Official Sony Vaio Fit multi-flip PC Owners' Thread

@johnpaul21 : thanks for that tip. I will definitely try it when I get the Flip. I had a feeling that a power setting was involved with the touchscreen issues, after reading all the complaints here. If that fixes it, a lot of people will be happy

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@Mephistopheles : I just did some searching and yes, those are the *correct* prices for both models (specced as they are). BestBuy and FutureShop (same parent company) have had deals lately on the VAIO FITs (non Flip), but the Flips are new there and seeing how high demand is, I don't know if they will offer deals on them. They get them in batches so it's impossible to know when they will run out.

If you like one of those, I'd say pull the trigger now.
>> The 15 has a large hybrid drive (1TB) + 8 GB RAM + nVidia 1GB graphics with 1980x1200 res. Core i5 (enough for most).
>> The 14 has the smaller 500 GB hybrid drive, full 8 GB RAM and the Core i5.

No idea when they'll be back on the Sony store. At least you won't have to worry about when you get it if you go to BestBuy

Edit to add : Ooops, just noticed that BestBuy says the Fits can be pre-ordered and *should* be available by Dec. 6
One option you have right now : call Sony and see if you can order by phone.
Funny how BestBuy (and FutureShop) haven't included the word "Flip" in the descriptions. Nowhere to be found. That's a big mistake on their part because people looking won't know what these really are. The model numbers are correct (for Flips).

Call Sony...

 

Hi, I can't seem to get the sd card reader to recognise an sd card. They work fine in my other sony laptop. Anyone having this issue or know how to fix it? Thanks

 

Ignore me. Just needed a reset and now it has appeared.

 

So uh, anybody knows why my brightness control doesn't work? I have to restart the system every time, otherwise I can't change the brightness. Anybody else have this problem?

 

Went to the Sony store today, they said they'll be getting some units next week.
Also, can anybody here who owns this laptop comment on this post:

Are those points true?

 

NO! I don't know what the author of the post was smoking before he wrote.
None of them are true. I'm more than happy with the 13A. Very well built machine and Win 8.1 works well too.

Chris

 

Hi guys,
I am considering buying Vlip 14 with i5, 8GB, but then with 500GB HDD. Is this 500GB a hybrid? so far I can't find confirmation anywhere.
Also, could the owners of 500GB HDD and 256GB SSD share their experience, I am still hesitant about these two, but $400 is a pretty big difference. Which raises a question - is it possible to upgrade HDD with SSD later?

 

Yes same problem... it happens after each standby.
Another problem after resume is the size of the metro parts : at a fresh start it's big and after a standby/resume it's small

I've upgraded to win8.1

 

Yep that's exactly what's happening. Also any changes to the touchpad settings reset after a restart.

 

The 15A definitely has hybrid HDD, 8gb for the 500 GB and 16 GB for the 750 GB and 1 TB versions. Yes the HDD is removable according to someone earlier in the thread who took his apart to upgrade.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

 

My 15A with specs:
Intel® CoreTM i5-4200U 1.6 GHz
Windows 8 Pro
256 GB SATA Flash SSD
12 GB 1600 MT/s DDR3L-SDRAM
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 735M 2 GB
39.5cm LED, 1920x1080
Is now showing as shipping having ordered on the 8th of October, how long did it take for others from this point to actually getting their laptop?

 

Now I'm confused. Looking at the US Sony store now and it seems as though the 500GB HDD is not a hybrid. I'm almost certain they had a hybrid of that size at some point, with 8GB of flash memory as pointed out by another member. Now I can't find it.
I've ordered a 14A with the 500GB HDD, but I will be replacing it with a SSD (hoping to get a 500GB drive on Black Friday for $300 or so). According to one member here, the HDD is rather easily accessible. Drive cannot be thicker than 7mm, so not a problem for SSDs. The challenge lies with getting your system onto the new SSD.

I'll post an update when I get the 14A and have had a look inside.

