Official Sony Vaio Fit multi-flip PC Owners' Thread

Hy anybody suffering with the wifi connection?
It keeps changing to limited and drop down and lose connection the router is infront of my room door it s full on my other laptop phone tablet but in sony it s problem :/

 

Could be a loose antenna cable. You could open the bottom and try to re-seat the connections. Unfortunately, I think the antennas are up in the monitor and therefore still not accessible even with the base open so there's no way to check those. I only have a very old b/g/n router (two, actually, to cover my whole house), and I get better signal with my 15" Flip than my iDevices so you should be capable of getting a good signal unless something is screwed up in hardware or software.

 

You may want to change the processor speed in the Advanced Properties of the Power Plan you're using. The battery usage on Haswell chips is very aggressive by default - which is why you can get 6 hours of use out of a 15W chip with only a 40Wh battery (not counting the screen, memory, etc.). Mine regularly runs at 600MHz unless I'm really pushing the processor with work. Also, the spinning HD is a HUGE performance sink. I swapped in an EVO 1TB SSD and the machine is acceptably fast. It is not, generally, as fast as my old desktop on webpage and PDF rendering (i7/920 quad core, 2.6GHz, 24GB RAM), but I suspect if I forced the processor to be a bit more snappy it would keep up.

I haven't noticed this, though normally when I'm using it in my lap it's as a tablet or presentation (watching TV/movies) mode which doesn't have the back stick down. I would think the back feet digging into your legs would be a bigger annoyance.

Most of the shortcomings I've found in the machine are a function of the operating system rather than the machine parts. Having recently shopped for a more basic PC for my mother (who got an Asus Q501LA), and set up the machine so she could use it, many of the weird, buggy things that happen with touch screens and touch pads occur regardless of hardware. Even the Mac trackpads are not perfect - I had problems with one my vocal coach has used for years - her response was (I kid you not), "You're tapping it wrong, you need to tap it differently to work." MS has made some very odd user interface choices, and it seems like nearly every use case runs up against one or more of these, to ill effect.

 

Hi,
This has been a laptop that I've been keeping an eye on ever since it was launched. Recently I've been cross shopping it between the Yoga 2 Pro but after seeing both machines in person I've decided that the Flip is the machine for me. Looking to get it in 14" but have a few questions:
1) The two reviews for the 14" have significantly different values for battery life. Can some current owners chime in on what they are seeing?
2) There seems to be quite a few issues that everyone is having. Anyone know how difficult returning opened laptops is with Sony?
3) I'm presuming that the 500GB HDD is 7" and uses a SATA connector? (Been reading some of the recent posts and I don't think I'm going to change the HDD to a SSD right away anyways, just for futureproofing.)
4) Any must have configs? Planning on 8GB upgrade and possibly the i7 if the promotion is still on when I order.

TIA

 

Hello again to all! Now it's a month since my Flip 15" arrived and I am really happy
for it. I had only one major issue and I rrally use some help from you all. I installed Civilization V (having 60 Gb of space left and 16 Gb memory ram) but after a few the Flip got a system memory alert saying not enough memory usable and got a seem-like old blu screen with the message and then it turn off and restart. I did the memory check but there was nothing wrong. Plus I have been playing other demanding game like Lotro or Swotor, but nothing happened. Ah I forgot to say Civ V was in touch screen mode.
Do you know if there is some known issue with the game itself? Any idea?
Thanks in adavnce for your kind reply


Inviato da mio iPad utilizzando Tapatalk

 

I don t know but that is really annoying
I ve checked the properties of the network adaptor shouldn t it be dual band ? 2.4 and 5 ?
Mine is not dual band ?
Can anyone add wireless adaptor image from device manager plz

 

Welcome to the forum, cyralax

Flip 14 owner myself ; well, it was a gift for our daughter so after setting it up, no more serious Flip time for me sadly. But anyway, I have some perspective and will try to answer your questions as best I can :

