XPS 15 (L521X) Owner's Lounge

got one of those seriously im gonna spend 1500 USD = 10,000 TTD
to put in an external wifi card and port extenders seriously That is a FAIL

if thats the case ill go with last yeas xps with 1080 screen if the fix is coming soon sure ill spend my 10 000 TTD its nice you guys wanna fix but @ those prices it should just work or dell should just bear the cost of replacing every screen assembly with bad antenna design if thats the case ..... i know bill and dell will come trough for me so i will wait

 

Yeah right. Spending that much money and then try to patch the purchase with a 1x1 RealTek WiFi USB device!!!

I use that thing to conveniently "upgrade" old notebooks so that they can use wireless "N". Definitely not on this brand-new "cool-looking" notebook.

 

Understandable. I am just giving out possible solutions for those that have a problem and wish for a "fix"

I'm lucky that I don't have bad wifi anywhere around my house.

Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk 2

 

Idk about the others but when I'm not within 10 feet of my router mine is running at 1mbps or lower-.-

Just ordered the usb nano receiver from newegg.

 

Still quite concerned about the wifi performance - sometimes during the day I'm in spots with weak signals too.

So I tried again looking at the plugged-in vs not-plugged-in question. Didn't make a difference, confirming another post.

But here's the odd thing - wireless performance seemed to be variable on the L521x. On the M1530 - it was very consistent. Here's what I saw:
Starting on battery:
(ping in ms/download in Mbps/upload in Mbps)
- 15/5.96/.49 <--remarkable as this is equivalent to the M1530 (which I tested again to make sure)
- 15/5.94/.47

Then I plugged the L521x back in:
- 15/5.65/.51
- 10/2.90/.41 <--drats - back to what I saw the other day
- 15/3.64/.43
- 15/5.19/.54 <--what's going on here, it's back up to M1530 speeds?
- 15/5.17/.31
- 15/3.16/.50 <--back down again!
- 15/5.18/.44 <--and now again, back up to M1530 speeds

If this was an RF deisgn issue, I wouldn't be getting such variable results so this is a good thing. Still in my risk-free period so I'll have to be making a decision soon.

All of the runs were within about 10 minutes, interspersed with run on the M1530.

 

Guys, found out something interesting. I am no wifi person, but if I choose 5ghz the speed seems pretty ok considering it does not have full signal. Whereas I was getting 12mbps, with 5ghz in the same place I was getting over 65mbps with only a 162bmps connection!

Is it just because I am running 5ghz which has a better speed or is this something that could be interesting?

Could everyone try @ 5ghz in the same weak spot and post their results?

 

IMO, i think having paid over 1000 pounds i should not have had to be concerned about wifi issues.

Lets face it look at how many people have recently signed up and tried to get their post count above 5 so they can receive pm's / the new bios / atheros wifi card? I was a lurker until i felt the need to comment on certain issues, otherwise i would have probably carried on lurking

The thing is for my needs the laptop does the job and very well.

Its well built, the screen is good, sound is good and dell have used nice materials. Overall, although a bit on the expensive side i am happy with it and will be keeping it. It ticks enough boxes and does what i need well enough.

My broadband provider is soon to be upgrading the bandwidth and im sure that will help for my web surfing requirements.

In the meantime i will just have to enjoy youtube on wifi at 720p instead of 1080p! Those who use it for NAS or online gaming might require a quicker / better solution.

Im sure bill will sort something out!

Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk

 

same goes for any other laptop, check out the Lenovo forum for issues on they Y580, or the Samsung for issues of the Series 7 15.6 and 17.3, the list goes on and on

 

I also have better results with 5Ghz, on 2,4 the signal was jumping up and down between 30mbits/s and 130mbit/s and caused the download being slow.

With 5Ghz on the same location I have a 52Mbit/s link and download is stable.

the only problem is the 5G coverage in my house is smaller than 2,4Ghz

 

I will give the new card a try even though someone said it didn't make a difference. I have been away for the past week so I will finally be able to give it a shot. Fingers crossed, although I get excellent signal everywhere but my room two floors and several walls away from the router, but my old VAIO and phone get better signal. That's the problem for me.

