010 after my new replacement that the hinge has been fixed and that there absolutely is no problem with it.

 

My point being...

The 'new design' may not even be all that better if Dell is as awful as people describe.

Someone pointed out that it's 'too early' for new hinges to be going out on new systems which is just guessing. It sucks but new folks always get improvements before the people needing warranty service that have waited forever. Its the nature of the supply chain.

And anyone who bought the system in mid Feb is still within their return period...so instead of all this woe is me they are lying stuff...maybe they should just return it already and get something else.

I can understand that people with older systems are upset, but I personally wouldn't choose to do business with a company that was 'lying' as some people within 30 days of purchase are suggesting, so just return it already.

Or...since there isn't anything else out there quite like it at the price point try to enjoy the system rather that getting caught up in all the FUD.

Also....keep in mind where the info is coming from....in an October time frame when you had your hinge replaced only to have to break again....of course the drones told you it was fixed! That's the world a phone agent lives in...to them the majority of the time when a part is replaced it's fixed unless they have been notified of a recall. They aren't 'lying' they are just proceeding based upon very limited knowledge. You're giving the training of a typical tech support agent too much credit by assuming they know enough to lie before a recall is announced.

 

Is your hinge broken right now? If not then wait until the part is available in your part of the world.

 

Well said. There's a level of hysteria surrounding the hinge issue and some of it seems to be coming from people who don't even have problems with their hinges (yet).

For those who do currently have problems then there's a means for you to get it resolved, provided the part is available in your region.

For those of you who've ordered new systems in the past month then your LCD assembly is either new or it's not. Either way you're covered.

 

I want to order an m11x with a new assembly from the start, when will they ship with the new hinge design?

 

I just got a call from my technician, he is coming in this afternoon (NYC) and has the new part. I checked the part number and it matches up.

 

According to Dell they already have but hard to tell if that is true or not. I suggest ordering if you see a can't beat it price but if it's otherwise going to drive you nuts then wait. I personally really like my M11x but won't be prying the bezel open to confirm that I have the upgrade. I can say this is the best laptop I've ever owned CONSIDERING WHAT I PAID FOR IT. $600 for i5 8gb RAM and 320 GB HDD is alright in my world. Hell I paid the same for a 'loaded' Atom netbook two years ago that couldn't run games!

 

OK the tech just left and I have had time to check it out without him here. He has broken the big plastic hinge cover in the back and the screen still does not close all the way. I will post picks as proof. I was not able to get new pictures but the hinge seemed beefier.

The tech also told me about a kid in NYC who had been lying to dell. The kid called to complain about the hinge being broken, then when the tech got there he saw the computer was in perfect shape, the kid then said he lied because he just wanted the new hinge.

before
Before
after
http://imgur.com/MKvLe

 

What the! did you mean the tech replaced the hinge but leaves the LCD cover broken?

 

What he broke were the little plastic clips on the power button/indicator cover assembly. Those are very easy to break. Call Dell and tell them what happened.

 

Other than that part it feels amazing to have working hinges again. Its like having a new computer

 

Could you please do me a favor? There's no need to open or break anything.

Would you please try to move and push the cylindrical shaped hinge cover on both side with some force, no need to do it to the point where it may break. Mine can be move up and down slightly , just wonder if its loose or normal. You are the perfect one to ask since you have the new hinge (whether new or old part).

PS: When I open and close the lid, things are ok, when I try to move these two parts, its somewhat lose and has a loud clicking/plastic rubbing noise

 

If you want to confirm if the power button cover's clips are broken, just grab a plastic guitar pick (or plastic scribe) and pry up the cover gently from the little slot above the "DELETE" key. Then use your fingers to gently pull the panel up. Most likely you'll find one or more of the little plastic tabs in the hinge cover area broken.

 

Hm...my supposedly newly designed hinge from factory r2 is starting to have rubbing and slight plastic cracking sounds now...

 

that or you are super paranoid about it now lol

 

lol, I do not discount your theory, perhaps both but the left side is noticeably lower than right side now looking @ it at any lol

 

They probably only redesigned one of the hinges... Whoops, uhh hey Dell - There are TWO hinges on this laptop...!

 

when it is closed and I push up and down on it there is a little movement. not much though. I don't know if I said this earlier but I did confirm the part number before the technician came over. He put in part number YMM9R

 

Rang Dell today to confirm hinge replacement status for Asia Pacific region.