1) I can't say because I had it on AC the whole time I played with it and daughter has not been seen since she unwrapped the thing lol. No seriously, I don't have numbers for you on the battery..
2) I haven't had any major issues since the fan noise (high RPM - often) got fixed with a BIOS update. We have heard more about issues with 15 models and also 13s, but that could be because those two models are more popular. The fan, by the way, has a "noisy" design but after the update it turns On less often and doesn't go full RPM all the time like it did before.
We've had quite a few members mention they had returned their Flips and I don't believe any has had problems with Sony.
3) Yes, when you order with a HDD (hybrid or not) you get a regular SATA connector and the drives are always 7mm thick (9.5mm drives don't fit). Swapping drives is relatively easy. When Flips are ordered with SSD, then you can run into M.2 type drives with matching connectors (difficult to upgrade right now).
4) This is more about preference : for me, the extra money Sony is asking for the i7 vs the i5 is not worth the upgrade. The two processors are quite close in performance. Just know that the i7 is a Hyper Threading dual-core ULV processor just like the i5, not a Quad. The difference between the two is a slight increase in clock speed on the i7. If there is a promotion, then yeah go for the i7 (why not).
RAM : mine has just the basic 4GB mostly because Sony wants too much money for the upgrade, here in Canada. $100 to go from 4 to 8GB is ridiculous, so I decided that I would do the upgrade myself. Memory is very expensive right now so I'll wait a bit. Truth be told, 4GB seems quite sufficient for her needs right now, but we'll see. Just remember that the RAM in these Flips is DDR3L (where "L" means low voltage = 1.35V).

HTH

 

Did you upgrade the wifi driver? It can be done via the VAIO updater, but it would not install correctly for me from there and I had to download it from the Sony website, run the UNINSTALL first and then Install for it to "stick" to the later version. I notice it dropped when I resumed from sleep this morning so I disabled the "turn off to save power" (or whatever it was called) in device configurations to see if that helps.

 

I ve deleted it many timees uninstall reinstall the connection is whole the time limited unless i do a repair from vaio care.
I ve even downloaded driver from intel site 16.7 i guess and it s same . Keeps getting limited :/
Also is your vaio not dual band wifi ?!

 

Its not an antenna problem, its a problem with Windows 8.1 and Intel WiFi cards.

Check out these forums: -

Windows 8.1: WiFi dropping and/or "Limited" - Microsoft Community

https://communities.intel.com/thread/31090?start=975&tstart=0

I've managed to keep mine from disconnecting by disabling UPnP on my router.


Martin

 

I have my 15A Win8Pro with Intel wireless card for 3 weeks now. This morning my wireless connection did not work, got "limited connection". Other devices connected to router worked fine. Reset router/PC negative result. Next I read a lot of awful threads about SONY WIFI issues. Was ready to return the PC to SONY (30 days limit), but gave it one chance. I deinstalled and reinstalled the wireless driver. Result positive my connection comes back up and not as limited,

 

About the wireless thing. Just a guess on my part : could it be possible that W8.1 is doing this, as stated by member martinbickley a few posts back ?
Now let's remember that not everybody is getting Intel cards ; some Flip owners have reported getting Broadcom cards too, if I recall correctly.
I had a situation after upgrading to 8.1 where Maintenance Center (Windows) was telling me that 2 Bluetooth drivers were incompatible with 8.1 and needed to be reinstalled (Intel 7260N card). Bluetooth seemed to work fine so I haven't reinstalled anything yet. But that situation tells me that Intel and Microsoft hadn't got their respective acts together before 8.1 came to town, so problems with Wi-Fi after upgrading to 8.1 wouldn't surprise me one bit. If that's the case, all we need to do is : uninstall the drivers we have now and install new ones (or the same ones if no new ones are available).

 

My OS is Win Pro 8 not 8.1 and I believe I'm supposed to be automatically pushed to Win Pro 8.1 but no pop ups yet?
Anyway, those with Broadcom instead of Intel, I read this one which I myself did not verify if this is true but worthwhile to share


Widespread reports of Sony Vaio notebook Wi-Fi issues - TechSpot
Excerpt;

I too bought a Sony Vaio Fit 15 this October and had wifi problems from day one, disconnections, slow speed and low signal as I distanced from the router. I was unfortunate to buy it from a shop that proved unprofessional, dismissed return/credit on the excuse that Sony says will find a driver solution and I got stuck with it. I sent it to Sony, they claimed that the wifi worked. Not.
In the end, I had to pay a professional technician to check what the hell is wrong with the wifi. And he found out that... it is really all Broadcom 43142 fault. It's an old, 11 channel/frequency card. It may be OK for the USA, where routers are mostly 11 channel anyway. But for Europe and many other countries, routers work at 13 channel/frequency and if set on auto and lock on 12 or 13, Broadcom simply cannot connect. And no driver update will ever firmly solve this channel/frequency issue.
The only way for Sony Vaio Fits to work in Europe (or non USA counties) under any wifi router is... an external USB wifi adapter (all sold in the EU are 13 channel ones). As simple as that. Or you have to manually tweak the router at any channel under 11, something one can do only to routers of their own.
Big mess. And Sony is still sweeping it under the carpet

