Dell XPS 13 (2015) 5500u - TPM

Can an owner of an XPS 13 (2015) 5500u laptop check the BIOS if there is an option to enable Trusted Platform Module (TPM)? This feature is needed to run Bitlocker.

 

checking for you now.

 

No Trusted Platform Module options in the bios. Perhaps in a later bios update ?

 

I didn't see the TPM module being listed under Linux. However, the PM851 SSD does support hard drive encryption. If you enable the hard drive, then you can setup encryption that way. You'd have to enter an extra password and I don't believe there's a way to centrally manage it, but it does work.

 

I wonder if it depends on the specific model and processor or if people posting here are just not looking in the right place.
The specs on the Microsoft Store clearly claim the XPS 13 has TPM 1.2

 

The i5 5200U and the i7 5600u have TPM and vPro - the 5500u not!

 

Can anyone confirm if the UK model with the 5600u does support TPM?

To be honest, I'm a little confused about whether you still need a "TPM chip" or whether nowadays everything is integrated into the CPU. But certainly, Dell's UK product description never once mentions TPM, so I'm left wondering if the 5600u from the US that does support it was one bought from the Microsoft store which seems to have a slightly differently configured machine (e.g. different installed software, different options available in the US, etc).

With my current PC that's too old to have TPM, I have to use a physical smartcard reader to access work's VPN, so it'd be great to have a laptop that supports the virtual smartcard instead. Also, I'd like to start using bitlocker on the hard drive too.

If all you need is the 5600u rather than the 5500u, that's great, but I can't find anything on the internet that seems to confirm that.

 

Hmmm, just did an online chat with a Dell support and they claimed that ALL models of the XPS13 support TPM, but that Windows 8.1 Professional is required. Not sure I trust them in the light of the above comments, but that's what they claimed...

I guess I did get emailed a transcript of the conversation so I could probably use that as a justification to return it if it turned out not to support TPM.

 

TPM= i5 5200u / i5600/i5500u + Win 8 pro.

 

I7 5500u with Win 8.1Pro - also support TPM (2.0)

 

Thanks for the info Bazzi

 

I have a 5200u in front of me and am not seeing TPM in the Bios. Trying to enable it in Windows 7 says TPM needs enabled via BIOS first. Looking into this.

EDIT: Have to turn on Secure Boot in BIOS to get TPM working in Windows (tpm.msc). The Win 7 image is in legacy and won't allow secure boot, so it looks like Win 8 only as stated above.

 

blank

 

MoggSquad: I'm pretty sure you need the Professional or Enterprise version of Windows, whichever one you have. The Dell guy kept on telling me to use 8.1 Professional, presumably that's because Dell only officially support Windows 8.

 

Regarding the i7-5500U, it's still not clear whether it supports TPM or not. Despite being told catagorically once by Dell before ordering that all XPS 13 models support TPM and on the day I ordered the i7-5500U (I only chose this model over the 5600U because it had an extra £100 discount) that it was "disabled by default, but could be enabled via the BIOS", after my order status changed to shipped I was phoned up by Dell to be told that this model didn't in fact support TPM but it could be enabled in all the other models.

As the thing has been shipped (a week ago now, where is it!) I'll check the thing when it arrives and report back. I do think it's pretty shocking that almost everybody I've spoken to at Dell has no idea even what TPM is, even after speaking to the technical team themselves, nor what features their own machines actually do or don't have.

 

So much confusion on this thread.
Can anyone answer with accuracy whether the i3 and i5 models have TPM or not? I still have not seen Dell give official specs on this model by model.
I know you need Windows 8.1 to effectively use the TPM, but version of OS does not change the fact of whether the TPM chip physically exists on the system or not.

Also, does each XPS 13 model support Instant Go / Connected Standby?
If the system supports these, then you have a version of full disk encryption available in 8.1 Core after you set it up from a Microsoft user account that also has admin rights and save the key to One Drive.
If these laptops do not support Instant Go, then you must use full Bitlocker to get encryption and Bitlocker requires 8.1 Pro or 8.1 Enterprise.

Can someone answer these questions?

