m15x is GOING AWAY

I have finally reached my limit with this machine, i cannot take it anymore. The tech support from alienware is so horrible, and they are only trumped by the build quality of this machine.

i was in such denial with this thing. i thought it was good, i thought i liked it. but i've had too many problems in the first month that i can't see myself keeping it. I just don't want to deal with this kind of support when bigger problems arise.

so far, i have had 2 faulty keyboards, an inability to power on, improper drivers given to me BY TECH SUPPORT, lots of hinge creaking, chipset drivers that the machine cannot see, and numerous problems with outputting to the audio jack when i use the HDMI port. not to mention a complete lack of support from any representative.

I just cannot take this anymore. i am returning the machine for as little restocknig fee as i can get, and i am either getting a Sager from xoticpc, or a dell off ebay.

If anyone has any tips on helping me get the restock fee down then that would help. otherwise, this is a farewell party for that piece of crap m15x.

 

Make sure to PM Alienware-James or Alienware-Armando on the forums, they could help you with the restocking fee and return, I'm not sure if you can return it past the first 30 days, though, unless you send it in for three repairs that don't fix your problems. It sucks that it don't go too well for you.

 

you cant get the restocking fee waived unless you give them a chance to repair it so you are pretty much stuck with the restocking fee. You are still within the 14 day return period right?

 

14 day return period???? their warranty says nothing about a 14 day return period. it says 30 on their warranty. i have to talk to their customer support and i did PM james.

I'm pissed right now and may reverse my decision, but it is unlikely, i think i will just get the dell or sager and be happy with it.

 

Where did you buy from? It's a 30 day return period in the US and in most other countries it's 14. BTW, you sure that isn't just a little buyer's remorse? I think we all get it...

 

it is a bit buyers remorse, but it will take me the same amount of time to get this fixed as it will to get a new one, and i think the extra power is worth it.

 

"2 faulty keyboards, an inability to power on"

I think those are your only real problems. I don't want to talk you into keeping your m15x if you don't want to, but Alienware can just keep sending you keyboards and you quickly swap them out yourself. I'm not sure about your second problem. What do you mean? It doesn't come on at all or it just don't come on sometimes?

 

not to hit you stir - but i remember you stating in another post that you had buyers remorse. you did not say it in those exact words, but you said it none the less.

that said, the issues seem repeated and AW should wave the fee since you have followed thier policies and are still not happy with the unit.

have you dl'ed all the updated bios, and firmware, etc....that has been posted recently that others say have fixed, or 98% fixed some of the issues you state? (just asking)

and also, how you handle yourself while with CS and TS goes a long way when dealing with people as well. remember, you stated you were pissed. this may have come across more then you know and may have a reflection against you.
i am not in any way saying you were rude to them, or unrespectful either, i am simply offering an alternate point of view which seems lacking when one puts blinders on due to being upset.

that also said, i hope AW-James or Armando can assist you and help you resolve it to hopefully have you feel better about the situation.

 

ok those were 2 big problems. but one other was the build quality itself. I can see that the hinges aren't very good. they creak alot and look like they are starting to warp. As well, and this is somewhat my fault, when removing the second faulty keyboard i got, a screw wouldn't come out from next to the cpu fan. (yea, you need to remove the cpu fan to take off the keyboard) so when i turned the machine to get it, it fell out and got lodged under the motherboard, so if i turn the thing on, it will short out.

that is partially my fault but they won't send a field tech to deal with it, and they will take forever to return this to me if i send it back. I say, ill pay an extra 1000 or so, and get more power.

 

Since you posted that, they could refuse the return and your warranty, you might want to edit it out...

 

AW never sends out a technician to your home. You always have to send the laptop in. Cant you try to shake the screw out and then use the screw driver to pick it out since screw drivers are magnitized. at least most of them are.

 

i tried, it is lodged in tight, next to the intake for the cpu fan. i can't get to it, and i cannot remove the black plate over it because it is riveted to the rest of the machine.

 

I understand your frustration, for an exotic machine like m15x, you should expect nothing but top-notch built and CS.

 

well if the screw is your biggest probem right now and you feel brave enough to do this i think you can follow AW's steps to remove the CPU fan and CPU heatsink and maybe shake the screw out then...