 

Hi tomeli, and thanks for those details

I don't think 8.1 is being pushed as an auto update just yet ; if so, it's pretty recent. You'd need to go to the MS Store and you would see it there. Ok, so it appears it is not 8.1 doing this to Wi-Fi. I have to admit that I got a weird situation going with the Flip here (Intel card) while still on Windows 8, where connectivity went down to limited for a short amount of time and I was less than 10 feet away from the router. It hasn't done anything like that ever since, and since the 8.1 upgrade.

About that anecdote : heck, I wouldn't be surprised if it's true. I am not a wi-fi card or network expert though, and I live in North America so not affected by the 13 channel scenario. I'm sure that if someone sent Sony a picture of a Broadcom card with proof about this 11 channel specification, then they would pull their head out of the sand and offer to install a new/different card. Let's ask other members here that have wi-fi problems outside of North America which card they have and we'll investigate. Strenght in numbers

 

My config looks just like the screen shot you supplied. My router is just 2.4 GHZ (wireless b/g/n). Speeds seem to fluctuate between 54 and 104 - mostly around 65 - (about 20 feet from router down the hall and in the office). I am still on Win 8 given the various posts I see around Win 8.1 and compatibility issues on various forums.

 

Today i received my third flip... and, surprise, again the fan is defect.

It is now the second time in a row, that the fan sometimes simply does not start. You can hear a light clicking when you goe near to the fan. The Problem is, that the flip is overheating. Because it is now already the second flip with the precisely same mistake I cannot simply imagine that I am the only one with the problem. Such a chance there cannot be at all. Has nobody else noted this problem?

Jan

 

LAPTOP BEEPING

I have a Flip 14A, everything is great but it will occassionally beep during use. Not 100% sure but i think it is 5 short beeps. Tried to find info on this based on Insyde Bios, which i believe is installed on the Flip, but can't find anything.

Anyone got any ideas?

 

My flip 13 has almost no fan issues but I noticed that while on battery power the screen brightness fluctuates a lot

Sent from my SM-N900 using Tapatalk

 

Does anyone know when or if Sony might start selling the Flip with all updates and Win 8.1 preloaded?

 

It seems that there may be a plan to release an 11 inch version of the multi-flip next year. See the link below for a reference display model of the Flip 11a by Sony at a trade show.

Sony VAIO Fit 11A multi-flip PC 11.6 pollici con Intel Celeron quad-core - Notebook Italia

Also can anyone confirm if Turbo Boost has indeed been disabled by Sony on the Intel Haswell Flips? This review published today said that Sony has disabled the turbo boost.

Review Sony Vaio Fit 13A SV-F13N1L2E/S Convertible - NotebookCheck.net Reviews

 

Audijan, I bought my vaio flip a few days ago. Same problem the fan would not start, so as a result to prevent over heating, the computer automatically turn off. But after a few minutes turning on / off / on / off... the fan started and eversince i have no problem with it. I'm happy for now, but i'm worried that it might have an effect in the upcoming months.

 

I'm sure the Problem will come back. My noteboook is 24h old and i had the problem now more than 3 times....
I will send it back and buy something else. Now my limit is reached...

 

Hi everyone,

I have the throttling problem with the Sony Vaio Multi Flip 15A. (Graphic card Nvidia Gt 735m)
When I run games like Battlefield 3, Batman Arkham Asylum, Virtua Tennis 4 ..., I can only play smoothly the first 10 minutes, until it suddenly lags and FPS goes much down, which makes the game unplayable.

After much investigation, I have found using GPU-Z, that the GPU throttles despite still "normal" temperature (usually below 70 ° C).
In my case the value of the GPU-clocking drops from ~ 900 MHZ to ~ 400MHZ.

Therefore, I would like to ask if you have the same problem or can help me possibly?

My return period has expired and now I'm really desperate. : smileysad:

 

Did you disable Adaptive Brightness?

 

As an aside, my router is new (an Actiontec unit from my provider - Verizon FIOS). We "upgraded" it because of issues I was having with my VPN connection to work (kept dropping, etc.). We (my wife and I work for the same company) assumed it was an issue with our corporate VPN software on our laptops, but one day I happened to notice the internet connection drop on the router itself - the upgrade solved the issue. Obviously, your VAIO should work fine regardless, but I do wonder if some machines are more sensitive to older equipment, etc.

