Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook Review & Owner's Thread

Your first challenge is finding anything with the right connector - the XPS has a different connector then any previous dell laptops.

Second, is that any external battery pack runs through the battery - it will charge it first - no way around this. This laptop probably would not run without the battery inline.

If you want something to extend runtime - it will have to say made for laptops or netbooks and list this model laptop explicitly.

 

Thanks for that. I didn't realize this laptop used a non-standard Dell connector. There are some battery packs that say "for laptops" and supposedly power without charging the battery first (like the one below), though none list the xps 13, unfortunately. That's too bad. If anyone has gotten an external battery pack to work with the xps13, please let me know.

Amazon.com: Energizer XP18000 Universal AC Adapter with External Battery for Laptops, Netbooks, and More: Electronics

 

Sweet! Glad to hear.

 

Hey Bill. Are you willing to fill us in on how the development of the new anticipated updated xps 13 is going by any chance ? you are probably keeping specifics close to your heart right now, but any tangible indications on what will be the successor will surely keep us going waiting some more, i cant go in the dark no more without knowing,,,,you see...we dont, as of now ! We need a new udated xps 13 and she better be a sweat deal without all the noize and heat she is making right now

 

+100000!!!!!!

 

I'm wholeheartedly unimpressed with Dell Canada's support. I was having issues with the wifi driver causing blue screens and distortion from one of the speakers, so I called support a few weeks back. They insisted that I did not have in home service, even though I showed them the page that still says that all xps 13s receive 1 year of in home service. They wouldn't budge on it, so I sent it into the depot. I shipped it out on August 08, and I still haven't received it back 13 business days later. The very earliest I will see it is Monday which puts it at almost 3 weeks since I sent it in, and that's only if I get it Monday. I've asked for an ETA, but I've been told that they don't have one. I've been a strong supporter of dell for over 10 years, having personally bought or recommended a couple dozen laptops and desktops, but this experience is making me seriously reconsider that stance.

 

Now that Dell's 3 new windows 8 models have been announced, can you give any hints on the XPS 13 refresh? Will it be releasing end of October or before? Will there be any redesign or just upgraded components?

 

This just annoys me to no end. I guess it's somehow possible you got a mail-in warranty, but I don't know how. We post your warranty contract type on support.dell.com. You can find it by referencing the required identifying information on the website. That should have been what the tech had you pull up to show you what kind of warranty you have. If his tools show depot, and the website shows onsite, guess who wins. For Canada, you can use this link, log in, provide the requested information and see your warranty contract.

Start the speculation thread. I'll be there with bells on. What did you think of the new models? The AIO is freakin' awesome. Apple should answer at some point. We just blew by them in that space.

 

@Bill - the 27" AIO looks awesome. Feel free to send me a demo unit or make me part of a trial.

 

How about fixing the 1st one before they make a "refresh"?
I could shoot the trackpad! Yes latest drivers... uninstalled, reinstalled, reset to factory, holy ****!
this trackpad prevents sleep (with the lid open) and then doesn't work when it comes out of sleep...
oh my aching head....

This reminds me of the M17x "R1" I have...
They go and make a "R2" before fixing the first one.
Geeze, oh how I hate paying to be a beta tester...........

 

Agree 100%. 2 finger right click isn't even supported. That's about as basic as it gets these days.

 

Hello everyone,

I spilled coffee on my XPS 13 ultrabook this morning. I managed to turn it around quickly, clean everything on the surface, blow out what I could under the keys, and I seem to have no major problems. The one problem that I do have is the few keys that are now sticky. I know you shouldn't put sugar in your coffee. Is there a way to clean the bottom side of the keys, and is it possible to remove individual ones at all. I really do not want to go through the process of taking everything apart.

Thanks for your help, and I apologize if there have been questions such as this previously.

 

Anyone else notice that the "reliability monitor" stopped working after one of driver updates? Dell updated our machine on 7/29 and the reliability monitor did not run since.

 

It says rapid response depot. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Dell has advertised 1 year in home service on this model since it launched. I bought it right when it came out, and my assertion was that there must have been some mistake in the system when I bought it that accidentally granted me depot service when it should have granted in-home. Everyone I talked to essentially said "not my problem, deal with it". Anyways, I finally got the system back yesterday, over 3 weeks after I sent it in. I haven't had a chance to see if they fixed all the problems, but my first impression is that the audio distortion is less pronounced, but still there at higher volumes.

