M1330 Keyboard Bulge

I got my M1330 today, and checked build quality. I notice nothing except the middle bulge of the keyboard.

Do you suggest ...

1. I contact Dell about fixing this. (I kinda worry the tech could mess something else up in the process, not being all that gentle. Read about some complaints about that.)
2. I try to fix it myself. (Would need to be sure I can get the keyboard off safely and push the wires down out of the way or whatever.)
3. I ignore it. (I know it's not terrible, but I did notice it...I haven't used it near enough to figure out if it'll bother me in terms of typing or anything else...)

(PS - Any other common build things I should check for? I notice no wobble when I press on the sides or anything. Buttons all seem to work, except the wi-fi catcher but it seems like it's a stupid thing, that you have to be in sleep mode and can't be 'off' to use it like I thought, oh well. Haven't quite tested all the keyboard buttons to make sure they 'work' right I guess. Finger print thing works.)

EDIT: My dad and I took a close look at it, and it isn't that distorted, really. He thinks I'm being picky, and I admit to it. So maybe it really doesn't need fixing...the keyboard indents all over when you press a bit hard, but more so in the center. Still, least of my worries and not as bad as some have described. Turns out a few things aren't working right for me. (Function sleep and battery, MediaDirect acting up, I forget if I noticed anything else after just a bit of play...still, annoying.)

 

You should definitely get it resolved. It could cause scrapes on the LCD screen when it's closed.

If you just got it, call to have it exchanged for a new replacement unit.

 

I hadn't considered that, but I don't know that mine is bad enough to do that. There are a few other things I noticed wrong, not build really but ... I have to call Dell anyway. If they decide the unit needs to be swapped out, I might even ask if they'd accept it as a return without the restocking fee since things aren't working properly and do a new system for less - now that it arrived I can save a couple hundred. Cool if I can return for no fee, stupid otherwise.

 

What's the keyboard bulge look like? Anyone got a picture? I get marks on my screen from my keys sometimes, but they wipe right off. my keyboard looks flat by my eye...???

 

From my experience, the tech will be very careless and will not pay much detail and take the time to place all the cables into their guides and can cause a bulge. I had a pretty large one and took my laptop apart twice in the attempt to place the cables correctly and fix the bulge but it was still there to a very little degree. I have narrowed it down the the area where the wifi antenna cable goes through the case and appears on the other side near the GPU. If I pull on the cable from the GPU side and push it towards the wifi card to make the cables tidy below the keyboard, the bulge goes away slightly. So you should try that. I spent a lot of time positioning everything. The scariest part is the bezel that has the touch buttons, be very careful because that little cable is super thin and the clearance to move it around and stuff is very little.

 

Search for keyboard and 1330 or keyboard bulge 1330; there have been a few thread on this issue. One person, if I remember right, resolved it by putting a screw back in correctly. In other words, there might be an easy fix that you can do yourself. Search to see what you can find!

 

If your into DIY check out this:

http://www.jrin.net/2008_02_01/how-to-fix-the-dell-xps-m1330-keyboard-bulge