 

Does anyone know if the Flip 15 with 8 gigs of ram and the 2 gig Nvidia card will play games like WoW or Guild Wars 2 at medium settings on a lower screen resolution?

 

Hello everyone

Sorry if I'm repeating questions. After reading a lot of post I'm still indecisive and confuse so I need some straight answers.

Has anyone else done the optimizations and BIOS updates for the flip 14 and 15, and has gotten good results regarding the fan?

Even if the fan is quite now, do the BIOS updates also stop the fan erratic behavior; does it still run for long periods of time even with the machine at low temperatures?

I think I would like to go with the flip 14 or 15.

At my local BB they didn’t have the 15 on display, does it feel much heavier then the flip 14?

I wont be walking around that much with it, I'll just be moving it from room to room withing the same building, and using it in my lap quite often.

Let say I want to use the computer in my lap for 2 to 3 hours, doing some surfing, watching a video, M Office work, that kind of thing, nothing power hungry, would the flip get too warm or hot to the point that it would be uncomfortable to have it in my lap?

Thanks in advance for your responses.

 

Hey Guys.
Anybody that owns a flip care to comment on what it is said about the flip's screen panel here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/ideapad-essential/735166-yoga-2-pro-owners-thread-142.html
Very curious to see what others have to say.

 

I wouldn't bother commenting over there. In my experience, going into another thread and trying to reason with folks about an issue when they are dead set on their views will end up being a flame war or worse get the posters in trouble or banned. Besides that is the Yoga Owners thread, If they feel that the Flip is built bad then that is their opinion. Noone is going to change that. I don't think we would take kindly to having Yoga owners coming in here and posting how well that device is and ours is not, we in turn shouldn't do the same.
But that's my opinion, you guys do what you feel is right.

Personally, i think the Flip is very well designed and have made my opinion well known in numerous threads not only here but in other threads and forums as well.
True its not the perfect device, nothing is, but it sure damn comes close (at least for me).

TS

 

OK, let's be fair.

1) Build quality is a mess.
Beg your pardon? What would you have any manufacturer build from little more than 1 kg of aluminum? But I'll get back to that. It's one of the most gorgeous devices I've ever seen and people around me are telling me the same.
2) Screen has horrible light bleed at the bottom.
Has quite a bit, I'll admit but there's been only a couple of situations when I noticed it.
3) Keys are positively flimsy.
No, not positively. They're the thinnest aluminum keys I've ever seen, any they type amazing. I'm faster on this bad boy than on any of the other 5 keyboards I work on, notebooks and full fedged gaming keyboards included. I could justify calling it flimsy, but IMO that term is undergoing semantic change with ultrabook keyboards and the like.
4) Very limited screen angle in laptop mode.
Just not true. I've laid my head on a pillow next to the thing just to prove this guy wrong.
5) Flip hing is stiff and difficult to use.
Hahhaaaaahhaaaahhhaaaaahhahahahahaaaaaa! That's plain jealousy! Shame on you! The flip mechanism is awesome, I haven't been able to make it sweat even. The whole system will be obsolete before that thing budges. Sorry to diasappoint. ]
6) Screen deforms when writing with the pen - a little scary.
That's just cr@p. Were they playing on a 20 year old LCD? This has GLASS on it, I dare you to bend it.
7) You could slice cheese with the edge of the thing - it is that sharp.
Tried it, but neither Cheddar nor the Swiss variety works. Seriously. Who believes this BS? I can imagine someone with really soft flabby thighs getting a print from the edges. But no more. (BTW, I've always hated any sort of roundness in a gadget, that's why I never got the XPS12. It's 2013, round edges are dead ugly.)
8) $200 more than comparable Y2P.
And I gladly pay that much not to have the keyboard on my thighs while in tablet mode. Or, god forbid, having it dragged over a dusty desk as I'm showing someone something -- I know I'd just scream and get fired, so the $200 are just so worth it.

