Dell XPS 15z Issues List

Hi, I saw and found Dell XPS 15z is made up of faulty parts and comes with great bundle of issue. I’m also using this system. And also users mention here how the dell supports reacts on the phone, I saw few of our member’s share their conversion with Dell especially with LCD panel issue: "Our technician not found any blurring or horizontal/vertical lines between the pixels ".


After watching all this I decided to create an additional thread were members going tell us how they solved their problem by their own or Dell support and what is best way to deal. This thread will help you to do cross checking with your Dell 15z with these issues. If you have hit with any other issue which is not mention below please post on the thread, I will update on the first page.
Check your Dell 15z has this issue or not.

1- LCD Bezel
Issue: Graininess Lines. (Firstly reported by our member tarunactivity )

XPS 15z screen door effect - Imgur

http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-xps-studio-xps/628142-poll-xps-15z-1080p-screen-issues.html

Fix: Ask dell to replace the screen, and if not solved they will replace your whole laptop. If new laptop have a same issue then replace it again.

2- Crackling Audio
Issue: (Due To Centrino 6230 Wi-Fi Card) [Wi-Fi Working Fine With Broadcom Card. Confirmed By Our Member: Shonky].
http://forum.notebookreview.com/del...-xps-15z-crackling-audio-network-traffic.html

Fix: Suffer with this card or get replacement with another card. Download the DPC latency to check. With Latest driver the issue has been solved but not permanently (Checked three days)still the issue is exit. It come back some time, the best way to check is DPC latency.

3- Cypress Touch Pad Driver
Issue: Freezing For Sec, Skipping lines, CPU usage, Gesture Not Working Perfectly And Some Other Glitch.


Fix: Use window default driver in window 7 or there is registry tweak.

4- Battery .
Issue: Whenever your battery fully recharged, just plug out the charger and check after few second the battery meter and also dell metre indicate 82 % to 87 % remaining. It supposed to show 100% for at-least 1 min. I recalibrate the battery thrice. Still many not notice yet. Firstly I discover this issue.

Fix: Still I’m waiting for solution. Going to call dell soon.

5- Fading Color . Is your any body part colour is fading, yes mine the sliver biding on the top, mention below in the image. I’m the one who facing this issue I think.

Fix: Hope they will replace my biding.

imgur: the simple image sharer
imgur: the simple image sharer
imgur: the simple image sharer


6- BIOS Post Screen Error / Beeping.

Discover by traunactivity (Really he have a very bad time with 15z or you can called worst his NIGHTMARE, it's not me ) after 8 beeps his 15z is in R.I.P. Dell xps 15Z boot error - YouTube

Fix- Still looking into issue.

7- Keyboard Backlight issue.

Fix Disable it. Win key + X then turn it off

(window logo key middle of Fn and Alt key in left side)

8- Technical Support & Knowledge

How Was The Response: Satisfactory or Hard to digest their techy answer.

Fix: Change supports centre from the India or hire good knowledgeable engineer and technician.

7- Issue has been solved or not .
Still encounter with same problem after replacement of part or updating driver.

Fix: Please maintain your history of complain with similar issue, and ask for refund or file a suit against Dell.

8- No Issue. .
Never faced any issue.

Fix: Already fixed by Dell, you are lucky.

 

As of now:

0. BIOS Post screen Error / beeping

Beeping accompanied by POST error screen. This happened during a reboot. After power off/on , it was still there.

Cleared up after 2 power-on/off's . No issues reported after a Full Dell system test.



1. LCD Issues / Keyboard back-lighting issues. ( Got both replaced, but problem still exists )

- Grainy Images effect can be solved by turning down color saturation settings in "Windows Mobility Center"

- Screen door effect, seems to be a characteristic of this LCD panel. I don't know how else to explain it. I got the LCD replaced, but the new one still has the same issue.
- Uneven keyboard back-lighting . Certain keys are hard to read , with the back light on, due to the uneven back light. The Fn. keys F1-F12 are hard to read, and at times R,C,M,9,4 etc are hard to read, and require the back light to be turned off.