As my warranty is due to expire (22nd March) and I have no intention of renewing it, I thought I should give Dell a bit of old chat before my warranty expired and hopefully get a service number for a replacement if required in the future.

Spoke with rep 'Tony' who was very professional and helpful.

At first the information of a replacement LCD monitor for the M11x was news to 'Tony', however together with the information I provided and the information 'Tony' had to hand we where able to glean the required information and both agreed that a replacement LCD monitor would be honored outside of warranty should I have a fault with my existing LCD monitor.

There was no agreed time limit as to how long this offer would last, but we agreed that there would not be a problem honoring the LCD monitor replacement within a year or two.

Tony raised a service number for me, (I didn't even have to ask) so that if and when I do have a problem I can refer to that call number to assist in having the required information at hand.

As my hinge is fine at the moment (touch plastic), both 'Tony' and I left things as they are with the option of a replacement in the future should I need it.

This was a conversation between a Dell warranty and parts rep based in the Asia Pacific region and a Dell customer. There was no formal information tabled by Dell to support any of the above statements supplied by Dell 'Tony'. I probably should have requested a confirmation email but it doesn't really add any value or formality beyond the information provided verbally and noted in the service call.

I would like to see some formal information tabled by Dell regarding the M11x LCD monitor replacement which formally states what the obligation of Dell are with regard to the M11x LCD monitor replacement.

Does one have to wait for the hinge to break before an LCD monitor with upgraded hinges is sourced and for how long would Dell honor an M11x hinge replacement outside of warranty.

I guess time will reveal all.

 

Yes the new hinge is definitely ALOT beefier and feels firms and in place I love it.

 

finally i got the new screen assembly part no. 4FFHC and this is my third screen replacement (the previous two having the hinge broken, obvious gaps between the joints, cracking sound, tilting to one side, etc).

the new screen assembly is very much reliable, no gaps between the hinge joints, no cracking sound, doesn't touches the keyboard when it is closed and no tilting to one side....that confirmed the new screen assembly is now available in malaysia.

 

It's taking ages.
I don't know whether Dell ordered me one as they have not replied to my email...
I hope they reply as soon as possible as I emailed them last night.

 

Just had mine replaced, no problems on my original hinges from when I got my i7 R2 on 06/16/2010
Engineer arrived this morning to replace my battery which had developed wear of 23%. New battery has 71,940 mWh!!!!! Yay
He took one look at his paperwork and the machine and asked if I wanted a new screen and hinges replaced, so of course I said yes. He went out to his truck and brought out a whole new LCD with the new hinge model. It's changed the screen from my original LG AUO to the Samsung SEC but it looks better color wise and sharper (although that could just be in my head).
I couldn't be happier with the service and now my lil M11 looks brand new again and not like its been dragged around on trans-atlantic flights for 8 months
Full replacement means no scratches on the screen or on the soft touch. I am So impressed by the service I got today. I'm definitely going to buy into the extended warranty now and after this M11x bites the dust I will definitely be buying an updated model from Alienware/dell. Very, VERY happy customer today

 

1) Congrad!

2) How did you get new battery? part of a special warranty you purchased or its within the 1 year?

3) Where are you located? I'm asking to get a feel of stock for new hinges and locations, Thanks.

 

Hi and thanks, I noticed wear up from 2.2% in January had been creeping up for a while and started worrying after it hit 20% + so I called for a replacement under my standard 1 year warranty. I bought my r2 direct from Dell on launch in June while I was working in Washington DC. However I'm now back in Merry old England just outside of West London

 

Gotcha, mind sharing how u measure battery wear? and amazing your hinge never had problems

 

I know right! One of the lucky few it seems. I use the free version of batterybar found here

If you run your battery right down it may have problems once you have power and boot up again but a restart of windows will sort that out.

 

Most people's hinges don't have problems.

 

From what have seen and experienced I completely agree, I was referring to the unfortunate users in this thread

 

is have pretty noticeable squicking sound enough to get the hinge and screen replaced? or does it have to be totally broken?

 

Anyone here still waiting for Dell to reply whether the newly designed hinge is available?
I am wondering if I am the only one waiting for Dell to call back once the newly designed hinge is available.
Surely it cannot be out of stock...