Area-51m failure thread

Hi all, I'm starting this thread for owners to report and discuss about their failed Area-51m. The purpose of this thread is to isolate things from the main owner's thread which is getting too long and too mixed up.

Please state what part has failed (i.e. burnt RTX2080, VRM blown off, motherboard power delivery failure etc) and if possible with pictures of the failed components. MOST importantly, state where did you purchased it from and when did you receive the laptop so we can track the improvement in manufacturing since the laptop launched in January/Feb. You can also share what has been done to rectify the issue (i.e laptop replacement, parts replacement, warranty claim through dell / resellers, returned etc)

I hope with an isolated failure thread there can be a better understanding on the quality of this laptop, and if there are new parts/manufacturing improvement to mitigate the issues faced by early adopters. It really doesn't help to have failed area-51m reports coming in the owner's thread from time to time without knowing when was the laptop manufactured. The last thing we need is a wide spread fear from failure of early batches of parts which can easily cause confusion and misunderstanding to potential buyers.

You can use this template or whatever that is comfortable to you.

Area-51m
CPU :
GPU :
Failed component(s) :
Received date :
Purchased from :
How was the issue resolved :


That said, i really wish this model is a big success for dell and alienware and there will be a R2 and beyond in development.

 

This is an extremely good idea. It will be interesting to watch.

 

Here's My Data -
Area-51m
CPU : 9900K
GPU :2070
Failed component(s) : Touchpad Failure - Part Sent Failed - Also Part Sent was not for Luna Light - Some Issue with Overheating which caused Area-51m to shut down - One Onsite Visit to install wrong color (Dark Side of Moon) delivered - Unit is a Lunar Light
Received date : 6/6/2019 (Delivered)
Purchased from : Dell Direct - Shipped from Torrance, CA
How was the issue resolved : Replacement with New Unit - New Unit Was Delayed Twice and Finally Arrived 7/10/2019 (Delivered) - The issue has been resolved and Laptop is humming along - After a complete wipe and reinstall of Win10 Pro - Note When Doing Driver installs - The Serial Driver Installation may need to be run a 2nd time after all other installations are complete.
Trav...

 

Area-51m #1 This machine is a replacement for a defective Alienware 17r3 (Dell support caused more issues than he solved on the machine, so they swapped it for a new modern model).
CPU : 9900k
GPU : Rtx 2080
Failed component(s) : The screen panel wasnt centered nor straight in the display lid assembly. Output audio ports only worked on the left channel, nothing on the right side. Massive fan rumble at a certain speed, my desk was rumbing too. Crash during the first day of use in relation with the main storage device (SSD 512).
Received date : 18 jun 2019
Purchased from : Dell (swap machine)
How was the issue resolved : replacement of the entire machine for a new one. Otherwise it would have had to change the motherboard, the screen, the audio daughter card, the SSD, the cooling system. Inadmissible for a machine I just received.

Area-51m #2
U : 9900k
GPU : Rtx 2080:
Failed component(s) : The screen came with a dead pixel. On 10 september, one of the two audio port started to fail like the first one with only left channel working(I was very careful and did not disconnect my speakers//Headphones for a month). Note that I use 3 10-15 years old audio headphones and speakers, used on multiple Device (PC's, smartphones, mp3 players, music stuffs), they never caused any issues.
Received date : 13 aug 2019
Purchased from : Dell (swap machine)
How was the issue resolved : The entire screen assembly have been replaced, probleme solved. For the audio, I will leave as such. If I ask Dell for help, they will replace the daughterboard with probably one with the same issue (infinite loop issue). Worse they might decide to change the entire motherboard. I dont want that,
If it gets worse, I'll buy an external sound card. I Have been dealing with their "kinda" disastrous services from march to august 2019, im sick of them.

 

I'd definitely contact them about this, they may resolve it once and for all and if they don't you could be in line for another 'free' upgrade if you have more issues once the 2nd revision of the Area 51M is released.

 

Note that my current 51m inherited the premium support coverage from my initial 17r3 bought in march 2016, which expires in March 2020. (Yes I have a new machine, a model known for having many problems, which will be out of warranty in 6 months, thank you Dell). The 51m R2 is pure speculation, there is no informations about it.
The first 51m had the audio issue, the second too. If they change the audio card the "new one" will be a refurbished with high fail probabilty too.

 

Could be worth a shot though?

 

Let Dell support fix the Audio and then sell it. It's a ticking bomb and without warranty this will be an expencive experience..

 

Nah I'll keep it and cross fingaz', I didnt pay for it, and I still have my original 17r3 working (with few dead pixels).

