XPS 12 Owners Lounge

Has anyone used Adobe Premiere on their xps 12? It's a processing vampire even on my desktop. Just wondering how the i7 holds up to it

 

How did you find out new parts were available?

What's your timeline for replacement?

Thanks,
Eric

 

Help, Help, my laptop came back from the depot for a keyboard replacement. it was almost out of warranty. When I got it back the warranty was expired. now I find this flickering vertical line in the LCD, that at times disappears. Could this be caused by Dell taking the laptop apart? Anyone having this issue? this is the first model bought in Feb 2013. Can I press Dell to honor the expired war\warranty also? Thanks for any advise

 

I've had my laptop in for service because of a broken speaker and no video signal. I've also mentioned the image retention before they picked it up.
When I received it back, they've replaced the broken speaker and the mainboard, but not the display, so I asked my dell rep to give me information about the status of new displays.
He talked to his boss and gave me the info that there should be new parts available soon and asked me if I wanted to initiate an exchange.

He then sent me an email on February 27th informing me that they could now provide new parts. They will send a new display to me and a technician will contact me to make an appointment for the replacement.

So I'm currently expecting the display to arrive within the next 3 days and a call from a technician until the end of this week -> I should have a new display someday next week

 

Whats the best to reproduce the ghosting/image retention issue? I'm picking up a refurbished xps 12 later and want to know what to look out for?

 

Easy, Boost brightness. Open a PDF, not full screen. Wait 2 minutes (litteraly)
Press "windows button" and look at the white pdf border...

 

The easiest way is to see if your panel has image retention issues can be found here - Retina MBP (rMBP) image-retention test. It just displays a checkerboard of black and white... so you don't need to worry about damaging anything... it just creates a perfect scenario for the issue to manifest.

 

But, there's really no point in testing it -- you'll have the image retention. Every XPS 12 does. If you don't see it right away, it just means that your refurbished machine got a new panel and you'll see it in a week. It's pretty obvious -- you're not likely to miss it once it's there.

 

So maybe I should use it for a few months and then get a replacement under warranty when this alleged new batch of panels come in?

 

In theory that'll work. But, as you say... "alleged." Really, I'd suggest that you not buy the machine unless you're willing to live with the image retention for the lifetime of the laptop. That, or hold off on it until it's firmly established that you'll be able to get a new panel without the problem.

 

Well, Dell came round today to replace the screen with the new model and they put in...the same model (LP125WF1 (SP)(A2)).

I guess they'll be back in a few months to replace it again then...

 

Wow...they put in the SAME model LCD? I hope others will report back with a different model number during their service calls.

Maybe LG fixed the panels? (wishful thinking)

 

The tech support guy phoned again after it was fitted and seemed surprised as well...

 

Bleh, that's disappointing.

Any chance the model number is unchanged but that a running production correction has fixed the ghosting? I suppose we'll know in a couple of days whether it reappears or no.

That's hopelessly naïve of me to wish for, isn't it? I suppose the more reasonable hope is that the new panels do indeed exist and someone just grabbed your replacement off the wrong pile.

 

Did they confirm that they were aware of the image retention issue and that they've got different models/manufacturers available now? There are dozens of people (in this thread alone) who got a replacement after complaining about the display, which didn't fix anything.

I'm still waiting for my (allegedly different/fixed) display to show up, so my best guess would be that you didn't specifically ask for a display from a different manufacturer?

 

Well i notice my TIR just a few days ago. Was surprised how many folks are suffering. Called tech support yesterday, ran a patch. Of course that did nothing. He got my address and info to have a technician to come out and replace, but he soon called me back to say that his supervisor said to hold off and that they would offer me a better alternative since i voiced my concerns that if i get the same screen with the same part number i'll be out of warranty after another 8 months and be in the same boat less warranty. I'll update you guys on what the alternative will be.

 

I'm confused why would you be out of warranty if they replace the panel? If they replace the panel with the same one and you're still under warranty can you not just call again and say the problem is still there? Just because they replace it doesn't mean you're out of warranty?

