Alienware 15 services woes

I created this thread to keep an online record of the service issues that are occuring in india for alienware service. I started getting the random CPU throttling on my laptop (alienware 15 r1 4710HQ+ 970M), so i contacted dell; showed them @VICKYGAMEBOY 's post. They said they would replace motherboard just to be sure and follow their procedures. The trouble begins here-
1)They sent a reburbished board, inspite of me repeatedly asking for a fresh board.
2)The board they sent was dead on arrival. Keyboard wasn't working on it.
3)They told me that its dell's "global" policy that as replacement they can only send refurbished motherboard.
4)They sent the technician with a silicon based thermal paste(thermal conductivity 0.8 W/C ). I mean even ceramique based pastes have higher conductivity and when i asked the dell guy on phone, he said dell uses this only in the factory :/ and they cannot send a better paste.
5)The technician didn't even know how to apply paste, he literally applied paste all over the board; as in squeezed the tube all over the board. I made him clean that and reapplied myself ( line method on the thin cpu and dot method on the gpu).
6)Technician scratched the back of the laptop monitor. But yeah dell guy over the phone apologized and issued the replacement for that as well a new mobo

@Alienware-L_Porras can you confirm its dell's policy to send only "refurbished" boards even after the customer repeatedly asks for a fresh motherboard?

I'll keep this thread updated as and when the new board is sent to me

PS- If there is any other method to apply paste on the CPU die please tell me as i feel the line method doesn't provide proper coverage

Witcher 3 drops happen in 3 mins of gameplay reducing fps from 45 to 30

Witcher3 by suyash691 posted Jul 1, 2016 at 10:56 PM

XTU shows current throttle to 3.1

Intel Benchmark by suyash691 posted Jul 1, 2016 at 10:56 PM

Ghost recon puts heavy load on gpu, even though its light on cpu the frequency drops causing intermittent frame lags (clock speed reduced within a minute of gameplay)

Ghost Recon Future Soldier by suyash691 posted Jul 1, 2016 at 10:56 PM

 

Yes. They sent me 4 refurb boards for the M17x R4 before I called it quits and sold it because all 4 boards had defective audio chip.

 

I'll call for a whole system replacement if they do 4 defective refurbs in line for me, or if those do not solve the throttling

 

@Alienware-L_Porras
@ suyash691, when I saw your article, I thought I was reading my own posting. Your problems are so like mine, that is why I had to check who wrote it. I gave them instructions when with a in-home policy a tech refused to send a tech or parts (even after I gave him the part numbers from the Dell catalog - Alienware M17xR4, he said I won't allow in-home or parts, another tech I called said he was wrong for doing that but that the service couldn't be changed now that the depot repair had been selected), not to replace any part without first consulting, I did not want a refurb mobo and refurb laptop they just put my service tag on so they could send mine somewhere so it could be used as a quick way to swap another repair in the future for someone else, plus I said DO NOT FLASH THE BIOS to A12. Well they apparently don't read anything that is included on the repair depot notes they ask you to fill out (also the space they provide, no wonder they treat us like we don't know computers, I would think they would have more space than that, so you can tell what happens rather than writing one sentence, "My computer won't boot" is what they apparently want you to write.

To make sure I could see what they did or didn't do, I put a little black sharpie dot on every label and sticker in the unit (both sides). Well when I got my system back, the letter I sent with mine was returned with the checkbox for motherboard replaced, checked. I have talked to tech support who says they don't show the motherboard was replaced (hmm, I guess the black ink on the mobo stickers just fell off the labels) and I guess they haven't figured out a way to tie in their depot with tech support.

They said, when I asked why they flashed it, "it is part of our compliance policy that any computer returned we must flash the bios to the current version." When I asked well why doesn't the policy apply to the video bios, since the current bios on my 7970m was not UEFI compat/compliant (yes I know legacy boot option works fine, but remember you are just putting one layer of hardware over another - remember the old tech way, the less overlapping of different software and hardware creates fewer problems). Silence greeted me. I asked again, silence. You get the idea.

