UK - XPS M1330 Replacement Faulty Too :-(

Hi ,

I bought a XPS 1330 back in July

Tuxedo Black, White-LED Display
T7500 2.2GHz Core2Duo, 2GB DDR SDRAM
200GB 7200RPM HDD, DVD+/-RW
NVidia 128MB GeForce 8400M GS, 6-Cell Battery
Intel Next-GenWireless-N, BlueTooth
Fingerprint
Windows Vista Ultimate
1 Yr XPS HW Sup
Ordered Jun07 - £1110.00

It was delivered in August 2007 but had the following defects:

Deal Pixel
Dent In Palm Rest
Scratch on Keyboard

Now i have recieved my new XPS Replacement after waiting 2 months, and i only just put the laptop on the table and it rocks up and down so that now had a faulty base.

What are my options now?

I am just very tempted now to switch the keyboard and palm rest over with the new one and stick with the one dead pixel and return the replacement. This is a joke!

What would you do?

 

Return it and get some extra stuff from Dell not just your money back (or tell them to send you a similar machine overnight, not 2 months later). You waited around for 4 months and you still don't have a properly working machine. I would raise hell if I were you.

 

Some people have reported they were able to bend their M1330 so it didn't rock anymore.

 

Since you are past thirty days I am assuming your past the point of refunding system and trying to order a new one? If not, I would personally cancel/refund and reorder.. that way you know you get a new system and also get the newer rev A04 MB shipping out now. Others state that after 30 days you might get refurbs for replacements. Does it rock up and down because of uneven rubber feet? Or is it more serious with a warped case etc? With all the cosmetic issues that are continually reported here it appears that the assemblers in the build cells either don't care, or are scared to report that they are breaking components when they are putting things together or when they are reworking systems. But believe it or not.. assemblers generally pass the buck because taking out the bad component and replacing it with a new one slows them down and they feel they won't hit their numbers.. and its all about numbers when manufacturering in Malaysia. I personally work in a build cell for Sennheiser in the US making high end microphones and we have no problem scrapping anything with as much as the tiniest scratch. But then, thats Sennheiser.. we are at sig sigma quality levels at present and thats really good if you know what sig sigma quality is. I have worked in Manufacturing for over 14 years.. a long time with Motorola as well... and I can say for these kinds of defects to pass QC is inexcusable. To the trained eye, who inspects a device over and over, you can spot these kinds of defects very easily.. believe me I do it every day every hour at work. There is simply no excuse for it. Dell simply does not have the proper processes in place to catch these defects or even worse, they have very very loose boundary limits.. which is even worse for the customer.

Since you are still trying to get your system right from the original order.. call Dell again and they should send another new replacement being they never got it right from the start. Also ask them to send one with the new rev A04 MB since that also will fix any audio buzz issue that a m1330 may have. Make sure you talk to tech support too.. they should know about the newer rev MB. If they ship you one with the newer MB then you will no doubt get a new system since they are now just starting to ship that out.

 

Post #4 here
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=171679

 

Although that may work.. that would not be worth the risk.. say you slip and throw the notebook on top of the LCD.. break it. You think dell is going to be understanding? That might be a viable solution but inexcusable for a customer to do on a new system. But it does make sense.. the case does have metal alloy in it. At any rate, that solution just sounds insane.. even for a dell.

The way I see it, why risk it. Dell will probably let you keep what you have until a replacement is shipped so you will still have access to a notebook.

 

As far as I have seen, Dell tends to send refurbished ones for replacements. The best thing is to send the computer for full refund and then order another new one!

 

You're kidding? I'm returning (or trying to - i've heard nothing back from them) one of the 1720's that i ordered (screen fault) and i won't be best pleased if they swap a days old laptop with a refurbished one.

 

first off, phone them, dont e-mail! Cos you will get an instant response, and secondly, just ask if they will replace with a new one, if the answer is no. Then tell them you want to return the laptop for a FULL refund, and wish to place a brand new order for a laptop with the exact same specs!

