HP: A falling brand

Has anyone else had issues with HP computers from 2009 and newer?

Any HP laptop or desktop I come in contact with today either has over heating issues or breaks down easily.

 

YES I HAVE. My notebook from 2009 has suffered these issues. Never going with HP again...

 

2007 edition of TX2500 finally died on me. Heat issues as is usual for this model. Replaced with HP Elitebook 2760P.

 

All oem companies have issues... ALL OF THEM! ...Not just HP.

For example: Samsung recently released the Series 7 slate and every single one has a screen separation defect so what did Samsung do? Nothing. Nada. Ziltch. Return the tablet and if you're lucky the replacement will have the new bonding which still doesn't fix the issue 100% of the time.

Dell, Acer, Samsung, Sony... all have issues. The last few machines I've owned

Samsung 7 Slate: Screen problem
Toshiba Z830: Non-stop fan
HP 8460p: Stupidly crazy fan
HP 2560p: No problem at all
HP 5330m: No problem at all
HP Envy 13: No problem at all
Dell Latitude ST: No problem at all
Dell Duo: One experienced a failed hard drive (Hardly Dells fault) and the other sometimes fails to turn on.
Acer 8920g: Screen failed twice!
HP 2740p: No problem at all

The list goes on and on.

P.s. The warranty only lasts for a year and I pretty much expect nothing more from any of them these days. You want quality then get an Elitebook and ADP warranty.
P.P.s. Most of the latest HP models have quite an aggressive fan profile so most models won't suffer from overheating unless it's a quad qm mobile cpu

 

Makes me reconsider notebooks in general anymore. They're fine but problems occurred for me just a year and 4 months after, continuing into 2 1/2 years (today).

 

My HP Pavilion dv9000 series purchased in 2007 failed 8 times in total. Motherboard was replaced 6 times. I even contacted HP CEO team for replacement. However HP India proved to be the biggest scum. So I promptly dropped my support for this company. Didn't deserve my money.

 

My older HP was a piece of junk but for the time it was decent (cost over 1k so not worth the price) and held up for the year or two I owned it (it's been thrown out since so something must have happened to it, definitely wasn't made to last)

compaq held up nice but my brother burned a hole through the screen....long story

sony sr was a piece of junk, multiple issues. couldn't give it away now.

[my brother then bought a vaio and it had loads of problems, including the loudest, craziest fan ever made and relentless slowdowns for no reason]

envy 14, no issues at all.

 

A lot of the 2006-2008 HP laptops used faulty Nvidia chips, thus high failure rate. But, this problem wasn't just HP laptops, most laptops using the Nvidia 6, 7, and 8 series seemed to fail frequently. Google Dell xps m1530 failure.

 

It's funny because I had a MacBook Pro with one of those notorious GeForce 8600 GPUs, and never had a problem. The person to whom I eventually sold it is still using it - 4-1/2 years and going strong.

 

I have a 2008 dv5(A.K.A "The Oven") and my solution to it's super-heater is a $6 cooling pad, so far 3 years 3 months works perfectly and the only problem I had with it was a Battery change.

I've also tried my friend's dv6 and I noticed HP optimized the ventilation, and I have another friend who has a dv6 as well and they both say they haven't had any negative feedback on them.

also another friend with a G6 says he was happy with it

To be honest I don't see the generalization that "DON'T BUY HP; STAY AWAY FROM HP; HP SUCKS" to be really accurate

I've been an HP user since 2002 and besides really minor problems I never actually Raged on them.

 

Well I'm officially scared. This is my first purchased-new laptop,oh excuse me, NOTEBOOK, a dv6. Have used compaqs in the past, 2 of them for my wife (1st got dropped) that were several years old at the time, ran like new. The dv6 (dual core) is the coolest running laptop I've ever used. may be because its holding all the heat inside,lol,but externally, it doesnt even get warm to the touch.

