Dell XPS 15 (Skylake) 9550 Owner's Lounge

This is the first time coming back in about 300 pages. You, sadly, missed the Overpowered laptop sale on Walmart over the last several months. They are now out of stock and may never come back in. The OP-LP2 15+ laptop was the best laptop deal of the entire year. Here is a link to the official website to see the specs. I would keep an eye on the Walmart site to see if they ever get it again.
https://www.opowered.com/laptops/
Personally I am done with Dell. They still have the same issues with their newer lines and I wouldn't dream of getting the i9 in this body. I rarely ever start up the 9550 since getting the OP laptop.

 

No, I saw them and gave them a good look, but never having heard of them I checked a few of my usual tech colums and they all warned me away pointing out that the machines were provided by a new Chinese company that did all its business there with no footprint in the US. They advised that many those who had already bought them were having unbelievable support problems (much worse than those bastards at Dell).

I just wasn't in the position to take the risk.

As it turns out, I decided that since I was finally able to get a whole new set of bottom case screws that I would take the cheap route and bought a 1 TB WD Black NVME to replace my 512 GB X3 to hold me over until things get better aound my place or my keyboard gives out, whichever comes first.

I really liked the idea of the Lenovo X1 with the dual NVME slots.

 

I tried to search the thread, but no, nobody mentioned lack of numeric keyboard fn-key functionality on 9550 keyboard. I'm not sure if this is possible to fix via a bios update, maybe it's because of crappy keyboard hardware/membrane. This problem is bugging my brain for years, with no solution.

Where is the fn-key numeric keyboard? I need to press numeric keys, but no, I can't. I really wonder why nobody even asked for this feature since the release of this laptop. Weird thing is, if you use fn+B it's "pause/break", and fn+R is "PrtScr", but no numlock and no numerical combinations.

I am a 4K touch i7 16GB owner since 3-4 years, but keyboard of this laptop is a disappointment. I wish I could replace this keyboard with a properly *working* one.

 

As far as I know, there is not such a thing like a "fn-key numeric keyboard" on the Dell XPS 15 9550 and I don't miss it.

 

Take a look at the following link and maybe you'll get some answer as to why not.
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Numeric-keypads-not-coming-to-the-Dell-XPS-15-notebook.333382.0.html

 

Whenever I play Civilization 6 the keyboard heats up. Last night was different, I noticed the mouse pad was stiff, I had to press hard for it to click. I did some research and I found out that its caused by the battery whenever it swells because of the heat. Its true because everything went back to normal when I stopped playing... Does this mean that if I keep doing this the battery popping is inevitable? Scary...

 

Replace the battery ASAP or you will risk damaging the physical surroundings.
Good news is you may be inline for a free replacement as some batches were recalled. You can check here: https://www.dellproduct.com/

 

Thanks for your reply... Yeah its scary, what I did was set the thermal management to cool and set the power option to power saver. I played the game to test it and it wasn't really heating up. I did some research about the battery but the reviews are all bad, I won't risk it. I think I'll just upgrade to the 9570 to be safe. Thanks again...

 

New audio driver

https://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/19/drivers/driversdetails?driverId=VFWFF&osCode=WT64A&productCode=xps-15-9550-laptop

Fixes
- Corrected the translation for Brazilian Portuguese

Enhancements
- Added support for ASIO
- Combined the USB audio driver for Dell Dock/Dell Thunderbolt Dock

Version 6.0.1.7737, A04


EDIT: Seems that an old driver resurfaced with a new release date.

 

That appears to be an older version than yesterdays one? https://www.dell.com/support/home/i...N&osCode=WT64A&productCode=xps-15-9550-laptop

(which happens to match what is already on my system, dated circa 2017)

 

Who knows, it has today's release date at Dell, and seems combined with the USB driver.
Not much clue regarding the numbers, the latest USB Audio was 6.3.9600.44_A02 for instance.
But the files inside the "new" 6.0.1.7737_A04 installer (looking with 7-zip) indeed look stale.

 

What's up party people. Been a lurker hear for a while. Got xps in 2015. Had system running so smooth for about the last year or two. Not sure why, but now I have no mic input and audio drivers seem off. I'm looking to refresh my drivers but I'm unsure of where to start and with what versions.

