Sony Vaio Duo 13 Owners Thread

\Just go this laptop today, Working great so far, only one thing;

I noticed that the keyboard in tablet mode is a bit finicky. It seems to automatically pop up only when using the touch-IE explorer, not the regular one. I also tested it on MS Word, and the keyboard doesn't pop up automatically. Also, when using the touch browser, the keyboard doesn't pop up in the Facebook site when trying to use the search bar. Maybe it's just a setting I'm missing?

 

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I have a very odd problem. When I am typing acronyms in all caps, I just hold the shift key with my left hand down and type the 3 letters and then immediately press the space bar with my right thumb. Apparently when I do this, I often don't pick my finger off the shift key fast enough and still have it pressed when I hit the space bar. The problem is that on the Doou 13, when you do this, the space bar doesn't register so I type my acronym and the next word together. I've never seen this issue. I've tested it on other PCs (pressing space while holding the shift key down) and it works fine (I get a space as intended) - even on my Sony Z (the one I replaced with my Duo 13).

Anybody have a clue how to fix this?

 

Hi, may I know your Saudi SIM can work on your Duo13 bought from where? Thanks.

 

I think the problem is if you are not right next to the WIFI router you end up having an extremely weak signal. Right now I barely have 1 bar while other 3 laptops I have all register 4 bars. It is starting to become excruciating to use the Duo 13 with WIFI connectivity being so bad. Based on the SONY online forums many other people are having the same issue.

I wonder when they are going to fix this... I might have to return this within the 30 day window if this is not fixed soon

 

My limited edition red duo 13 bought in the US.

 

And u didn't have to do anything extra for your SIM to work? As in just plug in the SIM and it works? Thx.

 

Just had to insert sim, did nothing else, worked fine.

 

How is your WIFI? My connection is now down to 115 kbS (!!!) sometimes and it is surprising with so many people complaining about WIFI problems on the Sony forums that they have not yet fixed this. I am worried it might be a hardware issue and I might be stuck with a non functioning computer so I may have to return the Duo if the WIFI issue is not fixed...

Unless I am right next to the router my connection speed is awful.

 

Thanks bro

 

Can you post photos of your Red? Is it nice overall?

EDIT: I just saw that one photo you posted. Very nice.

 

Hi guys, I'm from singapore and wanting to buy the duo13 from Sony US Online Store. So was wondering does the set comes with international warranty that i could use it on Singapore Sony service centre?

 

Hi everyone.
I have ordered a sony duo 13 but am worried about the wifi issues.

Have they been resolved?

Tried Sony support but not very much help.

 

I ordered a Duo 13 as well, took a chance on the WIFI. I don't think it's been resolved yet so you're rolling your dice. I'm betting on the fact that I'll be using the computer very close to the router, at least this way, even with decreased range, I will still get decent speeds.

 

I too took the plunge for a Duo 13 assuming they will fix it but it has not yet been fixed. SONY's delay in fixing this is costing them sales.

The WIFI issue is ingoing. People are are close to a router seem not that affected but this is a tablet and you should be able to use it beyond whispering range of the router.

I love the Duo 13 so far and the only outstanding issue is the WIFI range... When I'm close to the router I have 5 bars. Step a few feet away and it is 1 or 2 bars... They need to fix this.

VAIO - Hardware & Networking - Sony Community

 

I'd wait for the refresh. It should be coming soon. You can tell it's arriving soon when Sony starts offering these rebates and freebies like they're doing now. Usually, a refresh of the model occurs every 4 months.

 

When are you getting it? I was thinking of getting the exact same setup but its estimated shipping time is the 11th of september which is a full 2 weeks after I leave for uni :c

 

Copy down the USA model number and call/email Sony Singapore to enquire

 

I just received my duo 13 today.
I used an SD card to transfer some files from my old computer and it worked fine. Then when I ejected the SD card a little piece of plastic broke off of the card and is now stuck inside the slot on the back of my computer. I am going to take it back to the store tomorrow to hopefully get fixed but has anyone else experienced this? I can't believe something already broke after only a few hours of use. I love the laptop otherwise. Hopefully this is just a one-time thing. :/

 

Oh my gawd... Good luck pal!

 

I am considering a duo for the extra screen space, form factor, and additional specs. I currently have a surface pro and love it. To my point. Many sp users are having this wifi issue as well and 2 things which help until software issues are fixed are the following. not sure if you have this option or not in the duo but in device mgr, find the wifi controller or what ever it is called and under properties disable selective suspend. This got rid of my limited connection issues. Than to increase the power i purchased this which works great. Mainly use it when on the other side of my house in my office, with the sp hooked up to ext monitors. Amazon.com: Amped Wireless High Power Wi-Fi Adapter for Windows 8 (TAN1): Computers & Accessories but it works as advertised on win 8

 

Posted about this earlier without response. But do you guys also notice that the onscreen keyboard in tablet mode is finicky? It seems to only pop-up when clicking in text boxes in the touch version of Internet Explorer, and even then some text boxes won't prompt the keyboard to pop up. Example, when in Facebook, try typing in the search box, the keyboard doesn't pop up. It's a bit inconsistent.