 

Hey, So i just put in an ssd into my xps instead of the hdd. And after my reinstall im wondering how to change the msata ssd to a real drive rather then a cache only drive. Anyone know that doesnt mind helping me out? Also i dont have the dell battery management things anymore such as desktop mode. Is there a specific driver that I missed? Cause i would like to have that back. Thanks in advance.

 

I don't understand how some people are only having small wifi issues and getting like 7-10mbps still yet some of us are running at less than 1mbps. Very. Angry.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

Have you tried 5ghz mode like I suggested above?

 

Not sure how to do that... Can you give me instructions?

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What router do you have?

 

I'm not sure about the battery management, I think thats included in quickset? Did you install that?

To use the mSata as a normal drive, you must change the setting in the BIOS. Also don't install Intel rst.

 

Not sure. I know it's through AT&amp;T though. I'll try and find my router. (at a friends house)


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

It's an AT&amp;T u-verse router.

PM me


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

Just for fun, I opened up inSSIDer and looked at the RSSI numbers. All on battery, no change when plugged in.

Next to AP Linksys 610N running DDWRT:
2.4GHz 1, channel 3 -46
2.4GHz 2, channel 3 -41
5GHz, channel 44+48 -27
Did not do speedtest as I had no issues this close to router

One floor above AP
2.4GHz 1, channel 3 -50
2.4GHz 2, channel 3 -62
5GHz, channel 44+48 -58
FIOS 25/25 Speedtest.net results 2.9-5.69 DOWN 6.95-7.96UP

Two floors above AP
2.4GHz 1, channel 3 -50
2.4GHz 2, channel 3 -60
5GHz, channel 44+48 -69
FIOS 25/25 Speedtest.net results 2.9-5.69 DOWN 6.95-7.96UP


For Comparison, my e6220 gets 12 DOWN and 12 UP one floor up from router


Settings:

PCI-e Link State Power Management is OFF
Wireless Adapter Power Settings Maximum Performance
Tried enabling and disabling bluetooth no difference.

I'm downloading new drivers now and will edit this post if the results are different. Tomorrow I will swap this card out for a different one I have and see if I see any improvement. Also, is there any harm in swapping the aerials? Maybe to see if the RX antenna is just bad on all of ours?


EDIT:
The new driver keeps refusing to install, I'll keep trying. I'm a moron. I see the problem, Dell ships with 15.1.1 and the newest driver from Intel is the same version. Also when you are downloading, did you notice the speeds fluctuate from fast to slow very rapidly. I don't know why it would ever get fast if the antenna was the issue, no?

 

i have a strong feeling that when windows 8 drops dell is gonna release a L522x sans wireless issues larger m sata drives an maybe we are talking 20% chance of them squeezing in a mini sub-woofer near between the optical drive an display

 

You think the thermals are bad now, just wait till we cram a sub in there.


Sent from my SCH-I400 using Tapatalk 2

 

I'm drooling over the MBPR still. REALLY considering if I was an idiot for selling my Macbook Pro to buy this POS that won't even work when im more than 10 feet from my router. NEVER had such a problem with my MacBook Pro. Guys I'm not sure what to do here. Return my L421X to BB; sell on eBay; or keep it.

 

If you are unhappy just return it. No need to keep a machine you are unhappy with or hoping for a fix. If you are calling it a POS why would you consider keeping it ?

Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk 2

 

Is this tiny connector really working correctly ?
Does that mean that a 10$ 5mm-long adapter works better than the built-in antenna from Dell ? I am waiting to see...

 

Does anyone know whether the mSata port on the XPS15 is sata II or sata III ?

Also, I have read in an XPS 14 thread that boot times (cold boot) are fairly slow, even when having the OS on a SSD (due to a slow BIOS apparently). Could anyone with an XPS 15 and SSD tell how long it takes to boot the machine (I'm talking about having the entire OS on a SSD or the mSata SSD). Thank you for your answer.


