Tried your 1520's headphone jack?

from malaysia here, dell just came yesterday to change my motherboard A00 to A01, the interference is 100% gone, still slight buzzing sound, so soft that its hard to even notice it. Good job dell. I asked the tech where's the part that is causing the porblem but he says he doesnt know =-=

 

yes it has, and there is a similar fix found by the costumers
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=197984

 

wow, totally sucks to have that happen heh

 

Ugh. Thanks for the link, but that just pisses me off more. We shouldn't have to disassemble and shield components on brand-new notebooks. Completely unacceptable, IMO.

 

From New Zealand. I had a Dell technician come round a couple of days ago and replace my motherboard. This has now fixed the problem.

As with the poster form Malaysia, my A00 motherboard was replaced with an A01.

Seems Dell have fixed this problem now...

Rgds
Chris

 

can anyone else confirm that if Dell replaces the motherboard with the A01 this fixes it? I'm sure I read that other people had it replaced but had no luck.

 

I got my dispatch package (containing the new motherboard) from DHL on New Year's Eve, but since I've been sick, I haven't had a chance to backup my system before calling DHL for the pickup. I'll probably do that tomorrow and I'll post the results of the motherboard change when I get the laptop back.

 

be sure to check it with a few different sets of headphones. it seems the ear bud type ones show's it the worst. I got mine just before christmas.

is there a way of knowing what mother board I have?

I'm starting to consider taking this back as it is loud enough to annoy me. I don't really want to have to use the RMClock that people have talked about. It should just work. shame really.

Are there any current dell laptops that don't have this problem?

 

decided that this was too much of an issue for me so I called Dell (UK)

At first the tech guy hadn't seemed to have heard of the problem. I think he then did a search and it came up straight away so this is a known issue.

Basically he said that since dec 20th they have been using a different mother board. He couldn't tell which one I had as I bought mine about that time. He said that replacing the MB is fixing it for some people and for some it makes the noise much quieter. Other than that though there is no known fix.

They are going to send someone to replace it on monday (friday today) which I thought was quite good. I'll post back here with results. The call to Dell wasn't too painful and took about 40 mins in all. fingers crossed.

 

Just asked them about it today, they want to take it back and fix it. Said they had a motherboard fix starting from December 17th. I was a bit skeptical since the "new" motherboard revision they were talking about was A05, and I currently had A05, I cried BS but the tech assured me that it was a different motherboard. Now I won't have my laptop for like at least 10 days.

I find it funny that all of you guys had techs go to your house, while Dell wants me to not have my laptop for a while.

 

Same here. My laptop goes out tomorrow (was too sick to backup the system and call to schedule a pickup time last week) so I'll be without it for 5-8 business days. Makes me mad, and I might have to call customer care and complain.

 

You should, and give the results. I've argued, complained, and all they said is that "it won't take that long". Clearly they don't know how much work you have to do in a week long period. I mean, this isn't even warranty. It's a product wide freakin defect that they should recall. I have two days left to return it.

 

The tech guy just finished. He had never heard of the problem but took a listen through the headphones and agreed it shouldn't be doing it.

He didn't think that changing the motherboard would help, he said it was more likely to be the sound port.

He changed the MB from A00 to A01 with BIOS A03
He changed the soundport but it wasn't an updated version.

Just listening to it now through headphones I get a very slight hiss, the kind you get when you turn a stereo up full. Muting turns this off. I don't really see this as an issue at all though its very slight and I might not of heard it except I'm listening out.

The fax machine sound seems to have gone or if it is there its very VERY quiet so no probs there. I've also tried it with the charger in which seemed to make it worse before. There was no difference this time.

I've only tested it for a couple of minutes and I'm not in the quietest of places but I can recommend doing this.

I know people have had bad experiences with this but maybe Dell really have fixed it. Basically I had a problem, dell sent someone to fix it (even though I'm on collect and rerturn) and they have pretty much fixed it so I'm happy.

Good luck everyone!

 

Hello

I just found this thread. I am having the same problem with my new Inspiron 1520. It sounds like very high pitched Morse code, and gives me a headache. It only happens with headphones, and I've tried 2 different sets of headphones and the problem remains.

My question is, does anyone know if using Bluetooth wireless headphones relieves the problem? If so, I don't really care about it, because I was planning on getting Bluetooth wireless headphones anyway.

 

I'm not sure. Would you still be using the headphone socket or would that use the USB? if the headphone then maybe. I have a USB sound card and its fine through that.

