XPS 11 Owner's Lounge

Your not the only one. On a few occasions when opening from sleep i get the password field continuously populating with the letter "j" until i touch the keypad or screen. I have had many problems so far with my new xps 11 in that first of all the card reader was not functioning so an engineer came out and replaced the motherboard. I checked the card reader whilst he was there so that was fixed but later that day i noticed it no longer worked in tablet mode like so many others have reported. I suspect the engineer forgot to connect something back up but anyway had to get another engineer out, who couldn't attempt the repair because the previous engineer rounded the screws. Had to send it back to dell who eventually replaced the touchpad and i thought all was good.

The main problem i have now is the touch function dropping out until i put the device to sleep and wake it up again. This doesn't happen too often but its annoying considering this has been an issue going back to the start of this thread. The first time the touch response stopped i ran the dell diagnostic tool specifically on the touch screen which found no problem and at the same time kicked it back to life.

Another problem i get is the randomly flicking to metro mode as if the windows button on the touch screen has been pressed. I can see a few people have also reported this issue and concluded thats its when the button gets stuck so i guess that issue is kinda resolved/explained.

Normally i would want a refund after the fiasco of hardware issues i had but its such a nice looking device and for the price the spec and build quality are quite good. I also have nothing bad to say about Dell tech support who in my opinion were very good. Most of the diagnostics they needed from me i had done before calling them and therefore did not make me repeat them like some other support desks would. I suspect the touch screen issue is something i will just need to deal with.

 

Hey guys I picked up one of these during the dell sale and I am quite happy with it - it is one of the best machines I have ever owned. However, I do have a few issues with it and I was wondering if anyone has any solutions or also has the issues:

1. The power button is really spongy and has no real 'click' so it is difficult to tell that it has been clicked.
2. The machine seems to wake up from sleep by itself - when I check the reason for the wake (powercfg /lastwake) it says its the power button waking it - maybe this is related to the spongy button.
3. When I close the lid to put it to sleep it vibrates as if I have pressed the windows key.
4. The keyboard sensitivity setting seems to reset to medium pressure each time I re-start the machine.


Has anyone else experienced any of the above? If so, does anyone have any solutions?

 

I have an HDD password and also found it caused a problem with Rapid Start. However, I found no worthwhile benefit from Rapid Start so I'm more than happy to enjoy the extra security.

I have never had a vibration when closing the lid.

 

Thanks for the reply - having looked into it further it seems that having a HDD password set in the bios automatically disables intel rapid start in the bios.

 

Did you use any driver to make the stylus work? I used my venue 8 pro stylus but it didn't work.

 

Did you use any driver to activate the pen? i checked the latest model of dell stylus rev.3 but it didn't work.

 

Anyone who is using the active stylus with xps 11, could you please upload or send me the firmware or driver? at least i would like to try...... i am so frustrated

 

Can you see if it works with venue 8 firmware? I put that in the following link:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/pno91q8qf76zgin/Firmware_1.0.4.2_A02.EXE?dl=0

 

It does not work with the Venue 8 firmware and if you try flashing it, you will loose touch on the display. I did this and it's mentioned earlier in this thread.

 

Hello guys, I am also an owner of Dell XPS 11 now. I was wondering where and how I can find Dragon assistant on the system ?

 

Oh man, that's a good question. I originally installed it but then ended up just removing it because I never used it. I remember it was accessed either via one of the built-in Dell apps or just came on the hard drive (SSD). I think it was the latter. I used a program called TreeSize Free to see what was taking up space on the SSD and found it that way. It's a good app to have to keep your SSD space free, just google that, totally worth the download.

 

Is there a key sequence to perform insert from the XPS 11 keyboard?

 

No, unfortunately not that I've discovered. This is quite annoying in VMWare environments. And the only work-around I've managed to come up with so far is to use a third party app called Keytweak ( http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/keytweak/) to remap the F11 key to the Ins key. Super annoying oversight by Dell. And an annoying oversight by Microsoft because the Windows 8 virtual keyboard does not have the Ins key either. The On-screen Keyboard (found under the Windows Ease of Access heading on the start menu) does have it if you want to go that route.

