Does the M1330 ACTUALLY have an infrared port? (Asked by an owner...)

So for the first time today I decided to try my included infrared media remote with my M1330. Nothing. (I haven't checked if the battery is good, but I did check to make sure it was in right and had no tab stuck to it preventing contact.)

So I checked the manual to see where the port is to make sure I'm pointing the remote at "the right place." It doesn't appear on the diagrams.

The manual does mention something about needing to enable it in the bios if you're installing a driver (~page 142-146 or so). I checked the bios - nothing.

I checked to see if maybe the remote is bluetooth instead - nope. Dell has one of those, but that's not what they shipped me with my M1330.

I checked to see if Dell is still including the IR remote with the M1330 - and it doesn't look like it to me. Maybe I didn't search hard enough.

I found reviews online that say the M1330 has an infrared port, but others that say it doesn't (such as the PC-World test report).

Now, this isn't a critical issue for me, so I haven't conducted fine-tooth comb searches yet, by any means. Maybe I'm fuzzy-headed today.

However, it seems to me the M1330 may well simply not have an infrared port. If anybody would like to point mine out to me (physically, in device manager, in the bios - wherever), that would be great. Don't bother quoting a review that just lists it as a feature, though, because as I said I've found reviews which say both.

Thanks,

 

I beli, I beli, I believe it's next to the left headphone jack in front. If yours isn't working, something's wrong.

 

Indeed, it is to the left of the headphone ports. It won't work if you aren't pointing it at the front of the laptop. Feel free to take off the palmrest to see for yourself. Or just check out this picture from another thread to put your mind at rest. I see no mention of it in the bios or device manager, so don't fret about that. And I highly doubt that dell would all of a sudden stop including the receiver. That said, I would start troubleshooting with the remote.

 

I am surprised, from a technical POV, that none is listed in my Device Manager, though I'm pretty sure if you look up the part number for the remote in Dell Spare Parts, it will mention that it is IR. It has to interface with Windows somehow, so maybe it just works like the buttons on the power bar, but is not recognized in Windows? I don't know, but it must be there because that remote is IR, IIRC.

 

I don't think it is a normal bi-directional Infra-red port - just designed to read the signals from the remote (like the sensor on a TV set).