Although its annoying, I'd recommend calling DELL and getting them to change the mother board. This fixed it for me.

 

Hello all,
Like many others, I have experienced the same high pitched noise coming from headphones attached to my Vostro 1500 (business side of 1520). Many solutions have been proposed including tearing apart the notebook to better shield components, purchasing usb headphones, using RM Clock, sending in for a motherboard replacement (which hasn't helped alot of us and requires not having a portable computing solution for weeks), return the laptop outright, or pushing for a creative labs xi cardbus adapter (which sticks out an inch from the side of the laptop).

For those of you reluctant to do any of those, I have found a relatively cheap, small, and effective solution. Even though it requires you to pony up about $10, you get to keep a decent machine and avoid pulling your hair out - a small usb adapter from Amazon. This was suggested earlier, but Amazon offers them now at a very cheap price. Hope this alleviates some strain.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000JCQUWQ/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&seller=

Oh yeah, I purchased mine in late December so the problem is definitely not yet remedied.

 

Hi all. I found setting the power scheme to "always on" made the noise from the headphone jack much quieter. Your fans may now run more so you have to decide which is more tolerable for you. Now, I have to find a solution for the choppy audio. There seems to be alot of noise issues with Dells (headphone jack, cpu whine, hdd clicking, choppy sound....). I expected more from Dell.

 

A little long, so bear with me for a few seconds...

I just got my 1520 back, with the new motherboard installed, and the noise is noticeably quieter but still present. The "Morse Code" noise has all but disappeared, but you can still hear the static distortion in the background, again it is pretty quiet.

Another thing that was bothersome happened when I got the notebook back and tried starting it up. Windows wouldn't load properly, so I had to go through the Windows Startup Repair tool several times before it worked right. Took me about a half-hour for the Windows tool to isolate and fix the problem.

All in all, including shipping issues with DHL, I was without my Inspiron for about a week - I boxed it up and waited all day on Monday for DHL to pick it up (finally arrived at 8:20 p.m.) and it was delivered to my apartment complex office yesterday afternoon (second time that the DHL driver never tried to deliver it to my apartment - no note that he missed us, no indication that I had a package waiting at the office - good thing I was tracking it online) and I was able to pick it up today.

I am still going to call Dell (probably Monday or Tuesday) and complain and see what they can do to calm a loyal (this is my third Dell system - two notebooks and one desktop, as well as two Dell Pocket DJ's and several accessories/peripherals) and disappointed/angry customer.

I'll post the follow-up from when I speak with Customer Care and let you know what, if anything, they do for me.

EDIT: As the notebook has been on and running a little longer, I've found that the volume of the Morse Code noise has steadily increased, and is almost as loud as it was before they replaced the motherboard. As you can imagine I am pretty ticked off about this, so I'll be calling Dell Monday to complain and I really hope they take this seriously, because this is completely unacceptable.

 

I can also hear the noise from the headphone jack on Windows Vista. However, I have a Linux distribution (openSUSE 10.3) installed as a second operating system, on which I cannot hear this annoying noise. There is some noise on the linux system too, especially on hardware action, but in general it's very quiet. So, I don't understand what Linux is doing different, but obviously there must be some software-based solution for this problem.

As for Bluethooth Headsets (there were some questions related to them in earlier postings):
On my Bluetooth Headset, which is connected via a transmitter on the audio jack (not as a bluetooth audio device), the sound is completely gone (I assume it's too weak to 'survive' whatever transform is going on on the transmitter)

greets

 

Hello to every one.

I found a solution for that noise, one month to search a solution, and finally i got one....

I was thinking that it can be nice to share it with you...

You have to download RightMark CPU Clock.

http://cpu.rightmark.org/download/rmclock_230_bin_upd1.rar

You have to install this soft, to open it, to mark the Run HLT command when OS is idle , to restart the computer. And also to mark the two cases in the settings and the start options.

You will see, no noise any more....

I hope to make you happy...

For who wants i have also the solution for the "click clack" noise for the HDD.

Ciao...

 

it's been noted by several users that this "fix" causes decreased system performance. not a viable solution for me.

 

So I finally got a free minute to call Dell, and after being bounced around twice, I reluctantly agreed to a "like" replacement, which the Customer Care rep said would likely be a 1525, since the 1520 is at the end of its life cycle. I thought about escalating the argument to a higher level, but decided to play their game for now and see what happens with the 1525 replacement. I also warned the guy that if the same problem is evident on my replacement system I might have to drive the laptop to Dell and throw it at someone.