Is there anything I should worry about? My last HP product was a printer/scanner. Loved the hardware but was very disappointed in the HP spyware (you call it bloatware, I call it spyware) that came with the device. This machine has a few bugs HP doesnt want to bother addressing, but overall works very nice (after killing more than half of the stock running background services). customer service seems disappointing,like theres a gap in communication..

 

Probably due to being throttled to an inch of its life! My neighbours Toshiba has a GeForce card and it's still going after 8 (Number made up) years.

Not at all. All mechanical devices can break down and these days it is pretty much the luck of the draw. Heck, the latest macbook releases suffer from too much thermal compound which increases heat and will eventually lead up to problems. Samsung released the Series 9 with wi-fi issues and the 7 slate with a screen lift problem. ALL OF THEM have issues and apart from mac owners that seemingly have no issues (check the support forums... they do) you'll at least still be covered for a year.

If really worried, you could opt for the Elitebook/Probook range that offer very attractive ADP (Accidental damage protection) warranty cover.

 

HP and Compaq have been one and same company for ten years now If you look at the actual products same basic hardware is usually sold under both brands, just the covering plastic looks different. Internals are often pretty much interchangeable.

 

The dv5t that my mom got a few years ago is completely coming apart....the keyboard is just a mess. Its freezing all the time.

This is at least 3.5 years old so mayhap thats normal but I'm not sure. Anyways HP def seems to be going thru some pains at the moment.

 

I've heard contradictory anecdotes about HP reliability. The problem is, unlike cars, laptops are replaced so fast that you can't gather reliability data. By the time you're three years down the line and you're starting to get solid reliability data, the model that you've been surveying is two generations out of date and the current model doesn't share a single piece with the model you've been gathering data on. So who knows.

I will say this: in this 2009 reliability survey, HP ranked last. ( click here). In this 2011 reliability survey, HP was mid-pack. ( click here). Most other brands stayed the same, so I think that this indicates that HP was having trouble a few years ago but has since improved significantly.

But there's more to a brand surviving than reliability. A big, big part of success is building models that people will choose over competitors even if they aren't cheaper than competitors. This allows for sizable profit margins that provide for long-term financial success. And right now, in January 2012, HP is doing a great job of that. With the Folio and Spectre book-ending the ultrabook market (serving both the inexpensive-and-practical buyer and the luxury-and-glitz buyer), the Envy 15 and 17 offering arguably the best multimedia laptop total packages out there right now (even counting the red-orange issue as a strike against them, they're better total packages than what XPS and Vaio has to offer right now), HP is set to sell a lot of laptops with respectable profit margins. I think HP's going to have a good, good year in 2012.

 

I am very worried now as well. I went with an HP computer over a Malibal/Sager, because I got more bang for the buck, and because I really didn't need a super high-end graphics card (I'm not a huge computer gamer at all). I have had non-business line Dell laptops in the past and those things are pure garbage. I will never support another Dell consumer line of product again, not to mention that the tech support was probably worse than the computer itself...and that's saying a lot. But, as I was saying, I thought the HP would be a nice laptop in-between the Dell and a Sager/Malibal, but now I am not sure.

I thought the HP Coolsense technology would help a lot with temperature, but is that not the case? My biggest concern now is having a machine that will last and not break down every other day. I will be using my CPU for Photoshop, graphics programs and the occasional RTS game, so I wanted a max of at least 16GB of RAM, a 1080p screen, a middle-class dedicated graphics card and an i7 processor; The HP gave me all that for a good price and an in-home service warranty (something Sagers'/Malibals' don't offer). After reading these forums though, I am wondering if I should have spent the extra $450.00 and got a Malibal/Sager.

My HP laptop is on the way and will be here in a few days, but I am considering not even opening it and just sending it right back to HP for a refund to get a Sager. I really don't know what to do now.

 

I think you get something like 21 days to decide, so why not at least give it a spin.