 

Dell is really burying and hiding this information.
I have searched the web for detailed specs on the 2015 XPS 13 and what's different between models and it is very difficult.
I found that the Dell site in Australia only calls out TPM as a feature on the i7 model.

http://www.dell.com/au/p/xps-13-9343-laptop/pd

 

Hi All,
Sorry for the misinformation many of you have received regarding this question! I wanted to clarify, Only XPS 13 (9343) systems equipped with the following Intel processors support TPM 1.2 or PTT2.0: I7-5600U, I5-5300U or I7-5600U.

The XPS 13 (9343) systems do not support TPM or PTT on the following system Intel Processor configurations: I3-5010U, I5-5200U,I5-5200U, I7-5500U, I3-5010U,I5-5200U, I5-5200U or I7-5500U

Please see the following Dell KB Article for details : http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/19/SLN296413/en

Intel also has information on the topic here: http://ark.intel.com/products/85214/Intel-Core-i7-5500U-Processor-4M-Cache-up-to-3_00-GHz

Hope it helps!

 

Bummer. Mine is the 5500U. Device Manager even lists "Trusted Platform Module 2.0". But I guess it's a no-go, eh?

 

It looked at the Dell site and I only see i5 5200U for i5 models. I don't see 5300U as a configurable option.
Same at the Microsoft Store
How do you configure i5-5300U when ordering?

Also, aren't there a ton of mistakes on the KB page? Looks like they are repeating the same processor numbers over and over.

"The XPS 13 (9343) systems do not support TPM or PTT on the following system Intel Processor configurations: I3-5010U, I5-5200U,I5-5200U, I7-5500U, I3-5010U,I5-5200U, I5-5200U or I7-5500U."

???

 

If it's listed in the Device Manger, it is very strange that it doesn't work.
So, according to the information provided, no models listed on the Dell site in the US have working TPM according to that list of processors. i3, 15 or i7?
The only CPU choices available today on the Dell site are i3 5010U, i5 5200U and i7 5500U.
This is very hard to believe they all don't support TPM and kind of outrageous if true.
I was going to order an i5 expecting TPM. At least finding out ahead of time will save me the hassle of returning it later.

 

I realised I never fed back with definitive confirmation about TPM as I only got round to updating to 8.1 pro over the weekend

My i7-5500U definitely has a TPM2.0 visible in the device manager and bitlocker installed without issue.

 

Bahumbug we got it working! We ordered like 50 of these for our company we just had to install win 8 in UEFI mode with secure boot!
Dell people are full of BS and didnt even bother testing their theory.

It clearly says TPM 2.0 by INTC (intel).

I'm bitlocking with a pin and encrypting as I type.

What Do I win?

 

and yes i have the i7-5500U model. it dont matter

 

So, more confusion. This specifically contradicts what was posted by Dell.
I wonder about the i5 then. Are they confused about their own products there also?
I still wouldn't upgrade to the i7 just to get TPM. So, if i7 is the only model that supports TPM, it is about the same as not being available at all for us.

During the extended debacle of this thread, I have already purchased something else for personal use due to the Dell listing all of the available models as not having TPM.
We could still possibly buy the i5 model for work purposes if it does actually have TPM.

 

Why are you using a PIN with Bitlocker with TPM?

 

The obvious answer is that it's more secure that way. Someone who steals the laptop obviously has easy access to the TPM chip that unlocks the harddrive, but they won't have the PIN.

 

They don't have "easy access" to the TPM. The TPM is protected from tampering.
One of the primary reasons to have TPM is to not need to type a passcode every time you start up your encrypted computer.
If you want to type a passcode at every boot in addition to your Windows login, you can enable Bitlocker without even needing to have TPM.
To protect against someone trying to brute force guess the Windows login, if someone fails multiple times at the Windows prompt, then the computer shuts down and you need to do Bitlocker recovery to login.
If you want extra security, you can have Windows not display the last logged on user and then then the person trying to hack in would have to guess both the user ID and the password.

 

I meant that someone who is in physical posession of the laptop obviously has both the drive and the TPM chip needed to decrypt that drive, so if your laptop got stolen your data isn't necessarily secure. It's far safer to require a secret from the user for decryption.

 

It doesn't give them access to the drive contents unless they have the Windows password and boot into Windows. You are basically saying you don't trust the TPM to secure the key. If so, you might as well not have it and just rely on the user's PIN code instead.
Maybe it is a little safer to put the PIN on top of the TPM like putting a chain lock on your front door in addition to the deadbolt.