They also showed I had a different video card, the 660m not the 7970m. I guess they don't record parts sent out or the tech they sent was about as efficient and knowledgeable as yours was @suyash691 (I am in the US however). He came late, he had no instructions other than what to send back to Dell, and said he had briefly breezed through my model service manual and install instructions for the graphics card and thinks he remembers what to do. Thank God he wasn't a nuclear bomb technician. He also asked me where he should apply the thermal paste and how much?

This all helps support the concept that maybe something more than complaining might need to be done.

 

The thing is the support system dell has is itself broken(at least in India); i talked to the dell guy on phone for like 5 hours in total; he understood the problem was hardware based (he assured me so) but was like "I cannot issue a hardware replacement without taking necessary measures on the software side as our guidlines direct." . He spent over 3 hours on remote desktop control changing power settings to balanced from performance and all that stuff that dell says in their "guidelines",( I mean seriously in case of power/current limit throttling switch to balanced profile? reduce computer's power input even more? someone needs to update that guideline ), freeing up space from my C drive, etc. I am puzzled how such measures are even remotely remedying the throttling issue, but i patiently waited while he did all the random stuff to the pc. When he gave up then i got my service sanctioned. If this part doesn't work , please @Alienware-L_Porras escalate this issue somehow to the indian team, i mean i don't want to wait like @VICKYGAMEBOY for 6 months to get my issue resolved,considering they now have his case as a guideline on how to proceed with the throttling issue. I paid quite a high amount for warranty extension, i don't want to regret it but these technicians you guys sanction for work makes me regret it.

PS- In defence of the dell call centre guy, he initially itself acknowledged that it was a hardware issue but dell's policies mandated him to do software fixes.
When you are ready, i'll PM my service tag to you Mr. Porras

 

I received a new non refurb motherboard. BUt I have heard that in the US they cant mark a motherboard as new due to certain admin issues?

 

I am not familiar with US rules but in India they downright accepted that every part they send is refurbished and there is no way around it.

 

Remove please. Accidental double post

 

What @rinneh is saying is that even "new" parts are marked as refurbished. As far as I know, you'll never receive a "new" part/component from Dell. This practice seems to be standard around the world with regards to Dell.

 

It all depends on how it is stocked. Lexar Media for example, said that they have 2 products are sorted. If it goes into a retail package then it is new. If it is either ordered in bulk by a company and the company only accepts so many or they produce X number for dealing with replacements, since they aren't going to be placed for sale they have to classify as not new but not refurbished either. So at least they say they can't call it new but it isn't a product anyone else has used either. @Alienware-L_Porras has been on but apparently not responding to anything (shows last activity was Jun 22, 2016, so I wonder if Alienware has abandoned these forums).

 

First off, im sorry i was kinda stuck up with some problems here, secondly yes they only give you refurbished motherboard, i had like 6 different motherboards with no luck, so its their company policy after certain retry of refurb mobo if the problem still exist, they will arrange you a replacement laptop, in my case they dint, because that was my 2nd replacement, i already took one last year november, so they denied me, for u if u still have warranty, ask them to get you a replacement, if they give u refurb mobo call them again and again until they accept for replacement, hope urs is within 1 year of purchase.. this is how my story went, almost 4months to get a replacement.. and also i got a R2 which was exception, they told me clearly it wont happen again.. im not sure about the product team manager, he actually called me from Dell HQ and arranged for a meeting, i dont remember his name, but i know someone from system exchange team, his name was RAJ KHA, not sure what was his full name.. try ur best to get ur replacement as this refurb things wont solve anything..

 

I'll try my best for a replacement. Could you pm me the address of dell hq which you visited or contact no. of the person you met, i am currently in bangalore for a couple of weeks for internship

 

there is no point of u visiting there, first u talk to the tech support senior team, tell them ur visiting there to Domlur DELL complex,its 3kms away from koramangla, thats where the whole dell team sits, its a big building, ull find service center on the entrance as well.. and plesae make a thread with all those findings, you might need it, with videos and screenshots of issues..