 

Just because if I open the box up and start messing with the CPU, I may not want to have to put everything back together and ship it back. I am honestly 50/50 right now, most likely if I open it up, I am keeping it. I did get a great deal for everything I am getting, and I really don't want to go through the process of RMAing the laptop and waiting on a refund...not to mention having to pay $450.00 extra for a Malibal/Sager and go another 2-3 weeks without having a CPU.

I hate budgets.

 

i'm still going on a 2009 hp dv6 with a 4650m and the big issue is that the cd/dvd drive is busted. don't know why since i barely use it, but when i tried to read a cd the other day it didn't work at all. i am considering the dv6t quad edition because of the $415 coupon, and was wondering if the cooling/fan is better, since my laptop gets pretty loud and hot when playing games. like, i can keep some hot chocolate at a nice warm-hot temperature if i leave it next to the vent

 

I'm ready to sell my Envy lol..

 

Add me to that list.

HP Envy 15 Gen 2..died a few weeks ago. I doubt it was overheat issue on my part. I always have it on the laptop cooler fan blowing at it while I use it as a desktop replacement for the past 6 months...suddenly, stqart having issue...

My next laptop, a refresh Macbook Pro this summer. Shouldn't listen to my co-work. His macbook is 5+ years and going strong.

 

My experience is anything in the consumer line is and has always been crap. Be it Dell, HP, etc.

 

A MPB will overheat even more. The max temp I get while running bf3 (i7 720qm hyperthread off & 5830 overclocked to 1050 memory + 570 core, undervolted by 0.200) is 80 CPU and 70 GPU in Celsius
.The only pro of the kind of chassis Envy and MPB share in common is that it's made of aluminium/magnesium (or other metal) which allows it to "heat up" and dissipate the heat quickly.
Despite that feature, I don't know about you but personally I can't take the heat from the palm. The chassis conducts more heat than other "entertainment/gaming" notebooks (usually the chassis of these are made of plastic or something similar).

You don't get the same sturdiness (depends on the brand you're looking at) of the single chassis frame design but heat is what you eventually end up with.

I'm looking forward to sell my Envy for around 700 with a lot of extra accessories. And switch to a Sager for 2-3 years the build a desktop and bring it back to my country.

I suggest you take a look at Sager P15x model, best bang for the bucks you can have for ultimate power + portability + cooling.

Still remember the moment reading your review before made my purchase lol..

 

So, the hard disk fries on my brand new (maybe 2 hours of work on it) HP ProBook 4530s. HP overnights a new hard disk to me (it only involved 9 screws and having the right tiny screw driver to replace - but still, faster than sending the notebook back to HP). The hard disk came with instructions for a different Notebook, but the owners manual for the 4530s was available on line (never had a problem with my Toshiba). So, I replace the hard disk and what comes up the first time I turn it on - "BootDevice Not Found - Please install an operating system on your hard disk". After 5 minutes on hold with HP I find out that "Oh yes, we send you a dark hard drive but we'll be happy to ship you disks." At this point, it would have been faster to send it back.

Rather than complain to HP, I thought I would just troll the internet for an hour and post this story as far and wide as i could. They sell products that break within a week, expect that you'll supply the labor to repair them, send you random instructions for replacing the faulty equipment and don't send software with hard disks. It is no wonder they're sinking faster than you can say Carly Fiorina.

 

One HP I got had an awful screen with viewing angles that wouldn't even let me watch videos! After a few days the whole thing just died.

 

I bought one of the infamous DV models on which the hinge broke. If you read the complaints at hp.com, it is easy to see this was a widespread problem. My DV notebook was three months out of warranty and HP refused to do anything even though an HP rep admitted that the hinge problem was a design flaw.

By contrast, I bought an Acura that blew the transmission at 95,000 nukes. Acura admitted a design flaw and replaced the transmission at no cost to me. I have bought two Acuras since and Acura forged a deeply-held brand loyalty with me.

HP? Will never buy another HP product.