 

Did you buy through the consumer (home user) site or the business site? I see an option for 3 years of basic warranty on the business side that's not on the consumer side. That's the only reason besides something really wacky like they changed the warranty offering in Canada to match the US offer after launch.

 

I ordered over the phone as a home user. Could the sales rep have screwed up?

 

I did it for him. See here.

 

Perhaps, but it sounds more like something on the process end. As long as they didn't charge you for it, they won't be quick to auto-upgrade the warranty. They would want you to pay the difference, but I'm just guessing. You may want to take it up with the @DellCares team in Twitter or on Facebook.com/Dell via PM. I have no idea how they'd handle this. They might just look at it and decide it's not worth the customer irritation to explain how we're right, and decide to just upgrade it. I'm not speaking for them here, and I can't, but you could always have a friendly, non-confrontational conversation with them and see where it leads.

On my way. Thanks.

 

@Dell-Bill_B

The new Cypress and Quickset drivers went live 30th of August. Still getting an error when I try to download those drives.
Can you inform the right guys about this issue? This needs a fix asap.
This driver and this driver.

 

The Cypress driver looks like it's for Bios A03. Not sure if that matters. I also noticed there was an optional bios upgrade to A06. Likely any advantage there. I still have slight problems with my trackpad, but I can live with it.

 

wich optional bios are you refering to here exactly ? i can only see A06 and rev downwards from that last release, i am looking through the US driver site. any additional drivers and bios would hopefully improve this machine further.

 

The problem is that I have just installed Windows 8 again. I now I can't download the trackpad drivers because the link on Dell.no is broken. It's been 4 days, still not fixed. Does anybody have the previous trackpad driver and want to upload them to me? (On my SkyDrive or something).

 

The old drivers are still there, under the driver click applies to: cypress touchpad then click other versions. But yeah hopefully the new one will work soon.

Edit: The new one seems be working now. Windows 8 supported. Seems to generally work well. 3 finger flick, 4 finger to desktop and current apps, 4 finger to the side brings up start/desktop, swiping from the right brings up but charms bar. 2 finger scroll works well enought. BUT STILL NO TWO FINGER RIGHT CLICK! ARGGGH!!

 

The driver version for the trackpad is 2.5.0.52 - the new one. Previous was 2.3.6.34 - so regardless of the A03 designation (which i believe applies the the trackpad hardware not the motherboard) it is a newer driver.

The download for quickset still doesn't work though.

EDIT - new BIOS and Network drivers listed, but don't work yet - 9/4 date.

 

As stated by alphadog00, the Synaptics driver link works. I sent a note over reporting the broken link for Quickset. I will post back when I hear something.

 

I actually got a working download link (newest driver) from @dellLytter on Twitter. I am very pleased now

 

It is odd. All the other downloads now work - including the new BIOS. But still the new Quickset link is broken.

 

Link to Quickset download: ftp://ftp.dell.com/FOLDER00788579M/2/APP_Quickset_W7_A03_Setup-7NXXG_ZPE.exe

 

Announcement:

My final post on NBR as a Dell representative.

 

What's this ??

 

My wording was a little unclear, and I've edited the opening of the post.

 

Bill I think the link you placed as URL leads to a wrong post

 

Woops. Fixed. Thanks.

 

Well, I've had it. I'm throwing in the towel. The track pad on the XPS 13 is just not a working product. I am currently on the newest 2.5.0.52 driver but I have tried every driver out there (yes, I always uninstall old one before installing replacement). I have tried every iteration of settings, every piece of advice. I have spent hours on the phone with Dell (India) trying to troubleshoot. I have had the track pad replaced. I have had the laptop replaced with a brand new one...twice. I am running Win 7 Ultimate (64). I can get the track pad to move the cursor although not with complete accuracy but, for the life of me, cannot get scrolling, either 1 finger or 2 finger, to work. Depending on the day and the driver, I can sometimes get 1 finger to work like a drunken mosquito, but the scrolling doesn't have any relationship to what my finger is doing on the track pad and jumps up and down for several seconds after I lift my finger. And...as far as my experience is concerned, multi-finger gestures do not work, EVER!
I am a business partner with multiple Dell business accounts for more than 10 years. The entire infrastructure of our business is built on Dell servers, multiple SQL servers, multiple file servers, multiple backup servers, exchange servers, and software licenses, all purchased from Dell. I have an IT director who is the envy of our industry and a die-hard Dell devotee. He and his staff cannot make make my XPS 13 track pad work. I may not be the most experienced user on this forum but I am not a newbie either and I have considerable brain and tech power helping me figure this out. I bought the XPS 13 to use as my main computer. Truth is, I rarely use it without an external mouse and, while I'm in the office, I have an external monitor and keyboard. But, when I am travelling, I rely on the track pad to work properly. And, as my IT director said, "It's an ULTRABOOK for god sakes! They have to have a reliable track pad!"
I've had enough. I am contacting Dell for a refund. For the first time, I will be looking at a non Dell product to replace it. It's really unfortunate because, as I have said many times on this forum, the XPS 13 is an elegant little machine. I love everything about it except the unusable track pad.

