Dell XPS 15 (Skylake) 9550 Owner's Lounge

When do we expect the next refresh to come? Should I buy this unit now or wait a few months if I can?

 

well...next nvidia gpu may come on september so... maybe december ou january

 

There won't be a refresh. More like better quality control


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Hey guys, is it just me or the pinch to zoom feature doesn't work on the trackpad of this laptop? I don't know what I'm doing wrong, but it's just not working for me?

 

I had the squeaky space bar issue and followed the instructions in this video and haven't had any issues since. It was straightforward to remove the space bar, I didn't feel like it was going to break. I wouldn't want to do it multiple times, as the little plastic tabs that hold it together probably would wear out or break, but it seemed fine to pop it off and back on once or twice. The tape described in the video was not adhered down and all I did was press it back. Took just a few minutes and space bar is great now. I will say my backspace key sometimes feels/sounds a little off, but not as big a deal as the space bar.

I did not have to lubricate anything, but that's what I would try next if it starts having issues again.

 

Long time lurker, first time poster. I got an XPS 15 9550 FHD last month. Ordered the model with the 56 WHr battery and I just added a 1 TB Samsung 850 EVO and also replaced the RAM with a 16 GB DDR4 kit from Crucial that I got for $91.99. Didn't have any issues with the part I got from Dell (XDYGX) and everything works great. Also, my XPS 15 seems to be fine as far as issues are concerned (no ghosting, keyboard issues, or battery life issues from what I've seen so far).

 

Yeah, i popped everything off and put a bit of synthetic/teflon lube with a q-tip on all the connections points I could find. For some reason when I took the key off the little plastic scissor mechanism on the left and right side was completely disassembled. I'm pretty sure this happened as I pulled it off. So putting it all back together was a bit tougher than expected.

I didn't have any issue with a sticky spacebar - so that video isn't quite what I needed, but it already was a complete DIY project, so thanks for helping answer anyways! Bottom line, I think I solved the squeaky keyboard. More testing will really bear it out, but so far so good. Just popped it off, applied some lube, clicked it back on (after putting the scissor mechanisms back together).

 

So I just got my XPS 15 this evening (i7, Infinity display, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD) and immediately I'm getting a strange error. The computer is a 'Signature Edition' purchased through Microsoft.

When I first turned on the computer, I went through the usual system set-up steps, but when it finally booted into Windows 10, I got an error saying 'Hard Drive - Not Installed.' The computer then restarted and then booted up right into Windows like there was no problem. After going through some basic Windows settings, I rebooted the computer and entered the ePSA Pre-Boot Diagnostics program (pressed F12 during POST to get the selection menu). When the ePSA diagnostic program runs, I get an error saying 'Hard Drive - Not Installed.' The event data says:

Fail PSA V4302 Error 2000:0155. Validation Code: 72392 Hard Drive - Not installed

The weird thing is that if I reboot and just let it boot into Windows, it seems to be working fine. Windows recognizes the hard drive correctly and things seem to be working fine. Any ideas as to what is going on?

BTW, the computer came with BIOS version 01.00.05 and is set to BIOS defaults (SATA Operation is set to the default RAID On). Boot Mode is set to UEFI; Secure Boot in ON (do I need Secure Boot?).
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A separate question - I've seen some mentions of changing the SATA Operation from RAID On to AHCI for better HD performance. However, when I do that, I get a different error and Windows won't boot. When I run the ePSA Diagnostic with the SATA Operation set to AHCI, I get the following error:

Fail PSA V4302 Error 2000:0151. Validation Code: 119258 Hard Drive 1 - S/N S29PNXAG909522, incorrect status = 8000000000000003

So the computer is recognizing that there is a hard drive (and appears to be reading the serial # of the drive), but the drive is not communicating properly in AHCI. Any ideas about this?

Thanks!

 

I have the same set up but I purchased mine from dell.com. I have been getting hard drive errors on the pre boot diagnostics too. Also, when I start up sometimes, at the desktop it freezes and it says windows has stopped responding. Other times it works normal.
Dell has sent me a new hard drive and it still gave the error in pre boot diagnostics. I then had the system sent in and it was returned, but still has a hard drive error. I'm getting a replacement system now and hoping for the best.

 

I'm finally an owner of a i5/1080p/8gb/1tb+32gb/56whr model. My first impression taking it out of the box is wow is it heavy. Was not expecting it. 2nd impression is what a great screen .. Text was very clear not sure why you'd need 4K unless you are doing photo / video editing. Third impression is wow is that hd slow

 

That HDD, just no!!!


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Same here, works in the browser and file explorer. That's about it, can't seem to find a solution either

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How and where is it suppose to work?


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On my previous laptops (2 of them), this gesture worked with picassa, the photos app and a few other ones that don't work now.
As for how it's supposed to work, you just pinch in or out on the track pad and it zooms in/out respectively

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I have the same system. It is your call re setting to RAID vs AHCI. Will you possibly get better "bench mark numbers" using AHCI mode...probably. Will you see a real world performance difference...doubtful with normal usage. IMHO, I wouldn't bother. I have my system set with factory defaults and it performs very well for my usage. YMMV.
Yes, I did see the HDD not found message on initial boot, I have never seen it again.
BTW, I would update the BIOS right away to the latest release as they did fix a number of issues.

 

Folks, turn off pinch to zoom NOW! It's not all that useful and really impacts touchpad performance.

 

Thanks, good to know. Will try it on mine once the replacement arrives.


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No you have to use raid with the latest 1.1.15 bios. If not you will not be able to reboot yours

 

Not sure what you are talking about. Please explain. I disabled RAID and it works, mind you I had my OS reinstalled. I am planning to take out the 32 GB M.2 and replace it with 512 to be my primary HD.


