OFFICIAL: Dell Defects Thread

It is finally time to make a very concise and to the point vote: Was your Dell notebook defective in any way, or was it not? Defects include external, physical problems (ex. space between hinge or broken key on keyboard), Internal, hardware problems (ex. fried motherboard, glitched LCD, processor whine), and software problems (ex. slow performace). Please participate in the poll and simply answer "yes", or "no". Even if your machine has a minor defect and you decided not to return it, it still counts as a defect. Comment if you like.

MODS, PLEASE LEAVE THIS IN MAIN DELL FORUM!

 

I had 2 vostros. the first was perfect. the second is perfect too.

 

Screen has color temperature shifted towards yellow, so white backgrounds look more ivory- or cream-colored. Otherwise nothing really wrong with it.

The Bluetooth headphones that came with it were DOA though, and those are getting replaced. For $79 they have to work.

 

My Inspiron 1720 had some kind of software-related sound defect, and the 8600m GT was underperforming like you wouldn't believe... couldn't even run Far Cry on lowest settings and res. I've also had a 9400 with a defective X1400; went back too. I'm through with Dell, looking into Asus maybe.

 

If they were both perfect than why does your sig say "returned Vostro"?

 

My Dell Inspiron 9300 was perfect when received.

I have the following observaytions:

Sluggish performance with IE - especially when trying to scroll using mouse wheel.

Bluescreens instantly when writing to the SD card via the built in reader - reading works perfectly.

Takes what seems like an age to boot - even although most items are unselected in startup.

Overall I'm happy with the product

I'd be happier if the above mentioned items could be resolved

 

My XPS M1330 had the "XPS" logo lettering on the lid peeling off. I exchanged it for another one. Happened again. Is this common or something? Anyway, yeah, that's my laptop's defect.

 

Wow... twice in a row, that sucks. I believe someone in this forum had their "P" in the "XPS" fall of. Dell apparently shipped that person a new "P" and had a technician reinsert it. Forget who it was though...

 

On my D630, the plastic covering the hinges are kinda sloppy and make a very little noise if I press them. My lid is kinda strange as well.

 

i had a slight light bleed on my 1280x800 matte LG screen, but i voted perfect because it is so far

 

my sister had to return hers 3 times the third time she just said give me my money back. The first time the cd drive when she opened it the entire tray fell out, the second time the hdd was per-fried, the third she told them off. It was a dell I1520.

 

Dell really is just losing is it; a while back ago there was absoultely no need for a thread like this. Now... well, I mean just look at the poll: There are double the amount of defectives as there are flawlesses! That's insane for a such a large company with a high reputation to uphold.

 

vostro 1700 wuxga screen has moderate backlight bleed... im trying to ignore it

 

Ignore it? You've got to be kidding me; you paid for a very good laptop... this isn't what your supposed to be experiencing! Stand up for yourself! Demand Dell replaces it with compensation, or return before your 30 days expires and be done with Dell like me!

 

I just upgraded the RAM in my 6400. Performs beautifully.

Never had any problems with it unless I messed it up myself.

 

Let me add in a note: these threads will never be an accurate representation.

The reason why I say this, is because forums are usually for asking questions and troubleshooting. Members here either need help, or give help. Those that don't plan to help, and don't need help, just leave the forums and get on with their lives. Those that have problems try to get it fixed, and post a thread about it.

In the same concept, that is why you always see "My notebook has a problem!"-type threads. Do you ever see threads that go "My notebook is perfectly okay!!"? Its much rarer, because those that don't have a problem with their notebook usually just get on with their lives.

So these threads and polls will never be an accurate representation of how good a company's quality control is, as most people who have a perfectly fine notebook will usually leave, and those that need help will come back.

 

Latitude D830 has a slightly loose latch and battery. Nothing I'm concerned about, but a defect nonetheless.

I think reason you're getting so many "defect" reports is that your "flawless" standard is a bit high. Like in my case I wouldn't report the latch and battery to be real flaws on a normal basis... as I would say, a dented m1330 or something.

 

my 1520 hard drive has just decided to make clicking noises, pausing randomly and then clicking again - resuming. spoke on dell suport for 1.5 hours. new hard drive is supposed to be with me tuesday. other than that is absolutely perfect.

