XPS 12 Owners Lounge

My display and speaker is getting replaced tomorrow more than likely. I'm also unfortunately the victim of coil whine as well (the high pitched noise coming from the system}. I'm going to mention that to the technical support rep after I get the other problems fixed. I'll probably just try to ask for an exchange because I think its the power delivery system causing the whine. When more things are in use its quieter, when it's more so idle it gets louder.

 

So I've recently ran into another problem with my XPS12. Typically I shut the lid when I am not using my computer and it goes to sleep.

Recently, however, due to holiday traveling I began shutting down my computer. This is when I noticed about 50% of the time when I click shut down the display will turn off but the computer will keep running as indicated by the running cooling ran and keyboard backlight. When this happens, the computer will keep running until I perform a hard shut down by holding the power switch in the off position. When I reboot the computer there are no error messages. I have given the computer the benefit of the doubt (thinking it need more time to close a program) but on three separate occasions even leaving the computer sit for 30 minutes it is still running.

I think the problem may still be a stubborn program, but with no way to turn on the display once it shuts off I have no way of telling if it is a program. Has anyone had this problem? If not, does any know of a way to check to see if it is a program that is holding up the shut down process?

 

I noticed today that nothing happens when I push the screen rotate button. This button worked before, but does nothing anymore. Anyone else has this issue? :-(

 

Got mine a few days ago. Touchpad and touch screen seem to be working pretty well. Wish the touchpad software contained more customization options. Specifically does anyone know if it is possible to perform a 'middle-click' or perhaps a forward or backwards gesture/command with the touchpad? I really miss middle click...

Regarding the games question, I've played Civilization 5 (touch enhanced version) at 1080p and it seems to be working well. I've got the Core i7 with 8 GB.

EDIT: Actually my wireless doesn't seem to work very well. Sometimes I have to turn off and back on the wireless (FN+F2) to get it to function again. Happens several times a day.

 

So has a solution been found to the touchscreen not working in tablet mode after a while yet? From what I can tell nearly everyone seems to be encountering this and I've yet to find a fix. Enjoying the laptop otherwise.

 

It is a lock button that enables or disables the auto-rotate. Pushing the button will not cause the screen to rotate, it will prevent it from rotating when the device is in tablet mode.

I haven't had a problem with that at all. Are you running the latest BIOS (A05)?

 

I understand, but pushing the button doesn't switch between the two modes anymore (as it did before). Normally there is also an onscreen confirmation? "rotate lock on" or "rotate lock off"? Not anymore...

 

Does it work in tablet mode? For me when it's in laptop mode and I press the button it does nothing, but when I put the laptop into tablet mode and push the button it says "auto rotate on" or "auto rotate off".

 

No, same thing... Does nothing (anymore) .

 

Then either a driver isn't working or the button is physically broken. Try updating drivers if you haven't, then if that doesn't work, it's time for a phone call or email to Dell Support.

 

Any idea what driver that would be?

 

Haven't tried gaming yet, but found this YouTube video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxJYOAc_xEI&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

Not sure what specific driver it would be, but I think it could be quickset.

 

Well Like I said my broken Dell (sitting in it's nice Dell Box) is all ready to be picked up on Monday.

Seems like my replacement will be with me on the 14th of February.

So I placed my original order on the 26th of November, and received it on the 27th of December, boxed back up and arranged collection within a few days of receiving it.

If my replacement works that will be 81 days odd of waiting for Dell to ship a working unit. *Sigh*



*Update* Got a phonecall from Dell enquiring about who made the offer of the £50 voucher as they know nothing about it and essentially said that as they have no references they won't be honouring the voucher, so if anyone else in the UK who was offered the voucher knows what department it was tell me so I can berate them for their terrible systems.

 

I dont see which spec XPS12 he has, I assume its the i7, 8gig RAM one. Either way I think it will do an OK job of running newer games on med to low settings pending on your settings.. I mean its a lot more powerful than any current console!

 

I was promise a voucher as my system was due in January but I got it in December and there is nothing form Dell i want at the moment so I ain't fussed about it.

I do have a some small quarks but they do not bother me enough for me to wait 4 weeks for an replacement or have some contractor tearing my machine apart (I used to be one for IBM) and not put it back together.

As for the rotate lock button it will only work in Tablet Mode with screen down flat, mine has played up (software wise) once or twice in which case a quick reboot or the old fashion ctrl+alt+(Arrow Key) comes in handy.

 

I got it working again. Thanks!

 

You're welcome! Quickset is very picky on how it works and when it does. It has been like that across all Dell systems.

 

Yeah I just checked, latest BIOS. There are a good few people with this problem if you look back through the pages in this topic and on google. You seem to be one of the lucky ones without this issue

 

Darn you calling me the lucky one .... it just started happening for me.....