 

I haven't bought a new laptop for about 6 years or so and was using my old HP/compaq Evo n610c all that time. Then, I got a great deal on a DV7 and pulled the trigger. Have only had it for a couple of months but it has been perfect and better than I would have ever guessed for the price I paid.

Then, I bought a Lenovo(V570) for my son and exactly 30 days later it just died... totally died. No lights, no fan, no hard drive spinup, nothing. Lenovo said since it was under warranty I should ship it back to them to get fixed for free(not quite since I HAD TO PAY FOR SHIPPING)... err, no way I was going to pay extra to let Lenovo fix their own mistake... so I took it back to the store I bought it at and got my money back. Since then, I have seen a whole bunch of posts on the same laptop, and its cousin the z570, each dying of the exact same problem.

Anyway, I don't know what HP stuff was like between 2006 and now, but way back then and so far for now, HP seems pretty dependable to me... and HP warranty service is REALLY free since they pay shipping both ways. YMMV.

 

never again, HP. what a nightmare.

to be fair, most all 'consumer' laptops hp, dell, lenovo, gateway, suck

from now on i'm going with only business models, like the thinkpads, lattitudes etc.

consumer market is driven by lower and lower costs, and that's the only thing on their minds. while a business quality laptop is more expensive initially, they are more reliable and with better build quality, and they usually come with better support/warranty.

 

What I don't get is professional reviews are that many of the HP laptops like the HP Envy are 4/5 or 5/5 laptops
I have had Dell laptops for over 5 years, in my family over 5 models and all have been tough good laptops.
I just bought this HP dm4 2191us and updated drivers and bios and its working really well.
I understand some of the complaints are due to HP manufacturing and real issues but I also see some complaints are really user and knowledge issues. If a laptop has Intel processor, intel board and graphics, decent WIFI card and HD then what else besides the screen can be issues? Seems to me the case and a few other little things are the rest.

If a mother board fails is it the manufacture of the mother board or HP that is at fault? I argue it may be a defective motherboard in such case how int he heck do you expect HP to know this when they tested it and it worked fine, you hade it for days or months and then it failed............You see a lot of complaints are just not valid IMHO

 

me and my family have spent probably $5000 in hp products over the past 5 years. all of them died from overheating/mobo related issues except for our laserjet printer which is still going strong. i don't have any experience with elitebooks, i'm sure they are better quality, but just based on past bad experiences with their consumer division, i'd rather just spend my money on a thinkpad.

also thinkpads with an education discount are much better priced then elitebooks. right now, you can get a well equipped T420 with a 1600x900 screen for just $750.

 

...Last week I removed the hard drive from an X220 replacing it with a Crucial M4 hard drive. Now I´m in the line for a DOA replacement as the connector failed to notice any hard drive. In the last few months I´ve replaced the drives on a HP 5330m, 8460p, 2560p and a 6360b... no problem.

Again... you pay your money and role the dice. Elitebooks are fantastic but so are X220 machines.

 

before telling me whats reasonable and unreasonable, i dare you to spend upwards of $5000 of products from one company and have every single one of them fail with little help or sympathy from customer support, including the case managers. then tell me if you still want to do business with them.

as i said, im sure the elitebooks are good, but personally i am done with HP.

 

u r a very logical person. but in real world, humans (including myself) are irrational beings. so even though i am sure elitebooks are good, at this point, i've given enough of my hard earned money to hp. thank you

 

How are HP's new ProBooks vs Thinkpads?

i need to pick a laptop for our customers

 

Most business-grade products (this case laptops) are way better in terms of durability and built quality. I'm getting a ThinkPad in a few months too. I recommend you to go for ThinkPad , they are well known for the quality and business look

 

I have both the HP Probook 4530s and the lenovo thinkpad sl510. Obviously the probook is newer and better spec'd, although the lenovo is still holding up strong compared to when I got it. If you can get similarly priced configurations from both hp and lenovo I would probably chose lenovo. However treat your electronics with care and they will last. I have never had a computer die after less then 5 years. Treat them like a child and they will last more then 4 years.