 

I am pretty sure that is standard in win 8. While on desktop you need to access keyboard with the keyboard button on the taskbar.

 

I think he's talking about tablet mode.

 

Yes i under stand, in tablet mode in desktop progs you need to access the keybd with button on task bar for most things. If in metro ie and you are in a forum or website and kb popsup then disappears, than you need to adj settings for sd forum.

 

Thanks for the replies.

It just seems tedious that we'd need to manually open the keyboard in desktop. When in tablet mode, all inputs should prompt the keyboard to pop up - I guess this is a design decision made by Microsoft.

Tony, may I ask what you mean by adjusting the settings for sd forum?

 

I dont know the specific reasons there are issues in certain forums but for instance in metro ie for this forum i had to go to settings , than general setting, than switch from enhanced editor to basic editor to keep the keyboard from disappearing. Other sites have there own settings.

 

$1769 configged on Sony USA site...buy now? Or is there any chance of price drop/hadware refresh in the near future?

 

I doubt there will be a refresh this soon. Didn't it just come out about 2 months ago? If they find the WIFI is a hardware issue, they may do a refresh. Will probably need to recall ones already out there.

I ordered mine on the 13th. It said estimated shipping on the 27th. It still says the 27th if you configure it today. I'm guessing the 27th is when the next batch of Duo 13s arriving from factory.

 

UPDATE...I for got to mention that these issues were corrected in 8.1. as on my Surface RT i have 8.1 and i dont need to change the editor. But on my SP which is still 8.0 i do need to change it to keep the keyboard from going down while in most forums.

 

when you say a refresh do you mean an updated version or new model.

would i get an updated model now or just the same model that people are having probs with

Thank you for replying

pasq05

 

There is no such option on my duo13 is yours in the advanced tab?

 

Don't be silly, the duo 13 has only been out for 2 months why would Sony refresh so soon? Remember The duo 11 been out for 10 months without a refresh! Don't know were you get this 4 months from.

 

received mine today
Everything is fine except the wifi connection
It's horrible, the connection lose randomly when I was at my school.
Sigh, I guess I will probably return it.

 

yes on my surface pro, dev mgr, network adaptor, marvel avastar 350n, props, adavnced, selective suspend- set to disable. Perhaps the duo network controller diff or haswell has some barring on what is listed there???

That will get rid of the limited connection errors for some, including me, but for more bars on your wifi. Mine is always on 5bars even if i walk outside by the pool when i use that adaptor i linked in the earlier post. Not the ideal solution as sony or ms should fix it but it does work great.

 

Can you pull the model # of the WAN modem from Device Manager or it's control application?
Still trying to figure out if the AT&T locked version can be unlocked as per my post below:

 

For people whose battery runs out fast, I have found a major drainage: live tiles on the metro interface. Turning all the unnecessary live tiles off improves the battery life substaintially, at least in my case.

I also a question for you experts: which of the built in vaio applications are actually useful? On a 120GB machine, I desperately need more space... So please enlighten me, among the following ones, which ones I should keep?

For example, I have no idea what the uses of realtek card reader are. I don't think it is the driver for the sd card reader. I have checked in the device manager, the corresponding driver bears a different name (Microsoft something)... For those vaio softwares, I have even less idea. So please share with me what you know about them... Thanks a lot!

 

I would like to know too. I have already removed a bunch of applications installed by Sony that I do not need.

I would love to know what the following programs do so I can remove them:

+ Vaio Media Server Settings
+ Vaio Improvement
+ Vaio image optimizer

 

Thought I'd give a one week ownership/usage update since I finally had some useful time with the Duo 13.

As a recap, I have the Duo 13 with 8GB RAM, i7-4650 and 128GB SSD.

WiFi: The strength continues to be lower than other devices but still usable for my situation. I am not very far (within 30 feer) from the wifi routers that I use and seldom have more than one wall/door of interference. Even on a lower signal I am able to get good enough speeds that I don't notice the lower signal strength. I cannot comment on wifi reception beyond this range or with more interference.

Keyboard: The keyboard took some time to get used to. I initially had issues with typos and was occasionally hitting the touchpad accidentally. Since those first miscues I have adapted to the keyboard and find typing on it more than adequate. I did not have any luck with the accidental touchpad hits so ended up just disabling the touchpad via the device manager. Unlike other Sony Vaio laptops I did not find a way to do this in the Vaio Control Center. With the screen so much closer to my fingers than a traditional laptop I found it just as easy if not simpler to use the touchscreen (via finger or pen) instead of the touchpad anyways. I have not used the touchpad since and never thought of turning it back on.

Keyboard Backlighting: It is uneven as everyone has stated and pics have shown. The lower left and lower right are dimmer. Some keys are brighter than others. That said, it has been no big deal to me. Would it be better if it were even like the Vaio Pro? Yes. But it hasn't hindered my ability to use it in low light conditions at all.

