Samsung 9 Series laptop (ZX310 / 900X3A) unveiled

in my case reception improved significantly even with the older routers. You have to use all 3 antennas to achieve it.

You mean 3rd?

The only BT dongle I used was from my Logitech wireless keyboard (DiNovo Mini). It worked like a charm, even without drivers.

Please let us know if you will find a good charger...

 

That's probably the fix according to Samsung...

 

3. Intel 6250 (wireless+WiMax).

With 6300 I can easily work on a laptop being 50-60 feet away from the e4200 Cisco router (with 2 probably wooden walls on the way) on both 2.4 & 5ghz bands getting 3-5 Mb/s over LAN (10-15 Mbit/s from speedtest.net - the limit here is my ISP). With Broadcom I was barely able to connect to 2.4Ghz network at the same location.

 

They might think that's a fix but I know it's not (from trying it myself). There's more that need to done there -- probably do with adding antennas...
I'm going to keep monitoring the Intel wireless/bluetooth adapters for any new ones that be better options than the 6230 or 6300.
I'm still waiting to hear back from "the laptop specialist" at Samsung USA. I would be happy with a Samsung expert to try a number of different configurations.

 

Have you tested DWL-4500 in 5Ghz mode (if it still doesn't support simultaneous bands) with Sammy?

 

That's right, I should have included the 6250.

I was "web building" another laptop recently, I think Lenovo, and it had a option of selecting the Intel 6300. Then it still had the option of selecting bluetooth for another $20. Based on what you know, is there any way that you could add bluetooth to your Samsung (with its 6300 adapter) if you wanted to?

 

Yep! To be precise - relocating antennas. The only place that might work is a screen bezel, but I really doubt Samsung will do it any time soon since it's not an easy one.

Both 6230 & 6300 are new adapters made for Sandy Bridge. It's highly unlikely Intel will release anything before next platform generation in 2012 (known as Ivy Bridge).

 

AFAIK, no. It should be an extra slot available for a separate BT module. Otherwise they use a BT chip and install it directly on a motherboard.

 

While I am greatly discouraged by the WiFi issues, they do not interfere with my average us of the internet. I have thought about returning the unit, but I LOVE practically everything else about it and cannot part with it.

On another note, while I have played around with the power settings to restore the hybrid sleep mode, I still have a power leak. When I reopen the laptop and it powers back up, I have lost battery life, and after a day or two its almost all lost and I have to recharge.

 

The DLink doesnt do mixed - its one or the other and I need "g" for the wifes 3GS. I did test 5ghz though and didnt see an improvement. I will do more tests. But playing devils advocate sure you spend a lot of time testing and tweaking every bit out of your home network but when you go outside your home the sammy cant handle it?

Contact has been made with Jeremy Brody (through my contact) who is the Head of Project Management for Mobile Computing for Samsung USA and basically his response was to return the bad laptop and get it replaced with a newer model. Not sure who your talking to. He also suggested possibly replacing it with the A04 - although I ordered already a A05 to test. It also appears that from the other post the A04 didn't make a difference, that means that this is maybe more of a case problem. There is also "supposedly" two newer models coming down the pipeline "later this year" whatever that's worth. He is supposed to be calling me direct to discuss this more then he said he would talk to his wifi team. FWIW He has a Linkedin account and maybe you can get a hold of him through that as well by invitation.

I want to get this resolved with Samsung as I think they have a hit with this laptop, since no one can come close to it as everyone can see that is looking to buy something different because of these issues.

 

Just got this laptop. I needed a TPM chip, so mine is the A02US.
It has the Broadcom WiFI chip.

I immediately noticed issues with WiFI - at work, WIFi would often drop in my office, and at home I get very low signal strength when I'm not in the same room as the router. According to my router, the signal strength from the NP900X3A is 42%, while the X300 sitting next to me is 79%.

The thread seems to mention Samsung recognizing this as a problem. No such luck with my chat on Samsung's support site. I was told "No such known issue exists - try resetting your router"

It seems that those who've replaced with a 6230 have not had a noticable difference. Does replacing with the 6300 definitively improve things? Is installation simple?

Thanks!