 

THIS.

It's a known fact that my HP Compaq nw8440 (and it's non-workstation sibling, the nc8430) has a loud, almost non-stop fan. It also has high internal temperatures, especially if you don't shoot air into the vents periodically. And yet, my nw8440 is still going strong over 5 years later.

I got my nw8440 when I was in college, because my school forced me and all the incoming freshman that year to buy that exact model. Each new incoming year got a different model. This allowed for an on-site help and repair desk. After talking to them, I got a list of laptops and common issues:

--Compaq Evo n800c/n800w (2002/2003): Very high hard drive failure rate (HD was next to CPU, plus HD's heads were directly underneath the ENTER key. Strike the enter key too hard, and you crashed the hard drive!)
--HP Compaq nw8000 (2004): No major issues
--Dell Precision M70 (2005): All kinds of driver issues/BSODs early on.
--HP Compaq nw8440 (2006-7): High Optical drive failure rate; heat issues
--HP Compaq 8510w (2008): High optical drive failure rate
--HP Elitebook 8530w (2009): No major issues (that I was aware of)
--Lenovo ThinkPad W510 (2010): Touchscreen issues

Other laptops and common issues
--HP Compaq nw8240/nc8230: High motherboard failure rates
--Dell XPS M1330 and M1530: Ultra-high GPU failure rates

Generally speaking, certain brands/models of laptops will have certain issues. Business-class notebooks are typically far more reliable than consumer-class notebooks.

 

All my hp are going strong , my daughter has a 2133 that would not start , called HP next day a box was here to ship back 2 days later back at home , been working well since . My HP 8510 has been going 24/7 for 4 1/2 years , when Im not on it it runs WCG B O I N C so it rund fill blast most of the time , no problems . Wish they atill had 16:10 screen cause would have bought new HP laptop last year , as it stands will keep 8510 until it dies . Think if you buy consumer line you get what you pay for ,built to a price , low at that , business line at least elite line warranty 3 years so they tend to last .

 

I have a 2740p in front of me that had been dropped and at 16:45 I called support to log the call as I previously purchased an ADP (Accidental damage protection) warranty. During the call the tech guy sent an e-mail and a few minutes later I e-mailed pictures of the damage.

At 17:05 the same tech agent called back to state that an engineer would visit the site within the next 24 hours. Done.

A failing brand? I hope not as that was EXCELLENT service.

 

No it is not.

The heating issues and reliability issues are the same for all laptops. What brand is better for the money...Acer (yeah right), Lenovo (My edge 13 gets up to 95 degrees and the platics is melting...the touchpad never worked), Dell (plenty of haters over there) there all the same unless you wanna shell out real money.

Besides....

When we started stuffing quad cores and dual cores in limited space we thought we could defy the first law of thermodynamics. We can't.

This thread is just for people with an ax to grind.

If you want a good laptop, I repeat if you want a good laptop, get a Dell or HP business model. I have had 2 and they were both tanks. Not cheap though.

 

I'm typing this on what is my first laptop, ever. I got a good deal on a HP Pavilion dv4-3006tx (i5-2410M + Radeon 6750M) last November and pulled the trigger. It's been used practically on a daily basis and it's now my primary computer since the desktop rig I use is for the whole household.

The Internet has been rife with stories about unreliable or badly built HP laptops...I guess I've been lucky enough not to have had a lemon. Glossy screens and a couple GPU-related BSODs aside, I haven't had any major complaints. Despite the Manila summer heat, CPU temperatures haven't broken past the 85 degC mark as measured on HWMonitor, and maybe I'm not too sensitive about fan noise but the dv4's fan doesn't make a howling racket either.

Of course your mileage may vary and it all depends on how you handle and maintain the machine. My two cents.

 

I hate the glossy fingerprint and scratch magnet finishes they use on newer models...Hell, only HP can make a matte finish computer that still attracts fingerprints like no tomorrow...