 

I've been a silent observer to this thread for a long time... Lenovo Yoga owner, considering purchasing the XPS 12. I really don't like the Yoga 2 Pro's extremely high resolution and worse keyboard than the original... excited to get back to Dell after a few years.

Have any owners out there come to the XPS 12 from a 13.3" laptop? How's the adjustment? My last three laptops were 13.3" Ultrabooks, so at the point the only thing I'm nervous about is losing screen real estate. Thanks!

 

My previous laptop was 13" as well, and while the difference is noticeable I got used to it very quickly. However, I was also moving to a higher-res, brighter screen with better viewing angles (it really is a lovely screen except for the IR issues), so the improved clarity more than made up for the size in terms of readability. You'll be coming from a nice screen already, so it may be more noticeable for you.

If you haven't already, an easy "fix" is to set the taskbar to disappear when you're not using it. That immediately reclaims a significant chunk of the real-estate that you lose with the 0.8"-smaller screen (at least in desktop mode). I also fiddled with Firefox so that it took only one row across the top of the screen instead of two (putting everything beside the resize buttons). Between those two changes, I actually had a larger screen for websurfing than I had on 13.3".

The XPS 12 does indeed have a great keyboard (although I've always thought Lenovo keyboards were excellent as well). But, if the resolution on the Yoga bugs you, why not just turn it down? An 1800p pixel density should run very nicely at at standard 900p.

*edit* Something else you might note, if the keyboard is important to you, is the absence of dedicated "home" and "end" keys. I write a lot, and it took me awhile to get used to the missing keys on the XPS 12. I don't notice it any more, though.

 

Great reply, thank you! Yes, the screen on the original Yoga has ruined me. I won't be able to go back anything dimmer than 350 nits and less than 1600x900. I've read a lot bout scaling on the Yoga 2 Pro, and I think I could deal with that. The real deal breaker is the much worse keyboard on the new Yoga... the original Yoga has an excellent keyboard, but the Yoga 2 Pro is thinner and has sacrificed depth/travel and the concave shape normally found in Lenovo keys. I've typed on it a few times in BestBuy and was really disappointed.

Thanks for the note about Home and End... I also have a Zenbook Prime Touch (horrible keyboard btw), which also has no dedicated Home and End keys, so I've gotten used to it.

I think you're right though, minimize the toolbars and exploit the bright high quality XPS screen and the loss of .8 inches will be well worth it. Thanks again!

 

So, does anyone know if Microcenter is keeping this laptop in stock? It's out of stock in Orange County/Tustin, and I'm a bit concerned they're keeping the price low in order to empty out their stock.

 

Having trouble trying to output my XPS12 Haswell to new 4K UHD TV at 2160p. Anyone knows what the maximum resolution of the mini Displayport is?

 

Mini Displayport (Displayport 1.2) should be able to do 2160p at 30Hz.

 

Hey guys had a Sony Flip 14 2-in-1 a couple of months ago but got a refund due to numerous quality issues.
I am now looking into the Dell XPS 12. I gather this does not have an active digitizer? Does anyone know when the next generation Dell XPS 12 is slated to be released? Also please see below my exchange with Dell customer care regarding the presence of an active digitizer on this model.