 

I got the BT working - seems the problem was caused by a Widcom BT driver left behind by the Broadcom stuff.

I have 3 antennas in it; but the stock 2nd antenna as you know is very short, and I thought replacing it with a longer one might help. Wasn't it you who reported that disconnecting it made no difference to the speed?

I really haven't seen any great improvement with a basic router; 30-40 feet away an ordinary Dell gets 9-10 Mbps (Speedtest.net) while the Sammy gets around 2. So I don't think the 6300 in itself is doing that much.

On the other hand the wifi works well enough for my uses - the only time I wish it were faster is when I need to download a very large file, which I don't do that often (and I usually wait until I'm closer to a router). I will probably wait until we have reports about Samsung's 'fix' before doing any more experiments.

 

Anyone else having a major problem with fingerprints and oils on the keys and trackpad?

The fingerprints on the case are no big deal because they can be easily cleaned, but I now have what seem to be permanent oily/greasy marks on the key areas I hit most often, especially on the spacebar and trackpad.

The trackpad seems possible to clean with a LOT of effort and a bit of household cleaner (not sure if this will eventually take the color off), but thus far the space bar has been impossible to clean and it looks absolutely hideous..this is after a few weeks of use, so it can only get worse. I see similar marks on some of the keys, but not as noticeable...

So, any ideas how to clean these plastic keys without damaging them? This is driving me nuts, it's a problem I have never had with any other laptop. Makes me look like a greasy pig :-(

On another note, I got my laptop back from repair for the second time today, they finally fixed the loose DC power jack...now it's a very firm connection and "click", but the Samsung courier told me the technicians said the problem was my fault from pushing the connector in too hard...complete nonsense, since the connection was loose right out of the box. I would be surprised if some others don't eventually have the problem.

So, I am repeating myself, but I still despise the cheaply made power adapter, I am certain it won't last...I wish Samsung had knocked off the Apple solution for this.

Finally, I compared wifi strength between the S9 and HP HDX at the furthest point from router in my condo...The HP is definitely stronger, I would say the usable range is perhaps 30% greater, which is not a great surprise. I have one more week to decide whether to keep this laptop, return it and get the new Vaio Z in a month, or just keep both....

I think no real wifi fix is forthcoming any time soon, I asked the Samsung reps several times and either they don't know or they were playing dumb. Meanwhile they are promoting the hell out of this laptop with big banners and signs at all the major retailers here (Best Denki, Harvey Norman, Courts), and its an identical version to mine, so they are not acknowledging any issues.

 

Yes, it's very simple, and Series 9 Guy supplied a guide.

 

Deleted - accidental double post

 

hi,

very informative thread here. Thank you for that. I have one last question:

one of the essential features for me is intel wireless display technology. As it seems the samsung series 9 doesn't support that with it's default Wifi card. If I use an Intel Wifi card such as the Intel 6300, will I be able to use Wireless Display?! Someone tested that? Just to be sure...

Thanks in advance

Xardestro

 

This has been discussed in detail earlier in this thread. WiDi is confirmed to work with the Intel 6230, and should work with the 6300 as well since it is a WiDi compatible card

 

Thank you for the fast response. Yes I found something about Wireless Display in this thread, but no certain confirmation by someone who actually tested it. Although I believe you, a quote would be nice.

Thanks again.

Xardestro

 

Sorry if this has been covered recently. Several weeks ago I downloaded the latest version of the Synaptics trackpad. Once again, it doesn't seem to work right after I did this. Most importantly, the click fuction (where you could depress the touchpad anywhere on the surface) seems to have vanished in the settings. Now all I can do is set up the trackpad to be able to click the 'left mouse button' in the lower left hand corner of the trackpad or set up the 'touch to click' function (which I hate cause I am always accidentally touching the touchpad). Am I missing some setting.

I tell you, I long for having a dedicated left and right actual button on the trackpad just like on a regular notebook. Guess they really wanted to copy the MBA.

 

Thanks for the instructions - though it seems that the 6230 isn't really helping with folks issues, and the 6300 as per Phil, only helps if you install a third antenna. Can anyone comment definitively that the 6230 is worth upgrading to?