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The only issue with my two 9550's is the space bar which doesn't seem to operate properly. Often I get either an extra space or none at all. I watched the video several times and then screwed up my courage and tried it. It came off and went back on alright, but even smoothing down the tape didn't quite do the trick. While it does seem to move a bit more freely, unlike the movement the video shows, my space bars seem to stick on the long side facing the track pad and following the procedure on the video didn't solve that. Also, I still have the problem of double and no spacing.

 

How do You clean the carbon part around touchpad? Mine is not clean because Of the dust ,fingerprint and hand sweat.

 

Yeah, I was on the phone with Dell Support last night and, after scrutinizing the error codes the ePSA Diagnostics was throwing up, they want me to send the laptop back to them. They did concede that, since the laptop is having issues right out of the box, they will expedite my fix to 5 business days vs. the normal 7 - 10 business days. (Hooray?) They say they are going to send me a box to send the laptop back to them. I guess I just need to wait and see what happens.

 

I use glass cleaner (Windex). What I do is lightly spray onto a paper towel first (so it's just barely damp), then apply the paper towel to the 9550.

 

I use rubbing alcohol, just enough to get the cloth damp


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Window cleaner on a soft cotton cloth.

 

Where should I download this?

 

iOS store lol


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I've been reading through these posts again to keep myself busy - as sadly my delivery is delayed again for some reason. It's well overdue now and seemed to just be sat at WWI-Lutterworth for days. I've called Dell and spoken to a customer care representative who thought the reason for the delay may have been due to a problem printing out delivery labels or something? Syncreon weren't much help at all to be honest and its very frustrating, I just want to get stuck into rebuilding my new laptop!

Do Dell offer anything in compensation for having to wait past the latest possible delivery date? If its not here on Monday I'll be on that phone having a right old whinge!

 

They offer that, you just have to be persistent when you call them, and be very polite.


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I'm always polite to them as there's no point getting angry, its just really frustrating when its delayed! Do you know what they do offer as compensation, I've been buying machines from them for many years and this is the only one ever delayed like this?

 

I called and asked for a compensation and they gave me 100+tax back


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Nice one, now that's good to hear that they do actually care about their customers

 

The TB15 Thunderbolt dock is now up for sale on Dell's website.

http://accessories.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=450-AEVM

 

Great news!
Unfortunately not yet available for European customers

 

They are showing two versions of this dock. One comes with a 180W power adapter and one comes with a 240W power adapter. Everything else looks exactly the same.

 

I seem to be having a problem with BIOS updates. I had thought I had successfully updated my BIOS to 1.1.15 back when it was first released - the firmware updating process seemed to go through without a hitch, and claimed the firmware update passed.

I decided to download the new 1/27 "update" and the update dialogue claims I still have 1.01.15 installed.

So, I installed it, it rebooted, it said it was doing the BIOS updates. But when I reboot, I still seem to be on 1.01.15 (CPUID says this, and when I try to run the BIOS updater again it also still reports I'm on 1.01.15 and thinks I should still be able to update.

Any ideas?

 

Bought the 180-watt WD15 dock using the two coupons mentioned. Thanks for that! Plus I had a leftover Dell gift card - so all in all I picked up a dock for $129.

For the WD15 - the watt choices were 130 and 180 - I went with the higher watt so I would have some overhead to power the dock and XPS15 without issue. not sure what going up to 240 watts buys you??

 

I am wondering too, the only thing that occurs to me while reading the 240w specs, is that it may not only power your Laptop, it may also power Thunderbolt displays and other peripherals, so the higher the wattage the more USB-C/TB3 devices it can power.

That's the only advantage I can think of.

 

Where are you located cause Dell USA doesn't have it available yet for purchase


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US - Just search for "Thunderbolt dock" and you will find them.

 

Thanks, found it.


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It will reflash, useful feature in case you are showing possible signs of a faulty update, ir keyboard failed after update or touchscreen not working. Dell can get you to reflash with a usb keyboard and mouse before sending an engineer round to really fark it up.

 

I bought the Samsung EVO and tested out the speeds and I was getting lower read speeds than the PM951 that came with the laptop. So I installed Samsung Magician Software and enabled Turbo Mode and everything shot up by a lot. Are there any drawbacks to using Turbo Mode? Is it worth keeping it enabled?

 

rapid modes just a RAM cache so it is very short lived before it will drop to it's old speeds, what evo did you get?

 

I got this machine last week and yesterday I was sitting in a meeting squaking away... super annoying. I now took down the key and wiped any hinge and touching moving parts under that space bar key with the tip of a toothpick and WD40. The noise is now gone, I hope it stays that way.

Another issue I have now is that my BT mice are getting interference from any 2,4GHz Wifi and will start so stutter or jump around. Once I connect to a 5GHz Wifi the problem is gone... This never happened on my old Samsung Series 7 Ultra....

 

Anyone have sleep/power issues since the latest thermal framework update? My computer wont shut off on battery anymore. Every time I press the power button it tries to go to sleep then jumps to the windows logon screen after a second. I manually shut it down with 100% battery this morning and it seemed to stay off. But when I turned it on this afternoon, the battery level was critical. WTF is going on?

 

I got the 850 EVO 500GB. So does that mean the benefits of rapid mode are negligible? Should I disable it?

 

It's handy for opening browsers and launching the most used things but I ended up disabling it on my 9530 and didn't notice a great difference.

 

Looks like the EVO is a SATA, not a NVMe drive - those speeds are what I'd expect from 6Gbps SATA 3. And, I'd get rid of the Rapid Mode.

 

The bigger TB3 dock is also available. I can only find one coupon for 10% off (EXTRA10). What other coupons are available out there to combine???

http://accessories.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=450-AEVM