 

Hi there xuantran

I apologize in advance if this sounds critical, but I have to comment on the general topic of gaming with ultrabooks. If it were me looking for an ultrabook with gaming capabilities, I wouldn't buy a brand new and untested model like a Flip. Ultrabooks are not gaming machines by design, because they are thin and generally less ventilated than bigger/thicker notebooks. They also sport ULV processors and are optimized for low power usage and long battery life. Having said that, I put part of the blame on the manufacturers (Sony in this case) for offering a 2GB dedicated graphics card, which kinda suggests the machine can do gaming like the big boys.

Now about the throttling : you'd have to discuss this with a Flip engineer who ordered the specification, because no regular support staff can help in cases like this. You consider sub 70C temps to be adequate, but they might see things differently.
I opened my Flip 14 and didn't see much in the way of effective cooling design in there...

I remember the Acer Timeline-X fiasco from a few years ago. One of the first cheaper ultrabooks with i5s and i7s + available dedicated graphics (IIRC), also with major throttling issues. Not enough cooling, period.

All I can offer for a suggestion is to contact Sony and try to go higher up the support chain, and then try to get real answers. Who knows...

Good luck !

 

This just about drove me around the bend...there are three places where that gawdawful setting is lurking. I can't even imagine how braindead you would have to be to think that effect was pleasing, much less useful! See this post: http://forum.notebookreview.com/son...ti-flip-pc-owners-thread-101.html#post9494521

 

So it looks like we will be keeping our Flip 15 (wife is settling in to using it, and after heading back to Best Buy to view the Samsung ATIV Book 8 again, I just couldn't give up the Sony's IPS screen for the Sammie's PLS screen). Anyway, that has me moving to setting it up for in-office use where she will flip back and forth via a/b switch box to her docked work laptop. Today, the monitor connections are all DVI and her monitor is DVI or VGA only. I am planning to move her to a widescreen monitor from her 19" Dell Ultrasharp 4:3 display. The VAIO only has an HDMI out of course. My questions:

1. Anyone running an HDMI to DVI converter? If so, any issues?

2. Anyone running through and A/B switch box? Any issues with "waking up", etc?

3. Anyone running 1920X1200 resolution either as HDMI direct or via a HDMI to DVI converter? I am strongly considering the Dell Ultrasharp U2412M monitor with the 16:10 ratio and resolution 1920X1200 resolution (much nicer for working with documents, etc.). I have a cheapie HDMI to DVI converter and it says "supports 480 and 1080p only"...hmmm.

Thanks All and Happy New Year!

 

Hmmm, this does NOT give me hope for resolutions higher than 1920X1080: https://docs.sony.com/release/specs/SVF15N17CXB_mksp.pdf

It indicates the max HDMI resolution is 1920X1080... ...hoping that it is wrong.

 

Running an external monitor on HDMI and, indeed, the max it shows is 1920x1080.

 

Hi guys, just bought the Flip 14A (i5) last week and had few issues with it,

- Fan noise is still too loud during normal operation (web surfing, typing documents), even after all the updates including windows 8.1, and my power setting is set to "Balanced"

- My keyboard is a bit flimsy and the '@' and ' " ' key are switched (when I press shift + 2, ' " ' came out, and vice-versa)

- My hard disk occasionally make a beeping sound (I have the 1TB hybrid model), I assume that it was due to the spinning (is that normal?)

Experts and all, please advise, thank you.

 

cabland, running an external monitor HDMI and 8.1. Have three major scaling choices: 100%; 125%; 150%. "Custom" scaling that goes up to 500%. FWIW

 

Hi there ClessRV

I have a 14A here with the i5 as well. It came with the hybrid 500GB (SSHD) which I replaced with a 480GB SSD. The Flip ran with the hybrid for a few weeks before the drive swap.

Fan noise : I definitely had an issue with noise before the updates. Once I got the BIOS update (before 8.1), the problem disappeared meaning the fan now comes on much less frequently and spins less vigorously (@lower RPM), so the "noise" is hardly noticeable anymore even at full CPU load. We hear it, but it's not a problem for us.
Sounds like yours hasn't responded that well to the BIOS update and I can't explain it...

Keyboard flex is acceptable here. As far as @ and "" go, it could very well be just a config setting.
Mine (Canada French) yields @ with ALT CAR + 2 and " with SHIFT + 2. Check your keyboard language settings to be sure.