Also, I've been on BIOS 1.2.29 for a looong time. I saw performance throttling at some version higher last time I update it so I and ended up going back to 1.3 just recently (partly in an effort to see if I get mic functionality back with a BIOS update, no dice.)

Has anyone lost mic input functionality ? I don't know if it was Windows automatic updates messing up or what, but everything was working fine up until a couple months ago and I still haven't found a solution after all my digging.

Should I try to install day 1 drivers for audio/realtek etc? Dell jack info pops up when I plug headphones in btw, but mic never comes on with.

 

Hi,

Have you tried the simplest solution of a System Restore with restoring it back to when you know you were all good?

Do you hopefully have any system image Backups when there were no issues?

 

Do you know if you are Windows build 1803 or 1809? Could it have updated without your knowing, during a reboot one time?

That could account for the sudden issues.

 

Your situation is the exact reason why, years ago, I learned that it was a good idea to always have a recently made system image that was made when everything was working properly on the computer.

With such a system image, when you have a problem, instead of spending hours trying to figure out if the problem was caused by a driver, software, update, etc. and dealing with frustration, you can re-image the computer and be back up and running in 20-30 minutes.

It is virtually a certainty that, somewhere along the line, we are all going to experience something going wrong with our computers. Over the years, having had a system image made when everything has worked properly has saved the day for me on multiple occasions, and making a system image and having it on hand is something that I would strongly recommend that everyone does before there is a problem.

Good luck in dealing with the situation.

 

With the audio drivers I would have no qualms in:
* Control Panel/Uninstall a Program - > uninstall all "realtek" items + dell audio items
* Device Manager/Sound, video and game controllers -> uninstall all realtek items

Then let windows re-find and install the default drivers. After that I would run the "detect drivers" on my lappys support page (your machine will have its own page): https://www.dell.com/support/home/ie/en/iedhs1/product-support/servicetag/2649j72/drivers

 

To be honest, the thought hasn't crossed my mind, and I may sound ignorant but, every now and then (every few months lets say) I'll make a restore point (is that the same thing as a system image?) and when I got to the configure section to see which points I have available, there are none on the list after some time. Do they get deleted? Am I too low on disk space, or rather, do I need to increase the allotted disk space (current set at 10GB)?

According to my About Page in Settings. I'm on 1803 installed 7/4/2018. It's since summer I have had issues slowly creep back. I had mic functionality at the time, but since then mic is gone and my external monitor via HDMI will flicker to black and back again every now and then. I'm aware the latter is a common issue and can be solved. I feel like updates my jumbled my drivers.

You guys are 100% right on the system image. I'm ashamed I do not have one. Any restore point I may have made in the past, doesn't persist long enough to have for this kind of moment. Like I asked above, is system restore point the same thing as a system image? I'm looking up the difference now, and see that a system image is a copy for copy of the selected partition. I haven't looked to see if restore points are that but I doubt it.

This seems to be my best bet for the moment. I've tried doing things manually and have reinstalled some new driver versions. I was not aware that Windows 10 could find the default drivers, as in, the stock drivers the computer shipped with. Or am I misunderstanding? Thanks for the suggestion, gonna give this a go tonight.


I guess as one last thing, I'm running 1.3 Bios now (which improved my usb c from 1.2.29) is there any reason to jump to BIOS 1.9? The highest I've run on this machine was maybe 1.5 or 1.7 and it gave me a significant performance drop, where the computer would start to throttle with my many multitasking between applications that it handled flawless before hand on 1.2.29.

 

I am on latest bios and latest drivers as per the dell auto detect tool (except the nvidia which I keep up to date) and have no issues currently.

 

In my experience, restore points are replaced by newer ones the frequecy of which depends upon how much space you allocate for them. Many restore points are created by Windows update when installing update which has a tendancy to eat up the reserved space quickly.

It is my experience as well that restore points don't fix everything as they only back up a limited number of critical files.

 

No, a system image and a restore point are not the same.

When you try to fix a problem with system restore, that process tries to "restore" only system files, and it tries to keep your personal files, including documents and pictures, the same as they were before you started the process. Because it isn't truly "restoring" the entire drive, whether it actually fixes a problem is rather hit and miss. My experience has been that, more often than not, using system restore does not fix problems.

