Dell Laptop Lemon?

[billy backstay]

My two year old laptop that was a delight in the beginning has become a lemon! It's been back to Dell twice in a year and a half for the charger not connecting to the laptops input socket for it's jack. First time was covered by warranty which in hindsight I should have extended. Now it's back with Dell, and they could not fix the jack charging issue so want to install a new motherboard for $187.00. This was an $800.00 machine new, and I am informed by my local computer shop that there is no lemon law for laptops, and I have to either pay big bucks to repair it or dispose of it and get a new computer. Thinking it's time to go Apple with a MacBook, but they don't offer ten-key pads for accounting figure inputs, except as and add-on accessory.

Anyone else had a problem with Dell? I thought a company with such a seeming good reputation would stand behind their products, but that's not the case. I need to find a teenager to create a Tik-Tok viral video similar to the "airline broke my guitar" a few years back! Perhaps then, I might get some satisfaction from Dell......

 

[NeedAClew]

I hated my Dell. It had Dell features that were annoying and interfered with setting up printers. Finally screen died and I dumped it.
Have had 2 Acers from Amazon. They are 10 and 3 years old. 10 year old still works, haven't gotten around to recycling it. Has a DVD drive my new one lacks.

 

[Windward]

I don't think I'm going back to Dell... Laptop was great for 2 years, now battery power lasts less than 30 seconds. Replaced battery with new one. Same issue.

I think its rigged.

Newer Dell desktop has gotten so so ridiculously slow its hard to describe the frustration. OS reinstalled, cookies and cashed stuff cleared, no joy.

Uggg...

 

[Waiex191]

I don't think I'm going back to Dell... Laptop was great for 2 years, now battery power lasts less than 30 seconds. Replaced battery with new one. Same issue.

I think its rigged.

Newer Dell desktop has gotten so so ridiculously slow its hard to describe the frustration. OS reinstalled, cookies and cashed stuff cleared, no joy.

Uggg...

Ubuntu would probably fix that desktop right up.

 

[BayRacer]

I currently use a Dell Latitude 5570 at work. It is going on 5 years old with no issues.
It is not Win11 compatible, so sometime in not-too-distant future it will get replaced. We kind of go back and forth on hardware, sometime HPCompaq, sometimes Dell. But our IT folks do tend to "clean" them a bit of the OEM crap not needed. Most of the business world still runs on Windows, and Solidworks is not written for Mac OS, so Apple not an option.

 

[Windward]

Ubuntu would probably fix that desktop right up.

Running a new (to me) OS seems like a daunting task...

Sometimes it's best to take the hit to pride and stay in my lane.

Or pay the $300 for a years support.

Or bin the whole steaming pile of desktop and buy a new one.

 

[billy backstay]

Running a new (to me) OS seems like a daunting task...

Sometimes it's best to take the hit to pride and stay in my lane.

Or pay the $300 for a years support.

Or bin the whole steaming pile of desktop and buy a new one.

That's how I feel about my laptop! No need for a desktop ever

 

[Foreverslow]

I spent 40 years in the design of support processes/tools for computers for some of the largest computer companies in the world.

A couple of tidbits:

At the beginning of PC revolution in the early 80s, we used to put each PC through a test of running for 10-14 days straight. It was called a burn down test. Rooms with rows of shelves with hundreds of machines blinking away. Volumes got to a point that was no longer feasible. Today it is "build it, boot it, power it down and ship it". Support Engineering got important (more later).

Prior to the company splitting between consumer and commercial businesses, we were pumping out tens of millions of machines a year. And every 2 years you throw everything away and start again because machines get twice as fast every 18 months (eg Moore's law), though that is now slowing. There are bound to be a couple machines that get shaken up in transit or that will have issues with such volumes. That is what the warranty is for.

There is a term in electronics called Binning. The vendors (cpu, disk, memory, screens, power supply manufacturers) run tests on their own components for quality control. The best (above specification) are set aside for binning. All the others are to spec, but these ones run faster, shrug off heat, or have more reliability. These components cost more and are used on commercial servers and Professional laptops. Professional grade laptops start around twice what your laptop costs. Stuff used for satellites get the absolute best as money is no object and you cannot repair the machine once in space.

The engineers designing the system work with procurement to select the best power/$ components for the business case. Every single component (chips, resistors, capacitors, harnesses etc) is maintained in a propriety database with a MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure) factor. This information is kept by component, by different revisions and even different factories producing it. For bleeding edge components, they start with a SWAG (Scientific Wild Ass Guess but on the conservative side) based on prior generations, along with discussions with the manufacturer. Over time, as machines are returned for repair, the actual component that failed each time is identified, documented and its MTBF factor adjusted.

Using the best components makes machines more reliable and last longer.
For every machine there are design programs that calculate the odds that the components in a given design will last X months to tell management the overall reliability of the machine. They can lose their ass if the percentages get even a little bit up over normal, as the profit margins are razor thin and volumes makes you go broke at breakneck speeds. At the same time, they HAVE to keep the costs down to be competitive. Tough business.

