Envy 14 Quality Issues

Wow, I'm really disappointed with the quality of my unit! It looks like someone took a screwdriver and tried to pry the surface off. Or maybe someone at the factory forgot to put something in and tried to fix it up. Or maybe it was someone at customs?! I'm calling for a new replacement tomorrow.

There are two areas that are really bad at the top and bottom middle that stood out as soon as I opened it up. The areas on either side I found by running my finger around the edges. When closed the corners don't completely shut but that's minor compared to the obvious damage around the edges. I also noticed a gap on the right side of the touch pad where you can see through to the bottom of the notebook. Better be careful with spills or it will go directly on the main board and fry.

I'm not sure I'm liking the touch pad so far. I could care less about multi-touch-whatever and zones. I just want a pointing device that moves when I want it to. I don't want to do two, three or hand gestures...just point. Man the process for making recovery media is Slooooooooooooooow. One and a half hours later and I'm only at 80% of DVD 2 of 4. I want to go to bed. Maybe ordering them for $19 would be worth it instead of wasting this time.

Anyone else notice similar issues?

 

Send it back. Explain to the reps that your unit is damaged. Was your order delayed? If it was, then you have a pretty good case.

Tell them that this was not what you expected from HP, especially with their premium laptops and that you wanted to give them a chance because you heard good things about their Envy line. However, your order was delayed and adding salt to the wound, it came damaged. Request that they exchange your order and ask for a discount if they wish to keep you as a customer.

From your pictures, that is certainly unacceptable.

 

why does it look yellow? it looks like glue or something on the edges.

 

Mine was originally scheduled for the 15th and was delayed to the 16th which wasn't too bad considering I ordered on the 6th and used the free shipping. I'm just dreading the whole exchange process where I wind up not having the notebook and waiting for another, and it better not be a refurb.

It's not glue, it's damage to the metal and the color underneath. I should have taken another picture at a different angle to show the wider gap.

 

Oh my god... This is making me dread receiving mine... The processor whinning, and people getting damaged products (Yours and the person that has dead pixels) on top of my extreme shipping delay (Ordered the 27th and it has been delayed twice and is now expected to ship the 23rd).. Things are not looking good

 

I have a feeling that after all of these RMA calls, HP will send a rep over to Shanghai and do some QC/yell at some managers. We'll probably be seeing consistent production by the time the review units are out in late august.

Ugh.

 

I am not hearing any whining on mine. Then again, I swapped the Toshiba drive for the Seagate XT. What kind of whine is it?

No scratches, gaps or issues on mine. Everything looks very tight and clean.

 

Same here, I hope that everyone who has gotten a damaged Envy is getting their money back or a new one.

 

@HeavyH20: The whining is from the cpu and only a couple of them do it from what I understand. I went for the stock 370 one and have no issues.

My keyboard does have some surprising flex in it. The rest of the fit and finish isn't perfect but you have to really look close to find anything. I'm a little disappointed but not "ship it back and wait weeks" disappointed. However, some people I wouldn't blame from the pics I've looked at. I'm sorry for your luck

 

I got the i5-520m, too, and I have no whine. There are several other people in the E14 owner's lounge with the 520m, too, and they have no whine either. So, I think those may just be a few isolated cases. Try not to fret until you receive it. I couldn't be more pleased with mine.

Also, if you haven't already asked for it, they may give you credit for the delay. Just call them up. Good luck!

 

I think all the units will have a little separation from the metal and the palm rest below the touchpad.

that's where the bluetooth radio is and it may be causing it to stick out a little bit.

 

I have an i7 and no processor whine and it's been cool and the fan was not audible...other notebook was audible and may have drowned it out while using both.

I would not worry and I hope and think that mine is an isolated incident. I probably got some n00b assembling my notebook (maybe some others) and then QC caught it and they had to "correct" it. They probably noticed the damage but figured the poor sap getting wouldn't notice or mind and keep it. I hope they get docked two rice bowls!

 

yeah. just as a heads up to everyone else I think my gap isn't as big as yours.

can't quite get a picture of it since my camera won't focus on it for some reason.

 

Below is a quick look at the hardware:

Model HP ENVY 14 Notebook PC
System ID 1437
Product ID V779AV
Warranty Start Date 00/00/2000
Processor Type Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU Q720 @ 1.60GHz
Processor Speed 1600 Mhz
Memory Size 8192 MB RAM
BIOS Date 04/22/2010
BIOS Revision F.02
Serial Number MINE
Keyboard Controller Revision KBC Version 59.18

Battery 1:
Device Name LU06062
Location Primary
Manufacturer Dynapack(TY)LU06062
Serial Nuber MINE
Capacity Unknown
Voltage Unknown
Chemistry Li-ion

HDD Info
http://www.seagate.com/docs/pdf/datasheet/disc/ds_momentus_fam.pdf

HDD 1:
Type ATA
Model ST9500420AS
Firmware Version 0006PHM1
Serial Number MINE
Capacity 500 GB
LBA48 Supported
SMART Enabled

DIMM 1:
Device Locator Bottom - Slot 1 (top)
Manufacturer Samsung
Serial Number MINE
Part Number M471B5273CH0-CH9
Memory Size 4096 MB
Memory Speed 1333 MHz
Memory Type DDR3
Type Detail Synchronous

DIMM 2:
Device Locator Bottom - Slot 2 (under)
Manufacturer Samsung
Serial Number MINE
Part Number M471B5273CH0-CH9
Memory Size 4096 MB
Memory Speed 1333 MHz
Memory Type DDR3
Type Detail Synchronous

 

You can try a manual mode and select macro...you can usually get about 2-3" from the subject. You may also want to try it without flash in a well lit room if the flash washes it out.