Now I'll go and slice some cheese with my Flip, maybe if I turn the hinge fast enough it'll do a hundred slices per sec.

 

There have been a few posts on here about cases for the Flip and how to store the pen. My view is that most of the time a rucksack is the best option. There aren't going to be many times when I need to carry this machine with me when I won't have some other things to carry too. So I have the following rucksack. Really does the job well. The shoulder straps are the best I've ever had - about the only rucksack I've ever had where I can wear it on one shoulder without it slipping off. It has a dedicated area for the laptop. There are places to slip in your pens - including the Sony one - as well as places to store any additional bits and pieces you need to take with you. As I have the 13A, it's bigger than it need be for my use at one level, but I'd rather have the flexibility for using it for other times also. i-stay black 15.6 laptop backpack is0105. Best school rucksack. Cool stylish Men's backpack. Great travel rucksack. Comes complete with i-stay non slip straps. Healthy backpack - commended by the college of chiropractors.: Amazon.co.uk: Computers

Having said all that, if there was a good, thin case to go around the machine, which also provides a small stand when in tablet mode, I would probably consider getting one for those other times when I do only plan to carry this machine (or to give it even more protection in my rucksack). But I've not see anything for this size of laptop - they tend to do this feature up to 10 inches from what I can find.

I'm still transporting the adaptor around with me at the moment (i.e. between home & office) - though in reality I think the battery would just about cope with a full day in the office. Still planning on using my Sony discount voucher to get an extra adaptor - but they're not available for order at the moment... hope it will be before the voucher expires!

CPH

 

I have the sleeve I wrote about here. I can't be carrying around another bag for the sake of a notebook, that's one of the reason I went with the 13A. I need to be able to put it into whatever bag I'm keeping my A4 folders in. (I teach at uni and all these professors running around with notebook bags just reminds me how obsolete this technology is. I try to avoid notebook bags the way I avoid elbow patches )

 

Thank you TS. I agree with you. But just to clarify, I was not asking people to post a comment on that thread, but rather posting a comment regarding the Flip's screen on this thread so I can get a different perspective from people that owns the Flip.

Thanks again for all your post. Very helpful:thumbsup:

 

Hi everybody,

I got my Vaio last weekend and I have to say that I'm not happy with it. When I start my Vaio it feels like someone has remote access to my machine, even if I'm not connected to the web. It performs mouse clicks and touch gestures on its own.

I already tried a recovery and a fresh install, nothing helped... I would sent it back and order a new one, but at the moment you can't order a new Vaio Fit multi-flip in Germany.

Can someone help me?

Thank you in advance

 

Dear Flip owners,

I plan to buy 2 units of this laptop, but in different sizes.

Some rose the question about the power adaptor not being compatible between the 13A and the 14/15A models. The pictures of the sockets that I have seen on the internet seem to confirm that, but I could not conclude at 100% that it's not the same plug only from those visuals.

Maybe some of you were able to check that within BestBuy stores ?

Thank you very much in advance.
Laurent

 

Hello viktor_f and everybody

I got my Vaio last Tuesday and I'm have the same problems. It also performs mouse clicks and touch gestures on its own. I tried to solve the problem by a recovery/use the assist button/install the drivers again/... but nothing helped. I contact Sony and they advise me to send back my Vaio for reparation (in Germany). Normally that will take five days. When the problem isn't solve after reparation, I have the possibility to retour my laptop.

The strange thing is that my brother ordered the same Vaio on the same day and his Vaio has exactly the same problem! I guess it's probably a manufacturing defect. I think it's best to contact Sony

 

So there was a performance patch available in VAIO Update. Installed it but nothing changed I guess. Install took only a couple of seconds including reboot.

 

There is a slight dimming of the screen when you go from dead straight to a slight tilt. Some say it is due to the layer, that makes it sensitive to the N-Trig pen. The dimming does not go further though when the viewing angle changes forther. In fact, the overall screen quality is good to very good.