I have seen folks run a laptop price up to 8-10 grand for power users like Wall Street quants, software company implementation guys who show up at a customer site with a complete copy of their Intel based mainframe servers running on their laptop, and when a CIO is kissing the CEO's ass and specs his boss a new bleeding edge laptop worthy of bragging about to travel with (even though it will likely do nothing but email, solitaire, watch videos on airplanes and of course interact here on Sailing Anarchy...). Those machines almost never break because they have the highest level components, can handle heat/vibration better, and have power supplies with intelligence that helps from cooking the boards when used in countries with crap power grids (you would be surprised at some 1st world countries with dog shit power infrastructure that causes havoc for electronics). With the higher list prices, they also come with longer warranties, as the manufacturer knows that machine is bulletproof.

Computers overall have gotten better as we have replaced all the motor powered devices for solid state. The hard drives, floppies were weak links just like tubes before them. Ditto one chip taking the place of multiple large boards and millions of components with thousands of tiny wires hand wrapped to pins. This is how the industry works, Dell included.

In your case it sounds like flaw on the mother board or the solder joint to plug. You might be able to find an independent repair shop that can use a multi-meter to chase down circuit and re-solder the joint or add a jumper wire over a crack on the board, but $187 can be eaten up in labor charges pretty quick. And if it fails again, you are screwed whereas you should be getting short term warranty when the authorized repair center will give with the new board.

Due to volumes, it is easier/more cost effective to isolate to a board and just replace it (eg board swap monkeys vs real field engineers).

Based on the initial price (not a price leader low end model), your machine shouldn't have broken the same place twice in 2 years, but it can happen. Brand name machines are usually better built for the reasons I outlined above. If the unit has been dropped that could have be a reason for subsequent failure even if the screen is fine. New boards are not as hardy as 20 years ago due to environmental laws banning old school wave solder machines for manufacturing. Also the boards are getting thinner as everyone wants a super lightweight laptop. And plastic cases can flex on an impact causing stresses on the boards breaking etch lines where the high end laptops are encased in exotic expense metal cases (aka a brick titanium outhouse).

If you have a buddy who diddles with electronics, checking the power circuit from the socket should be doable. Else bite bullet and have the board replaced as it saves you the hassle of restoring all your data on a new laptop and dealing with Microsoft (I will take a root canal over a MS rebuild every time..).

And finally, if not buying a professional grade machine, it is a good idea to get a FACTORY support contract. (full disclosure: for certain computer brands such support contracts help pay my minuscule pension and I appreciate your purchase of said contracts..).

Only a factory warranty can guarantee they can get parts in the future (they have ways of procuring components/boards that had not been made in years/decades no matter the cost). Barney at Everything Electronics down the street cannot accomplish this in a timely manner to get you back up quickly.
End of my sales pitch...


good luck and make sure you have a recovery disk of your files built before doing anything.

Forever

 

[Ventucky Red]

My two year old laptop that was a delight in the beginning has become a lemon! It's been back to Dell twice in a year and a half for the charger not connecting to the laptops input socket for it's jack. First time was covered by warranty which in hindsight I should have extended. Now it's back with Dell, and they could not fix the jack charging issue so want to install a new motherboard for $187.00.

A new motherboard for $187? That is a reasonable price, and will they guarantee it will fix the problem?

As for Dell, I have had them for work since day one. I beat the shit out of these things, and they keep ticking.

 

[Captain Ketamine]

modern digital electronics are built to a price and it’s difficult even in high end builds to find well thought out construction Techniques.
one would think that any structure such as a Jack or port that requires repetitive connection and disconnection over the life of the device will incur stresses at that point. If you look at the fittings they are invariably finely solder to the edge of the board. Not designed for purpose, essentially planned obsolescence. The obvious approach is to structurally isolate any plug from the board that is exposed to these repeated stresses and fix it to a more rigid part of the case, then connect to board with more flexibl material.
it’s always interesting to wander around electronic dumping grounds to (not only look for old useful stuff), but see the extent of this obsolescence and value added landfill .

 

[pbd]

Wifey, who spent the last 15 years of her career as an IT nerd, bought a Dell 6 or 7 years ago. Long story short there was a huge cluster fuck regarding a Windows update that Dell forced upon her machine that couldn’t be reversed that basically bricked her computer. After prolly 20 hours with Dell’s tech support crew who had a script that didn’t address her issue she finally went to small claims to get her $$ back.

No more Dell’s in our house EVER

 

[P_Wop]

I bought over 200 Dells for 3 companies since 1989. Mostly desktops, but some workstations and servers, and about 25 laptops. They all got an annual spring-clean, lid off, re-seat boards and connectors and vacuum out all the fluff. It's amazing what their fans suck in.

We never had an issue.

 

[boomer]

25+ years dealing with our techs in IT. - HP, Dell, Lenovo - it doesn't matter. At one point or another, each vendor will put out batches of shitty laptop models. I've seen the "We're never buying XXX again" - to switch to "YYY" then, a year later, "YYY" has an issue causing them to send batches of laptops back, and they switch back to XXX or to ZZZ, then the process repeats. AFAIC Dell, Lenevo, HP, Apple and Asus all make good reliable products, and so do a host of other manufacturers. It's more of a luck of the draw on these companies buying a batch/es of glitchy components or their quality control not ensuring the highest quality products installed to the highest standards.

