Asus UX31 Ultrabook

You have the Sentellic touchpad. It's the "GOOD" one. It's the one I tried when I saw this laptop in Japan. The one I ordered in the US had a Elantech pad which is horrible.

Worse yet, I just had to RMA mine due to either bad ram or a bad SSD. It crashed over and over out of the box. I tried everything from memtest(which crashed before starting) to a restore from restore partition (which crashed before finishing every time I tried it leaving a bricked laptop).

I want to love this laptop, I really do, but it's been rushed to the market and it shows. A "premium" laptop should not have such a terrible touchpad, it should not need a BIOS update, a wifi driver and touchpad driver update (which does not fully fix the pad) out of the box.

I am honestly wishing I had bought the Apple instead but I'm stuck with ASUS due to Newegg's RMA for laptops limiting you to replacements.

 

After being scared off by all the bad experiences that others had posted here, I ended up getting a Macbook Air and loaded Windows 7 on it. I loved it, but it just didn't have enough screen real-estate for me, so I gave the MBA to my daughter and recently got a Sony Z22 instead. It cost about $400 more than the UX31, but it has 8GB, 1080p resolution, and a trackpad and WiFi that actually work properly!

 

While this is true... I am actually surprised about the number of complaints. And they are consistent... keyboard/trackpad/wifi/electric shock.

The fact that several are saying you have to update the BIOS (and some are having problems doing so) doesn't help.

 

i am now convinced Asus has sloppy building/assembly/workers. Are they made in China? I have no idea. But I had the same sort of issues on a G63 16" gaming laptop, bad solders on my headphone/mic combo jack.. had to send it in for warranty and was out a laptop for about 4 weeks. I just think Asus quality control is lower than a lot of other vendors. Really bums me out, cuz their probably my favorite laptops of all time.

 

No the Elantech Touchpad is fine... I had one in mine (had to send it back because of broken wifi).
I tested the Sentelic touchpads in a local store and they are aweful...
Now im trying to pick one with a Elantech again...

 

Now that I have to return mine, does anyone know how to wipe/reset the system to factory settings? Still, such a shame.

 

don't know, i think you have to return it as it is... (delete your data and maybe apply a "system restore point" of windows)

 

For those of you who might themselves in the same situation: F9 during startup does the trick.

 

i'm going to test my second unit today that I got from amazon. First one I returned was a UX-31DH52. This unit I have with me right now is UX31-DH72. to keep or not to keep. Keyboard problems? Wifi problems? Shock? too be continued while I test the whole system over!

 

I agree, but this is the first revision of this laptop. MBA, second I think? I remember the first MBA having a lot of screen glitching, multi-core problem. My friend have a MacBook 13" and he's having a couple of problem with it, random working headphone jack, halo/white spot on screen, craking white plastic, dead dvd-rom etc etc and he bought it new with AppleCare and they don't want to fix the DVD.

Apple is not necessarily better than anyone.

 

Seems like my new UX31-DH72 from Amazon is using a different trackpad. Looks like Asus change to Elantech Trackpad.

 

Now that's an excellent undocumented feature to add to all the other problems.

 

I bought mine from NCIX Canada (it was the first batch they received on november 1) and I have the Sentellic.

 

I also have this issue. It happens on two UX31 I got from Bestbuy. If I have both hand touching the notebook theres no electric shock. Apparently one hand ground the notebook. Apparently we are the only ones that are having this issue

 

There are actually others mentioning this same thing... the two threads on the UX31 are just too big to find them.

We even joked about it.

"shockingly thin"

 

Just got an Asus UX31 DH53 from NCIX.ca. It has an Elantech trackpad, which works incredibly well out of the box. The keyboard registers every letters without any problem !... Even hitting at the edges. Will keep you updated.

Edit : Windows Index score for the SSD is 5,9 which is indeed lower than the 7,9 obtained by the 128gb adata ssd.

 

I'm on my second UX31 from Amazon. This second one has the same keyboard issue and the keys seem pretty loose. Debating if I want to keep it.

Elantech touchpad has touch pad flex? LOL. I'm feeling the top left corner of the touch pad giving in when my fingers are around that area. Doesn't have the problem on the top right. You can actually see the touchpad fall down and doesn't align to the body... weird!

Also, I notice the frame of the body has a few nicks. Top left corner where the keyboard meets the edge (near Esc key), there's a scratch in that bezel area. Very front edge (at the thinnest point looking from the front) the brush finish seems roughly finished. Right hand side (side view) there's another nick/scratch.

 

A question to guys who bought these at Best Buy:
What kind of warranty does this laptop come with?
ASUS usually gives 1 year accidental and a 2 year limited global warranty. This is what I got with my UL30A.
Before I go ahead and order it from BB, I'd like to make sure what kind of warranty do they give with this machine.

 

Hey,

I bought the UX31, but I have run into a problem. I got mine with Windows Home, and I need Windows pro on it - so I reinstalled windows on the computer. After that I did all windows updates.

Now I wantede to install Asus Live Update, that is listede on asus.com under the UX31's download. I do however get the error: "Sorry, this program only supports ASUS notebook!" - ?

Anyone solved that problem?

Thanks

 

You need to install everything on the support site in order for the asus live update to work correctly. Chip drivers, ATK, etc.

 

Yeah Asus has a two yr warranty BUT the accidental is not cover if you purchase your UX31 from bestbuy. I found out after I purchase mine from BB....

ASUS ADP at a Glance

 

I'm considering buying the UX31-DH52. The price is the same on amazon and newegg, any reason I should choose one over the other?