The 13A was back for sale on the Dutch Sony webstie and disappeared again. It was there long enough for me to see, that there is no option there for a 'Fresh start'. So I missed nothing, just got a load of crap for free.

 

Sorry is this has been covered before, but how far back can you push the screen? I'm use to a 3 year old laptop, with a screen with no great viewing angles, but it can be push back 30 degrees, so I manage.

 

See AC-Adapters | VAIO accessories | Sony - I think that confirms that the 13A is different to the others - or at least it did, the wording doesn't look so clear now.

 

Hi,

thank you for your replay. I already talked to 5 people of the Sony Customer Support in Germany. They told me that it was the first time they heard about this problem. I'm not sure that they can repair it, it looks like it is an issue with some drivers. But I'm not sure. Did you send your Vaio back?

Maybe you can contact me if you get your notebook back?

 

I talked to a lot of people of the Sony Customer Support in Belgium. They also told me that it was the first time they heard about this problem. I tried to re-install the drivers, but it doesn't fix the problem (maybe it's the hardware inside).

Sony Customer Support advise me reparation and they send my Vaio to a repair centre in Germany. So I follow their advise and send my Vaio back. Normally, they let me know something at least Friday or next Monday. If they can't fix it, they should call me and discuss what options I have. They I will contact you (hopely with good news)

 

thank you ;-)

 

Can anybody tell me if in addition to the fan noise, the BIOS updates also stop the fan erratic behavior?

does the fan still run for long periods of time for no apparent reason even with the machine is at low temperatures, or that is fixed by the BIOS too?

On this video review they say the fan runs all the time: Sony Vaio Flip 13 Review - Convertible Laptop Reviews by MobileTechReview

Answers would be really appreciated.

 

Hi all,

I just called sony support again as production as been delayed for me again.
I ordered a FLIP15" custom with 2880x1620 screen.
I think that nobody received this model with this specific conf yet .
What the support also specified is that this unit will be sent from Japan and not china ...
Just wondering if anybody with similar sepcs have the same info ?!

That could explain the very long waiting period for this configuration ...beeing not the same production site.

 

So guys, got my 14A, i5, 256 ssd today. And tomorrow I'm sending it back. The device is amazing, but the fan is like a f... jet plane! I'm used to having noisy computers, but this beats everything I have ever heard before. It makes even more noise than the hp I had 15 years ago.
Sony really needs to get their act together. Don't buy this machine, don't buy Sony ever again. Sublime design, worst execution ever.
Don't go that road people. Buy something else! And to those who already ordered, cancel! While you can! That's my advice. You're welcome to challenge it, you'll regret it. I promised.
Sony has genius designers, but terrible, terriblest engineers.

 

Sorry to hear that, eadred.

Have you tried what many others have suggested in this thread, about how to reduce the fan noise ? I would think you have seen these (many) posts. But who knows, maybe some machines have been badly put together on the assembly line, resulting in fan blades coming in contact with the chassis or whatever.

I can't wait to get my 14A, honestly.

 

Hi
I ordered the same custom 15 inch flip with 2880x1620 screen resolution (i7, 16 gb ram, 2 gb nvidia) and it was delayed too. So I called the US Sony customer service. They said that these models will be ship on 5th of December to customers. I hope it will be, because I placed the order over one month ago and I am really disappointment for this long time waiting.

 

I'm in the same boat, also ordered the 2880x1620 model, and now I'm pretty sure it'll be delayed again. But it seems someone at the Sony forums actually recieved this model already:

Re: The Sony Vaio Flip and its noisy fan - Page 20 - Sony's Community Site

 

The escalation manager said Japan to me as well but since all the others said China I just assumed it was a mistake.

