XPS 18 power button starting to go bad

The power button on my four year old XPS 18 is starting to go bad. It no longer has a "clicky-ness" to the feel, and requires a very firm press. I suspect it's just a matter of time until it stops working entirely. I successfully updated the hard drive a year ago, so I cracked it open again to take a look. But replacing the power button looks like it will be much more tricky, and no online guides that I could find.

Any suggestions, other than sending it off for repair to someplace like Parts-People.com?

 

Ideally, you will need to measure and match the switch to get a replacement then solder it on, you will need a hot air soldering rig to do it properly though.

 

Go to iFixit. If you don't know what it is, it's a site that is entirely dedicated to documenting the teardown process of popular consumer electronics like laptops, tablets, and smartphones.

If you do a Google search for "XPS 18 ifixit", you'll get to the iFixit page for the XPS 18. It doesn't have a guide for exactly the part replacement you want, but some of the guides that are there look like they go deep enough into the system that you can access the Power Button Board and the associated ribbon cable.

If you do a Google search for "XPS 18 power button," you'll get to the iFixit page for the replacement part itself:
https://www.ifixit.com/Store/Parts/Dell-XPS-18-Power-Button-Board/IF328-006-1

They are currently out-of-stock, but Google the exact Dell part number (0802-05q3000) and you'll come across some retailers & eBay listings for that. I found a few listings on eBay for about $35.

So buy the replacement part, and use the iFixit teardown guides to get deep enough into the system internals to the point where you can just replace the entire power button board that has the faulty power switch.

 

Great post, thanks for taking the time to help the OP out.

 

Thanks for the pointers to iFixit, but I've already looked there. The tricky thing about the power button assembly is that unlike nearly almost all other screws where you can get to the screws from the back, the screws that hold the power switch go in from the side, blocked by plastic edges of the chassis that is very very stiff. It looks like lifting things away to get access to these screws would require a tear-down possibly almost as deep as needed for a screen replacement. That's a little intimidating. I'm still hoping that someone will see this who has replaced the power switch and has advice, or maybe has a way to get the plastic edge trim off to get access, without a full teardown.

 

I was able to successfully replace the power switch board despite the awkward location of the screws hold the board, at the yellow arrows. First I removed the screws at the green arrows. This allowed me to carefully bend down the edge of the frame near the power button to expose the screws for the board. After removing these two screws from the board, the board was attached by some not-too-sticky glue. After a quick swipe with a razor blade, I was able to remove the bad board. Then I put it a new board that I ordered online, and put everything back together. Hopefully I'll be good for another 4 years.

 

hi mate, are you able to point me to the place you bought your replacement part? i have looked everywhere in the net and could not find it. mine is getting worse by day. thanks