This is an automated email sent from Dell Chat. The following information is a log of your session. Please save the log for your records.
Your session ID for this incident is 62437496.
Time Details
03/08/2014 07:02:34PM Session Started with Agent (Rex R)
03/08/2014 07:02:34PM kimmy: "."
03/08/2014 07:02:42PM Agent (Rex R): "Welcome, my name is Rex. I can be reached at [email protected]. How may I help you?"
03/08/2014 07:02:46PM Agent (Rex R): "Hi Kimmy =)"
03/08/2014 07:02:56PM kimmy: "Hiya Rex "
03/08/2014 07:03:14PM kimmy: "I would like to know if the Dell XPS 12 has an active digitizer?"
03/08/2014 07:03:28PM kimmy: "That is, I want to know if I can use it to take notes in my meetings at work?"
03/08/2014 07:04:18PM Agent (Rex R): "Glad you chatted in today .I'd be more than happy to help you!"
03/08/2014 07:07:00PM Agent (Rex R): "upon checking"
03/08/2014 07:07:55PM Agent (Rex R): "we do offer Targus Stylus for $15.99"
03/08/2014 07:09:01PM kimmy: "Rex are you saying the Dell XPS offers stylus support for note taking?"
03/08/2014 07:10:05PM kimmy: "XPS 12 that is?"
03/08/2014 07:10:14PM Agent (Rex R): "Yes, it does"
03/08/2014 07:10:56PM kimmy: "hmmm interesting"
03/08/2014 07:11:01PM kimmy: "thanks for the reply"
03/08/2014 07:11:16PM kimmy: "this review says it doesn't"
03/08/2014 07:11:17PM kimmy: "http://www.mobiletechreview.com/notebooks/Dell-XPS-12-2013.htm"
03/08/2014 07:12:08PM Agent (Rex R): "checking on the link"
03/08/2014 07:17:38PM Agent (Rex R): "thank you for patiently waiting"
03/08/2014 07:22:32PM Agent (Rex R): "I don't have any against on the reviews, but I assure you that the XPS 12 has handwriting recognition"
03/08/2014 07:23:16PM kimmy: "hmmm"
03/08/2014 07:23:29PM kimmy: "ok"
03/08/2014 07:23:37PM Agent (Rex R): "would you like me to help you configure one ?"
03/08/2014 07:25:28PM kimmy: "no thanks"
03/08/2014 07:25:41PM kimmy: "the one I want is already there pre configured"
03/08/2014 07:26:05PM kimmy: "however i need to make sure that it has an active digitizer and active pen support"
03/08/2014 07:26:12PM Agent (Rex R): "would you like me to help you with the order to check on the best deal?"
03/08/2014 07:26:15PM kimmy: "similar to the Sony Vaio Flip series"
03/08/2014 07:29:26PM Agent (Rex R): "yes"
03/08/2014 07:30:37PM kimmy: "thanks for your help Rex"
03/08/2014 07:31:19PM Agent (Rex R): "It is important for me to make sure that I was able to cover everything, is there anything else that I could possibly help you with?"
03/08/2014 07:31:55PM kimmy: "no there is nothing else"
03/08/2014 07:32:09PM Agent (Rex R): "Thank you for choosing Dell. Kindly spare a few seconds to answer the survey by clicking on the "Exit" button. You're feedback will be greatly appreciated. Have a great Day!"
03/08/2014 07:32:11PM Session Ended

 

Has anybody done a motherboard swap?
I am interested in upgrading from ivy bridge i5 3317u to haswell: Dell XPS 12 9Q33 Replacement Motherboard with i5-4200U CPU 0FP7W / 00FP7W | eBay
Main reason would be the battery life. Anyone know if it is a simple swap?

 

There's no active digitizer, but you can use those stupid pens that work with every capacitive touchscreen.
That's what Rex meant. Pretty bad and confusing customer support in my opinion.

Gesendet von meinem GT-I9300 mit Tapatalk

 

Dell's pricing is all over the place... I'm looking to get the i7 8gb 256 model... I'd of course prefer an i5 8gb 256, but that's no option. I've been watching pretty steadily and Dell's prices change on a nearly daily basis. Here are the current prices for that model:

Dell Home, i7 8gb 256gb starts at $1599 XPS 12 2-in-1 Ultrabook (was $1399 yesterday... I still had the page in a browser tab, but when I saved it to cart, it jumped back to 1599)

Dell Business, i7, 8gb 256gb starts at $1629.99 The Dell Online Store: Build Your System (the only difference I see is Win 8.1 Pro)

It's getting hard to justify this purchase when the Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro of the same spec is $1199.99 (from BB and Lenovo online).