Also, do the current batch of UX31 on amazon/newegg have the touchpad fixed? Which model elantech vs sentellic is better?

 

Returned my UX21 to newegg. The replacement doesn't boot into windows. It just boots to the bios. Doesn't look like it even recognizes a SSD is installed...

 

Perhaps it is a bios issue. Looking for instructions on how to flash from a usb drive please.

 

So far with Elantech trackpad : flawless. It's that good seriously !

 

Thanks. Is the 2 year warranty global or just for US?
I live in Israel and so would really prefer if it was global.

 

I just got my i7 256gb ux31 and it works awesome.

Not a single issue here.

It came with bios 206 and the most up to date elantec driver

 

This is the last Asus product I buy. Second UX21 is even worse than the last one. It definitely appears to be a hardware issue related to the SSD. I can only boot into bios and the drive isn't recognized.

Anyone know if its possible to re-flash the SSD firmware? If so, how?

 

Elantech drivers are definitely better than the other one.
But I just can't stand they can't do a little more QC on their products.

 

Agree completely. I have the 207 bios, the latest wifi driver, and have followed all the advice on this thread, and I still have the wifi dropouts and long waits for web page changes. I have my 4 year old Dell right next to it, so I often find myself grabbing and using it just to avoid the wifi frustration. I have no problems with the Sentenic touchpad or the keyboard, but I will have to send this back.

 

I did look into getting one of these for light work during my travels, which is 90%+ of my life; but the rummor mill has it that it was designed by Asus but manufactured under supervision of Apple: I think it is one of THE best marketting approaches: demonstrate and encourage people to switch to MAC book air in droves

PS: no, i do not like MAC OS, YES, the hardware is awesome, yet overpriced.

 

Has anyone in the UK found a 256Gb UX31 on sale yet?

 

Not in my experience. I actually had bought a Macbook Air 11" before trying the UX31. It was (running Windows 7) annoyingly loud, got way to warm and the display is mediocre at best, with a grey shadow/ darker area lining all sides. Something I noticed on *all* other Macbook Air in three different stores.

 

Got a MBA 11 running Win 7 - every day usage, stays cool and quiet.

Maybe you got fualty unit.

 

That's of course possible. Does say something about their quality, though.

 

Just got my U31E-DH72 yesterday (ordered on Amazon late Monday, free 2nd day shipping arrived Friday)

So far so good. Very nice unit, no issues to report
Keyboard works nice, trackpad is responsive.

I had read a report complaining about the disk partitioning (they ship a C: and a D: ), I just deleted the D: and extended the C.. not sure why the reviewer didn't just do that, took 10 seconds

 

I was one of the first folks to post who actually had a UX31 and wasn't just re-posting comments from others.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/582672-asus-ux31-ultrabook-post8023942.html#post8023942

At that stage other than having to switch off the WiFi power saving mode I have not had any of the issues that have been related by others.

I have the Sentelic touchpad driver v 9.1.7.7 and am running BIOS 207

One point I did raise was that on the lower section of the case there was a small blemish where it was apparent that one of the base securing screws had been over tightened, leading to a very slight raise in the metal.

I posited at that stage that this may have been due to sloppy/inconsistent QA/QC and based on and reading the running threads it is looking to me that this may well be the root of many issues.

This is NOT a defence of ASUS as QA/QC is at the center of a quality company and build although they do seem to be standing by their product with RMA's, driver updates etc.

I feel it may well be that due to the pressure to release to market ASUS may have had to many "hand built" models in the initial release stream which could explain many of the inconsistent range of the same issues.

If the issues were all due to automated build issues OR a singular batch of cack components then there should have been consistent and common problems.

My view and YMMV.... Thoughts..?

 

The FCC ID on mine UX31 is TLZ-NB086.

 

Can anyone help me, please I'm begging you. I just received a replacement UX21e and it only boots to the bios. The SSD is not recognized. I tried booting a windows installation disc from usb. Of course, it doesn't recognize a drive install windows on.

Is there ANYTHING I can do? Looks like I must return it. Unless there is some way to reflash the SSD's firmware. But, I cannot find firmware for the ADATA XM11 anywhere.

 

return it and call it a day.

 

So whats the consensus on UX31? OK to buy or too many negatives? Does amazon or newegg have better/easier return process if something goes wrong?

 

You will have to fight with newegg for a replacement. I've received two defective units from them. The first had loose hinges. The second doesn't boot and the SSD isn't even recognized by bios.

 

No problem here. Ok to buy. Nice laptop, very slim and light. Nice screen. Working touchpad, working wifi, working keyboard.

Go ahead.

BTW I bought it from NCIX.ca

 

My brother In law just bought one from the big river.

Just got an email from him this morning and he says the wireless is disconnecting, and the trackpad is not great. It's the sentellic trackpad, he got it 2 days ago.

I will head over there Monday and update drivers, will see from there.

Wonder what the Big River return policy is..

 

Tell him to grab the latest drivers from ASUS's website, not the LIVE update utility.

 

TeamViewer = save gas $$$....

 

How does one turn off wifi power save? I read earlier in the thread that it fixed his wifi issues. I can't find any settings for making that kind of wifi change.

 

Control panel ---> Hardware and Sound ---> Power Options ---> Edit Plan Settings. click on the change advanced power setting. open up Wireless adapter setting and on both battery and plug in set it to Max performance.

 

Gotta try that. Been using go to assist.

He was able to do the wireless drivers so far and says its better.

 

What is this "AsusScr_ZENBOOK31_EN" software that is on the ux31? It has a size of over 300MB. Try looking on the Asus site and cant find info on it.