 

I also has the X peel off on the cover, and it ticks me off that the quality is so bad. The gap by my left hinge of the M1330 is greater than the gap on the right, which is also annoying.

I have the 2306 LED. Compared to my 19" Dell TrueLife SP1908, the white is more yellowish than the 19" LCD.

Also, the vertical viewing angle is almost like a passive-matrix display - it gets noticeably dimmer unless the screen is in the exact precise position.

I really do not want to have to send it back, but it is beginning to really bother me that this cost over 2Gs, and is of worse quality than any previous outlet Inspiron that I've ordered for less, or even much less.

 

I am getting mixed signals.
On one hand you get people saying that they love their 1330s and that they are so cute and stuff.
On the other hand you get people complaining that Dells are built like **** and they fall apart.

What am I to believe?

 

Well if you get a good 1330 without build defects, it's a great laptop. If you get build defects, it's not, but not because of the actual laptop, but because of the individual(s) who made it. It's a great machine; when built right

 

Normally I would agree. But the amount of folks and the huge number of threads on grainy screens leads me to believe the problems are more severe. In fact, catastrophic sounds like a better word. How many people here have had issues with not only their first system, but with their replacement one as well. The 1520 sounds like it even had a design issue with the headphone jack as well.

Many may not post here.. but they probably call dell without us knowing. As far as wxga + screens go, Its catastrophic. Too many bad AUO's and the SEC's are not much better with crappy viewing angles. Many will say these are not defects but only how many displays are.. whatever, my HP looks 100 times better then the two 1420's I briefly had. You go to the HP forum and see how many people are returning systems. Or find grainy screen threads. Remember, HP sells more notebooks then dell. Therefore, they have the potential to even have more negative posts then Dells.. but that is just not the case. What you see on the HP forum is the random hardware failures/software issues that you see on any PC forum.. On the Dell forum you see patterns.. of common defects in screens, headphone jacks that plagues many. like I said, I normally would agree with your statement, but I firmly believe that Dell is currently experiencing issues with build quality higher then the norm and issues with many of their display vendors.

 

Nicely said

 

Headphone interference and excessive lid movement when latched. I classify it as minor, but it shouldn't happen.

 

Since the new inspiron launch, that minor problem was enough for some to cancel their systems.. But I remember this as being the extra problem in combo to bad displays etc.. that was too much for customers to bare. As far as my HP dv6500t, it has no latch.. but the whole laptop is considerably less bulky and heavy as the dell 1520. I think the 1520 is just to heavy to not have a latch.
If I were to order dell again, it would be a matte display with the 1420 or a 1720 . I don't think the 1720 suffers from the grainy screens as much so that might be the only one to risk getting a higher res TL screen. As for the 1520.. no way. Too many complaints here on that model.. Isn't that the purpose of this forum? To warn against problematic notebooks?

 

Note to all prospective buyers: Please listen to Sam. The thread is an accurate representation of what defects can occur in Dells, but by no means does that mean most of them have these problems. The greater majority of Dell's laptops are not defective.

 

Have a Vostro 1500 - 2 issues:

1. Hard drive clicked randomly when idle, about 1 to 2 times a minute. Fixed it by changing the HDD acoustics setting in BIOS to high performance.

2. Sometimes when I boot up, get a warning that AC adaptor voltage not recognized. Adaptor will still provide power to laptop but will not charge battery when less that 100%. Is a transient problem - comes and goes, sometimes I just jiggle and reseat the adaptor.

Neither error is a showstopper, but would be an issue if the user was a non-techie

 

I have an XPS M1210, and although this might be the exception, over a year and a bit it has been perfect, with no build quality issues at all. In fact, it is a very solid laptop indeed, and you can feel this when you carry it or pick it up... (bright AUO screen too)

Possibly my good luck could be down to the fact that it was refurbished new by Dell - which could mean it was re-built/picked over properly, eliminating any issues?

The one minor issue I had was premature wear on the 9-cell battery a few months in - and I was very pleased how XPS support responded, which resulted in a new replacement being delivered next day.