When you use a system image, you are restoring the entire drive to exactly the way it was when the system image was created. When you create a system image, it would be stored on a drive outside of the computer.

You can automatically create system images or you can do it manually. I choose to create a new system image every time before I change anything on the computer, before I install new software, before I do updates, etc. That way, I know that, if something goes wrong with whatever changes I'm about to make, I can re-image the computer to bring it back to exactly the way it was before I attempted the changes. Otherwise, I will always make a new system image at least once per month.

If I have to re-image the computer with a system image that was, say, a couple of weeks old, after it is re-imaged, I will have to use the backups that I also make of my personal files to bring them up to date.

 

In answer to your questions in asked order, No and No.

To say you are "ignorant" is definitely not the case and I learned in life that the only dumb question is the one not asked!

A system restore is not the same as a system image and there are third party software's available that can make a great reliable and highly recommended system image + much more, yet I think that you can get a very good beginners & user friendly education from the following links.
https://www.ricksdailytips.com/system-restore-vs-system-image/
https://www.howtogeek.com/239312/how-to-restore-system-image-backups-on-windows-7-8-and-10/

Regards,
SDeP58

Edit: I typed No & No for my answers and how Yes and No appear instead is just truly beyond me.

Edit Take II: Well for whatever it's worth, I found out why words that I did & didn't type are going in or being deleted and it's because of my Logitech Anywhere MX mouse acting up like it always does either sooner or later. This is, I don't know any longer, my whatever number replacement I gratefully received from Logitech, as they unbelievably all eventually either double-click, cut, copy & paste & highlight like someone else is controlling it and although it's in fact my favorite mouse, for me it's sadly just doesn't last long and isn't very reliable. I've taken them apart, cleaned them thoroughly yet they still just fail on me way too soon in my Book.

 

Ever since it came out I have stuck to my Logitech M705 which has yet to fail me. It's sort of like the venerable Colt 1911 or M1 Garand.

 

Thanks. It's just a chore to keep up with all of Logitech's new reiterations of mice and I honestly thought I had finally found the one that was right for me in their Anywhere MX after upgrading to it from their M505. It fits my small hand great, it's very comfortable and has easy accessible controls and just plain does & did what I wanted, yet for me with it's unfortunate high failure rate, I will definitely check out your gracious suggestion in their M705.

P.S. Is it USB Unified and how many Bullets...I mean Batteries does it take?

 

About a year ago, I switched from using a USB mouse to using a Microsoft Bluetooth mouse. It has been working flawlessly, and, for me, the nice advantage is that I don't need to be using one of my USB ports constantly with the mouse transmitter/receiver. The mouse that I bought is the Microsoft Mobile Bluetooth 3600 mouse. It was less than $25 on Amazon.

 

Thanks and although I greatly appreciate the gracious suggestion after checking it out it doesn't have the FWD & Back buttons for the Browser as well as Windows applications, which I definitely cannot do without, especially after using them for a long time now with my Logitech's.
I also have no problems with unavailable USB ports as I have a mini 4-Hub in 2.0 port thus leaving me, 3 available on the right-side after the unified receiver, which is more than I'll ever use or need.

 

Bluetooth mice have always been spotty for me in Win10 with my 9550.

Can't live without my forward and back thumb buttons.

BTW, I'm sure you all know to never, EVER buy a Logitech refurb.

 

If you have a USB hub you seem to need your USB ports...

I have MX anywhere 2 for traveling, but I never liked that the push on the wheel isn’t “third mouse button” but instead switch between ratchet or free spinning.

I use a couple of Logitech Triathlon, they work as expected in regards to the wheel push, they are using a separate button to switch between ratchet/ free spinning. They also have the back/forward and windows gesture button. These are a bit bigger and fit better in my hands. They use Bluetooth and Unify dongle. They can easily switch between several computers if that is required.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Honestly, I rarely ever use the USB hub and every once in awhile when I need to put something on a USB flash drive is the only time it's ever used. My 9550 is a desktop replacement so on the left-side I have an external Western Digital Passport using the USB 3.0 and my Ethernet in the USB-C via adapter and the right side has the USB hub with the unified receiver plugged into it. I can truthfully remove the hub because I rarely if ever use or need it yet I look at it as, I have it if I do.