Also - there are a lot of posts from folks who say that Samsung is now recognizing this an issue. However, when I spoke to support, I was told that "there is no known issue with WiFi". Are you guys just calling the regular technical support line / chat from the Samsung website? Is there a bulletin that we can refer the support tech to when speaking to them?

Thanks!

 

Sent mine back to samsung a week ago and got it back today.

Service report says:
Problem: Week wifi signal, these laptops are known for weak wifi.
Fix installed, tested ok.

Tested the laptop, not even slightly improwed, same weak wifi.
Wrapped it in again, and are now just waiting for the postman.

PLEASE GUYS, if you have this problem send it back.
This is the only way we can get Samsung do something about it.

 

Nice question! It took me 3 mins. to figure it out
Go to Synaptics settings, find a feature called "Tapping", remove the check mark next to it, Apply.

 

Sorry to hear that! They probably have a good wifi coverage where they do their testing in which it would be imposssible to notice any problems.

 

I said this many posts ago. I am skeptical how they will "test" the WiFi strength and can tell if something is wrong. Thats why I am not willing to ship it back to them. They are NEW laptops and I have a really hard time sending in a NEW laptop for "Repairs".

I also got a A05 May build with a Broadcom inside, delivered this morning and the WiFi is worse than the other Samsung A03 I currently have. Both are in the same spot about 50 feet from the router and the A03 can connect with 2 bars and "fair" reading but the A05 can not connect but can see the router with 1 bar "poor" signal reading. My iPhone4 connects with a full bars and I can get 10mbs up and 13mbs down on a 25mbs up/down fiber connection.

Right now with the A03 using Speedtest.net on the Modesto Server the Sammy is getting a 15ms ping, 6.60mbps down, and 4.86mbps up - my iphone using the speedtest.net app - same Modesto Server its showing 63ms ping, 13.65down and 17.18 up - both are in the same spot. I ran multiple tests one after the other on each device and there is defiantly something wrong with these sammys. Not sure what the internal transfer speeds have been for people but I am getting only 190kbps when transferring a file via wifi to the laptop.

I am getting tired of messing around with them and I am going to make decision this next week if I am going to keep the A03 it or not. For sure the A05 which is more expensive is going back since its far worse. I may try a USB network adapter but I don't really want to have to have one in the side all the time just to get a good wifi signal. I use the "cloud" a lot for work and I need a good signal! I wanted to make this work and god knows I tried but this is frustrating. I am starting to think its a case issue and just return it and wait for something else. In the interim maybe get a cheap notebook to do what I need to do work wise, which is only internet, spreadsheets, a few Windows only apps that are not CPU intensive and word docs.

EDIT: One more thing to add, on the new A05 I got the trackpad sat flush with the case on all four corners - so not sure what to think of that. My A03 the bottom sits a tad lower than the case surround.

EDIT2: I just wanted to add my router shows the sammy A03 has a 22% signal strength, the A05 shows a 16% signal, and my iphone4 has a 68% signal strength. Both all are in the same spot next to each other. I also confirmed both Sammys have the same settings for the wifi card in device properties. So I am certain that there has been no fix/changes implemented on the A05. Also the Mbps rate for my iDevices are showing 54 but the Sammys fluctuate between 2-11 at any given time. Strange they dont stay or even get to 54 like the iDevices do at the same distance. Maybe this is partially why we are getting slow speeds too.

 

I don't know how encouraging this is but I will put it out there. I just had a very lengthy phone call with Samsung senior management after they had a meeting today with respect to this issue.

Samsung states that there is a solution and new systems with a June manufacturing date will have the fix. I asked the exact date and it was not sure but I might look at anything after the first week as a good manufacturing date.

Samsung, as a matter of policy won't discuss the issue or resolve but to say that there is a solution, one in which all Techies are (or soon will be) privy to. Now, I write this having also read the post above regarding the system that was sent in last week and returned with the same problem.

To the OP, I have sent that post to my contact as I did this thread a while back. Simply, the thread is being watched.

Now, is it possible that the service techs are testing in a room with great wifi and not seeing the issue? Absolutely. This is also a point I made which will be looked into.

