XPS 15 (L521X) Owner's Lounge

I subscribe to the 15 xps L251X RSS feed and just got this about the A6 BIOS. Drivers and Downloads | Dell [United States]

Notes only mentions.

Set the temps control Tc at 80 degree C for GPS on Sbios
Based on EC X43 version and cut in thermal table V08.

 

Out of curiosity, did you guys have to pay return shipping, or did you cite a design fault? At the moment I'm fighting with Dell over paying $174 to have it shipped back to them, which I don't think is fair.

 

Heyy can you download the same from the link provided?

 

I get "File not found"

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No, Dell send a courier to my house to pick the unit up free of charge. (they actually send a courier 4 times by mistake)

 

Can you let us know how your experience is with Windows on the Mac? 75% of the software I use will be windows only, so it will be in bootcamp all the time as parralels doesnt function well in my software (mouse does crazy things)
In my case there are 2 big advantages o also go for MB pro: the Intel Network card vs realtec on the Dell, and charging of of ipad.

I dont care much about money, I just want the best (portable) laptop running Windows.

At this moment i'm thinking of 2 scenarios:
1. buy a Inspirion, and wait for revision 2 of the XPS (probbably with touchscreen)
2. buy a macbook (non retina as this can cause issues in bootcamp)

 

You gave me another good reason to not buy an iPad.
The XPS charges whatever USB device I tried, (even when it is powered off)

Why do you consider the Intel Network Card an advantage?

I think the huge advantage Macs have over the XPS is the aspect ratio of the monitor (16:10 vs 16:9). I prefer 16:10, and this affects a lot the transportability of the notebook. Also I suspect that while Mac monitors target the sRGB colorspace (the standard "pc" colorspace), the pc industry use monitor that target the NTSC colorspace (tv).

 

My temporary solution was to buy this: TP Link TL-WN725N 150Mbps Wireless-N Nano USB Adapter: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

Lost a USB port, gained a usable laptop until the find a fix. I'm happy with the product barring the wifi, but I'm confident that Dell will find a solution.

 

Does anyone know if Adata SSD SX300 128GB mSATA SATA3 MLC is worse/better then m-Sata drive included in L521x? Anyone can check what manufacture L521x m-SATA is?

 

included is the samsung 830 series, which is pretty much the best there is.

 

They want me to pay (thanksfully only 29 eu in NL) but I replied I dont think thats fair with all the faults the laptop has. (I cant even use the internet in any other room than the livingroom) No reply since last friday, so we'll see.

 

It does charge the ipad, but the Ipad supports fast-charging. This suppose to work with USB3 but it doesn't

The Network card is someting very specific, I use a laptop to control Lasers in realtime network. Intel cards just work better and use less cpu resources compared to Realtec. they also have better hardware and better drivers.
But for just office work you wont tell any difference.

I just don't understand Dell they are saving a few dollar on a cheaper NIC in a premium laptop

 

And a wild A06 bios appears
Edit:
the link is not up yet, maybe later on the day.

 

mSATA? I can't find any samsung 830 series mSATA. All are 2.5" SSD.

 

Those of you who got your XPS to charge your iPads, is it an iPad 3? At the risk of sounding like an idiot here, what did you do to get it to charge it? I tried every USB port on the laptop and not one will charge my iPad 3.

I believe the Samsung PM830 mSATA is OEM and not available for retail sale (as of yet, at least not through the regular places).

 

samsung 830 msata - Google zoeken

They exist, just hard to get retail

 

Seems impossible to find in retail market msata version of PM830, but this solution is used very often by notebook industry.

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I was thinking about getting L521x with 32GB m-sata and replacing it with 128GB. But then if Adata SSD XPG SX300 128GB is much worse then Samsung 830 I'm not sure if it's worth it...

 

Samsung mSATA is not as good as Samsung 2.5" drives. Thay are not as fast and IOPS are not that great. The size also matters, larger drives are faster than small drives. SandForce 2281 mSATA is faster than Samsung.

256GB read 500/write 260
128GB 500/255
64GB 500/170
32GB 500/90

 

I know the difference in terms of speed between mSATA and SATA. But SATA in my case is not taken under consideration.

As a base HDD I want to use 750GB 7.200 HDD.
For OS I want m-SATA 128GB. Just no idea which one to choose.

 

Just as I am placing my order, the Belgian site for the L521x is no longer offering the product: "This product is unavailable".
XPS 15 For Businesses

 

I have a 256Gb Crucial M4 mSATA that I've ordered up sitting here waiting for use. I'm not sure what to do yet though as I've also ordered up 2x 256gb Samsung 830 2.5" SSDs, 1 is meant for my laptop to replace the 750gb 7200 ODD that I have in there just now. I'm of two minds whether to bother and whether I should just stick in this msata, use it as primary hdd and use the 750gb as 2nd HDD. The plan was to take the 750gb out and caddy it up as an external HDD, not sure what to do now though...