Keenlem, tbh every time I ring up they tell me its scheduled to leave the factory on a certain date and then I get another delay email before that date. They know **** all. What I am annoyed about is that I can apparently customise the same one in the US store and it shows a shipping date of the 12th Dec.
Might see if I can do out some letter to the shareholders maybe. Or just a letter to anyone since emailing is pointless.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

 

I'm so sorry to hear that. Many have been complaining about fan noise, while some have (completely?) solved the issue or never had it in the first place. Having always lived in a city of 10 million, and having been trained as a teacher I can't hear noise anymore. Seriously. So all these arguments are lost on me and thus my Flip is the most amazing machine I've ever handled or could dream of. (That said, if I listen, I can hear mine, it's really similar to those notebook cooler pads I used to put fan crippled notebooks on to keep them ventilated.)

And that just shows me that while the fan issue might wreck the whole thing and ruin it for a whole bunch of customers, if they fix it the flip will be as perfect as a hybrid can be. Which means that if I were in a position to make that hard decision now, I'd wait for my order to arrive and decide then, or, those who haven't pulled the trigger yet could wait for the next batch, which might have these issues solved out of the box.

As I said before, I could only wait another couple of months before buying something (preferably a hybrid) for the next 5 years or so. And the other hybrids out there have flaws I simply cannot tolerate. In this light, I'm perfectly happy with my purchase.

 

The 14a already got a BIOS update to address this problem, right? Did you install it?
Additionally I'd read some posts here - removing McAfee helped to calm down the fan for a lot of users (but not to completly solve it).

I'll keep my 13a since I am pretty sure there will be a BIOS update soon.

 

I believe the 14 and 15 power connectors are the same size. But the 13 is smaller for sure. I played with all three at Best Buy.

 

There is a BIOS update. I did install it. But we have two 14" flips and neither has a fan noise problem. They are both pretty quiet. If the fan does come on at higher RPMs it still is just a normal fan noise, nothing raspy or obnoxious at all.

 

I have a 14" and can run GRID 2 at 60fps with medium to high settings and it runs pretty well. It's not a gaming desktop but I'm surprised at how well the Intel 4400 can handle that game. I don't know how that compares to WoW or Guild Wars though. GRID 2 has some pretty good graphics. I ran it at 1024 x 768 resolution.

 

Closing the lid puts my Vaio 13a under Sleep mode in Win8 (Suspend to RAM I guess, dunno how Windows guys call this since they do not use the normal terms "Suspend" or "Hibernate" from what I've seen).

But now the problem: The Vaio wakes up erratically though the lid remains closed and I do not touch it.
Suddenly the green LED on the bottom "awakes" and seconds later I can also hear the fan.

This is an absolutely undesired and useless behaviour - does anyone else experience the same problem?
Is it related to a Sony driver or is it a Win8 bug? I do NOT have this problem under Linux btw.

Thanks for sharing ...

 

Sounds like the issue that was covered in an earlier post. It's to do with Intel Smart Connect. You can adjust the settings to stop it from waking up from time to time.

 

Hi, I had the same problem. There was a Sony update this morning (VAIO 13A), and on reboot I disabled some of the touchpads extra features like the tap/click. I dont know if it is the update or the changes I made in the pointing device parameters, but the problem is gone.

Best luck

 

Hi,
the same issue here. Ordered a 15" fit multi-flip on the 9th of october and delivery has been postponed 3 times since. The most recent message indicated delivery somewhere between 30//11 and 5/12 which doesn't sound promising at all.
Sony support is left clueless as well and is unable to give a more accurate and binding delivery date.

I don't mind waiting but I wouldn't have ordered if I had known in advance...

 

Thank you - solved it !

 

In Germany the flip can be ordered in 13 and 14 Inch since today.

I ordered a new Fit 13A and the delivery-date is 10-11.december. Hope that this ist true

 

It looks that even if the fan is quite, the other problem with the fan is that it works even if the computer temperature is low. And it looks that this remains unresolved.

Does anybody know if the fun running all the time or for long periods of time, would significantly reduce the battery life of the Flip?

 

An update from Sony today? Where did you find that - there is nothing if I go via the Vaio Update app.