At the end of the day, this is the system I want to find myself with and I have countless people waiting for a follow up on the original review posted (quoted earlier in the thread) as it still seems to be one of the only reviews that recognize the wifi problem.

Lets face it. Regardless of the status, just about every review site overlooked the problem as well, simply because we sit within our four walls and great wifi.

 

Wondered if you had any updates on this? I contacted "level 2 support" again and they said that the Product Specialist had responded to my case that the "weak WiFi" issue only impacts the A03 model!!! I have contacted Samsung Support over 10 times on this. Tweeting the various Samsung support accounts has done no good either. I have just sent a message to Jeremy Brody (via Facebook) so I'll see if he responds.

EDIT: I have just seen the post above mine -- it was posted while I was composing. I hope something comes out of that. Series 9 Guy, please let us of any additional updates you get.

 

Will there be a fix for older models as well ? I have 3-4 days left to return my April A02.

 

My advice - return it, watch the forums to see if anything changes then buy another one later. Unless you can live with your laptop as is and not expect a fix - or dont mind sending yours back if one happens to appear. Remember there is no guarantee here so it might never get fixed and you will have to live with what you have.

Side note anyone able to see if they can find new Broadcom Drivers? I went to the website and found the normal NIC drivers but cant seem to find the drivers for our Sammys WiFi card. I was wondering if there way maybe an updated driver for it we could try but couldnt find anything.

 

For those who weren't here back then, here's the link to the review:
The Samsung Series 9 900X3A-A01CA Laptop Review – This May Be a Work of Art… Almost | The SSD Review

So there are 2 questions:

Will this fix produce significantly improved wifi?

Will existing machines be given the same fix?

My last day for return is Tuesday - and thanks to Samsung's policy of never saying anything specific (or even official), I have no solid information to base a decision on. That may work well for them, but it sure is a lousy policy for customers.

 

Another one bites the dust.

Previously on this thread, I have been relatively forgiving of the wifi capabilities of the S9, believing they were perhaps below-average but usable under most circumstances; however, now I have also given up on the idea that the wifi is acceptable in any way.

Today I decided to retest vs two old HP's I have, and it was no contest, the 3-yr-old and 2-yr-old HP's had far superior wifi in my office, which is about 50 feet from the router. The S9 had slow speed or unusable connection depending on which corner of the office, while both HP's had excellent, or at worst fair speed in the most remote location.

If this were the only problem, I might be willing to forgive it and carry a wifi dongle, but since mine has already been to the shop twice for an unrelated issue (DC connector), plus other irritating nits such as fingerprints/smudges, I have pretty much decided to ship it back to Costco (from Singapore) next week. Based on information to date, I am skeptical that a meaningful wifi fix will be in place anytime soon.

So, my current plan is to get by with my old HP and a Macbook Air for the next month or so, then order the new Vaio Z that is expected to be announced on Tuesday and available in late July.

I wish the best for all those still struggling with the S9 issues (especially wifi), overall it will be a great laptop if these problems can ultimately be rectified.

 

Listen, I work 8 hours every day on Samsung laptops. They know!

The first "fix" we got was to switch the antenna cables on the wifi, now we're told to replace the wifi with a new model.

I highly doubt a firmware upgrade will solve this problem for early adopters.

There Is also another weakness with the 900 that Samsung knows about, but the e-mail was "strictly confidential".

 

Very interesting and shady indeed! Can you tell us with which wifi card you guys are replacing the old card with ? If it is intel 6230or 6300 we already know that they dont work as they should as well.

 

Thank you for your post however couldn't you tell us the other issue? I mean you obviously signed up today to post something so why not use a VPN and fake a name/email and sign up so that you could give us real solid information rather then the small bits here and there we have been collectively posting to help each other out? I mean if your going to post then post something we dont already know. By no means I am trying to offend or attack you but your post is not really informative nor does it tell us anything more that we dont already know. If I was to bet what the second issue is, I would say the SSD corruption others are having. I maybe wrong and its not the first time or the last time I will be wrong but thats a serious issue. Unless were talking about batteries catching on fire but if it was that caliber you would have to post/recall so Samsung doesn't open themselves up to a huge lawsuit.