 

Couldn't you remove the optical drive and place the Samsung 830 in there? You can also replace the msata with the m4.
Then you would have 750gb HDD for movies, docs, etc. and 512 total on a SSD for OS, apps, etc

 

I see 2 options:

• 256GB mSATA SSD boot/OS/apps drive + 750GB SATA HDD storage drive.
• 256GB mSATA SSD boot/OS/apps drive + 256GB SATA SSD storage drive + 750GB SATA-USB HDD external drive.

In either case, I suggest you split the mSATA SSD into 2 partitions: one smaller partition for boot/OS/apps and one larger partition for data. A Windows 7 installation plus applications typically take 45GB at most.

I don't think an optical bay HDD/SDD caddy adapter is currently available for the L521X.

 

I see third option:

SATA SSD 256GB + mSATA SSD 256GB in RAID0 or as a two separate drives.

 

512GB and 256GB are very expensive drives.

For me 128GB m-SATA is enough for system + apps. 750GB (7.200) would be perfect to store all data.

 

No need to document your case with tech support if you use the social media team in my signature for support rather than traditional call centers. You can just send them a link to any post you made reporting the problem, and that's all the documentation they need. But, I imagine I can set up something a little more convenient for NBR members if I can get one of the social media support guys/gals to manage the fix through PM. More to come on that when we get the details from engineering.

WLAN update:

I have a ton of information from engineering now, which is a good thing. They had been pretty silent up until this morning, which had me worried. The bad news is there are no specifics to share just yet. By specifics, I mean the root causes. We know what at least 3 points of failure are, and are taking steps to get them corrected. As soon as we've found all the failure points we can, we'll roll out a comprehensive fix. I have no ETA at this time. It's even a little early to tell you to "read between the lines" just yet. When we are a little more sure about covering all our bases, there will be lines to read between.

 

Bill - thanks for the update.

I think it would suffice for many to know that WLAN issue is actually "fixable". And by fixable I don't mean an external USB adapter.
Would you be able to confirm that this issue can actually be fixed without complete system swap?

 

I agree. I would like to know also if I should be waiting for this fix or just return the unit I have and purchase again when the issue is resolved? I am still within the 21 day return period for about another week.

Thank you!

 

At this point, I feel pretty confident that we can fix this in the field. But remember, I said we were still trying to make sure we find all points of failure, so if we find something that's not field replaceable, which we have not as of this time, we'll have to go another route.

If all you are worried about with regard to the fix is the return window, I can tell US customers (can't speak for regions outside the US), that you can get a return set up for WiFi performance after the return window (within a reasonable time frame, and 6 months after we have a fix is not reasonable) through the social media teams whose links are in my sig. They usually waive the restocking fee in cases where there's not some funny monkey business going on.

 

My worry is not just the ability to return it. I just need a computer that has functional wifi. So do you suggest that I return my unit or come up with something temporary such as a nano wifi adapter until Dell rolls out the fix? If I do return the unit, what are the chances of me getting another defective unit if I order again?

Thanks again for your help Bill.

 

Thank you for update Bill! IF it will be a hardware fix, do you think that all regions will have it at the same time (at least for new laptops)?

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If I said, "I'd buy a USB wifi adapter and wait for the proper fix," that'd be a really bad look coming from a company representative. So I won't say that. What I'll say is you can expect with reasonable certainty that we will fix the problem, and when we do, you can be guaranteed we'll make that fix available to affected customers. It might also be helpful for you to know that I have no ETA as of this time, so you might have to use a USB adapter or put up with the current performance for a few weeks. The last thing I'd do is return it and buy one later. If I'm going to take the drastic step of returning it rather than living with it or using an adapter, I'd just buy from a competitor that struck my fancy.

However, personally, I'd stick with what I have and get my fix from Dell in the near future. The fix is not going to be a huge traumatic ordeal or anything.

All regions will have the fix at relatively the same time. I'm sure some will lag a bit waiting for inventory and such, but not for long. New laptops will have the fix cut in at the factory before we go live with a field fix.

Edit:
And yes, I'm talking about a hardware fix, but that's just me talking based on the root causes I've seen so far. Just to be clear, there is no official acknowledgement of hardware vs software from Dell just yet. When there is, I'll post something more official when the time comes.

 

Thanks a lot Bill! Very glad to hear that there WILL be a fix coming (Especially when those with the 15z/14z had issues like this that I don't believe were resolved).