Like I said, I really love my Anywhere MX when it works, as it fits my small size hand great and I can navigate through the needed buttons very easily. The Triathlon sounds great yet something just tells me by the name that it will probably be too big for my hand yet I thank you kindly for the grateful suggestion and I will definitely check it out.

 

https://www.dell.com/support/home/u...9&oscode=wt64a&productcode=xps-15-9550-laptop

Intel Thunderbolt Controller Driver

Enhancements:
- Improves the stability of Thunderbolt software .

Version
Version 17.4.79.510, A12

Category
Chipset

Release date
06 Mar 2019

Last Updated
11 Mar 2019

Compatible Systems
XPS 15 9550
XPS 15 9560
XPS 15 9570
XPS 15 9575 2-in-1

 

Hey all. Anyone still using the dell xps 15 9550 and its still going good for you?


Also i asked this question last time but did not buy the item yet but will do so soon most likely. I want to upgrade my ram from 8gb to 16gb.



Just to confirm its this one right? And make sure you choose 16gb (8gbx2) dual rank?


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019FRDAY6/ref=ox_sc_act_title_8?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1


The price has went down as i believe last time when i want to buy it, it was about 170 dollars. Was there a price drop in ram recently? Im pretty sure this ram cost at least 160 when i saw 6 months ago.

 

Also last time i asked about getting a product where if my electricity goes out, i can get power with something like this

https://www.amazon.com/Dell-Power-C...00PC9HG0Q/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8


Can others confirm this will work with my dell xps 15 9550? And does anyone know about how long battery would i get with it? Example i always have my laptop charged even at 100 percent because when i unplug it... battery usually last 1 hour or a bit more only. Then i plug it back in. But i dont do this because if i do and get power outage which does happen where im at, then i wouldnt have much battery on it. So if i buy this and have it fully charged, say power outage goes out. Well i have about 1 hour on my laptop with my battery. I might get 1 hour 30 minute at the very max if i make no sound and lower brightness very low etc. How long would i get with something like this? Could i get 2 hours? I read reviews where ppl say they get lot of hours on this. But because this laptop is a quad core, probably not? So how many hours could i get with this? Thus i get say 1 hour 15 minutes with my battery on my laptop, could i get at least that with this? I mean if i could get another 2 hours with this power bank, that would be pretty good. Anyone with experience with this power bank from dell for their dell xps laptop?



Would this work? I see it does not mention compatible with dell xps 15 9550 in the description but i read a few reviews where ppl said it work with the xps 15 but they do not mention the exact model such as 9550 or 9560 or 9570 etc.


https://www.amazon.com/Dell-PW7018L...bank+dell&qid=1552344718&s=electronics&sr=1-3

 

Check the link below as this is what you want & need. It will give you both compatible models for the 9550, Ratings & Reviews,Tech Specs, Drivers, Manuals & Support.

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/del...k-power-bank-43wh/apd/451-bblz/pc-accessories

 

For what I do and need I just thankfully couldn't ask for better or more.

I think you should truly know by now that nothing ever stays the same especially in electronics and you can wait for what you want & need for as long as you want yet things will always change. See the link below as all memory modules on the page are all compatible with the 9550.
https://www.crucial.com/usa/en/compatible-upgrade-for/Dell/xps-15-(9550)

 

Still using our two units. I was going to upgrade this year but couldn't find the right machine for my budget. Now I'm glad I didn't. What with USB 4 due out next year and some big improvements coming from Intel, I"m going to tough it out with my 9550.

 

9570 is not so compelling. We can look forward to USB4, maybe ThunderBolt directly on CPU die, eventual upgrade from old Skylake architecture and motherboard, improvements due to competition on Intel. . .

 

XPS 15 9550, FHD + NVME SSD and honestly that is one of the best laptop I ever had. Reliable, up to 6h-7h of battery.
Many people complains about 9550 but I guess the last of them that have been produced where really good.

Envoyé de mon Nexus 5X en utilisant Tapatalk

 

I have one of the very first ones - and its rock solid now (it did have a flaky start with drivers to be fair) - and I agree the bump to a 9570 does not make much sense at this point in time...