Screen / Keyboard images


2. Crackling Audio - Yes, DPC audio test confirms the same. Have not realized this during use , yet .

3- Cypress Touch Pad Driver

Gestures are slow to respond . At one time, only mouse was working, trackpad was disabled. (Fixed by restart)

6- Technical Support & Knowledge
Since these issues are not common, I am not surprised that most people do not understand the issue .
Infact , most laptop users do not even notice the issue, which makes me wonder, if these issues are present in "all" XPS 15z laptops?

 

0- How often you get this error "BIOS Post screen Error / beeping"

1- LCD Issues / Keyboard back-lighting issues.

I think l was got lottery panel. It's defect on the hardware, if they are going replace with same piece junk, so problem still intact.

I always switch off the keyboard back-light.

2- Crackling Audio

Some times my laptop connected to router and shows no internet (with yellow sign) at the same time my other device are working fine.

3- Cypress Touch Pad Driver

So, you disable the trcakpad ?

6- Technical Support & Knowledge

It's means we are geeks haaa. The problem when you describe this issue to dell customer representative he was enable to understand the even their technical team not consider as problem or defect. So you called them engineers or ....

 

Mine has had the touchpad problem, one of the replacements had the screen issue, another had refused to stay turned off, have cut my fingers on the plastic trim that has the chrome peeling off of it. The least replacement went back to them as they downgraded me from an i72640 to an i72620 and it was the one that did not shut off and the trackpad still did not work. Fighting with them to send another replacement.

 

Only this one instance . It happened twice in succession. Never happened before/after that.

I get this issue ALL the time. I figured it's caused by my router / net connection. Can others confirm? I have faced this with 3 different routers !

No, I have trackpad + mouse enabled at all times. When resuming from standby, one instance, my trackpad was not working.

 

Report to dell, ask them when all this going to fixed or we have to file petition.

No buddy it fault of 6230, I also thought it was my router who is messing with ISP because when I used LAN my internet was working perfectly fine, so I thought it's my router then flash my router twice still the problem remains I tried many combination of 20/40 frequency and a/g/n mixed and single. But it's my faulty card who is sick.

Really I have problem with this trackpad driver it not work smoothly,most of time I have to touch pad twice to put cursor between the word and also for scrolling work to use with two finger.

 

Dell XPS 15z .

Nov 5th 2011 - January 6th 2012.

Rest in Pieces . ( Damn 8 bios beeps of death )

http://youtu.be/hA9TR-y6vpo

 

Really traun what I can say, I think you have to ask dell to give you interest on Rs 70,800. My studio 1555 was much better than 15z, only one heating issue that's it. In 15z the audio chip produced crappy output, if I plug my headphones or even earphone I feel like it's needs amp.

Have you post on dell community ?

 

And it has started working again :S . Anyway, this is going back to Dell in a week , for a refund.

The qn is, will an XPS 15 be a valid replacement :S !

 

Which particular model you looking for in XPS ?

 

For lose focus fix, this seems to help.

From: CHRISdotTODD: Active window loses focus


I have a problem wheel scrolling. I believe it's to do with Cypress. Sometimes, when I plug in my mouse, the value for wheel scrolling is always '1', instead of my preferred 5. Even if I change the value to '5' and click Apply, it'll reset itself back to 1.

I've tried 2 other mouses and it still gives me the same result.

 

Have you try this ?

 

Yes, I have.

 

Thanks for this post. Has helped me understand some of the issues im having after 1 day of owning this laptop. I sold my Alienware to move on to this Laptop and while the spec is greater im kind of becoming more and more disappointed. So the only solution for the Wifi card fix is to get the broadcom card instead of the 6230?

 

Unfortunately, Yes.

 

What is the problem exactly? It just has problems connecting to WIFI networks?

What are the drawbacks of using the broadcom card?

 

Some times I get no internet connection and yellow sign on wifi bars and in other hand all my device's are working fine. Even if it show connected and internet, I can't open any webpage or my router setting page. When I talking on skype the voice come's in pieces.

As Shonky mention (no MyWifi, no 5GHz etc) as well as slower speeds of only 150Mbps vs 300Mbps.