Simple really!

And if you cant be assed with all that, then get a techy to just replace the screen, but from what I've heard, all replacement parts are also refurbs!

 

You are a victim! The first time you were likely shipped an Outlet machine. The second time a faulty one. Try a hammer or ask for another replacement! Don't forget compensation for the inconvenience!

 

If there's nothing else wrong with the machine then twist the base into shape. It can be done apparently.

I'm a past master of getting Dell to sort out problems to my satisfaction but it's not easy and involves lots of letter writing and jumping up and down. I've asked myself if it's worth it frequently and it often doesn't seem to be at the time, however, once all is said and done, if you get a good machine from Dell there isn't really much else to touch it out there for the money.

Just give them hell. Go through the customer relations chain and if you don't get satisfaction there write to their MD at their corporate HQ. Worked for me .

Now the only question you need to ask yourself is "Just how hard do you want to work for what you want?"

Cheers,

jahboo

 

i've called up XPS technical support and they are going to send me another brand new one.

in the interim, i'm going to swap the keyboard and palm rest which means that i only have the dead pixel issue before i send the replacement back.

 

The courier called me up and said they will be delivering my 2nd replacement laptop on Monday. Seems like this laptop was built within a week or so when my first one took 1.5 months.

My query is, dell xps supprt did say they are going to give me a brand new replacement, however, since it was made so quick, are they going to give me a refurbished one?

i didn't even get a order number like it did for the first replacement. when i called Customer Care, they said they cannot see the replacement booked however, xps technical support said it is booked and in the build stage. then the order/ref number they provided was very different to the other order number i had for the original order and 1st replacement.

i just don't want a refurb....:-(

 

got my replacement a couple days ago,
i know its a refurb because of it doesnt have the new A04 motherboard
and the fans are broken, they make a loud noise,and they used a different part for my DVDrw drive, and now the drive is a lot louder
we will see how the 3rd replacement is
it doesnt matter to me, I will keep asking for replacements until they get it right

 

I'll be screwing if i get a refurb!

 

when did you ask for your replacement, and when did you get it?

Just asking cos if they did it quickly (like a couple of days), then it might mean bbasra's will be a refurb, but if they took a couple of weeks, then there's no pattern!

 

How do you check if it's a refurb?

 

got it in 7 days
when I first ordered it I got it in 4 days

it depends where you live, I live in Michigan
theres no way it takes weeks here

 

and as bbasra said, other than opening it up and having a look at the mobo revision, how can you tell if its a refurb? Or is that the only way?

 

i mean yea I dont have the new mobo, the hinges make a noise when opened/closed, they used a Fujitsu Harddrive and in my original 1330 I had a western digital scorpio which I put in my replacement computer anyway, and they used a garbage brand of DVDRW Drive

 

Dont think the HDD brand means anything really, just depends what they have instock at time of build...I got mine on the 19th (ordered on the 13th) and I have a Sammy HDD.

I THINK my M1330 uses a Matshuita (SP??) DVD+/-RW drive, and personally I wouldn't exactly say they're a good brand (Pioneer are a GREAT DVD+/-RW drive brand BTW)!

The bad hinges and duff fan are a bit of a give away tho! Oh...and so is the A01 mobo!

So I guess the only way to be sure is to check the mobo revision under the RAM!

 

Just received my replacement. :-S

Current one - Dead Pixel, Dent in Palm rest, Lose Charger, Scratch on Keyboard but no CPU whine.

1st Replacement (Def. Brand New (1.5 months to deliver)) - Wobble and CPU whine. But had the a4 motherboard and a6 bios.

2nd replacement (now) (not sure if its a refurb (1 week to deliver)) - Wobble (fixed it by bending the base into place ) Has the CPU whine :-(. It has the A1 revision Motherboard unlike the 1st replacement i had which was the a4 but that also still had the CPU whine. There were no finger prints, looks brand new, all original packaging and accessories, so really not sure if its a refurb.