SD Card Reader: The card reads various formats but does not appear to have the ability to read UHS-1 cards at high data rates. I tested a SanDisk Ultra SDHC Class 10 32GB SD card which is rated at up to 30 MB/s read and up to 10 MB/s write. Using the sequencial test on CrystalDiskMark 3.0.2 for 64-bit Windows 8 it exceeded it's stated read speed and got 43 MB/s while the write was 10 MB/s. I then tested a Samsung Pro SDXC UHS-1 64GB SD card which is rated at up to 80 MB/s read and up to 40 MB/s write. Using the same test it was only able to read at 27 MB/s and write at 24 MB/s. Definitely not close to it's claims so I tried it on my desktop to compare. The Samsung was able to get 72 MB/s read and 42 MB/s write. I concluded that it is a limitation of some kind on the Vaio Duo 13's card reader. Can someone do some tests on their unit for comparison?

Volume Control: They are simply in a bad place. I've been using it in tablet mode while lying in bed with it on my stomach and the volume controls are inconvenient to get to. Wish they were on the on the sides.

Ergonomics: The overall weight makes the Duo 13 easy to carry and tote around from day to day. In tablet mode I definitely felt the added weight while lying in bed with it on my chest. I felt it less so with it on my stomach. This is in comparison to how I used my iPad in the same situations.

Web Cam: It is almost completely useless in laptop mode. The angle in which you'd have to be to get your face in view means you are standing over it and not sitting in front of it. Tilting the back of the unit up would help but this all results in awkward solutions. You're going to quickly realize you won't be using the webcam in laptop mode at all. Resort to using it in tablet mode only.

Screen Protector: I am still glad that I got this factory installed. It doesn't seem to pick up fingerprints as easily as glass only screens do which is a big plus.

Still quite satisfied with it. It is expensive and while I wouldn't say it is a good value I will say it is a good piece of hardware. I am still glad that I bought it.

 

Pardon my ignorance, but what are "live tiles" and how can be turned off?
Thank you for the advice.
Fabio

 

Many of you have been waiting for this information.

This is the official Sony statement for Sony Centers and Sony dealers.

##############################
Hi all,

Over the past 2 weeks, we worked closely with Japan on the VAIO Pro issues. With this effort, Japan has committed to releasing a BIOS update for fan noise and a driver to resolve WiFi issue by next week.

We prepared the following statement you may use with your dealers:
“The Sony VAIO Pro Ultrabook, which was launched in June 2013, is designed for optimal performance with the highest level of safety standard. To this end, some users may find the sound generated by the fan more audible than expected. To remedy this, Sony will release a software update which optimises power management when VAIO Pro is operating in silent mode. In certain environments we also found some customers encountered WiFi connection problems which we will release a driver update to resolve. Sony is committed to providing quality products with the highest level of support to our customers. We recognize the inconvenience caused to those customers and worked diligently to identify solutions based on the feedback received. Both updates will be available via VAIO update within the next week.”

With this said, we ask that you continue to hold the VAIO Pro press samples until next Friday. At that point, we would have validated the fixes and will these provide instructions to release this hold.

As for Duo 13, we unfortunately do not have any news to share with the dealers. Please continue to hold your Duo 13 press samples until further notice.


Found this on the Sony's own forum, but thought of copying this information to here as well, just in case they remove it from the official sony forum as this is an internal memo.

 

In the metro interface, you right click on, for example, the weather app. In the menu that is brought up, you can see an option to disable live tile. You can do this for many other metro apps.

These live tiles goes online from time to time in order to update the information. This drains quite a bit of the battery power. So it is easy to understand why disabling them helps conserve energy.

 

Thank you
Fabio

 

weird, I went to the Sony store the other day with my Zenbook to compare the wifi. both the Duo 13 and the Zenbook connected to a Apple store's wifi signal. The Zenbook got three bars and the Duo 13 got 2 bars and windows showed the connection was faster on the zenbook however when i went to speedtest.net and chose the same server for both, the Duo 13 was as much as 5 times faster than my Zenbook and 20% faster than the Duo 11 and some of the other Sony laptops like the T and the E.

 

Double post. Please delete.

 

Sorry for the double post. I quoted the wrong posts. Please delete the first one! Thanks!

I think I figured it out. Go to control panel> Intel HD Graphics> Power and disable "Display Power Saving Technology"

I would notice the same thing happen randomly and also when going between my dark blue themed metro screen and then to a bright white background in desktop. I didn't know if something was wrong either and it was also very annoying. Hope this solves your problem!

 

Hi - I have searched this thread but can not find an answer to this question:

If you use a USB dongle wifi card does the wifi work perfectly then or is there still issues??

Has anyone tried this or does anyone have any info on this at all?

 

that's why I removed virtually all the stupid live tiles from my Duo 13. I then installed Start8 to get my Start menu back in Windows 8 and then installed ModernMix to have all Windows 8 modern UI applications open in its own window in desktop mode. I can now multitask modern UI and standard desktop applications in desktop mode without having all the modern UI apps take up the entire freaking screen.

I am still looking for a way to get back the Window 7 Tablet Input Panel...

 

Could anyone recommend a case

 

I lost my digitizer today. Anyone know where I can buy a new one? Tried the Sony Store in Vegas, the website, and eBay. Can't find anything.

I got the Samsonite Aramon NXT 13 Inch Macbook Shuttle. Fits perfectly.