Plus If you sharing on network then you get worst speed.

 

Ye your description pretty much describes the problems im having. Its a shame we are having such problems with this card.

Has anyone been reading any of the intel forums ? Spent some time reading it today some people mentioned changing battery plan settings had helped.

Alot of people im reading are having success with doing the following: changing the `Power Saving Mode` to `Maximum Performance`- Internet speeds / connectivity changed to normal and speeds were good.

 

Buddy I already done that nothing happen still hanging with same issue. I just saw in win7 update there is an update of 3.6 MB for Card and bluetooth let's see. Updating

 

Ok cool. Keep me updated. I have a friend with the same card in the same model of XPS and he has running ok so im waiting to see what updates he has and what settings he has changed.

This thread seems to have alot more information on settings etc that some people have got it working - New Dell XPS 15z (L511z) Wireless Card Issues - Laptop General Hardware Forum - Laptop - Dell Community

 

Nope that window update is useless. There are new update on dell website.

 

Ok!

So i think i have it working correctly

First thing is iv been connected to my Wifi with exceptional speeds with no lag or drops while downloading / browsing etc since updating. I completely removed all traces of the Wireless N 6230 adapter from my system as well as the Bluetooth. Breakdown is below. Bear in mind with the speed tests they are bound to be variable because its wireless.

1) Go to - Drivers and Downloads | Dell [United States] Ensure you choose XPS 15z Section

2) Download the two drivers pictured below


3) Should be left with the installs below.


4) Went to Programs & Featers - Removed the three pictured below


5) Restarted Laptop

6) Went to Device Manager in the Control Panel - Went to the Network Adaptor as per below and went to properties


7) Went to the driver tab and uninstalled it from there. Only then is it actually fully removed from your laptop. It should also dissapear from this list but do not panic - Note on the version seen below i took these screenshots after i got it working so you should be seeing a lower version number.


8) Restart Laptop

9) Install First - Network_Intel_W764_A06_Setup-668fh_ZPE

10) Install second - 0PDK4_A03_ZPE

11) Restart PC and should be ok. I have had the following Speed test results while downloading a larger 300MB file, general browsing and doing nothing. I also used a third speed test and got similar speeds.







Things to note: I am running the A08 bios update. I have restarted the laptop at least 5 times and have had no connection delay times when windows starts like i was having before. Instant interenet as soon as i boot up. I have not tried with gaming but will report when i do. I have not amended any other settings like power draw / distance etc. This has all been done while running off the battery. I have not even plugged it in yet.

 

Also while downloading my BF3 install via Origin i was getting very high speeds.

 

I will monitor for three days then I will get back to you. There are total four new updates.

 

My outlet system arrived today, not soo good. I ordered 2 15z models, one for living room, one for bedroom. We will see if the other looks the same. I will probably attempt lcd replacement to see if issue improves or not.

http://i.imgur.com/5Mvwb.jpg

 

Here is another pic, macro, showing the pixel spacing on the 15z vs regular 1080p lcd.

imgur: the simple image sharer

 

Dell suppose do something big recall all 15z.

Status Update on Wifi card: Still moron issue remains.

 

Where did you read/hear about this?

 

What is the other screen used for comparison?

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

 

Latitude E6500, several years old, 1080P resolution.

Here is a look at the Macbook Pro with the 1080P lcd (17" version), super closeup. You can see there are no vertical lines, and minimal horizontal lines.

This photo is on a completely white image.

http://i.imgur.com/k8nLt.jpg




2nd is the Dell XPS 17, 1080P version.

http://i.imgur.com/TvhS1.jpg

 

I was saying if it's happening to all 15z then it's means this a manufacturing defect, So Dell needed to recall all 15z and replace with another panel.

 

I've now looked at 5 displays, all of them exhibit the same issue.

Anyone who thinks replacing the display will "fix" the issue is mistaken. Mine was replaced, same thing. Changing from generic color to splendid color in the Windows Mobility Center improves issue slightly.

Please stop spreading rumors that dell has a "fix for this issue".