 

I've been following this thread pretty intently for the past three weeks, after I purchased my XPS12 i7 Haswell. When I bought it, I asked the salesman about the image retention, and he assured me that if I experienced it within their 30 day return policy, they'd take it back for a full refund. I experienced it on the first day, but I like the machine so much I'm loathe to return it for a few relatively minor issues (trackpad sometimes turns itself off requiring a reboot, image retention, occasional high pitched whine).

I'm now approaching the end of my return window, and I'm having a lot of trouble deciding whether or not to keep the machine. Has anyone here actually gotten a new display without the IR issues yet? I want to keep it, but not if it's going to be permanently crippled with IR problems.

 

As you can see from recent posts in this thread, no one has yet received a panel that fixes the IR problems. That said, the problem is hardly "crippling" -- as you can also see from this thread, some people don't mind it at all. I'm one of the people whining about the IR because it keeps me from using the laptop for presentations at work, but even I don't find it even remotely "crippling" -- it's otherwise a great screen.

Frankly, right now what bugs me most is how loud the fan is, and how often the fan comes on even at low processor load (a random, 30-second virus check puts the processor up to 30%, and there's the fan). It doesn't really impact me in my own usage habits, but I'd never bring this laptop into a classroom.

 

It's lovely that you don't find the problem crippling, but when I've paid $2,000 for a machine I expect to be able to work without constantly being distracted by ghosting. It may not be crippling for you, for what you do for a living - but I find it a major problem for what I do. You are right in that other than a major problem with the screen, the screen has no problems. Thanks though for your input.

With that said, I have absolutely no problem with my fan. I work in a quiet environment, and have never heard it make a bit of noise. I don't know if that's common or not, but mine runs cool. The only time I've heard my fan rev beyond basically silent is when I was editing some video on a 43 degree day. It's possible I just don't push my machine as hard as you do on a regular basis, though.

 

Well, I think perhaps you and I just have a different definition of "crippling," since to me by definition if it's only "distracting" then it's not "crippling." That said, you only need to read the last few pages of this thread to see where the panel replacement stands. There might be replacement panels at some point, and at least some people at Dell seem to think there will be, but it's certainly not guaranteed (and there's already a report of a panel being replaced by the same panel even though the tech and CSR expected otherwise, so who knows). If it's a crippling problem for you, and there's no guarantee that it's going to be fixed any time soon (or indeed ever) then you might want to consider returning the machine. I wouldn't recommend anyone buy this laptop unless they can live with the IR, because it's a coin toss whether it'll get fixed.

I've had three motherboards, and the fan noise has been the same on all of them, so I'm inclined at this point to agree with the multiple complaint threads on Dell's website and call it a consistent problem. But if you're not getting it, then that's a nice bonus. The same issue was largely fixed by an eventual BIOS update on the XPS 13, so I'm kind of hopeful that some attention will be paid to the 12 at some point. But be aware that if you return your machine and buy it again later, you may find that the new machine is louder.

 

If you really like the machine and can deal with the IR in your daily use, I personally would stick it out and hope that rumors of a new panel (either a new one from LG or a non LG display without the IR probs) will be available soon. You have your warranty, and very well could have it fixed in the next several months if what I've read in this thread is accurate. Tough call for sure though, it's a lot of money. Good luck to you!

 

I really was interested in this machine but what stopped me is the absence of a wacom digitizer tht woudl have made the difference , right now I am pondering above the Sony vaio flip but all the issues of that machine are stopping me also ...

what do you think is DELL going to push out 12 " or above similar convertibles with active digitizer? Anytimesoon?

 

Why not go for a Thinkpad Yoga 12' ? that one has wacom digitizer

 

Just talked to a Dell technical support rep. The guy is nice and I got a motherboard&LCD panel replacement. He said there would be some one later this week to help replace the components. For my problem, LCD is the image retention /ghost image issue, and motherboard is due to USB port power supply, as I mentioned in previous replies to this thread.