Most I know with standard or workstation Dell laptops swear by them. Dell usually made reliable products, however looking up Dell charging or jack problems, I was surprised to see more then a few links as well as videos addressing what they call a typical problem as of late.

 

[Grande Mastere Dreade]

do you have to have a laptop? i bought a beelink micro computer for <$250 win 11 pre installed... 500gb ssd 16gb memory modern cpu chip.. takes up less space then 2 decks of cards... has wifi, bluetooth usb 3.0 pretty happy with it.. nice thing is you can get a screen any size you want, no dealing with puny screens, also can use any keyboard you want..

beeklink

 

[billy backstay]

A new motherboard for $187? That is a reasonable price, and will they guarantee it will fix the problem?

As for Dell, I have had them for work since day one. I beat the shit out of these things, and they keep ticking.

They said no, and as yet will not tell me how much I owe to date for their other attempts to repair, before changing the motherboard. On top of 60 bucks just to send it in for diagnosis. The charging adaptor plug is putting out a constant 19.6 VDC as specified but the socket is not connecting to receive it. They already changed out the socket, like they did once before, but still not working. I am reluctant to throw more good money after bad for a machine that is only 2 years old. I am using my backup HP in the meantime which is about 10 years old, and works fine, but slow to wake up from being shut off. I think a MacBook is in my future. Our kids have been using the same laptops for 10 years with no problems whatsoever. It was a mistake to NOT purchase an extended warranty when offered, but I did not think Dell make crap computers.......

 

[boomer]

Why pay high dollar for a Mac, for a middle of the road product that costs $$$$. Macs are overpriced, compatibility issues with a lot of software/hardware, false claims of being incapable of getting viruses, not as user friendly as they claim - I see Macs as a waste of money because the money you could have spent on a Mac could have been used to build a far-superior PC. Want a good computer, get a flagship model by Lenevo, HP, Dell or Asus, and you'll get more then 10 years use out of them.

 

[billy backstay]

Why pay high dollar for a Mac, for a middle of the road product that costs $$$$. Macs are overpriced, compatibility issues with a lot of software/hardware, false claims of being incapable of getting viruses, not as user friendly as they claim - I see Macs as a waste of money because the money you could have spent on a Mac could have been used to build a far-superior PC. Want a good computer, get a flagship model by Lenevo, HP, Dell or Asus, and you'll get more then 10 years use out of them.

I will never again buy a Dell, this one was recommended by my local computer repair guy who has a sterling rep. I suspect I am the unlucky owner of a "lemon", which Dell should have replaced, but will not. If someone can recommend a specific "far superior" PC than a Mac, I am all ears. And in the future will avail myself of extended warranties, no matter what.....

 

[boomer]

Luck of the draw, is what it sounds like. Dell has one of the best reputations for long lasting use. I have two engineer friends with 10+ year Dell workstation laptops, still performing quite well - I know that for a fact, as I called both yesterday after reading this thread. Looking online yesterday, Dell's still rate quite high. I did find a recent issue with some Dells having a problem with the charging jack, but that can happen to any manufacturer. 15 years ago I had the same problem with my commuting HP Pavilion laptop, the charging jack on the charger - which was luck of the draw, as our other two HP Pavilion laptops didn' t have the issue.

I don't do extended warranties - no matter what. Since 15 years ago - I do buy flagship models for desktop and laptops, just as we do with photographic gear, and they just perform, perform and perform. Our last three laptops we bought were HP Elitebook 8770W workstation laptops 11 years ago, one for myself, one for my wife and one for the boat, they all still work at fast high speeds. With easily removeable backs, can clean and service easily, plus room to add two more SSDs to each, with extra slots to add more ram, plus upgrade the graphics card and more. Yes - After 11 years, it's probably best for us to upgrade.

 

[billy backstay]

Everything was Dell when I worked at Pratt & Whitney, but it was all leased from Computer Science Corp, which was then bought out by DXC? or someone. I always thought they were among the best!! Dell spends heaps on promotion, especially golf tourneys, and I had the pleasure of getting paid to host at the Travelers Championship a few years back, in the Dell air-conditioned hospitality tent overlooking the 14th hole. Too bad I didn't keep the business cards of some of those Dell reps now!!

Computer tech advances so fast, how does one pick a reliable machine at a reasonable price today??

And I never, ever purchased extended warranties, so now paying for what I saved in the past!

 

[Windward]

And there really isn't a super obvious path to support.

The manufacturer websites are useless FAQ's for the most part.
Places like BestBuy or a local repair shop? I can't say I'm thrilled at the idea of someone poking about in all my files and photos. (though do they really care?)

Youtube?

Just throw it out whenever the inevitable software "upgrade" can no longer be postponed?

Almost 100% of the time, any upgrade is an invitation for disaster and despair.

Folks talk about 10 years... I'm lucky to get 3-4