I ran the 500GB hybrid for a while before swapping it and never heard a beep out of it. Hard drives aren't supposed to beep. Some clicking is normal, but not beeping ; if there's an explanation I don't know about, someone else will chime in I hope. But this sounds like a problem...

 

Is this a separate setting for the external display vs. the built-in display?

 

Anyone know what the max recognized amount of memory would be for a sd card in the Flip 13? Found a 256gb sdhc card for under a $100 and would like to know if it would see the entire 256 before buying it....

Thanks in advance!
Shane

 

Anyone know what the max recognized amount of memory would be for a sd card in the Flip 13? Found a 256gb sdhc card for under a $100 and would like to know if it would see the entire 256 before buying it....

Thanks in advance!
Shane

 

Welcome to the forum, Shane

That's a tough question. Without your exact model number, I can't check the official Sony specs, but I have found someone who asked the same question relating to a VAIO Pro 13 earlier in 2013, and the answer was : the Pro 13 at that time didn't officially support SDXC cards (the card you're looking at is SDXC, not SDHC by the way), but unofficially supported some 128GB cards (also SDXC).

So I guess you'd need to check with Sony. I have a feeling the Flips can handle some 128GB cards but possibly not 256GB cards. Yet. And if someone else has had success with 128 or 256GB cards, it's possible that only some brands work and not others.

Anyone else with input on this ?

Edit to add question : do you have a link for that $100 card ? I can't find any under $450, so I'm curious.
At that price, you could just buy an external SDXC card reader :
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820208939

 

So I haven't yet upgraded my wife's Flip 15 to Win 8.1 from Win 8.0 and, frankly, I am a bit hesitant. Other than separate screen scaling for an external monitor, I don't see a lot that is compelling. Conversely, I do see a number of complaints on various forums about compatibility issues, driver issues, etc. I'm wondering if it is just a bit too soon. I know some of you are on Win 8.1. Have any of you experienced issues? Any gotchas?

 

Yeah, and I guess we could all still be working in DOS... why take chances? I like 8.1 better than 8. I've had no issues. But if there are any specific games etc, you're concerned about, check their forums.

 

I found it on ebay.... I dont want to spend $1600 on the flip with 256gb ssd...

Heres the link:

256GB SD HC Class 10 Memorycard Photo Camera | eBay

Thanks!
Shane

 

Hi Shane,

Thanks for the link, though eBay US blocks it for me because I'm in Canada. Going with the description in that link, I would be careful with a seller who doesn't know that 256GB cards are SDXC, not SD HC [sic]. Oh well, it could be an honest mistake. Is the buyer > edit : seller "Top rated" ? If not, card could be *hot*...
But anyway, I understand your situation with the pricey SSD upgrade. So you're looking at increasing data storage capacity with a SD card ? I'm no expert on removable media, but I think memory cards and USB sticks alike are very unreliable, ie they have short lives ; I'm not sure it's a safe storage solution other than a temporary one in cameras for instance. An external card reader may not be a solution for your scenario if you just want to increase internal storage capacity.
Another possibility : wait for prices on 512GB M.2 SSDs to come down and get one in a year or so ?

 

Thanks for the reply Mark, yes, it was not a beep (my bad), it was clicking, and I'd read somewhere that it is due to the "HDD Protection" function implemented in most of the new vaio laptops, maybe someone confirm this?

As for the fan and the keyboard, I have yet to find any solutions, I'd disabled most of the services in windows base on the guide I'd found, and the fan is still not at a satisfying level.

 

I turned off the HDD protection but had the beep thing last night, so that doesn't solve it.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

 

May I know the location of the setting mentioned? I can't seem to find it under "PC Settings"

Thank you.

 

Don't waste your money. It's a fake. See here: ADATA SDHC 128GB CARD
http://www.adata-group.com/?action=product_feature&piid=30&cid=7

Max capacity of an SD HC is 32 GB.

 

Wow.. Thanks CJO. It all makes sense now. I knew $100 was too good to be true, and too bad I couldn't see that eBay page.

Note : in my previous post I wrote "buyer" but meant "seller" of course. Oops, I'll edit my post for that.

 

Hi again Scrannel,

Please explain to me what is important this recovery partition? I also downloaded and installed win 8.1 yesterday..it was win 8 when I create recovery usb.. what can happen when I use recovery stick in the future If I didnt install this ' recovery partition' ?

How can except this recovery partition while I am making a recovery on a usb..?

and next question: where can I find this unchecked when I create recovery usb ?