 

Sorry about your trackpad troubles. I think it's an intermittent issue. I have almost no issues with mine at all.

I am however, trying to download the new A07 bios. The default choice is "flash only", so I click that, but I keep getting a "105" error command line. I don't know much about new Bios. Should I just leave it alone?

Never mind. I had saved the Bios to my laptop and then ran it. I tried it again by just hitting "Run" from the Dell download center and it seems to have worked flawlessly.

 

Well I managed to upgrade to A07 and the new trackpad driver, but now the laptop is worse than before. Is it safe and fairly easy to go back to an earlier Bios?

 

Dell is losing their best employee.

 

Sorry to hear you're leaving Bill. It was truly a pleasure.

 

Not good !...
Dell is sinking or what ?

 

Dell laid off a pile of people - in Round Rock and remote.

This is the downside to working for a public company that places stock performance above all else. If the balance sheet doesn't look a certain way then it becomes easy to cut cost by axing a bunch of people. Up until 2000 Dell proudly proclaimed that they never had a layoff. Since that time, they have had layoffs on a regular basis.

I love my Dell products, but they still are trying to be grown up company and not quite there - they have lots of people promoted by who they know, not by ability. I know, I worked their - 2 times at a decent salary level. Not a bad place, but if you don't make a name for yourself it is easy to be on the RIF list when the time comes for headcount reduction.

 

The only thing I don't like about this notebook is the trackpad. After reading everyones complaints about it I'm thinking that it is a design problem. I have tried many UltraBooks and most of the trackpads don't work the right way.
The only one that is decent is the trackpad on the Toshiba Z830.

 

...well and any MacBook trackpad.
-joe-

 

Has anyone upgraded their 128GB mSATA SSD to a 256GB mSATA SSD?

Because there is a sale on Newegg.com for a 256GB mSATA SSD right now for $169.99. Would this mSATA work for the Dell XPS 13?

 

Yes... and Yes.
The Crucial and Samsung mSATA SSD's are among the best.

Scott-

 

Hi all, new XPS 13 user here.

Just wondered if anyone had any advice on getting the trackpad to function properly? I've updated to the latest drivers, but i still get random freezes (where the pad is unresponsive - mouse pointer doesnt move), and the touch-tap doesn't work consistently.

As a test I booted into Ubuntu and the trackpad was so much better to use! So it must be a driver thing..

 

So 3 months in, my screen has developed 4 artifacts. What is my recourse at this time? I obviously need a new screen, but do I have to send my computer back?

This is such bs

 

My ssd died shortly thereafter. Things seem better now since I got a new one.

 

Hi everyone! So far I love the XPS 13 though there are some little hiccups with it. I have been away from the PC world for six years so please be understanding if I ask noobish questions.

For a little background I picked up the computer Sunday and so far I have updated the Wifi, Touchpad, and Bios from the dell drivers list. I have also deleted a lot of the software and installed Avast Free Version. So far there are some things I'm a little unsure about. First the touchpad is awesome but sometimes the tap to click doesn't respond even though I dialed in light touch. Another problem is I find the temp to be a little high (though not as bad as my macbook). CPU idle temps range from 130-140 with no apps running in the background. With Chrome and word processor open the CPU temp is 145. My final question is why on earth is there so little storage. I thought I bought a computer with a 128gb SSD not an 80GB SSD lol.

Thank You

 

I hope those temps are in farenhite, how much storage have you got left? You can reduce the page file and delete the hibernation file which will give you more gigs of room. Also delete the recovery partition if you have one.

 

Yea they're in fahrenheit, I have 53gbs left and all I have installed are Microsoft Office, Chrome, and Avast. I have deleted a lot of the standard bloatware that came with the computer already. Only thing I haven't deleted is the Dell Labeled stuff and Adobe Elements. So is the hibernation file not needed since I have the intel quick start thing? Yes I believe I do have a recovery partition its 5gbs if I recall.

Thanks