 

You have the original that they provided a replacement for? They will want that back....and they will cancel the warranty at some point until they get it. I don't know what happens if you refuse from there.

 

Yep.
They never asked for it, for 4+ months now, I didn't refused anything. I even asked them when they plan to take it (the last time in July), no responses. So I keep it until they ask for it (IMO they wont).
Its warranty is transferred to the 51m.

 

Area-51m
CPU: 9700K
GPU: RTX 2080
Failed component: Screen - 1 dead pixel
Received date: 19th September
Purchased from: Dell UK
How was the issue resolved: Dell Tech done an onsite swap of the screen.

 

Be VERY cautious about not sending it back to them, it could come back to bite you

 

Its not me sending back to them, its them collecting the machine via a carrier at my home, like they did for my first defective 51m.
And I still have it.

 

Area-51m
CPU: 9900k
GPU: RTX 2080
Failed component: motherboard - bios update
Received date: 13 March 1019
Purchased from: Dell UK
How was the issue resolved: not resolved, happened in September 15 - still no parts and probably in 30 October would have a new laptop. (1.5 months wait it’s too much tbh)

 

So dell has issued a replacement on its way but it may arrive abit late..

So I bought my a51m with 2080 and 9700k config which arrived last Saturday, I immediately started a repad/repaste on it got that done and started it up for the first time yesterday it was in the bios runnning on battery for about 3-4 min which I noticed the power button was flashing an orange color which I guess was low battery and I shut it off added a 970 Evo plugged in both power adapters 330w and 180w, 510w total. It started and got into bios fine again and I unplugged the 180w for a second to move the cable abit plugged in again and I noticed the bios changed the power from 330w back to 510 again and 30 seconds later it shut off... No smell no burning from what I know everything on the board looks fine... I tried pressing the switch on the motherboard under the plastic panel, unplugging battery, using just Power adapters.. It's just dead.. Anything I can do or is this laptop just a brick?

If I can get this working I'll just reject the replacement... But if anything I'll just put this heatsink and the 2080 in the replacement so I can keep my thermal pads and all hopefully with no problems this time around..

 

Hey,

I also have 3 dead pixels, Dell tech will come at my place on Tuesday. I'm a bit concerned that he will crack the laptop open completely... I don't want him to mess with all the stuff inside.
I'm curious, how did it happen with you ?

My unit is :

Area-51m

CPU : i9-9900K
GPU : RTX 2080
Failed component : Screen : 2 dead pixels + 1 stuck pixel (from day 1)
Received date : 24th October
Purchased from : Dell FR
How the issue WILL be resolved : Dell tech will do an on-site change of the screen

Envoyé de mon SM-G965F en utilisant Tapatalk

 

He had to take the bottom cover off and back I/O panel (tron panel). As I mentioned in the A51m thread, he was a bit heavy-handed with the machine (in my opinion) and was trying to pry the back I/O panel off without undoing the screws. I had to give him a gentle reminder there were screws there. Once he'd done that everything was fine. I think the whole thing was done in about 30-40 mins then I spent about 10-15 mins whilst he was there tidying up, making sure the pixels were fine and that the hardware tests were successful.

 

So I've had the area 51m for close to a year now. Feb manufacture date. I have a couple major issues I'd like to voice, and see if others have had the same problems.
1) The speakers; Dell must've salvaged these speakers from old Gateways. I paid $3,800 and while I don't expect extremely high end speakers, I do expect something with decent quality. The distortion is unreal. $2.50 speakers in a 3 - 5k laptop makes no sense.

2) I seem to also have a problem with the drivers(?) After plugging headphones in I get terrible distortion 2 minutes later, problem remains the same whether on earbuds, or a studio quality Senheiser.

3) I'm rather appalled Dell thought this was appropriate for an expensive high performance laptop.

4) Last point, as of 2 months ago random hardware has been failing on the laptop. The keyboard was the first to go out, and now my wireless adapter works about 45% of the time, leaving me wondering what part will fail next.

5) Where is the 2600 MHz memory update we were promised?

The last thing I'll say is when I first got the machine, it's temperatures remained pretty constant; never getting all that hot. Lately its getting hot enough to burn upon handling.
I plan on speaking with several executives tomorrow, as I feel I'm not out of line when I ask that the CPU, GPU get bench'd on another machine, all components are thoroughly tested, and If I still continue to have issues with this system, I want a complete replacement. That kinda of customer service, imo, is in line with the price of these machines.

Has anyone else had any of these experiences, or other odd issues with theirs?