 

thank thejaycan
I did find ctrl-V usually works for paste.
I may remap prtscr to insert.

 

How did you go about setting up the stylus? Did you update any drivers? When I try to do the pen calibration process, it does not register. I have the rev A00 version of the stylus.

 

Tried to download the dropbox file and all I get is a 404 error. Is the file still active?

 

Are there any updates on getting the pen/digitizer to function on the XPS 11? Some of the previous entries have offered some hope. Details on setup, driver updates etc. would be greatly appreciated.

 

Just wanted to drop a note to here to tell you guys I updated my XPS 11 to Windows 10 today. Seems to be working well so far. The only hangup I've found so far is that the Dell MaxxAudio isn't working. Audio in general works, but the enhancements that come along with it are missing. Otherwise, it looks like all the drivers from Windows 8.1 transferred over fine in the update.

Anyone else update?

 

I updated to 10 Pro x64 today and have been running it for several hours without issue. I can't speak for any audio enhancements. I had no idea there were any. Sound seems to work fine though.

 

Yes, if you click on the Dell Audio icon (3D looking speaker) in the system tray, you can bring up the enhancements. It gives you options like gaming mode, movie mode, and music mode. You can make adjustments for bass, treble, stereo widening, Maxxdialog, and MaxxVolume. There are also some things for mic noise cancellation if you are using a headset w/ mic, like I do.

Anyway, I installed a newer driver for another system from the Dell website and it's all back now. Here's the link in case anyone is interested: http://downloads.dell.com/FOLDER02552894M/1/M3800_Audio_Driver_T5TFX_WN_6.0.1.7349_A00.EXE

 

Try rebooting a few times. Anyone getting some blue screen crashes on reboot? I've crashed quite a few times, mostly on PNP_DETECTED_FATAL_ERROR but sometimes it's different.
Seems to run well until I reboot.

 

I seldom use my XPS 11 in tablet mode, but today I tried it, following the upgrade to 10 Pro, and the screen will not rotate. The rotation lock soft button is enabled in tablet mode and toggles on and off, but the screen will not rotate. Any ideas?

 

Fellow XPS 11 owners, can you advise, does your touchpad and keyboard get disabled automatically, not just in fully folded back tablet mode, but in tent and/or tablet stand mode too?

I have a clean install and mine doesn't do this, but I can't remember if it used to before! In stand mode, and on opening the lid from sleep, I am often getting lots of js and/or fs typed because the bumps on those keys are in contact with the table/screen - it's as if the touchpad and keyboard aren't being disabled at the times when they should be. Doesn't seem to matter whether tablet or desktop mode is selected.

I'm wondering whether I'm missing an XPS11 specific driver or utility that should control this functionality. They mostly seem to disable okay in fully folded back tablet mode. Anyone have any advice?

Many thanks!

 

I'm running a clean install of Windows 10 x64 Pro and did not install any drivers myself. The keyboard and touchpad remain active right up until the screen is tilted flat, at 180 degrees to the keyboard. If I tilt just a few degrees more I get a notification that the touchpad is disabled and an invitation to switch to tablet mode.

 

I also have a Windows 10 installation, but mine's not clean, it's installed over Windows 8 and all the dell factory drivers. On my computer, when the screen is bent back to about 230 degrees or so the keyboard and touchpad are disabled, I get a notification of the touchpad being disabled. At 180 degrees and even 190 degrees, they still remain active, so perhaps dell has some loose tolerances for the sensor. To answer your first question, in tent mode and tablet stand mode, the keyboard/touchpad are disabled on my computer.

 

Thank you both for your replies! My clean install was windows 8.1, over which I've installed windows 10, but the 8.1 installation was a dell support usb stick which I believe is a totaly base version with no additional drivers or anything. Sounds from your replies - tdodd especially, that this is inbuilt windows functionality that should just work...I wonder how it has gone missing from my build. Maybe I will start a fresh with a clean windows 10 x64 install and see if it works. I am currently running insider preview 10565 but I'd be surprised if this functionality was gone from this build, so soon after RTM...also weird that my touchpad and keyboard get disabled at 360 degrees, in full on tablet mode, but not before, so hope it's not sensor related or something. Food for thought.