 

...there is no manual mode from what I can tell.


also ...stupid thing likes to go and process some of the images and take a long exposure. (meaning then well...it just gets blurry)


I got a few pictures that may work

 

Spoiler

flash had to be on to actually get it to not spend time processing.

second picture is flash but with my finger over it (...still goes through the finger or something. so it's a red flash)

 

Thanks! I'm afraid that there may be a fit and finish issue. They may have tried to correct it (like mine) but then later decided that physical damage was not acceptable and left it as-is, like yours, and possibly others. This has me really worried because I may get a replacement with another gap but not with noticeable damage. I would return that one as well and they may think that I'm too picky if I'm the only one returning it with cosmetic issues. Can anyone chime in and inspect the middle areas above and below to see if there is separation and report? There should be NO gaps!

Do you have any gaps above under the hp logo?

Thanks again.

 

hp logo seems fine. everywhere else on the outer rim of the laptop seems fine.

top right corner of the keyboard is raised a bit but...
well

everyone's top right keyboard is raised a bit I think.


left and right sides of clickpad are raised a bit but..I mean..it's a clickpad. it's supposed to click down around that area and farther south. (Kinda surprised that it's smoother at the bottom than on the sides but none of it bothers me)

 

Actually the complete right half of my keyboard is raised slightly although that doesn't bother me as much because it's not too noticeable. When I run my finger around I notice warping around the right half of the keyboard from the hp logo around and to the bottom where the pad is.

Looks like assembly is off or parts are not machined to exact dimensions.

My little one just said "ooh look it's a mirror" She's talking about the notebook screen.

 

heheh.

well it is a mirror below 100% brightness

 

Unfortunately the default battery setting is lower (a good thing) but bad for this screen. There appears to be a 0 to 10 setting and at 8 the brightness to reflection ratio begins to improve. Torch mode (10) has the least glare but I don't think it will be good for all for any length of time. The sun is starting to move into the room and getting bright...not good for the screen. It isn't even shining directly in. Unfortunately practically every notebook out there today is shiny!!!! It's not just an Envy issue.

 

well the settings in the notebook are 95-100% (oh my god my eyes)

85-94% (wait...this looks like 75%. what?)

and then it goes down from there

 

Do you have the slice battery?

 

No the standard battery. Battery 2 would show the slice stats. I'm winding down on my second discharge and not as good as the first run.

 

I have problem with my fans. They go on idle for like a second and then spin again. Sometimes I get lucky and they go on idle for like couple of minutes and then again they spin stop spin stop and idle again.
BTW It's not a full blast when they spin but it's annoying.
There are no temp changes and all my programs are turned off.
When I'm only browsing the internet they are on idle but when I go to a different page they spin and stop again(very annoying in a quiet room).
Looks like I have a sensitive fan problem. lol

 

I wouldn't say there are issues with the fans. There are factors involved with fan changes that could be the result of BIOS, power profile, and third party utility changes.

Fans are usually always on, can always be on and adjust speed as internal conditions change, or can turn on and off as necessary. Changes from off to on and low to high are most noticeable and can sound annoying to some people. Just because someone thinks they're not doing anything at the moment doesn't mean the fan doesn't need to work. The system knows better because it's constantly monitoring the thermal needs of the system especially when there are background tasks that increase power consumption, produce heat and need to have cooling applied to continue functioning within it's parameters.

Don't forget that there are two fans in the system, one for the CPU and the other for the GPU so either of them can contribute to the "noise". They're only doing their jobs. The more powerful the system, the more likely you'll need to rely on active cooling (fan) rather than passive (heat sink).

 

Sending this unit back after I receive another one. It sucks that the "build date" is now July 30. All I got was free 2 day shipping. They would not budge on the slice after a couple of calls.

If I have even the slightest gaps in the next one then I'm done with the Envy 14. I'm dreading doing this but I went looking at mini mice today to use with this thing because the track pad sucks that hard, even with tweaking.

Guess there's no way to make the buttons just buttons and not have that area act as part of the mousing area....stupid design. I'm not the only one to hate it.

 

*tries out older drivers, gets the 4 touch zones but no dead zones*

meh.

no dice

 

Um, what are we supposed to be looking at here?

Either there's not enough details in those photos, or I'm missing something.

Edit: Upon closer inspection, I do see what appear so be some yellow marks, but it is hard to tell. I don't notice any gaps or anything, other than the lid. Still, I agree that a premium product shouldn't have issues like this.