Edit: I've read a bit more on the sata II vs sata III topic and it seems that it doesn't change much in terms of user experience. Real-World Tests : Upgrade Advice: Does Your Fast SSD Really Need SATA 6Gb/s?

 

I see you post nearly every page complaining about the wifi or calling the laptop crap. Just return it and get something that makes you happy. I'm actually sick of seeing you keep complaining. Just go buy a fruit. Besides then you can sell your stove since you can cook plenty of eggs on that.

 

Not sure how to configure your router. I would suggest going to the AT&T forums and searching there. Essentially you just need to going in to the router wireless settings and enable 5ghz.

 

do you know where in the bios? I found the battery management, but am still having trouble changing the cache drive to a normal one

 

Couldn't agree more. Could also do with learning to edit posts...

 

You took the words right out my mouth.

 

Done a very quick video showing the slow wireless. It is compounded a bit by running them side by side, however you can clearly see the superior reception of the L502x

Dell XPS L521X Wireless Test - YouTube

 

It's not a POS. those were just my words in the heat of the moment when my wifi was at an all time low.

I purchased one and it should be here Monday or Tuesday. Will post results.

I've never called the laptop crap until now and when I spend $1200 on one that doesn't even work on wifi? With as simple of a task as making sure the antenna isn't blocked, DELL's quality control really messed up on that part. I've been on this forum for the L521x since day one. I can speak my mind if I want and could care less what you say.Everyone here knows I'm still a loyal Dell customer considering I Waite for a month with no laptop just to buy this one. Im sick and tired (and so is NBR) of the hostile attacks of words towards members on this forum just because someone has a different opinion. Its a PUBLIC FORUM anyone can say whatever the heck they want. Good day

 

Checked my wifi router and only 2.4 GHz is supported:
Using a Sagemcom 2864 from Bell Canada and also a D-Link DIR-615 it replaced.

...drats...

 

@Risco - what is that application running on the left of the laptop screens, in your video?

 

See but you're the only person I've called out for saying their opinion. I understand this is public. State your opinion once and be heard. Quit complaining about wifi when a fix is on the way and everyone is aware of the issue. State all the opinions you wish, just don't keep repeating them. Or not, I'm a guy behind a computer, not a cop

 

Just ordered the L521X and just joined the forum (in that order.) I'm somewhat concerned by this wifi issue, so I'm grateful for the discussions in this thread, and will be coming back often for updates.

/L521X will replace my 6 year old Inspiron 9400 -- has served me well
//this will be the seventh Dell I've bought going back to 1992
///first machine was a 33 Mhz i486DX with 4 Mb of RAM and an 120 Mb HD -- Windows 3.1 / OS2 dual-boot
///get off my lawn

 

I've swapped out the 32Gb msata for a 130Gb one, works like a charm with windows installed on the msata drive! On the second page ("Advance"), you'll be able to select "SATA operation"; set it to "AHCI" instead of the current value (something like "Intel smart response").

 

How much was it? Do you think it's better option than just buying an ssd and swapping out the main drive, keeping the msata as a cache? What's your boot time?

 

There are 2 equally viable options: (1) large SATA SSD in main bay, (2) mSATA SSD as boot/OS/apps drive and large SATA HDD in main bay.

If you already run everything off the main SSD at raw 6Gbit/s + SSD speed (option 1), you don't want to add a layer of caching by a mSATA SSD.

The mSATA SSD cache is only meaningful if the size of that SSD is too small (say, 20-30GB) to be used as a boot/OS/apps drive. But if the mSATA SSD is 64, 80, 128GB or above, it should be used as a boot drive, not a cache.

 

That's not what I meant. I was trying to say if it was better than keeping the 32gb msata as cache and swapping out the hdd for a full size ssd for boot os and everything else

Edit: after re-reading your post. Are you saying that with a full size ssd any msata installed and set for caching is useless?