Regarding the ETA, I know you guys got the new BIOS out fairly quickly... But I have to wonder about this, seeing as it is a different problem entirely. Do you have a "max time" it will take for the fix to start to roll out? 2 weeks? A month? 2 months? Winter? End of the year??!?

 

Thank you very much!

 

@Dell-Bill_B

If that would be a hardware fix, will it be possible to recognize new L521x series with that fix by serial number or service tag?

PS. Sorry I don't want to rush you, just making sure if you are answering pm's, because some people don't like being spammed on their PM. If you do, then I will keep patiently waiting for some output.

Thanks!

 

Hi, i haven't seen anybody talking about the release of the A06 version of the BIOS, does it fix the throtlling issue? Or maybe are you waiting for stress tests results on some hardware websites?

Edit : sorry guys i just saw that some people told that there is a "file not found" problem on the website, and it's true!

 

Bill, any idea what's going on with the A06 Bios update? The link to the download is up but the update isn't downloadable (i.e. "File not found"). You told us you might know more in today's meeting. Can you tell us more as to why it was delayed and hopefully when the file will actually be downloable? Thanks.

 

L521x BIOS A06 - Drivers and Downloads | Dell [United States]

Additional Information - Set the temps control Tc at 80 degree C for GPS on Sbios Based on EC X43 version and cut in thermal table V08.

 

Have you tried to download?

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Good question, and probably so. The factory cut in date will be the item to watch. I will spell this out when I make an official announcement if the information about how to identify affected systems vs non-affected systems is available.

We're having some back end problems with our tools. I'm trying to track down a copy and throw it up on SkyDrive for you guys. I had it, but when I saw the announcement that it was web posted, I shift+deleted the email.

 

just went on dell.com and saw the A06 update, tried to update and saw file not found. so i figured id drop by here to see if anyone else has it and a working link. after reading through a few pages of forums i went back to dell.com to check and now its back to A04 :/ hopefully it'll be back up soon

Edit: and now trying 3 minutes later its back to A06 but again its file not found. i think im playing tug o' war with the server

 

Sorry, I don't mean to bug you again, but could you please provide a rough estimate? (Ex: a week, a month, end of year?) Thanks.

 

I got my XPS 15 last friday here in Peru, and it has a shaky wifi connection and also a grid like blueish screen, i wonder if when they implement the hardware fix if everyone would be notified somehow or if DELL will only fix the systems of those who demand it, i wonder if Dell will behave like a good world citizen or ignore my rights just because i'm in Southamerica, and leave me to rot with a flawed product.

I kind of wish that Dell, somehow created a page or something that validated the problems that the XPS 15 Line is having because right now it's hard to convince the technical support guys that there's a problem, if such a page existed it would be easier to show them the real problem, unless they are trying to do the impossible to hide this.

I dont know what to think about Dell anymore i've been buying products from them for years over years, what worries me more than the money is that the trust that i put on Dell, would be betrayed by acts that try to protect their corporate behinds and put the benefit of their users as an afterthought and more if such users live overseas for one reason or another.

 

1. IMO it why waste time with the TECH when you know there is not a fix yet. If there was a official fix you would know by reading this thread. The only point of talking to the tech is to mark it as a issue and when the fix is "RELEASED" you will be notified/remedied .

2. Being that your in SA I would return it and turnaround and rebuy it when the fix comes out. Its pretty much.

3. It is very rare that companies offer the same support allover the world. Possibly if its some cheap brand that has NO support anywhere you might not be worried. I believe that Bill Dell has been doing his best to help everyone possible. He probably does not have the reach or the authority to make worldwide promises to consumers.


ALL in all though Congrats on getting a AWESOME notebook. I would personally wait it out if possible. But in your position I would not want to be caught in some kind of limbo so RETURN.

 

Hi Bill,

Do you work with Canadian customers or only US? I too am having the wireless issue (~ 3 Mbps @ 20ft through 1 floor), haven't looked at throttling yet. If I need to return after all is said and done and there is no fix, how can I make sure that I am not subject to a restocking fee? I'm about 16 days in of the 21 here in Canada, but I'd like to hold on to this computer (i7, 16GB, 128 mSATA / 1TB 5400rpm) until the fixes arrive.

FYI: I bought the TP-Link TL-WN725N, 150Mbps wireless N Nano USB adapter as a stop-gap measure and it seems to have ~2-3x the throughput as the 6250 at distance > 10ft. While this is ok for now, it's not a permanent solution.

 

A06 up, just downloaded it, installing =]

 

For me, it's still file not found.

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Try direct link? http://downloads.dell.com/FOLDER00719182M/1/L521XA06W.exe

 

Doesn't work for me!