 

When you disable tapping, all you are left with is ability to click in the left and right lower portions of the trackpad to simulate left and right mouse click buttons. You used to be able to click anywhere on the trackpad to simulate a left mouse button click. That would be the reason that the whole trackpad is 'clickable'. However, this feature seems to have been disabled with the current driver. As best I can tell, there is no utility in being able to click in the middle of the trackpad anymore. Strange, they must not have been able to get the driver to do what they wanted.

 

Honestly, I don't understand what you are trying to achieve. Can you describe it more thoroughly?

That's exactly what you get if you disable tapping! In this case the only way to produce a LMB click is to physically push the button in the lower left corner of the touchpad until it clicks. Isn't that what you are longing for?

 

Sure, I can describe it more thoroughly. The whole trackpad is 'clickable' - not just the lower left and right corners. When I first got the series 9, I could move the mouse pointer with my finger and then just depress the trackpad whereever my finger was (didn't have to move it to the lower left corner) and that was akin to left mouse clicking. Now I can no longer do this. I have to move the mouse with my finger and then move it again to the lower left corner of the trackpad to click. It was much easier when I could just click (depress the trackpad) exactly where my finger was.

Now, there is no way to do that. I can set up the trackpad to tap anywhere my finger is after I move the mouse, but I can not depress the track pad to click.

I preferred this method of clicking cause I could disable tapping (so I would never be able to accidently tap the trackpad).

It's not a huge deal, but I thought the whole point of having an entire trackpad that was depressable was so that you could do this.

 

I believe you got it wrong. Samsung never advertised a touchpad (or a Clickpad according to manufacturer) as whole clickable. Actually, there are only 2 buttons underneath the touchpad surface, and they are located in the bottom left and right corners. Of course, if you push the touchpad harder than it is intended to you might be able to get the clicks in some other spots (nevertheless you will never get a click on the top left and right corners), but only due to excessive force. I wouldn't recommend to use it that way since it's pretty fragile.

Where did you get the info about entire depressable trackpad?

Since you described it as a software issue in the beginning, I thought you are missing a tapping. In more detailed description you are talking about a hardware feature which to my best knowledge never existed in Samsung Series 9.

 

How have folks been getting Samsung to acknowledge the problem? Both times I've talked to Samsung tech support they've flatly denied that there is a problem. Is there a way to get to Level 2 support t or someone who'll actually acknowledge the problem that you could share? I keep getting told to "reset my router"

Sigh.

 

As I posted earlier, Samsung level 2 support told me that the Product Specialist had updated my case to say the weak WiFi is only impacting the A03 model. I told them that it's not only that model that is affected. Their "solution" is to send it in for service... I'm trying to find out if the new A05 models are fixed so I can buy one -- so I have opened another case which will go the Product Specialist with the same question

When one uses Samsung Online Chat, one gets level 1 support who can only answer basic questions. Every time, they have referred me to 1-800-SAMSUNG. I was told you have to ask for level 2 after calling but the guy who answered the phone said he was level 2...

 

You should be able to click any where on the touchpad. Pretty much whole touchpad is depressable at least mine is that way. Try playing with the settings. Also keep in mind you can right click by doing 2 finger click anywhere on the touchpad.

 

Is there a way to understand from the box if it is made in June ? Mine is April built but it is engraved on the laptop itself rather than the box. I looked at the box unfortunately there is nothing indicating that laptop was built in April. If I return mine next week in order to get a June model, I may very well get a left over April unit as there is no way to tell from the outside box. Any suggestions ? Maybe we could decode the serial# ?

 

I apologize if this has been asked before. I'm thinking of buying one of these puppies (it's between this and waiting for the Asus UX21) and I have a few questions:

#1 - I see a lot of complaints about the WiFi. While that does somewhat scare me, I had an Asus UL30A a few years ago which also had WiFi problems, and I didn't experience any major issues. However, if there are WiFi issues AND other design flaws (bad touch pad, mushy keyboard, bad viewing angles, etc.) it would change my mind. With all of that said, do you guys recommend buying the Samsung 9 series, or should I look elsewhere?