 

i only have a 12 month warranty. If my panel gets replaced with the same p/n lcd and 8 months later it comes back again. I'll for sure be out of my warranty being that i would have been into ownership for 16 months and the warranty is only 12. See my point?

They called me back today to tell me that they can possibly get my lcd replace with a different lcd from a diff manufacture to see if it remedies the issue since this is a common issue with the xps's with this particular panel. This could be apart of the new batch they have been talking about. But i have to wait another 2-3 days to get an answer on that. Anyone else currently waiting on an answer as to what there fix is going to be?

 

Dell told me that I would get a panel replacement. But not yet know which panel it would be..

 

Now expecting on site technician in 15 mins.

update:
The technician was friendly. He replaced the motherboard and screen. The new LCD panel is of the same model as the one with image retention, so after replacement, there is still ghost image. However, it is not as obvious as before. The ghost image can only be seen on the four edges of the screen (before it was even in the middle part). The technician recognizes this problem and called Dell, later scheduled a shipment. I am asked to put everything in a box and ship them back to dell for a more thorough check and service. I would ask them for another batch/model of LCD screen that can fully resolve this issue.
Still testing the USB issue, which is not quite universal in the owner community.

 

Keep us posted.

 

I have a first generation XPS12.
When I first got the machine, I would set the power plans between Power Saver, Balanced and High Performance. I could really tell the difference between the three plans.
After upgrading to Windows 8.1, these power plans seem to make no difference. It seems like my computer is always running slow. It has trouble playing 1080p movies sometimes. I also have to play Star Wars The Old Republic on the lowest settings and it still jitters; whereas before I would set the power plan to High Performance and I could play it on Medium settings.

Has anyone else experienced this issue?
Does anyone have any tips on solving it?

 

Oh right I was under the impression that the image retention and ghosting issues would always become quickly apparent(max a few weeks) if your panel was affected.

 

I didn't read all 245 pages(yet), so forgive me if it has been mentioned, but Costco has the i7, 8gb, 256gb model on sale for $1,199. I just ordered one, hence my lurking around here for info.

MIKE

 

That's an amazing deal! Thanks for sharing. I don't see any info about warranty.. is it the standard Dell 1yr? I don't have a Costco membership, but I'm Very tempted!

 

Picked up an 'open box' XPS 12 from Microcenter for $488 OTD, looked brand new when I pulled it out. Added a 480GB Crucial SSD. Total in is $723. Couldn't be happier.

 

Pretty awesome. Looks like that model has only 4gb of RAM though, you think its enough? I've seen the Microcenter deals, closest one is 4 hours from me though.

 

It will have to do. The 8GB models are with the i7 and 256GB ssd so the price is substantially more. This will be purely for office/work related documents and the occasional movie.

4 hours is certainly a hike and while I like microcenter I don't '4 hour drive' like them

 

i have the haswell xps12 and dell just left my house, I will keep you posted on image retention issue if it comes up or was solved this time. So far so good :thumbsup:

im loving i so far no issues yet hope its a new panel with issue resolved.

 

Dell repair depot sent back my XPS 12 without performing any service saying that they were unable to duplicate the problem. Stupid technicians! I enclosed a full set of materials instructing them to duplicate the problems, even a youtube video link and 2 pictures. I do not know what to say to those idiots, and may continue ask them to do something on it. Anyone has the experience of returning a product even after the one month period?

Update: Chatted online with a tech sup. He says that the product team is aware of the LCD panel issue and is working on a solution to it until the end of March. I am asked to wait till the end of March.

 

Update: From kprambo i got my screen replaced 2 days ago I am starting to get IR back near the windows start logo dell called me an are getting the new panels in yay. Should get a call between now and thursday . I hope the new ones make IR a thing of the past. I really love this xps 12 haswell so im excited to get new screen.:thumbsup:

 

good news. Did they say that the new panel will be of a different model or something?