 

I believe this is due to the Operating System's fault. I've heard same issues happening with Ideapad Yoga users. You'd have to wait until MS gets an update out that really fixes the problems(the ones out there are not really working).

 

Just got my XPS12 in today and I am still figuring out windows8 and its quirkiness, but I love this laptop - its really good when a laptop just feels right from the get-go. I cant say enough on how good this build quality is, even the boxes that it come in are of a nice quality! Going to install a game or two now and see how they run (not the main reason I got this laptop, but I wanna test it out)

 

Something I just noticed after leaving my XPS on a screen for a while, THERE IS SCREEN BURN IN! YES ON AN LCD! I'm not sure if it will go away or not, but we will find out, and hopefully it will.

 

Hey guys,

Order date: Dec 8th - Shipped Jan 3rd
Got laptop today: January 4th.

First impressions are spectacular. Hands down best build quality I've had.

Problems: Wifi is finicky. I was downloading Counterstrike: Global Offensive off steam and the download kept going from 1.5Mb/s to 0 and then back up again. It seemed like it kept dropping out of bandwidth. An hour later it kept losing connection and not connecting again. I finished all the windows updates and it hasn't done it since, but hoping that's it.

Touchpad would not work properly until I installed the drivers from Dell's website which activated the touchpad icon for me to go into.

I also see in Device Manager two items that windows is unable to assign a driver to? One a USB something, and the other is unknown.

No other issues so far. Hopefully that is the wireless fixed and I can enjoy the laptop.

PS: The screen kicks butt! No touchscreen problems yet.

 

I also have a USB device that is not recognized, I have no clue what it is cause nothing will be plugged in and I will get it.

 

x2.

Get this all the time. A bit annoying. Nothing is ever plugged in.

 

What's happening with the gift voucher? I would threaten to cancel the whole order if I was you. No way should you go unrewarded after being f.u.cked around so much.

 

Been playing Rugby Challenge. Very playable. Comparable to my M11X r2 I would say.

 

It's called "Intel WiUSB" and such right?

Updating Intel WiDi to latest will fix the yellow bang on the control panel for that device. Dell should have it up now too.

Note that when updating drivers, if you get the Intel graphics drivers rather than from Dell, you will find that the screen will no longer flip back to rightside up when switching to Notebook mode. That is actually a big deal for me. Because on the Dell version of the driver, I can lock the autorotate function so I can flip the screen to the other side and screen will flip 180, meaning it can work like a presentation mode. It also allows me to use it as a "Tablet" but with stand with keyboard and trackpad on the opposite side.

Wireless issues: Getting the latest driver helps a little. Remember if you are using the device on Power Save mode to conserve battery power, changing it to Balanced if you need better internet speed can help noticeably.

Tried two modern games, though they are not the most demanding. Very popular games though.

League of Legends 1920x1080 High, which is default settings:
-Power Save mode: 15-20 fps
-Balanced mode on battery: 25-35 fps
-Balanced mode on AC: 35-45 fps

(I figure the difference between AC and battery is due to PCI Express settings, though I never checked it out)

Starcraft 2: In 1920x1080 and settings at Medium, you can get playable fps at 25-30 if you set it to Balanced. Of course battery life will be only ~2 hours or so. With Power Saver Mode on Medium settings it drops to 10-15 fps and isn't playable, so it needs to be played at low. Setting lower resolutions aren't feasible because it makes the entire game screen smaller.

 

Ordered mine on 12/26
Went into production on 1/4
From what I've seen in this thread, it seems like it usually ships a few days after it goes into production (I'm hoping this is true)

But after reading the last few pages, I'm really getting worried, mainly because of the number of bugs and issues people are encountering. I'm starting to have second thoughts about my purchase. I hope these are just software/driver issues =\

 

For now thats all it seems to be, drivers, with the exception of the high pitched noise coming from the system.

 

What??? I ordered mine two weeks before you and it's still in pre-production with EDD 2/6. Seems like dell is mixing up their orders.
Guess I'm gonna have a serious word with a dell rep. I'd like to hear what they have to say about that...

 

Could also be what options and what proc, ram you chose on it. I have the base XPS12 which was ordered I think on Dec 9th, had an estimated ship of 1/18 and it came on this past friday 1/4. As for issues.. I have no build/quality issues with mine whatsoever. Its been on pretty much full time since Friday afternoon and its running like a charm and really feels great.

My main issues are learning Win8 and waiting for more WIn8 aps/programs. Chrome did not import its bookmarks and is buggy, no Twitter AP yet and little things like that are driving me nuts - but the potential is there and I really think Win8 will be a winner.

 

Yeah, i figured that. Ordered the full spec model. But this shouldn't make such a big difference (10 days vs. 4 weeks in your case). I thought the bottleneck was the shortage of the ips panels...

Great to hear that yours doesn't have any issues.