#2 - I heard the screen is pretty good, and it is (shockingly) matte. How does it stand up to something like a Macbook Pro screen, Envy 14 Radiance display, or Vaio Z?

#3 - I see three different models, the A01, A02, and A03. It looks like the A01 is the bargain basement model (64 GB SSD, i3 processor, etc.), which I'm not interested in. However, what's the difference between the A03 (which seems to be cheaper) and A02? The only thing I saw listed was WIMAX 4G on Amazon's page for the A02. Is that the only difference between the two models?

#4 - I heard the battery is not user replaceable. Are other components (hard drive, memory, etc.) fairly easy to access?

#5 - I know the area surrounding the keyboard is plastic. First, is the plastic at least decent quality, or does it feel flimsy or otherwise like junk? Second, is there any other plastic on the machine, such as on the base?

Thank you.

 

can you tell us if second issue is SSD or something more important than wifi issue ? I'm really trying to decide whether I should return mine and buy one later or keep it. If 2nd problem is not as important as wifi, I may just keep it as wifi is ok for me currently at home and at work.

 

When you register the model on the Samsung site, it will give you the build date.

 

So you're saying register the notebook in the unopened box and you'll get the build date. I guess that would help some. The number on the box was missing the last letter of the serial number though.

If I get told that WiFi is fixed as of a particular build date, I want the seller to verify the build date before it is sent to me. They obviously can't register it to find out the build date. Maybe the serial numbers would help as aras87 said. My April 2011 A03 had CZPR93GB401629 on the box. aras87, how does that compare to yours which is also an April build?

 

WiFi is an issue. The power connector is weak construction. Apart from that, I think Series 9 is great and I'm going to buy another. I know that some people had other issues but I had none apart from weak WiFi. IMO, the only other notebook to consider is the Sony Vaio Z (which has not been announced yet).

Yes, it's matte and quite different to my son's Macbook Pro. I much prefer the matte.

There's A01, A02, A03, A04, A05 models currently available. The A02 is more expensive than A02 because it has Win x64 Pro while A03 has Win x64 Premium. The A04 and A05 are both Intel Core i7 models (A04 has 8GB RAM + 128GB SSD and A05 has 6GB RAM + 256GB SSD).

"Officially", you void the warranty by opening the notebook although Samsung support people have told people differently. Apart from that, once you have the cover off, it's easy to access components. There is no upgradeable hard drive available yet although the 256GB SSD is being used in the A05 so it might become available.

I didn't find the plastic around the keyboard an issue. It seemed OK because this a light notebook. The base is not plastic.

 

Note that this prohibition is stated neither in the warranty document that comes with the computer nor on the base of the unit (in fact, there's a sticker inside showing how to add RAM), and that Samsung's normal policy is that such upgrades do not violate a notebook warranty.

It comes from some support people, and from a web page on memory upgrades that you're not directed toward, and certainly not required to view.

 

I got it from the memory upgrade web page and have been told that by Support people. The Series 9 is different to other Samsung models.

I think that the most important place is the warranty document and if there is anything on base. I don't have a Series 9 right now, but assuming you're right, I think you have a valid point. I guess "Officially" wasn't the right word. I should should have said there's conflicting info on whether your warranty is voided...

 

Hmm, so the SSD isn't a traditional 2.5" or 1.8" hard drive, eh? Guess I should have expected that given the size of the laptop.

128 GB is enough for me (since I won't be gaming on this thing), but it does worry me if the SSD happens to die (which does happen!) I guess it all depends how fast Samsung's support is.

When you mentioned the power connector being weak construction, do you mean the AC adapter or the power port on the laptop itself? What do you mean by weak construction - it feels like it's going to break at any moment, or the power plug just feels like it's going to fall out?

 

No, the SSD is not standard. Look at #41 here. SamsungParts do sell the 256GB SSD but it costs $570 plus shipping.

Some people have had problems with the power connection on the notebook. The power plug connection is loose and results in the power cord "falling out" out of the notebook while using it. It's supposed to click in and stay -- which mine did just fine for the short time that I had it.

FYI Regarding servicing. Best Buy is an authorized servicer. They don't have replacement parts yet (as far as I know) and you would have to decide if you trusted them to service this notebook...