I've not really used it enough so check how bad the CPU whine is, but, do i now request a another one or just live with it. hopefully the wobble base won't come back :-S

 

Oh NO! That looks like a refurb one...Call Dell and let them know that they forgot to put fingerprint in the "replacement" system then ask them to send you another BRAND NEW replacement system WITH UPGRADES. You know, you paid for the fingerprint reader. DON'T CHOOSE TO LIVE WITH IT!

 

he was saying the system had no fingerprints on it, not that it had no finger print reader!

And the fact it has an A01 mobo means its a refurb! When I got my brand new M1330 on the 19th it had the A04 mobo, which would indicate that DELL UK (Ireland) has run out of A01 mobos for new systems, so if you get one, then you got a refurb!

 

it don't look like a refurb tbh otherthan the A01 mobo then.

how shall i proceed now to get a brand new one? and which one do i send back, my original or second replacement?

 

they will obviously make sure its perfect before they send you a refurb, hence why it wont look like one, but the internals will tell a different story!

To get a new one, call up XPS Tech Support.

And dont send back any one, they can come and collect it if they want it! Otherwise, dont say anything about it!


I'm assuming your in the UK.

 

okay, please pm me their details. many thanks. i shall phone them.

but dell will phone me to arrange collection no doubt. i have two more or less duff latops, one more duff than the other lol.

 

Send back the original replacement (thats the one they are expecting), and just keep this one until they decide to collect it...

PM Sent!

Let us know what happens!

 

Thanks. When i get home, i'll get the Service Tag number and call them tomorrow.

I've already sent back the first replacement so i have the original and now second replacement which i swaped the drives with. i think i will send back the original one since that has more faults.

Never had these issues when i bought my Dell inspiron 8100... that was solid!

 

Cool, ***** is in from 8am to 5:30pm, and Gerry is in from 8am to 6pm Mon - Fri, BUT try not to get angry, cos it wont get you anywhere!

But if you want compensation, then ****** your man! If you just want a replacement, then Gerry can sort you out no probs!

 

Is there another way to find out what MB your have (A01 vs A04..), other than removing memory stick. I don't have use of both hands. (temporarily)

thx.

I order my M1330 on a thursday, and was notified it shipped on next saturday. I'm a little nervous about getting a refurbished one for sure.

 

oops...my bad...I was too tired so I saw that wrong...OTL
Anyway, we can still say that this replacement is probably a refurb, and the OP should call Dell again instead of live with the refurb.
Once again, sorry for that...

 

no, sorry mate!

 

For anyone worried about how many exchanges you have, I have, so far, had 6, yes six! XPS M1330 exchanges, each one has its faults. all A01 mobos. So if any of you read these forums worried about how many of these laptops you have to go through take note of this message (asked H3rmaN for numbers, so will ring up and wait for the 7th exchange)

Ozric

 

im awaiting my 3rd replacement ships thursday and if that doesnt go well then I will be asking for a full refund and il probably get a thinkpad but I dont want to lol
but theres no way im going through 6 replacements

would it be possible to get a full refund?

 

dont see why not! If they kick up a fuss tell them you will be contacting your credit card and trading standards the very instant you get off the phone!

As soon as you mention the credit card company they will do as you ask, cos your credit card company can black list them from EVER using ANY credit card in your country of residence if they take it to court!

 

lol ok thanks for the advice
hopefully i can negotiate something else or even better get a good 1330

 

on the 4th one I really wanted to just say, frell with this! but I love this laptop, and as such will probably just keep getting exchanges till they get it right (ok, will give them till the end of December)

I do a photos of all the M1330`s I have got and all that is wrong with them.

 

so ur awaiting your 6th? did you tell them that your replacements all have A01 boards and they might be refurbs?