 

I will do that ... but my net in pg is quite slow .. i'll just upload screenshots of throttling which happens on this thread's OP .
BTW when i asked them about a local place where i could get the mobo replaced they said there is no centre that deal's with alienware :/

 

for alienware there is only service dispatch to home, even in case of system capture they send person to ur home, good luck. it's gonna be one hell of a case also seek some advice from other users who got 4710HQ, mine was quite different 4720HQ..

 

My brother has i7 4720hq+980m , his also throttles (he never saw it but i checked his laptop as well) but never goes below 2.6 ghz(base clock)and he doesn't have time to bother with this. In my case i game a lot so yeah, i can notice when witcher 3 drops to sub 30 fps from 40 fps or stutters for 2-3 frames when clock falls down.

 

i had two different 4720hq, one with GTX 970m another with GTX 980m, the issue only exist on 980M motherboard, see this videos ive attached, contact them first, if its less than 1 year, u still are eligible for replacement, but you know its hard to convince these people about throttling.. if nothing works use XTU to adjust current, voltage and clock ratio.. downclock to 3.0 on all four cores, better than nothing..

 

I did that initially to 3.0 ghz but it only worked for sometime now again i am getting throttling down to 1.3 ghz in worst case even with the same settings which prevented throttling initially. I won't give up so easily on them , i mean i paid 18k to get warranty extended for this? for continuing throttling? i think not

Sorry if i appear rude just got off the phone with ACT , service guys ****ing up customers in every company

 

lol i went through that as well, but imo the extended warranty doesnt allow for replacement, but u can try, who knows you might get a better refurb mobo which doesnt throttle, but thats rare case, go hard on them unless they fix ur issue, regarding ACT broadband, i've heard about them, im using Airtel though, better customer support but ****ty speeds, ACT chennai got the best speed / rates.. Bangalore im not sure..

 

Hoping things work out for me :/
Edit- i checked online and they do replacements even on extended warranty but the article stating that was of 2011... fingers crossed. Just give me a r1 that doesn't throttle like rinneh or others have who don't face this issue , i'll be happy

 

hmm the same exact thing i told them, just give same model, even a refurb mobo but the one which doesn't throttle.. everytime they send u refurb motherboard take a pic of it.. to make sure u dont get the same again.. for me initially i dint have this problem, it just happend when the stupid tech guy swapped my mobo and put a refurb mobo, the case was to just install new heatsink, but he ended up putting a refurb mobo and took my new mobo, from that day the problem started.. hope u get a better solution.. cya

 

use this thread, keep us updated..

 

Hes right. People often confuse refurbished with reconditioned.
Even if you bought a part from the parts department directly you will be buying "Refurbished" parts which are usually if not all the time new parts. Not because the parts that have been refurbished but they are for refurbishment and are not sold in a retail situation. i.e. People dont buy an Optiplex motherboard to build and optiplex, people dont buy an Alienware motherboard to build an Alienware. They are ALWAYS bought to fix an existing system. i.e. Refurbish and existing system. Its some weird legal marketing thing. I had a long conversation with my sales rep and the parts department back when I was a VAR. So the dude that said he had 4 boards with the same audio chip defect probably was facing a bad driver that was being used or other other variable in the audio mix was the culprit. Even if all 4 boards were actually reconditioned boards it would be highly unlikely that 4 boards would have the same exact problem.

 

Well something happened to arrive in my e-mail this morning, I will have to pm it to.

 

The phone guy is like that this maybe by design ........ i was like yeah this is a design flaw and since i have warranty you guys should make sure that this issue gets fixed for me. Trying to convince him for a system replacement still. Should i post about this on intel forums and show intel's response about whether throttling is "normal" or not?

 

I have been contacting the DELL executives for the past week. I have just sent an email to Michael DELL and CC'd many other executives. This is a major issue. The design flaws I have discussed includes the Samsung PM851 SSD slowdown issue, the damages on the battery caused by the constant usage of battery because of this whole hybrid BIOS bullsh*t (my battery won't charge), the Current Limit BIOS flaw; aside from the CPU throttling issue. I will let the community of this forum know how it went after this ends; and I assure you, I will not let this go. This has become a personal matter.