The turnaround time for the replacement system is listed as 8 business days but they said it shouldn't take that long. I'll keep everyone updated once I hear more from them and receive the replacement.

 

You should be good.. the 1525 has a totally different MOBO layout with the jacks in front. I am almost convinced that it shares some similar internals with the HP dv6700t being they look so much alike. I am not sure what your configuration is on your 1520 but the 1525 does NOT have dedicated graphics. You will get the integrated intel x3100 with the 1525. But you will also get a HDMI output for hooking up to HD tv which is nice. Other then the lack of dedicated graphics the 1525 should be lighter, thinner and look a bit nicer.

 

Thanks for the response. I spent some time on the Dell website looking at the physical layout of the 1525, and the first thing I noticed was the headphone jack placement. I thought the same thing - that since the location is different, the problem should be resolved. I didn't upgrade the graphics/video card on my current 1520, simply because I won't be using the notebook for graphics-heavy apps or gaming, so I don't think the lack of dedicated graphics should be a big issue.

I made it very clear to the customer care rep that I absolutely did not want another 1520 and made sure to reiterate that in a follow-up email response after our conversation, so I am looking forward to seeing what happens when the supervisor calls to follow up with me. I really hope they are smart enough to understand that sending another 1520 would cost them a customer.

 

Hi guys, i've an inspiron 1720, but i've the same problem...

Just a question for you, no one solved the problem replacing some hardware in the laptop? Is it useless to try?!?

I'm really disappointed by Dell tech quality...

tnx, have a nice day!

 

There is a user generated fix thread on this forum http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=197809showing how to fix the headphone jack. It involves taking the notebook apart.. almost completely and redoing the insulation or something to that order. That thread had detailed instructions in taking it apart.. but it was for a 1520 system.

 

Does Dell have a fix for the problem because I'm thinking about talking to tech support about sending it in for repair but I don't want it coming back with the same problem. (And I don't feel comfortable opening it up and fixing it myself).

 

I got my new 1525 yesterday and set everything up (they even threw in some Creative EP-630 noise-isolating earphones) and I was shocked and disappointed to plug it in and still hear the noise - though it is much quieter than it was in the 1520.

So I don't know what the problem is, nor do I think I have it in me to call and fight with Dell anymore. I think when I do contact them I am just going to see what kind of compensation I can get from them and just keep this laptop and deal with it, since it is a better model than the 1520 and the noise isn't quite as bad as it was in the 1520.

 

Has Dell addressed the issue with BIOS updates?
I just noticed it now that I am looking at this thread, but the whine in my headphones is completely gone. Even now that I am carefully listening I do not hear it.
All I have done to address the issue is update the BIOS and this time seemed to have worked for me.

 

For all those having problems with a Vostro 1500 (or Inspiron 1520) headphone jack, this is a proven (and simple) solution.

All you need is a screwdriver and a couple of minutes. I now have a perfectly noise-free phono socket!

 

I can confirm the problem exists in the Dell 1525, just pluggin in my headphones my head is filled with a high pitched noise. Whats weird is my old HP omnibook pentium II with AC97 onboard has the clearest headphone out I've ever heard. Even at the loudest setting and my best headphones its clear from any hiss, HDD noise pick up etc - just how it should be.

I did expect that by 2008 dell would have sorted this out. A huge problem is the support staff offer no real assistance because they dont know about the problem.

 

Mine does it slightly. I can hear it if I listen for it ... otherwise I don't notice.

And I'm always using either speakers or headphones.

 

I use bluetooth headphones (Motorola S9 to be specific) and there is no noise whatsoever. So if you're going to get bluetooth headphones you shouldn't have a problem. Plus bluetooth headphones are amazing and worth the money %100.

Or even if you want to buy a USB adapter for a headphone jack that would probably work to. I think the noise only comes from the headphone jack built in.

 

i finally was able to get a knowledgable tech guy in. after 2 motherboard replacements and 1 sound card replacement, he determined that the cause of the interference in the built in headphone jack is the electromagnetic interference generated by the motherboard and other components. using bluetooth headphones will solve the problem. as will using anything that isolates the headphone jack from the inside of the computer.

i have a vostro1500 for the record. currently, i have the x-fi notebook sound card and use that for anything sound related. its pretty nice but i highly recommend the audio advantage SRM from Turtle Beach instead. both use your own hardware to produce sound (as in no actual x-fi chip or processor or ram, its all software based), but the SRM comes with everything and is a much more versatile product as compared to the x-fi, which has all sorts of limitations and extra things you need to buy with it to have full functionality.