XPS 15 (L521X) Owner's Lounge

Just run speedtest.net several times, and compare to your rated internet speeds and results on other devices (from the same location). However, do verify that nothing else on your network is using much bandwidth (preferably none). Also, be aware that with a cable connection, your max speeds might be slower than rated if people in your area are using a lot of bandwidth.

 

Thanks for keeping us updated and being transparent about the situation, Bill! I'll message Lorna, as soon as I get to 5 posts, haha...

 

Since this doesn't come with the usual sticker on the bottom with the windows 7 serial key, do you guys know where to find it?

 

It's under that metal xps cover. It opens up.


Sent from my New iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

Thanks, can't believe I didn't know that.

 

Bill - I tried to send you a PM, but your NBR PM inbox if full and the system did not let me submit a PM with the error text about your inbox exceeding the space allowed.

I can attest that at this time there are 10-15 more negative reviews appeared on the site - and most have WiFi as a con, it's about time, since denial won't help anymore.
However at the time I posted my review - there were very few reviews with WiFi issue, as well as some reviews were taken out after being posted. The only reviews that were gone are the negative ones that mentioned WiFi - for instance, one day I'd look and there will be 37 reviews and the next day it will be just 32 with negative ones gone.

I know there is a Dell audit process before the review gets posted to filter obscenity etc., however once posted, it should not be removed just because it was negative.

I might have mentioned NBR (without linking) in my review, but I definitely did not post any curse words or the like. Other than my review being negative and whistle-blowing about the WiFi issue, nothing to worry. You can look-up my review (I might left two - a repeat of a "no-show") - my ID is ... ***this was in PM***

Once you clean-up your inbox, I'll re-send you my PM with user ID.

Thanks,
Mike

 

Hi Bill, i got my L521X Last Saturday and i am very happy with. But the WiFi issue is truly starting to bug me now! Ive been reading this thread for a while now, even before buying the laptop. There were just a few things i was wondering about because from what i understand when the fix does come, it will be available for the American and Canadian customers. What would you recommend for the UK users to do in regards to making this issue clear for the dell representatives? as i have spoken to what must be about 10 sales representatives and just as many tech guys and none of them had any idea about the issue or were just trying to blame the new McAfee update. Also could you please let me know how i might be able to get in touch with Lorna, in regards to getting a USB wifi adapter. For some reason i am not able to message her through this forum. And thats not even looking at whether this service is available for me, being in the UK. Also I wanted to thank you for all the effort you have and are putting into sorting the issue and keeping us updated.

 

The same for me please Bill.

And thanks also for the updates - I appreciate that in situations like this you are constrained by what you can say,

 

Thanks for the update Bill. I am really hoping for a fix for the WiFi, I really love the laptop otherwise.

 

Which option? I tried all those settings that I thought relevant but no help.

 

Received my unit yesterday.
Unfortunately the grid issue really exists and is quite annoying.
It's not pokeing you right in the eye but once seen you cannot forget it.

That's a real shame. Never seen this kind of problem before....

Furthermore I doubt there are just few defective units. Rather that some users see it, some don't.

 

Bill is a great person when it comes to public relations He keep saying exackly the same thing since weeks now just using different words but still every his new post is taken as an update and everyone (including me) are reading it with holden breath

Conclusion in few word - no eta, no fix and you don't deserve to know the root of the issue, it's top secret for now. Use external USB adapter instead - we prefer to buy you one instead of returning you money for l521x

Sent from my HTC One X

 

Insist you speak to Pro support in the UK (Scotland). They are aware of the Wifi issue and were very helpful. I haven't spoken to them about a free USB dongle yet as I bought a nano unit myself when I first got the laptop.

Kafkaesque.

 

Here's a suggestion for a field fix ... if it'd work

- ship replacement unit to customer (directly or via a tech)
- disable mSATA cache/etc functions on old system
- swap HDD from old to new
- enable mSATA cache/etc function on new system

Assuming the base hardware hasn't changed, this should work?

For me, personally, I'd have to pull the 16 gb ram upgrade I installed and move it over. Or Dell could ship me a replacement machine with 16 Gb installed and it's be a lot easier.

At this point, reinstalling/configuring is a PITA. I'd do it to have a 100% properly functioning machine, but it's still a PITA.

Plus I'll need to "restore to original" the old HDD and crypto-wipe the free space to to satisfy myself of data safety. Swapping the HDD would eliminate that issue for sure.

 

Hi, Bill. Phoned tech-support in Germany today and they were not aware of the Wifi issue, still they insisted on sending someone to exchange WiFi card and check connection of the antennas. As this is undeniably also affecting users in Europe, why is the support not informed of this problem (see also VictorPoz post from UK)? Or is there already a replacement solution for the WiFi problem available here, which they can install, otherwise I do not have much hope sending a technician will help.

 

Check out the attached file. I hope this helps, you can adjust the tapping speed as well as enable Draglock which may or may not help you with the dragging problem. It basically allows you to click and drag something for a period of time without depressing the touchpad.