 

in that case, you should ask them for R2 version with 6700HQ, i know they will still say that throttling is normal, but ask them to compare two different models, even the low end low voltage chips on alienware 13, they dont throttle on high performance mode.. ill support you guys in anyway i could possibly do.. but you are the one whose gonna be leading ur case, i did the samething, i had no one backing me up except few people in forum, with the help of all links, videos, screenshots, multiple visits to HQ, explaining this **** to service centre guys, tech persons, senior managers, showroom sales persons etc.. dont give up bro, for me it finally paid off, im happy with skylake version..

 

Where are you from?
BBB!

 

Dude I can feel your pain I am having similar issues with my AW 15 R1 the throttling machine, dell have tried twice repairing the 4720HQ throttling problem they even replaced the motherboard and the heatsink but to no avail, I asked them for a system replacement but they said they can't promise that it will be approved fingers crossed if that doesn't work then BBB it is.

 

I am afraid I cannot file a BBB complaint outside the US. I tried it. I am contacting the executives. To be honest, I sent an email a week ago to the executives and it appears that they have redirected me to the tech support. In the end, DELL Turkey called me and told me they would assist even though my warranty is over. DELL Turkey said that they cannot replace or upgrade the laptop since my laptop is registered to US. Yesterday I sent an email to the executives again (recipient is Michael DELL and I CC'd some other executives) explaining the situation. I tried to emphasize this whole design flaw thing. It has been 15 hours now and I didn't get a reply. I will wait until Monday to get a reply. If I still don't get a reply by then I'll just keep sending emails.

 

Just an FYI buddy, Monday (July 4th) is a holiday in the US. I'd wait until Tuesday.

 

Well sadly what I feared has happened, this site deleted a post that had 2 e-mails from Dell/Alienware showing the misrepresentation, deceitful business tactics, lack of professionalism, utter lack of knowing their customers and more. I had a 4 yr policy and was told that would earn me a 2-3 yr extension. Well first they say sorry we never give more than 5 years total. I get a letter in the email on Jun 30, special promo for the next two days, I could get a 2-3 year policy extension and to call them. I did. The guy I talked to didn't know that the Pacific Time Zone (PST) and Central Standard Time Zone were just about 2 hours apart, thinking it was several hours apart so he didn't know to call me later in the afternoon (lucky I was home as I cancelled one of my doc visits). He says sure let me get a quote for you on 3yr policy (in his email he even listed my service tag), oh, as he comes back on the line, sorry can't do 2 or 3 year, only 1 (have letter showing offer for 2-3 yr) obviously shows they know their customers and what they already have.

I told him about the video card and he said he would have to talk to those above him to verify if could issue warranty. He would call me back between 4-5 pm PST. 6pm, no call back. I then call him and leave messages for the next hour. I decide to check my e-mail and boom! He sent a letter saying oh we can't give you a warranty because of your video card (Dell issued and installed AMD 7970m).

I had hoped Notebookreview would leave it in both Dell and Alienware forums, they have already deleted the one in Alienware so either they were asked by Alienware to remove it or ?????

 

Good point. I forgot about that

 

So **** just hit the fan....... when I submitted the laptop to the service center. They contacted me the next day and say the laptop is perfectly fine, i run intel xtu benchmark and the CPU temperature reached 96 degree Celsius and it thermal throttled(20%) alongside power limit throttle(10%) and current lmit throttle(40%)
How is that "perfectly fine" and over that issue i had to contact tech support today, sadly the original team was unavailable(the guy on that original team was quite understanding and knowledgeable and helped me a lot in getting replacements and fast tracking the resolution) and the "Supervisor" of this new team i was put in contact with said this temperature was fine. And over that he questioned the authenticity of Intel's own software(XTU) to measure the temperature of the CPU which Intel themselves manufactured :slowcaps:

I made this post on dell india's facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/dellindia/...tif_t=share_comment&notif_id=1467738463279073
Please like and share so that this issue gets noticed by dell

And @Alienware-L_Porras please respond to my pm

 

don't talk to them about the problems, tell them u want a replacement.. these things will take long, as I'm the first person in india to approach with this kinda throttling, before that they had 0 complaints, either people dint bother to check, or dint bother to go and fight with them.. I felt so bad for those people.. don't talk to them in technical aspect for now, they won't even bother, ask them for replacement..