 

Have been making a report, this is it so far (sorry for any bad spelling)

211***** - 1st Order - Order made on 12th
October 2007 - Sent back due to cosmetic fails, exchange to be order

212***** - 2nd Order - Order made on 24th October 2007 -
Delivered: 6th November 2007 - , whining noise, confirmed by
Vasantha Kumaran Ganeshan
(XPS Support) on 12th November
(He ordered a replacement (#213*****) however
this is not to the same spec as I origanally
ordered).

213***** - 3rd Order - - Not to the same spec as original order (missing Boimetric Finger Reader)
Contacted Dell customer support and they adviced to cancel this entire
order and start afresh.

CANCELLED OLD ORDER, START NEW ORDER:

213***** - 4th Order - Order made on 19 November 2007 - Delivered: 22nd November 2007 - Cosmetic Fails:
x Scratch on webcam
x Left rear corner missing
x Left media centre bar coming off

213***** - 5th Order - Delivered: 29th November 2007 - Cosmetic Fails;
X Big gap between LCD hindge and rear of laptop (can see white wire, and hindge teeth)
X Plastic cap (rear right of laptop) comes off very easy (just have to turn laptop on its
side)
x Finger prints over the LCD (suggesting sloppy workmanship)

21***** - 6th Order - Delivered: 04 December 2007 - Wrong motherboard revision (A01) was informed by Vasantha Kumaran Ganeshan all
new M1330`s should
have revision A04.

Have once before was accepted for an exchnage because of wrong motherboard revision.

x Cosmetic Fault (scratch, rear of M1330)

Looks very much like this is a refurbed motherboard, which is very unaceptable.

 

Thanks Guys.

I spoke to Gerry this morning and i was very polite and so was he. He said we can refund the money and can i could order another one.

Since i still want the laptop, he said we can order another replacement, which he has done so but i also said i want an extended 3 yr warranty cover since i purchased this system back in June and now Dec has come and i still don't have a perfect system. He put me on hold and then came back and agreed to give me 1 Year extra cover and another brand new replacement, so i said fine!

he also insisted that the replacement i recieved was and is not a refurb, but brand new. He said they have a lot of parts in stock now so the turn around is lot quicker for the dell m1330. He took my service tag and looked at the record and nowhere did it say refurb and the fact it came from dell factory and they dont stock refurb parts anywhere near new parts. :-S Belive it or not?

Reading this forum, some people have had their brand new dell xps's within a week with e A1 Motherboard therefore mine may still be brand new one :-S it's also mentioned here that refurb laptops will say refurb at the bottom.

Maybe i should have spoken to his boss for more compensation too.

I'm going to send back my original one and keep the replacement i recieved and hope for the best my forth one will be perfect!

 

Hey,

Through each exchange I have got compensation, money off, free 3G card etc., I do feel however at this rate, when I am on my 10th exchange, I would of got the compensation down to just having a free laptop ! lol

Ozric

 

I dont think UK Dell give anything. If the next one i get is not perfect, i'll be , ask for compensation, and request another replacement until they get it right. surely it costing them a great deal sending replacements.

 

Yeap mate, and then you can join me in the gravy train known as "Dell Exchanges" !

I also take this same stance, I love this laptop, however for the cost of it (had to save a lot to buy it) I want a good one !

Ozric

 

Just spoken to Gerry, extremely nice person.

I dunno what to do now, he basically was going on the line of "with you having so many problems, maybe you should get a refund and look else ware" (as I am on my 6th exchange) Trouble is there are no other laptops out there (apart from this) that I want.

I am stuck now, do I just keep this one, yes it has the older A01 motherboard however the cosmetics are perfect. The A01 motherboard has A06 BOIS so battery life is decreased, but carry both 6 and 9 cell battery's. (beside can always just ask for them to send technician out and replace motherboard later)

or do I wait for the 7th exchange, which (I do not think it will) will have the A04 motherboard, and going by all the other exchanges, might not have as good of cosmetics as the one I have now.