 

Who spreading the rumors here, I think tarunactivity is one who post the screen issue and people start noticing. Dell changed his screen once and whole laptop once still the issue remains. Even I saw someone mention here Dell delete his post from the community In my case I get lottery panel.

 

Dell needs to consider the screen quality as a problem in order for it to have a recall.

For a start, *most people* do not notice an issue , (unless of course they are sticklers for image quality)
Since there is no qualitative measure for the Pixel area : dot pitch ratio , I'm not sure whether Dell/AUO would consider it a "problem affecting significant number of users, warranting a recall" .

I'm most surprised that no online reviews mention this as a problem , on the 15z/14z ?

Also, my 15z is heading back due to boot issues .

 

Day that the boot issue was fixed. Now is back.

 

Dell is replacing my 6230 wifi card let's see what is going to happened.

 

It seems like I'm the odd one out, but I don't have any of these problems....

 

Have you check with DPC latency checker.

 

I have the same audio crackling caused by the Centrino 6230 Wi-Fi Card on my new XPS 15 which I received this week. I cannot believe Dell would sell something that has such a common problem!

 

Is someone confirm that this really 6230 wifi card because this same card also installed by other vendor.

 

i got my new 15z last week and apart from the chrome bezel which is very thin and might come off in the future i have no other problems with it. full hd screen is very nice (not as sharp as on the m18x though) keyboard backligt works and is readable, speakers both work, trackpad scrolling is fine.
and no overheat problems whatsoever, i went with the i5 and cannot be happier, laptop runs very cool 60c even under heavy load, im using it on the cheap £10 laptop pad i got on amazon.
overall very satisfied.

 

Even £10 is not cheap I have which worth it £2 and it's good. But it's hard to find in UK. Have checked with DPC latency checker ? and which router you are using.

 

Just a noisy (noisier than I think it ought be) fan under load.

 

There is no solution, however if you replaced the fan the noise will be come back after 2.5 month or 3 month.

 

Just picked up a fully-loaded refurb off the Outlet with the last 25% coupon - everything except for a terrible 5400 RPM drive (didn't even think they made those in current-gen laptops). It'll be swapped out for a 128GB 830 as soon as it arrives.

First boot and the trackpad did not work AT ALL. AT ALL. I restarted and that seemed to fix the problem until I experienced random lack of response which for a computer with this kind of guts. I finally surfed around on my other PC until I found that the Cypress driver is god-awful and uninstalled and fixed the lack of response, but still...That's unacceptable.

Also heard a fast spinning (like a fan but it was quick like a drive) when i tried to download Chrome and Steam. I'm hoping it's the drive I'm about to swap and not the fan.

 

Its the fan... I just got one as well (Maxed out specs (no ssd, only 7200)). I am assuming you got the second gen i7. (Disregard my sig... I need to fix that).

The trackpad drivers from dell are ok... just put in your service code and go from there.

------------
* Update

I also did the above mentioned fix for the crackeling audio (I had that issue) and I am pleased to report that it worked! Thanks for that walkthrough and fix!

 

Damn.

Do we know if the fan issue is fixable with a firmware upgrade (BIOS control to spin at slower speeds, etc.) or is it the physical fan? If people think they will experience these issues later it sounds like firmware to me, but I'm no expert.

 

Well I could be wrong... I just looked at a video to see where the HDD is located, and then I put my ear up to it... It could be the Hdd. If its always spinning, then that could be the sound that is generated. I remember the V131 I had had a constant drone that could be heard in the library... Keeping it in power saver mode seems to help too.
---------------

As it turns out, I got the crackel/distortion back somehow...

Lastly is there a way to make the trackpad changes PERMINENT... Mine keeps reverting. I hate having the touchpad be able to left click...

 

Uninstall Cypress drivers seemed to do it for me.

Regarding the fan, it's only happening occasionally so I think once I swap the drive out I should be good.

Looks like i have a little screen door effect too...dammit.

 

uninstalling the cypress drivers will not give me 2 finger scrolling... I rather bear with the double click instead of the oldschool side scroll.

Has anyone tried the new drivers dell has on the site for the cypress trackpad?

I think I have a little screen door.... not enough really to complain.