 

https://www.dell.com/support/home/u...y&oscode=wt64a&productcode=xps-15-9550-laptop

Dell XPS 15 9550 1.10.0 System BIOS
Fixes:
- Firmware updates to address security advisory INTEL-SA-00185 (CVE-2018-12188 CVE-2018-12190 CVE-2018-12191 CVE-2018-12192 CVE-2018-12199 CVE-2018-12198 CVE-2018-12200 CVE-2018-12187 CVE-2018-12196 CVE-2018-12185).
- Fixed an issue with Secure Boot Option ROM Signature Verification
- Fixed the issue where the BIOS option SupportAssist OS Recovery stays in the Enabled state after the system fails to boot.
Enhancements:
- None.
Release date 20 Mar 2019 Last Updated 20 Mar 2019

 

I think it's just unbelievable that we're very thankfully still in the loop especially with all the refreshes and I honestly believe it's because the 9550 did/does prove that it's definitely a pretty solid, functional & reliable unit regardless of the naysayer's.

 

On that note, I would greatly appreciate anyone trying 1.10 letting us know how you did.

 

It installed without any hitch and the computer is working great.

 

Appreciate it.

 

Hey all i wanted to buy this last time but did not but will do so soon and want opinion.



https://www.amazon.com/Dell-Power-C...00PC9HG0Q/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8


There is an option to buy a 4 cell that is 12000mAh for 40 dollars plus tax. The 4 cell usb-c one is 93 dollars.


The 6 cell one 18000 mAh is 100 dollars plus tax.


How long would i get if i get the 4 cell one? What about the 4 cell usb-c? Do those weigh less than the 6 cell one? So no matter which one i buy, the 6 cell one will be the heaviest and also give the most battery correct?


My dell xps 15 9550, there seems to be 2 different types i believe in terms of battery for the internal battery.


Example some xps 15 9550 has a 84W battery. Mine however has the 56W battery.


Would that mean anything to this?

 

Where im located, there is frequent power outages. I use my laptop connected with 2 external monitors and when this happens, i only have power on my laptop because on my internal battery. But what im doing, the battery last about 1 hour... if i dim the light and power... it might hit 1 hour 30 minute at the absolute max. But its between 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minute most likely.


So when there is power outage, many times i need to be on the computer doing something that would last longer and thus i cannot have power cut off. So is getting one of these power companion exactly what i need? Now if i get one of these, how much more battery would i get? I would have to have it fully charged first right and when there is a power outage... then use my laptop as is on battery for an hour or so? Then if power doesn't come on, then i connect this to it? But how long would i get out of it? I could use my laptop while plugging this to it right? So when i use it, it would be also charging my battery as im using it... similar to like how i use my regular charger connected to my laptop? My charger is almost always connected to my laptop because if not, every hour i have to plug it back in etc. Also i have to keep it plugged because if i dont, and power outage happens, i only have say 15-30 minutes of power before my computer turns off.


So how long would the 4 cell get me with 12000 mAh? What about the 4 cell usb 12000mAH? And the 6 cell 18000 mAh? Would i even get say 2 hours on it or not? So with this... if there is power outage, i get 1 hour battery with my regular battery... and maybe 1 hour 30 minute at the absolute max with this? Because i want something where i could buy some time because if the power doesn't come back, then i have to head to starbucks or a location with a power outlet? Someone in another forum told me when they use this with their laptop connected fully, it last all day. How in the world would that even be possible? With these, you are basically getting no more than like what your internal battery gets you right?


I like to also add that the 56W battery i currently have, i bought a new one last year because the old battery was very bad and the battery went off in about 10 minutes. I had replaced the battery one time and that was last year.


But basically no battery would make this laptop last few hours right? All the laptops i ever had, i hear ppl talk about 7 hour battery etc... i dont think any of this is ever true right? Like other laptops they advertise 8 hours of battery... i mean unless your screen is dim and you dont play any youtube video or do anything besides, type, that probably only way one could get those battery times? How many hours can you guys get on your dell xps 15 9550 while doing your regular thing? What about youtube? What i do, it uses power so thats why it last 1 hour or so. But if i youtube only... its only a bit over 1 hour.