 

Well I got 3 of the xps 15's for the family, 2 I5's and a I7 and all of em have the wifi issue! I sat an old toshiba laptop next to em and can stream videos fine, while the xps's struggle with buffering and then tell me the connection was lost...

I also updated the bios and now cant get over 3-3.5 hrs out of the batt with just web browsing and set on power saver, while the other 2 that I didnt update still get 5-6hr batt performance. Been searching the dell site trying to find the old original bios to reinstall, but no luck finding em yet.

 

You mean that A06 drain the battery? I updated the bios to A06, I get nearly 5 hours. I might revert to A04 to see any difference (I still have the A04, kept it just in case)
Have you problems with Optical Drive; eject/admit noise without a reason? Even when you connect an external HDD or SD card?

 

Maybe we can get WikiLeaks to disseminate the root cause! They seems to be good at cracking top secret info! It would be nice for CURRENT OWNERS to be kept up to date what components might be suspect, some of us in the field may be able to assist!

 

Maybe it is really “green star” laptop. Just 5M-6M max Wi-Fi coverage do not disturb/interfere or radiate our neighbours

 

It happens to all, I believe, but I don't consider an actual issue since only happens when I plug in an external Flash Drive or HDD, or open a media player; so I guess it just checks if there's something inserted. It's a bit annoying and I'd appreciate if it'd get changed, but I don't think it's a problem. If it happens randomly to you, then it might be a problem.

 

Not all systems are affected. When yours arrives, and if it has the problem, send Lorna a PM with the requested info. If you are outside the US, she will try to find a contact to set up the dispatch for you by passing your information along. No guarantee, though. We can't make them do anything, but we can tell them about our theories on doing the right thing for the customer. If you ever have correspondence with Lorna, it will be obvious she has the gifts of professional and persuasive speech.

Deleted 200 old PM's, so I'm back in bidness. I found your review. It's a terms violation. The site is partially managed by a 3rd party, Baazarvoice. One of their "conditional terms" (for lack of a better term) is no URLs to sites outside Dell.com will be allowed in reviews. Further, and curiously, we nor Baazarvoice have the ability to "X" out URLs and private information. So the post gets rejected due to the non-Dell.com URL being present. At the very end of your review you included a link to NBR. Even though all you did was put the link to the main NBR landing page, and not a specific conversation, the fact that "text.com" is there gets it blocked. I have a copy of your original review in email if you'd like me to send it to you in order to remove the link and re-post it. Or you can just type up a new one and submit it again.

If you mean the part about "how do I get a USB adapter in the UK," you have 2 options, neither of which I can guarantee will work: work with traditional tech support in your region to request one, or send a PM to Lorna and let her talk to her counterparts in the UK.

They are actually looking at this. They are requesting system captures from customers, but I'm holding off on that until I get a WLAN fix. In the meantime, I believe they can get all the captures they need from phone tech support.

 

Bill, out of curiosity how would this repair process be handled if one were to purchase from a third party and not Dell directly? Microcenter for example is an authorized Dell service center and sells the XPS 15. Is it going to be a smoother/easier process to deal directly with Dell regarding the fix for the wifi issues?

 

Hello everyone,

Just thought I would contribute to this problem. Recently purchased the Dell XPS 15 and have tested my wireless connection and all seems well. I will test it some more but everything does seem to be good. I live in the UK so it might not be all units which have this wireless issue.

Mark

 

So I have been doing a lot of research and asking for opinions. After reading the last 5 pages of this I am nervous about purchasing this.

 

It's unfortunate that I found this forum after receiving my XPS15 with the WiFi issue. If I had known about this issue beforehand, I definitely would not buy this laptop until this major issue is resolved. As it is, I will return my laptop before my "return period" expires if a resolution is still outstanding.

 

I can answer this better when we have a fix, but in general, any authorized service center should be able to use their Dell contacts to order the parts needed. However, if you have the option, I'd recommend registering the system in your name, so you can deal directly with Dell for warranty issues. I'm not familiar with Microcenter's support or policies, so they may in fact have a premium service that is more of a value add than ours.

 

Just so you understand how it is exhibiting itself. The WiFi works, I personally think it uploads better than it downloads for some reason, but what you will notice is that it degrades too quickly when you move away from the hub. I get to a point where despite seeing signal it connects and disconnects because it can't maintain the connection. So sitting right next to my toshiba portege (Which is not great WiFi either) the Dell can't maintain a connection which the portege can.

 

Mcafee strikes again! Last Friday they issued a security update that created havoc with internet connections. While I know this is not the root of Dells problems as the wifi issue has been going on for a while now, it's best to dump McaFee for another option. I have had good results with Norton (Comcast free version)

McAfee Antivirus Update Causes Problems for Home and Enterprise Customers | PCWorld Business Center

 

Bill you are amazing and the best person I have communicated with in Dell since I bought my first laptop in 2006

 

Does anyone else use their xps with Widi? I have connected via a netgear ptv2000 to my tv. It took several tries, and I assume this is due to the similar wifi issues. And even once connected it sometimes will freeze and startup as if it is buffering.

Anyone else experience with this?