 

I ordered a Blue 1520 July 19th, then after that was delayed I ordered a jet black on August 7th. When both were delayed I cancelled and ordered a refurb from the Factory outlet. After 3 days the Tab key stopped working so I ordered a replacement. The next day a new motherboard arrived. That went back and another keyboard was ordered. It arrived the following day, took all of 2 minutes to install and the laptop has been perfect since. No whine, monitor is great and I haven't tried the headphone jack because I don't use it. Great machine and I'm very happy with it in spite of its initial imperfection.

 

The subwoofer integrated into my old 9400 just blew but i gess that's not a defect cuz i've had it so long

 

poor battery life, i got one with 9% wear battery as new! only last 2 hour for the 6 cell in web surf; sign

 

You did charge it before using it off plug... right?

 

way to many issues with dell ... even in most of the current reviews as far as build quality and cust service in the mags i have seen they have fallen... im awaiting my very last replacement if this is no good ill never put dell on my list again...

 

Dell's biggest defect is their Customer Service! They have no idea of how to treat a customer or how to retain their current ones. As far as I am concerned, after my last debacle with them, I will never deal with Dell again!!!

 

I wholeheartedly agree with you. It's the customer service that increases the awareness of the defects of their systems. It's hard enough waiting for 43 days for your notebook, but receiving it, finding defects and getting horrible service that lasts hours on end with delivery that is delayed yet again for 10 more days is just plain absurd and should not be taken lightly by any customer who has gone through the turmoil I've been through.

 

I feel you pain weeeee! My last order was a disaster and took a total of 61 days to delivery. That was due to Dell mysteriously canceling my order and have to place a new one. Then on top of that they told me from the beginning, even confirming this with a "Case Manager" by email, that my new 1720 would have the GDDR3 video card installed and that was a lie. So, I refused shipment and thankfully I received my complete refund already! I can not, and will not, do business with a company that blatantly lies and misleads their customers!!!

 

I got the classic uneven floor and the annoying whine, but with some careful bending and some tune up it's ok, however i asked for a replacement just because i don't like defects on a new laptop and if the new one is ok i'll take it.

 

I've been a Dell fan for years. But this time I've had more problems with this order than any other. One example is when I ordered my system I ordered an extra power supply. One for work and one for home so I don't have to lug it around, uncoil etc. Dell sent me the cord that goes from the wall to the power supply. No power supply. I wrote Dell about it, and via next day air I got ....another cord. No power supply. I now have 3 cords and 1 power supply. I reviewed my request and I had asked for the correct part. The Dell CSR didn't read the message carefully and sent the wrong thing. I wonder how many others are receiving incorrect parts or having parts of their orders missing entirely.

 

Dell CS is very disorganized and gets you nowhere (belive me, I know). It's almost on the verge of being "corrupt".

 

I'm now on my 2nd bad LCD so hopefully when they replace it again next week all is well. I've also got the hissing sound coming from the headphone jack, but I can deal with it as it's not a big deal.

 

Ok since there are many people who are complaining and nobody here said anything good for DELL here I go:

Im reading this forum since Im registered user here ( dont pay attention for the count of my posts ) and Im happy DELL customer.
Dell always beats any other company by price. There're always coupons here and great deals although in the Refurbished department.

I've had Sony Vaio, HP, Compaq and finally DELL.
All of them had issues except DELL.
here're some of them:
VAIO - 15.4" VGN FS*** -> can burn your kneels while using, HDD clicking and giving noises all the time ( hitachi ), Headphones and microphone problems after moderate use. Hinges look weak.

HP 15.4" ( cant remember model - 4 years ago ) battery with Pentium HT lasts only 20 min as brand new.

Comapaq dv**** - full disaster , DVD recording not possible after burning few disks, one speaker stopped working followed by the other in a month.
One hinge looks as broken and the whole screen was shaking.

DELL e1405 - no problems after 14 months of use except memory failure - called DELL support and they sent me new sticks.

So as far as im having experience with these notebooks , dell is the best of all of them.

My girlfriend bought MSI M673X-011/012 which proccessor is giving constantly anoying and driving crazy sounds.

So why should I blame DELL when other companies didnt satisfy me too ?
"the neighbour's grass is always greener than yours"

Also I just ordered another DELL notebook Vostro 1500.