Thanks for the help!

 

On the XPS11 carbon fiber, anybody have a cracking problem?..(see photo).
Im still under warranty but Dell is refusing to cover claiming customer causes damage....
You can see by the photo its not a drop, its the carbon fiber cracking

 

Mine was bought as a refurb and has been in daily use for almost two years. No signs of failure. As ever, the keyboard is still sh!t, but everything else works great with Win 10 Pro x64.

 

Mine had a similar problem near the screw hole...






And I never dropped it. I had to fight support and escalate until they agreed to fix it.

 

My wife's XPS 11 has no signs of breaking, although her battery died after about 6 months and was replaced under warranty. Since then there's a mm or so panel gap at the front, the tech must have broken one of the clips or hasn't reapplied padding correctly inside.

The XPS takes quite a bit of abuse and has a few scratches; it gets thrown into her handbag and stays there for a few days if she forgets to take it out again.

Still the same old issues where sometimes in tablet/tent mode the keyboard/touchpad will not reactivate. It will go to sleep at times and not wake properly etc. But otherwise still a good little ultrabook for occasional use (since she finished her thesis it sits for weeks without use at times).

 

hi ,i found a solution to the problem of the black screen on tablet mode.
it apears that a magnet in the unit triggers the lid sensor and closing the screen.i opened the bottom cover and removed the corner magnet (it was glued to the mb).after that everything works perfect.

 

Hello. After upgrading to Windows 10, the backlight of my keyboard stopped working. Do you know how to fix this?
Also the mouse pad stays on, when screen in tablet mode. As somebody else commented.
Thanks.

 

Hi Javier,

I'm on Windows 10, I did a clean install from a USB key image. Did you upgrade or clean install? The reason I ask is because it sounds like windows 10 may have messed up on the install for the hinge detection driver. My XPS11 keyboard light will turn off and stay off (along with the touch pad) when I'm in tablet mode, tent mode, and stand mode, but will light up in laptop mode. But the fact that your touch pad stays on in tablet mode (which means your system thinks it's in laptop mode) yet your keyboard is not lit (which means your system thinks it's in tablet/tent/stand mode) dumps water on this being a reversed sensor detection, so maybe the driver choked. Have you tried playing around with the tablet mode button in the action center (which you get to by clicking on the "new notifications" button in the system tray)? Does it act the same if you turn tablet mode on and off?

Also, I'm assuming this all worked great in Windows 8.1, is this true?
-J

 

Hi. All this worked great on Windows 8.1.
I upgraded from 8.1 to 10.
I tried turning tablet mode on. Actually what happens in both in tablet mode or normal mode, with the screen folded back, is that the mouse pad keeps working, but not the keyboard.
Appart from that, the keyboard backlight never works. It also used to work in Windows 8.1.

 

Hmm...I'm not sure what to tell you then. You could try installing windows 10 from a "clean" install (usb key), but of course, that also means a backup and then reinstallation of all your programs. That's what I did. But perhaps someone else on this forum has an idea.

One other thought, in your Device Manager (accessed via Win-X->Device Manager), do you have any system components with yellow or red marks next to them?

 

Device Manager doesn't show any red or yellow symbols.
Dell Support is sending me an usb key to go back to Windows 8.1.
Restoring Windows 10 to factory state is the same as making a clean install?

 

Yes, with Windows 10 if you go to "Reset this PC" (under Settings->Update & Security->Recovery) and select Get Started under Reset this PC, then select Remove Everything, you will be performing a clean install. I originally did a clean install from a USB key and then did a Remove Everything reset when playing around with the new Windows 10 features. Since Dell is already sending you a Win 8.1 usb key, you'll have to reformat your computer anyway, you don't really have anything to lose by trying the Remove Everything option. You can even wait until you get the Dell 8.1 key in hand to try if you want to be on the safe side. Once you reset, make sure you grab the windows 10 xps11 drivers on the dell downloads page.

 

All right. I will let you know if I find a solution. Thanks.