 

Folks, as a reminder from the forum rules, multiple or repeated posting in order to increase your post count is not allowed.

Yes, for multiple reasons, you do need five posts in order to use the Private Messaging system. If you take your time to contribute, you'll reach that amount in no time.
Going forward, any more attempt to spam the board with useless posts will result in their removal accompanied by infraction points!

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-xps-studio-xps/680190-xps-15-l521x-wifi-test-results.html

Try replicating my test setup as described in this post.

 

I don't know about the rest of you but I'm keeping this laptop because of Bill. If i hadn't found this thread/forum I definitely would have sent it back by now. It's nice to see someone from such a large company reaching out and trying his best to keep us updated on the status of the repairs. Just his presence gives me some hope that it will be repaired and I won't be left out in the cold. Thanks Bill. Also I will update you when the screen is no longer on back order and is installed. I know someone already had a screen changed with no improvement but hopefully it works for me.

 

Just so I stand up to be counted - Yes, I am willing to work through this issue because of Bill as well. I understand technical issues, I understand how hard troubleshooting and rolling out a fix is for a global company but without the customer service component (Bill) This laptop would have been on its way back to Dell several times over.

 

Received my laptop and it is beautiful! Love it! So far 5 feet from my router has full strength. I been doing updates and burning my dvd's with it so I haven't tested the WIFI. But I will when I get the chance and let you guys know. Screen is awesome. Glad I went this route so far.

The only issue I see so far is the Mcafee I bought 3 years and it only shows 1 year. Been on hold with Dell for 20 minutes....

 

Well after using about $120 of my $200 Student Dell Gift card I now have the laptop along with a mouse, lapdesk and router. With the cash-back from Dell Advantage I know have a total of $176 in Dell eGift cards.

I have no idea what to use it on, I baically have everything I need for college in a week so if anyone has some suggestions or plan on getting the new latptop soon I could trade the eGift cards at a discounted price possibly. Let me know if you're interested.

 

So can anyone as of yet confirm that the A06 drains more of the battery then the A04 Bios?

 

Hello Lorna, I tried to find a way to PM you but i doesn't give me the option to do so. Not to sure why, but oh well. I was just wondering if it would be possible to get one of the USB wifi adapters for me and other owners in the UK, while we wait for the fix? Thank you for all your support

 

I have the same problem, but it last long enough its not to big of a deal to me. I only average about 2 hours of battery life. This is also with me running it on high performance all the time and playing music/movies while I surf. So I feel like its at least somewhat acceptable.

 

You need atleast 5 post to send a PM I believe. However do not just post to post. I already got yelled at for that one lol. Just find some things you can comment constructively on.

 

Hi everyone,

I am new in this forum and I really want to buy a L521 however I want to make sure the Wifi issue is fixed before buying it.
Do you know if there are still wifi issues for the laptops which are ordered today?

Thanks

 

Yes. There isn't a fix yet nor is there an ETA for when the fix will be implemented. All we know is that there will be one and all affected units will have the right to the fix.

 

Ok thanks, I should probably wait for it then... just in case if the fix affect the hardware.

 

Gents, new poster here. I have owned dells for years, first the old original 17"xps m170, now an xps l502x and have ordered a new one, l521
Really bothers me to note that I have contacted Dell sales for the last couple of days and NO ONE has admitted knowledge of this issue with the WIFI, not surprising, but indicates that they have either proactively avoided distribution of this knowledge or that they are just so disorganized and have no infrastructure and training network for immediate feedback on issues. Neither of which is good in my humble opinion.

I have referred the sales personnel to their OWN site and the numerous reviews that are outstanding. Flabergasting.

I like the Dell products, dont like APPLE and I guess more than anything, was hoping that Dell would handle this issue in a way that would support my opinion of their company. Bill has done that, but I have not experienced that with at least three other people in the organization that I have encountered. It is sad that the companies in America have deteriorated the way that they have from a customer service perspective. I hold out hope that more "Bills" will emerge from this in support of Dell.

 

Correction: All we know is that one Dell representative on a forum has said there will be a fix.

I'm not trying to stir up trouble here, but if WiFi is important to you, I wouldn't be buying one on the promise of a fix ... Although Bill has been extremely helpful, there's only so much he can do if the cost of a fix become too high and someone above him decides to go into full on denial mode.

 

Thanks. But I've tried them already. double-tap speed doesn't help. Draglock itself works but doesn't help in this issue either. With draglock, if my second tap grabs the window, I can drag the window with multiple 'drags', but the problem is I need to grab the window first.
Don't you have the same problem? How quick should it be for tap-drag to work for you?

 

I think that is in regards to the field 'fix'... Bill indicated that factory issues were drawing to a close. Based on this I would expect manufacturing to be back online producing a 'corrected' version in the next week or so (hopefully).

I'm the same as you, waiting to purchase, but only if I receive a corrected edition! I'm waiting for Bill to hint that the production side is all good to go

 

Actually I do have this issue with the wireless. The grid issue with the screen is there and is sooooo annoying and gets really bad when on a white background.

 

Are You using A04 or A06?