Wobbly 1520

When I put my 1520 on a desk it tends to wobble and not stay as it should. I haven't used on a desk my until now and I'm really not happy with is. What could be the reason for this and are there any easy fixes for this?

 

check the rubber feet on the bottom to make sure they are all there and that they are in the right places.

 

Umm u sure ur desk is straight? i know mine isnt and can wobble so its not the laptops fault.

 

Yea, the desk is straight as far as I can tell and I tried it on two different surfaces. Could it possibly be the strike zone bumper?

 

My 1720 does the same thing. Its very annoying actually.

 

mine does this too. i don't use it on a table a lot so it doesn't bug me (other things do, though). maybe a coaster to set it straight? ghetto, lol.

 

Yeah,

I got that on my 1520 too....except it's only on one of the two desks...I have a desk and a drawer right next to it (a nightstand actually). When I put it on the nightstand, it wobbles, but when I put it on the desk, it doesn't wobble....so I assume it's just my nightstand....but now that more people are having this problem...I don't know.

For your info, it wobbles from back left corner and front right corner (meaning when you press on those corners of the computer it does this...more so on the front right then the back left, but that could just be how my nightstand is lopsided (IF it is)).

Thanks.

 

wow my new one better not wobble.. that has got to suck...

 

My 1720 also has a slight wobble. I'm sure it's easily fixed though with a bit foam sticker.

 

it is either your desk or the rubber at the bottom of the laptop

 

Mine wobbles from the top right to the bottom left, So I was wondering if it could be the strike zone causing this problem. It's very irritating. Everything else about my laptop is great btw.

 

i know when my car got a flat tire it wobbles....

 

For problems with the system wobbling around, try to check the screws at the bottom, particularly the screws for the palmrest. I had a friend with an XPS who had the same issue, tried unscrewing the palmrest and screwed it back, problem fixed.

 

I had a chat with a dell agent and they agreed to send me a rubber feet kit. I was wondering if anyone has ever gotten this and how they went about taking the old feet off, and whether it fixed the problem? Thanks

 

So yea, I got the replacement rubber feet today, but I'm a bit weary about taking off the originals. It's hard to tell which ones to remove. Anyone have any previous experience with this? (the lower side in which I believe is causing the wobble is the bottom left corner with the strike zone)

 

I just received my new Vostro 1500

It wobbles

On a flat table, the front right, rear left and rear right are all stable
Only the front left rubber foot and strike zone rubber foot are not touching the table
I slid some paper underneath to guage the gap and it's about 7 sheets of quality printing paper (1.5mm)

I don't think the problem is the rubber feet themselves

I think the case is slightly warped at the left front
To prove this,

Close the screen of the laptop
Go to the right front and push down on the screen (in my case there is a little gap, so I can push the screen down a bit and tap it against the body of the laptop

Go to the left front and push down on the screen (in my case there is no gap,,,,because I assume the body of the laptop is warped upwards a bit)

I called Dell and they are sending a tech tomorrow with a replacement bottom kit.....but I don't think that will fix the problem if the guts of the laptop are warped.

One idea I have is to take a straight razor blade or fine file or grinding stone and carefully reduce the height of the front right rubber foot.

So anyone that has a wobbly laptop, if the back is stable and it's only one of the front corners that is high,,,,,just go to the opposite front corner and reduce the height of that rubber foot.

When the tech arrives tommorow, I'll discuss my idea with him before letting him take appart my brand new laptop.

 

Update

From work, I borrowed a high quality 18inch steel ruler and measured a few tables in my hotel room to find the flatest one.
On the flatest table, my Vostro doesn't wobble as much as before at the left front corner.

I borrowe a flat steel file from work.
The technician arrived from Dell with an entire bottom assembly.
The assembly looks like plastic bonded onto aluminum or some other type of metal.

After consulting with the technician, I decided not to allow him to change the entire bottom piece.

After he left, I placed a towel on a counter, then the laptop upside down.
I used the flat file to carefully file a bit of thickness off of the right front bubber foot. (opposite corner to the foot that has the gap)

The filing was super easy and now my laptop sits perfectly flat.

So if you have a wobble, you will probably have 3 feet that are good and one that has a gap (look underneath)

In my case, it was the left front foot that wasn't touching the table.......so I filed down the right front foot a bit.

Before you start to do this, make sure you have a really flat surface.
My desk at the Residence Inn hotel was really not flat at all, so you should evaluate flatness no a really good surface.