Fan removal

CPU Heatsink removal

hope i helped

 

UPDATE: so in my ingenuity i managed to get the screw out through some special ninja jew magic. meaning i was trying to do something else and the screw came out after i dislodged it.

So now that i don't have to send it in, and no warranty was voided, it is all up to alienware if i get a new laptop or not.

my space bar just broke.... (not kidding) just as i was typing.

does this thing hate me?

 

UPDATE #2:
Keyboard lights stopped working, keyboard doesn't fit properly, touch controls stopped working with new bios installed. (x34)

disconnected from tech support while trying to order anew keyboard. (third one)

I need to get rid of this thing, NOW.

 

I guess it's time to contact Alienware. The more you hold it off, the less of a chance that you have to return it, so if you're sure about returning it, do it as soon as you can. You probably already knew that, though .

 

wow....
honest, i am usually on the side of the consumer, but you messed with it by not following install instructions. you state in your first post that it is a piece of crap. then later that your pissed off.
notwithstanding, i think you are the cause of your own demise in this one.
you want professionalism from AW, but then in turn you are not professional nor responsible in replacing a defective keybaord. (that AW sent to replace the broken one)
they (AW) gave you the benefit of the doubt by figuring you could install the new keyboard yourself following the directions they have. you not only failed AW, but you failed yourself.

and this is why AW has people send the unit in most of the time, cause of stupid moves like this.

sorry, but you have had buyers remorse (as stated, not word for word, but implied) since your purchase and receipt of the unit as posted in another thread.
i think it is karma playing your tune.

that aside, maybe AW James or Armando can and will assist you still...

 

Alienware might not return it because of his mistake. Alienware might not even repair it because he void his warranty (and posted it here where Alienware reps read over the forums). Hopefully you'll get everything straightened out in the end, but I'm just speaking the truth here that Alienware doesn't have to pay for your mistake, and you broke an agreement that you had with them when you bought the system.

 

You guys can't be serious...
An Alienware costumer has a problem... Alienware says "Oh we will send you a keyboard and you will fix it yourself". A screw falls... and now it's the costumer's responsability?

And in any case... it's just a screw, he got it off, pop it back on and that's it.

I'm baffled with these comments regarding "It's your fault". Not to say... shocked.

 

yeah, but milcs, i'm not trying to judge stirfriedsushi here, but if he opens up his notebook and goes about unscrewing stuff and whatnot, i don't think AW has to cover the warranty if he screws something up...

 

But... he had a problem, AW offered to send him a keyboard and do AW's job by replacing it himself. Am I right here?
Then he tries to do it, and something goes wrong (not a big deal anyways, as the screw is back where it was supposed to be). Whose fault is it? Stirfry, because he was told by AW specifically to replace the keyboard himself?

In any case... there is no problem with the screw anymore, I just find it's funny that 2 users come here and announce to the world he has just voided his warranty and AW doesn't have to deal with his problems anymore. It just sounds... funny. And, ultimately, rather disrespectfully for an owner that has a problem and is trying to get help to solve this problem.

That's what I think...

 

i apologize, i misread stirfry's posts. i thought he had simply opened up his m15x on his own time (to take a look at the innards or whatever). in this case, i think AW should cover the warranty, although there might have been smarter ways to get that screw out

 

At least Stirfreid' didn't use a magic screwdriver...yet! (",)
(magic screwdriver = hammer) lol

For what it's worth i think it should still retain the original warranty as the loose screw didn't do any damage...

Just my 2p

OB

 

Hammer, might not be a good idea...

Of course... Only people with dubious intentions could claim otherwise.
Anyway...

Good luck getting your problems solved Stir.

 

well, the screw could theoretically short something.

 

really, i have to agree with milcs on this one...

if a computer company send some craptacular machine and then has the balls to request the consumer to fix it themselves with a replacement part and a dumb arsed link to a "how-to" site on their website, then the computer company should honor the warranty...

hell, i would NOT take a screwdriver to a machine without any confirmation that my actions, that i was told to undertake by a certain individual from a certain company, will not void the warrany in any form.

we are consumers... not an extension of their support staff... can i bill my hours to them? heck... last i checked, my hourly wages was not that cheap...

 

I feel for you. Hopefully you'll get the refund you and everyone who purchased an m15x and has had problems deserves. The best I've gotten them to offer me is store credit.