It is sad how Dell are not shipping the "latest" versions of the motherboard with new laptops, if I had one with good cosmetics and latest motherboard I would be happy.

Ozric

 

What about the Sony SZ6 series? I know its quite a bit more expensive for the same specs as the M1330, but at least you wont have the same issues!

 

Hello H3rmaN,

Year have fixed a Sony SZ6 (Well my bosses, I repair PC`s as a hobby), and technically its the same. what I do not like is you have to have a external multi card reader (that fits in the extension slot), really do not like this design, I hate that Sony just includes their memory stick format for the inbuilt card reader.

Also (something I do not use everyday, well never at mo) but would like to have is in build VGA and DVI which the Dell has, also love the remote that fits into the M1330 (have used it once in a presentation).

I dunno, if I heard that everyone is getting the old revision motherboard, and so-so cosmetics it would not be so bad, trouble some have excellent cosmetics and new revision mb, which leaves me just going through exchanges till I get a good one. But then as Gerry said, I could be going like this forever.

Ozric

 

fair enuff mate! your call! But I just got my 2nd M1330 collected about 20 minutes ago. Just waiting to get my refund, then come the 16th of December (so it comes on next months credit card bill, at the same time as my refund) I will order my Sony SZ61 WN/C.

 

The onsite repairs i think is a plus with Dell as well. With Sony you could be without your computer for a couple of weeks if it went in for repair.
To me this is just not acceptable. After care support is better with Dell also.
Also the video card is better on the XPS M1330 as the SZ only has 64mb of dedicated VRAM people who have used both systems have said that the XPS M1330 video card feels faster. It also benchmarks slightly higher.
You also cannot use intel turbo memory with the SZ and the XPS M1330 also has a higher ram limit.
The SZ does have the hybrid graphics card which allows for slightly better battery life.
The XPS M1330 is more of a multimedia notebook than the SZ is.
I don't like the looks of the SZ to much.

H3rmaN i have read in a few threads now about your forthcoming SZ purchase. I hope it works out for you. I remember reading a few of your earlier posts when you received your notebook and i thought you were quite ok with it i don't know what the issue was but like i said i hope that you are happy with your SZ. I read that you will be purchasing it from the States. Good luck with that but you will have no warranty in the UK and if anything goes wrong you will have to send it back to the States at your own expense.
You may if you have not already want to take a look at the Samsung Q45 and have a look on the Rizeon website also.

 

1) Im not fussed about on-site repairs TBH, and I have always had EXCELLENT customer service with Sony, better than Dell IMO!

A classic example of Sony customer service is when my mates 360 died Microsoft collected it, fixed it and sent it back after 3 weeks (fair enuff), then when his PS3 died on Saturday, he called Sony and a guy came with a brand spanking new on on Tuesday afternoon, and an empty box for the faulty one!

2) The SZ also shares some of the system memory, so the extra 64MB on the M1330 is a minute difference in reality.

3) dont want turbo memory, so again, doesn't bother me.

4) Handy, but not the a deal breaker for me, but will be handy if I need extra time on my computer to do things

5) I wont really be using my laptop for multi-media, so the SZ will suite me better than the M1330

6) I ended up having problems with my screen, and the more I used it the more I realised how badly it was put together, so asked for a replacement. The replacemant arrived on Wednesday with even more problems, so I have returned both now!

7) Think you might have mis-read a post or something, cos I dont plan to purchase from the states! Too much hassle if something goes wrong! I will be purchasing from the UK. I havn't had a look at the Samsung, but from previous experience with them, their stuff has a good build quality, but the hardware seems to fail too often for my liking!

I'm gonna stick to a comapany I know and trust! I have a PS1, PS2, PS3, PSP, Sony Bravia HDTV, 2 Sony Digital Cameras and a Sony Digital Video Camera. Non of which have ever cause me any problems! Not even a single dead pixel on the TV, digital cameras, digital video camera or PSP!