 

You're more than welcome to have whatever opinion you want of your laptop. Complaining and letting your concerns be known is fine; however, incessant, repetitious complaining is annoying and not constructive.

Regardless, don't you have the XPS 14? There are dedicated threads for that, as I know you're aware. No need to post the same complaints in multiple threads. I'm sure Bill checks all of them.

 

I have just asked bill if the Wifi is a design fault and cannot be fixed and they release one with the problems fixed.
Are we entitled to have our Laptop replaced with the ones who do have the issue resolved?
If we are I am happy to wait and see

 

I would be of the same thought pattern. I am willing to wait to see if a driver can fix the problem or if hardware what the solution is assuming it would need a tech visit. What would give me more confidence is if I could get a guarantee that if the issue is not resolved inside 30 days that I can apply for full refund on the basis the product is not fit for purpose. Currently I have 7 days, which I think runs out Monday, hence my concern.

The program is called Inssider. You can get it here >> http://www.metageek.net/support/downloads/

 

What if I have a 128GB mSATA AND a 512GB SSD in main bay. Which one should I put the OS on?

 

Are you suggesting caching a ssd with a smaller SSD?

Unless your cache ssd was significantly faster than the larger ssd, it would just add latency to your usage and provide no benefits. Think of it this way. SSDs will find your data in under 1 ms. Say you are using two PM830's in your machine. Say it takes .1ms worst case scenario to find your data, it'll check the cache (.1ms), if its not there go to the main SSD, (.1ms there). .2ms. Or just find it on the SSD. .1ms. The cache SSD helps mechanical hdds because the seek time on a mechanical hdd is usually 5-10 ms. So the cache drive only takes .1ms to look for info. Added to 5ms, thats not a lot. Added to another .ms it doubles the searching time.

 

Why should we buy a 1500€ laptop just to carry with it a bunch of stuff to fill its lacks? Should I carry also an external monitor not to see the pixel grid?

I think it would be useless, since any msata should be SLIGHTLY slower than a traditional SSD, so you wouldn't have any advantage from it

SSD should be slightly faster than mSATA, so maybe you want to install OS there. Maybe you could use mSATA for a secondary OS?

Sent from HTC HD2 with Tapatalk

 

Hey guys I really need your help with this one. I installed a fresh copy of windows , installed drivers but when I install rapid storage technology windows won'tboot I tried putting it in AHCI mode and intel rapid response mode but didn't work. The laptop flashes BSOD after "Starting Windows" screen and it restarts. My laptop is the $1699 model.

 

Did you change it to AHCI mode before or after windows install? If you change modes from AHCI to RAID or RST after an install, windows doesn't like it and will BSOD.

 

Hey guys, first post here. Been lurking for quite a while, until yesterday I came back from a trip and got my hands on the computer.

Very beautifully made, absolutely well done. Well except the WiFi Haven't tested throttling, but since a fix is on the way, I'm not too worried...

Here are some interesting results from speedtest.net (excuse the multiple tests, science has told us more data = better )
Tests are done in a room ~30ft away from the router, no LOS, 2 walls in between








As you can see, the upload speed is almost consistently greater than the download... I'm not saying that the upload is great, here's a comparison to my HP 6930p in the same room



Aaaaand comparison with next to router (XPS)



It is indeed strange that the XPS is capable of ~10Mbit upload, but struggle to keep up with the download... It is still sub par regardless, but anyways... Maybe these tests can give some hope to it being a driver issue, since previously the tests have been inconclusive regarding the asymmetric D/U speeds.

About the heavily fluctuating speeds... I blame my router, which had had records of being unstable in my room, thus the multiple tests so you roughly know what it's capable of.

Cheers!

 

The mSATA port in the L521x supports SATA 3 (6GB/s). I difference between the two with a fast SSD is rarely noticable because it's the difference between really fast and 1.8x really fast. The only time you'd really notice is in file copy operations, at least today. It's always better to be faster of course.

 

It was a joke, man. I was trying to find a bad-looking USB hub to have a laugh: a "fix" for a "fix."