 

Haha I exchanged my lenovo yoga 13 twice due to coil whine and then became sick of dealing with Lenovo and ordered a dell xps 12 which lo and behold had coil whine, BUT the xps 12 whine is a bit quieter and seems to become almost non-existant when the machine is plugged in.

One negative of the switch though is the trackpad. The bottom left corner of my machine is incredibly unresponsive and to be honest the trackpad is only usable if I avoid that area entirely. Is anyone else dealing with this? I wonder if mine is a hardware defect as I find it odd if a driver issue would cause a specific spot of the trackpad to be very unresponsive.

My third complaint is that the trackpad either loses its finish or attracts grease incredibly quickly. If it's a grease/grime issue does anyone know an effective way to clean it? It's pretty unsightly :s

I am kind of tired of going through multiple laptop exchanges so I've convinced myself that none of these are dealbreakers, but I'm hopeful that maybe some of these problems can atleast be helped! Don't get me wrong, this machine has loads of great qualities and is definitely better than the yoga, it's just that paying $1200 for a machine encourages me to start getting picky.

 

I ordered mine back on 11/26. Just the base xps 12 model and I still have yet to receive mine. It says estimated ship date 01/01/0001. Which makes no sense. This is making be really frustrated. Anyone else having issues from this far back?

 

Sounds like you should contact Dell about it. Maybe you can get some kind of gift card?

I also ordered the base model. Wouldn't the base model have less of a shortage issue since it's more popular? Of course this doesn't apply if it's an IPS panel issue.

What is the coil whine? Is that the high pitch noise? I don't think I mind trackpad issues as I use a mouse mostly and I'm sure those can be fixed with new drivers. But coil whine sounds like a scary hardware issue. Can somebody enlighten me?

 

Yep, coil whine is the high pitched noise. It doesn't effect performance though. Also the reason for the delay is more than likely the display because they're on backorder. I am waiting for my replacement display and dell is getting their shipment in Wednesday from what ive heard from three employees.

 

Anyone buy a case/sleeve for the XPS 12 yet?? I am looking at the one from Dell, the Dell XPS Executive Leather Sleeve - Fits Systems up to 12-inch

Anyone have any experience with this?? recommend it or maybe another?

Thanks.

 

Doesn't affect performance, but would still be something that sounds you would worry about =\
I just hope it's not a hardware issue, although this review says it's from the motherboard ( Acer Aspire S7 and Dell XPS 12 review: battle of the transforming 1080p touchscreen ultrabooks | The Verge), which sounds very concerning

Hopefully if my laptop went into production, I'll be getting my laptop shipped soon!

 

Based on my experience I don't think it will develop into a problem, I could be wrong, but this is just my experience. My graphics card in my desktop is a reference AMD Radeon HD6870 and it has coil whine; It's been running just over a year powered on for two+ hours almost every day, plus I game on it and have never ran into a problem. Now on the XPS 12 it is coming from the motherboard. My XPS L502X had a little coil whine as well (from the motherboard), and hasn't had any problems either. I wouldn't worry about it unless people start complaining about dying motherboards. But anyways, I think you'll love the system.

 

I bought this
Buy D BRAMANTE DBR13EMA-S 13" MacBook Air Leather Laptop Sleeve - Tan | Free Delivery | Currys





Fits like a dream and looks amazing.

 

Didn't pay that much though.

 

Wow.. that looks great! Dont see that in the US tho :-(

I am thinking about this Timbuk2 case, I really like their stuff

Amazon.com: Timbuk2 Escape Laptop Sleeve: Computers & Accessories

 

That's nice as well.

I tried quite a few different ones. Found that any case made for 13" Macbook pro is a really good fit.

 

Just tossing this out there to see if anyone here has an idea on this... I noticed a spot in the dell outlet for the XPS12 already and was wondering if anyone on here ordered from the dell outlet? I am not sure if its just a placeholder or if they are actually selling there, but I have checked the past few days to see if they were in stock there and they remain sold out. If so, mind sharing what the going outlet price is/was? Thanks

 

That is a great sleeve! Unfortunately they are hard to find here in Australia - and Amazon wont ship it here

I got a Built NY Cargo sleeve. It does the job (but I think I like the look of that Timbuk2 sleeve a little better!!).

 

Woohooo! Just got an email from Dell with my tracking number. My XPS 12 will be arriving on the 12th. I ordered this thing on 12/17/12, EDD 1/23/13. This is definitely a nice surprise. I hope there aren't any hardware issues.

 

Nice, I was actually wondering when yours was going to deliver. That means mine might take a bit longer.

 

I called Dell customer support last Thursday inquiring as to what was causing the delay. The csr emailed the factory. She said she would get a reply within 24-48 hrs. Well, I didn't hear from her over the weekend. But the good news came today. The delay is probably due to the shortage of screens, but the csr didn't say in her email. Hopefully you and everyone else won't have to wait too long.