Re: the whine. AFAIK ALL mobile i3/5/7 CPUs exhibit this acoustic property. The only reason some people do not notice is it because they simply cannot hear sounds at that frequency. If you can hear it, consider yourself fortunate that you have good hearing?

 

I am one of the first people that recieved the E14 here in Germany on the release day. Mine has no craftmanship issues whatsoever, so maybe this is a single case. Looks really damaged, not badly crafted. Maybe something has damaged your unit after assembling as you have already guessed. Have a look at my unboxing pics: HP Envy 14 - a set on Flickr

I also have no whining with my i5-520.

 

I also have no issues but as some other posters mentioned if you look at the screen side on there is a small area in the middle of the screen that has some color distortion (hard to explain). Do you have that?

 

I don't have that at all, but when I look at the screen dead on sometimes an area to the right of center appears to have a greenish tint. Other times I don't notice it though so my eyes may be playing tricks on me.

 

I guess I know what you tried to describe, I saw it on a friend's DELL XPS 16. Anyway: No color tints whatsoever on my E14. Seems I am lucky to have a specimen without any issues (seams, color tint, whining). Yay!

 

Hmm, now I have to decide whether to RMA or not - the green tint isnt terrible but it does bother me. Its most noticeable when viewing the forums, since there are large patches of horizontal white areas.

 

They could be assembling these on different lines or even different facilities, so quality could be a crapshoot.

 

Got home yesterday and only had time to open up the box. Upon pulling the cover off, the first thing is saw on the rear cover were gobs of what appeared to be glue and or scratches! The rear has similar markings as well. There's a smaller gap below the touch pad than my previous notebook and some scuffs on the left edge like before. The bottom of the unit has smudges like it was wiped with a wet dirty rag. They better not be reselling returns as new!

I called them and talked with a supervisor and it's the same old, send us your unit for another, I'm sorry, blah blah blah. I asked about being transferred to a QC department but there wasn't one. I asked to take the survey they advertise and was put on hold and then they dropped the call while on hold. I've never been passed to through the survey. Maybe I'll call just to take the survey.

I'm leaving for breakfast and later I should have time to inspect the second HP trash unit. I might break down and go back to their business class models and will push for a sizable price reduction, if not, EFF hp.

 

Great, This second unit has a 2" high by 4" wide oval rainbow left of center! I can view it at 70+ degrees from center. That pattern is like when when you place a finger on the screen and get a rainbow effect. Flexing the lid some changes the pattern but doesn't remove it and goes back to the original pattern. I tried to replicate it on the first notebook and even flexing the lid doesn't give me a rainbow, just fingering it does a little but it returns to normal as it should.

 

the rainbow is normal and disappears after a few days of running at max brightness.

least it did with my computer.

 

It's the second day and doubt it's going away. I couldn't get get any images to either side but managed to grab it from the top down.

 

And while looking at that picture...shoulder surfing for passwords is made a lot easier thanks to shiny! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

 

Wow man, two NVs and both has problems? thats rough!! I hope my exchange doesnt turn out crappier then my first one....

 

It's not just the 14s, the 17s are plagued as well. This one guy is on his 5th! I'm sorry but I'm really debating on calling it quits on the 2nd. HP has not made it worth my while to attempt a 3rd gamble, and that is what it is with the production issues at that factory. I can't believe they wanted to charge me $16 higher than my second unit when they were giving me a "break".

 

Great/Perfect Condition - No RMA or Return in sight 123 62.76%
Small imperfections - NOT requesting a RMA. 38 19.39%
Poor - Requesting a RMA. 23 11.73%
Horrible/Horrendous (Multiple Problems) - Definite RMA 12 6.12%

 

Being that it's a forum poll it really doesn't hold much weight. But, since you pointed it out...almost 40% is pretty high for a "premium consumer" notebook to have fit and finish issues which is probably what is the biggest problem. I would also reduce that top group some because people may not notice or really care about quality craftsmanship.

What if these notebooks were still part Voodoo and not mainstream HP?

 

So mine has a gap below the palm rest also and some keyboard flex (which is either getting better or I'm just not freaking over it as much), but I'm not sure if it's enough to try for a better one, especially since that seems to be the only problems with mine.

I'll try attaching some pictures. Do you guys think this is enough to RMA? Or is it possible to bend it back myself some? I'm partly worried this is some indication of other issues inside or something.

Anyone know how the RMA process works? Do I have to send mine back first and be out a laptop for a month?

Thanks

 

I'm wondering this myself.

My HP logo light in the back is off center.. And I'm still debating if I want to exchange it or deal with it

 

I just talked to one of the dedicated Envy support persons and she said the whole process (RMA) takes 12-15 days (forgot to ask if that was business days).

 

I wouldn't do it. Its a SMALL problem and is not worth the gamble! You could always fix it by opening the front cover and adjusting it forward.

 

You send yours out first, then they start building the laptop after they receive it. Strangely enough, it takes 8 additional days to build the replacement (Estimated build date on website was August 5th, replacement's estimated build date on August 13th).