 

You know what they told me .... this is the first time we have encountered something like "throttling" ... i think thats their way to evade people who are knowledgeable enough then say that the tools they use are not "official".

 

Can they say anything else? They knew about this ticking bomb when the first cases were submitted. The first models should have been draw back from their sales page. And put up a new revisjon motherboards before they start up the sale again!! Like the rest of the industry who has similar problems. Regardless of products.

 

The thing is. Far from all have it. There are around 4 or 5 cases on this forum?out of thousands sold. It seems only select few 980m models. But i do agree they should handled it better for the people that do have these issues. But it seems that the service centers operatetotally independent and dont share their findings with eachother. In holland the support desk is in fact an external company hired by Dell. They do a great job by the way.

 

Dell has already tried to repair my AW 15 R1 twice firstly they replaced the heatsink and the fans, secondly the whole motherboard 2 fans and the hard drive and today the tech guy will come and replace the motherboard again. This is stupidity I tried explaining them about the throttling issue but they said they talked with intel about the throttling issue and intel responded with there is no throttling with the 4720HQ cpu. This is the 3rd time they are trying to fix the same issue hopefully after that I can ask for a replacement.

 

The problems is that we don't know the hidden numbers of owners with the issue. A big part can be owners who can't see they have this problem and also a lot of people who don't want to send in their laptops for repairs. People is so different... But once a owner want help, the tech do everything to push it under the carpet. The same happened also with the 180w psu. This problem should be worked out much better on the top in Aw Hq. If you say something about this... Every one higher up delete messages in social media and don't want to argue about the plane fact!! This isn't the best way to help consumers who already purchased the product, or give new buyers good filing about products they think to buy.

 

rather than pointing out on regional dell support teams, I blame on main alienware team who did nothing but to hide it from other regions, yes most of the people don't even bother to take the case serious, and yes it happens only on 980m models, because it draws more power than 970m.. I'm mentioning this to @rinneh .. @jazkha I highly doubt it will be solved, I had 6 different motherboards.. nothing could fix.. but you can give a shot.. @suyash691 did u try to approach MR.RAJ KHA.. he is working on system exchange department..

 

I have the 970m model and it still throttles (thermal and power throttle) like crazy.

 

the 970m model too .... because i like to overclock, thankfully they gave me the 240w adapter without argue

 

i have this model ... nothing that Prema Vbios cant fix and a good re-paste.... i am loving it

 

Can Prema Vbios fix processor thermal and power throttling?

 

lol exactly how does VBIOS affect cpu throttling ?? may be premamod vbios is undervolted.. so it gives the extra juice to cpu.. rofl.. so far I thot only 980m had issues on R1, now after seeing people with 970m I'm silenced..

 

I know you can reduce processor temp and thermal throttling a bit with a very good paste but not with a mod Vbios And thermal throttling shouldn't start before the processor is almost 100C. If the processor thermal throttle maybe around 84 or a bit higher... Blame the laptop manufacturer.

 

Well the Technician just left and replaced the motherboard he was shocked when I told him this was the third motherboard replacement also in the process he ripped the ribbon cable for the macro keys light just pathetic, he said this will help you to get a replacement wow wtf EPIC FAIL, also it didn't fix the throttling I even showed him running benchmarks, he then just left....

 

hahahahahaah you just make my day XD, but yes.. i heard that the i7 4720hq have an insane throthliing. the i7 4710hq worst throttling escenario is 2,5Ghz. yes, you need a replace ...

 

haha well at least someone found it amusing, the tech also recommended me to file a bbb complaint I mean whose side was he on.