 

I have been using an HP nx9420 every single day for at least 6-7 hours since 2007. I moved 3 times to different countries in the meantime, dropped it several times...I had some issues with overheating, but that was my fault. I am using a cooling pad (Cooler Master U3) now and there are no problems with anything. Now I am on the market for something portable so I'll buy a dm1 and with proper care I expect it to last many years.

My fiancee had a Dell and has a Lenovo right now. The Dell was terrible and was overheating like crazy, I opened it to clean it, but some pieces fell on their own. The Lenovo is quite good so far. The conclusion is that it's a matter of luck. Saying that "HP sucks" because you had a problem with them is stupid, you might have had bad luck with one product, but that doesn't mean that the whole company is crappy. There's no company with 0% failure rate. HP makes pretty good stuff for the money, their design is decent and they can last for many years with proper care.

 

I know it's an old thread but I can't read this post and not throw in my experience with HP/Compaq. I got the absolute cheapest laptop I could find in 06' to see if it was worth going from a desktop. I got a defective keyboard on the V5000 so they sent me a V6000. I still use it. I bought a spilled on Pavilion dv5 and put another upgraded discrete graphics board in it and it's cooking strong for 3yrs 24/7. I don't treat either one with kid gloves. I toss them in my saddlebag and ride like I stole it to meetings. I have found that software results in most driver problems. Miss use for component failures. Once you have taken some apart get an idea how robust they can be. Aside from all out abuse, they can take a lot and keep delivering for many years.

 

Love my dv7t-6100 and love my dv7t-7000 even more.

My father purchased a 6100 series when I did last spring, and my girlfriend and a co-worker all purchased a dv7t-7000 based on my recommendation.

This dv7t-7000 is by far the best piece of computer hardware I have ever used. Granted I work in Enterprise IT, so I can diagnose hardware problems easier than most, but the 6100 series is the FIRST computer that I EVER owned that I did not have to place ANY service calls for in the first year (and still haven't).

Buy an extended warranty and preferably an at home warranty with any desktop/laptop. They all have their share of problems, they all have their horror stories. This includes ALL manufacturers. Some manufacturers slip from year to year, some rebound, some go through horrible years several years in a row... and some just have issues with certain models or certain model lines, not necessarily all of their products.

 

My current dv5 is quite a awful product.
First major problem was the screen would go black. Opened it up and the wire to the screen and motherboard was not even connected but merely twisted so with use it became worse and worse.
Fixed that problem but now I have the problem of overheating. This things gets so hot and I blame the design. The vents are on the bottom so unless it is put on an angle it will just overheat easily.
Can't wait for my new recently ordered Clevo to arrive : )

 

I own an HP dv6-1030us that I purchased in June 2009. The only problem I have had with it was when the battery died, literally ON THE DAY my warranty ended, and I was able to get an extended life battery for free for it

Other than that, I despise this laptop. Nothing is wrong with it, I just hate it.

 

In my personal experience with HP, its not the company it used to be.

15 years ago, we had all computers and servers branded HP. Their support was impressive and all claims e faults were solved. This was the main reason we had chosen HP brand.

Lately, and when I say lately in my experience is from last year. I bough a brand new DV6 i7 etc.

I had issues with USB ports as well as LCD tile. USB ports is still to be solved and they said they give support to operating flaws of the USB manufaturer.

If USB 3.0 has problems with some USB 2.0 componets because of retrocampoatibility malfuctions, you have to solve this with the usb manufacturer, I was told. Like I can substitute a part and choose another brand to equip USB ports on my HP laptop.

 

Yes, FAILing indeed.
Now they are shipping the ENVY 17-3290nr 3D without the WiDi and the Intel 4000 Switchable Graphics working.

 

It's funny because my wife had a Macbook Pro 15" with 8600M GT, and the screen started to display garbage lines, got it fixed, and 2 months later the screen wouldn't even come on. I sold the 3rd replacement. and got a updated MBP with 9400M and no problems since.