 

you guys keep blaming me for the screw and i already said that i caused and fixed that problem without voiding the warranty. I was on the phone with a tech for an hour (mostly on hold) trying to get that thing out without breaking the computer. I finally got it out myself when i was packaging it up for either a return or repair.

That i admit was my fault but the main problem was the design and having screw inside the chassis.

I replaced the keyboard on that thing 3 times no problem (switching back and forth to solve separate problems)

all other problems with this thing i haven't caused, and i have a huge laundry list of them here. And it all started with them giving me 2 broken keyboards.

UPDATE #3:

alienFX randomly switched colors on me this morning. No idea how or why, but it did. Touch controls still do not work.

 

have you updated to the newest BIOSes? also, are you sure you haven't set AlienFX to change colors if something certain happens (like email alert or whatever)?

 

yea, i'm sure.

i updated to x34 bios 4 days ago. worked fine at first.

this is the first case i've heard of when bios update doesn't fix the problem. and i didn't touch alienFX, they were green when i went to sleep, and blue when i woke up.

 

lol, he can have whatever wrong opinion he wants. All i know is that the only problem on this thing that was my fault, i fixed with no damage to the machine.

UPDATE #4

called in, getting a call from cancellation department by friday. computer should be mailed in by then, hopefully refund and next purchase by this tuesday, and hopefully shipment by next thursday or friday.

i can pray but what are the odds...

 

I agree with some stuff that you said, but I also disagree with some of it too. AW has this thing called On-site service where they are supposed to send a tech to service your computer. Every time I have had an issue with my sisters Dell, they will send out a tech QUICKLY along with the part and I don't have to do anything. On the other hand, AW NEVER offers me on site tech support, and when I ask they say the problem is too complicated.

 

thats EXACTLY what they said to me!!!!!

 

Please keep in mind that not all components within laptops are serviceable onsite. Larger components such as LCDs, motherboards and chassis' require considerable disassembly and reassembly. For those instances, we require a depot repair.

 

i agree with James, i had a Dell and they would sent me the "on site" repair guy to change the motherboard and nada still didnt do anything sent it back they were able to check it out and figure what the problem of the system was and fixed it within a week and i had it by the next monday and it still runs to this day i think i would rather they have ALL there tools to fix my computer rather than what just fits in there bag...

 

well the on site technicians arent entirely useless. the customer support rep will try to diagnose the problem over the phone. theres only so much the cs rep can do without having the system in front of them. they will then tell the tech the possible solution and the tech will do whats told.

 

i wasn't even offered an on site repair man. i had to almost argue with the guy to get a request. then he figured out that they couldn't do it.

I just want to be done with this whole thing. maybe i will just get a desktop and fiddle with it myself.

 

i never once heard AW sending out an on site tech so it doesnt surprise me. in fact i think they dont even have any on site techs

 

they are like mermaids, people swear they exist, but no one has ever found proof.

 

Simply put, AW doesn't higher high quality on-site techs. Most on-site techs are contracted and then work for the company while they service your computer. I disagree when someone says that replacing a LCD bezel or screen is too complicated.

Dell sent out an onsite tech who replaced the LCD, Cover, Motherboard, and Palmrest all at the house without having to send the notebook back once. Maybe there computers are easier to disassemble but really if we (the users) can replace parts like the LCD then an on-site tech should be able to as well?

 

they are easier to disassemble. i tried to do mine yesterday but couldn't because it was riveted to the other part of the chassis.

 

UPDATE #5

All the USB ports stopped working today. i can no longer use any peripheral device.

This thing is getting picked up next friday by FEDEX so i can get my refund. What a horrible computer.

 

i would like to issue an apology to stirfriedsushi....

i re-read the thread and noted i did not take in fully how you had taken apart the laptop. (i.e. fan) i had read it as you NOT removing the fan as needed and thus posted to reflect that. after the re-read, i now better see that the screw was dislodged during the replacement of the keyboard.

so with that, I ryujin, apologize to you, stirfriedsushi....

 

werent you unable to get the chipset driver working. that might be the reason the usb ports failed. its highly unlikely for usb ports to all fail at once unless the drivers arent working properly or there is something wrong with the mobo.

 

sorry for your system sucking on you, gl

 

i prefer other things sucking on me.....

maybe this usb thing is related to the chipest driver. they haven't even tried to solve that problem thought, i was supposed to get a call but NOPE!!

i need this thing gone.