Any tips on what i can do here to get more battery on my laptop if there is a power outage? So if i want to get many hours... buy 2 of these? But how long would 1 last me? Because when i do things online on the computer, i can't afford to have the power go out. Thus i have to find a power outlet as quick as possible. So my laptop battery gives me about 1 hour. But i need much more than that.


Thanks.

 

I understand the 12000mAh doesn't have enough power for the XPS 15.

The 9550 sure can last longer on battery, but it depends a lot on what are you doing (not if you've got intensive tasks, especially involving the GPU). Look up some battery life optimization guides. "Idle" consumption can be sometimes reduced a lot if you turn off unnecessary programs and services.

 

You truthfully need to go back through this thread and research the many answers to your questions as I know that I in fact and not too long ago provided you with not only answers yet also with direct links to these and your prior questions.

 

Hi there. I took a look and apparently the 12000 and 18000 both work with the dell xps 15 9550. But the 12000 mah does not have good reviews it seems. The 18000 mah seem to be better but not great.


The one that i posted the link to which is a 6 cell and it is 18000 mah but it says WCKF2. I then looked at the details on amazon and it says PW7015L. That is the same model as the one on dell site. So basically buying it from amazon new should be fine compared to buying it from dell? Same cost but i have amazon prime and dell probably takes much longer to ship.


It says you need power adapter with it but is that the one i currently with my charger? So i only need to buy this only right? Can someone who has this tell me how long it can make your laptop keep power on for? Example say you are on your laptop battery and you get between 1 to 1.5 hours on it. Then when you plug this in, how long can you use your laptop before no more power?

 

Okay im going to buy the mah 18000. I will order it now and comment on it later on. But in the meantime, anyone with the 7015 power charger from dell with the dell xps 15 9550 can give feedback on it based on you experience?

 

Reviews are very opinionated & subjective in my Book especially when there aren't many. You have to get what you need to get what you're ultimately looking for.

Once again very opinionated as who just loves Amazon and who doesn't and who loves Dell and who doesn't. In the end you have to go with whom you have more experience and feel more comfortable with.

I can only assume that being it's a direct listed accessory for the 9550 you should have/get all you need and be good to go.
How many hours you will get again is extremely opinionated as that's like saying how far can you get on a full tank of gas using the same car as someone else. You drive one way and someone else drives another so your mileage will vary.
I'm sure being very conservative in what you do with your settings it will hopefully yield you good & wanted results.

Finally, Questions and reviewing is great and definitely recommended yet when it's all said and done, you will never truly know the real answers to your questions until you finally make the purchase and ultimately see for yourself.

 

Received it earlier. There is a powerbank and like 2 of these cables are like almost the same? One is bigger, the other is smaller? Its where you stick it to charge the laptop. One fits... the smaller on... the other is way too big. Do you know why i got 2 of them? I assume one is for certain dell laptops and the other is for other laptops and see which fits which?


Also i got a paper that says important info and to flash the bios. Is this needed to be done? It say its recommended to flash the bios before the latest version. Do i need to do that? Now im concerned if me doing something like this could cause an issue with my laptop as if i flash it, then suddenly i dont know what is the next step...


There is also this cyclinder thing that came along with it as well.

Im looking at the quick start guide.


So basically to charge this power bank, i have to use the charger that came along with my dell xps 15 9550 right? However, this is what does not make sense.


Right now i have the dell xps charger connect to my laptop charging. Now i unplug the part that comes into my lap


In the picture, it shows the power adapter not included... this is the power adapter i have for my dell xps 15 9550. It shows its plugged into an outlet. So take that end that connects to my laptop to charge it and plug it in the first spot of the power bank to first charge the power bank right? But how long do i do that for? What is confusing it why does it seem like there are 2 places where you could plug it in? Example it fits in the first hole and not 2nd hole on the powerbank. I assume thats because certain laptops use either a small one or a big one? The picture shows it being plugged in to the 2nd hole.

Whats then confusing is after you do a full charge of the power bank... which should take how long? Then you connect it to the dell xps laptop right? So stick the end where you have to open the thing and connect it to that spot on the powerbank? Then on the opposite end, connect it to the spot where you normally connect your charger to charge your laptop? What confuses me here is why are there 2 of these power out cables? Also the cyclinder thing i read is called a ferrite core. Is it necessary to attach that as shown in the diagram?