Dell 370 Bluetooth Module + Dell BT Travel Mouse

Hello all. Thought I'd post my experience here with making a purchase from Dell, for a couple of accessories to go with my Studio 15 (1537) laptop. This was my first experience purchasing directly from Dell, as my Studio came from Best Buy.

Anyway, I wanted to add Bluetooth to my laptop so that I could get a wireless mouse (and down the road, a wireless keyboard as well). I know I could have went with some sort of RF wireless, but I just know that somewhere down the line I would end up losing the dongle -- so BT was the best bet!

Made my purchase 7/21 early in the AM, and my items arrived on 7/22 in the afternoon! I live in Indy, and the items came from near Dayton, Ohio... but still, talk about free shipping! I also purchased a new SwissGear/Wenger backpack, and that shipped separately from South Bend, Indiana -- and also arrived today on 7/22.

Went to install the BT module in my laptop, and my worst fear was true -- Dell sent me the wrong screws! There were many reviews on the Dell site about them sending out the wrong screws, and I was afraid it would happen, and unfortunately it did. I went through all my screws, and could not find anything that would fit... so, so that I could test the module I temporarily left it installed without being screwed it. The install was uber-easy, connect up the blue antenna, and done!

I really like this travel mouse, as well. I put some rechargeable batteries in it which I hope will help it last for quite a while. Its slightly larger than my previous wired travel mouse (from Logitech), but I like that. It isnt anywhere near being a full-size mouse, but its a good size for me. A little heavy with two AA batteries in it, but not terrible or anything. I'd might try to find a little pouch to stuff it in when taking it with me, for a little extra scratch-protection and what-not. Oh, I got the matte black version, cuz I hate glossy things that show fingerprints

I chatted with Dell tonight, and they are "supposedly" sending me the proper screws... in 3-5 business days. I tried to get them to upgrade that to overnight shipping so I would definitely have them this week, but they absolutely refused to do that. So now I need to shut the laptop back down and remove the BT card because I don't like the idea of it just dangling in there not being screwed down. A bit of a hassle, but ohwell!

Anyway, thats my experience. My first attempt at an upgrade to my Studio 15 (1537). Next will be a back-lit keyboard, when the finances are not so ... strained After that, maybe a bluetooth keyboard if I can find a decent one that isn't like a bajillion dollars

Ciao!
~Aryq~

 

If they don't send you the right screws again, let me know; I just so happen to have one spare screw of the right size.

If you're comfortable with it, however, I know certain screws from the palmrest will fit, as will the small silver screws on the system fan. Until I got my spares (I asked the technician who came to my house for one when he was repairing stuff, and he had some spares he gave me), I used one of the fan screws. There are 3 in total, so it's not like anything's in danger of falling off if you borrow one for the BT module.

 

Shroom: Thanks for the heads up. I unscrewed a couple of screws to see if any appears to be the right size, and after about 4 or 5 of not finding the right one, I gave up I might pop under there later and grab one of the ones you mentioned... just so I can leave the BT module in, and then replace whichever one I borrow with the one they send me. HOPEFULLY they send the right ones -- I made sure I stated multiple times which laptop I had

You'd think after having people complain about the wrong screws for over 3 months, they'd have fixed that by now... but I guess not!

~Aryq~

 

Hey, don't feel bad - when I ordered my Bluetooth module, they didn't send me any screws!

 

LoL!

~Aryq~

 

An update... The service rep I spoke with yesterday said if I wanted the fedex tracking # of my screws (to see when they would arrive), to chat with Dell again today and they'd be able to provide it to me (it wasnt in the system immediately, of course). So, thats what I just did.

Interestingly enough... after he swore up and down he could not overnight them and they would be 3-5 business days... the tracking # says I will have them by 3pm today. They were shipped overnight from Texas.

Dell's left arm clearly doesn't know what it's right is upto heh.

*patiently awaiting screws*
~Aryq~

 

I don't know how far you're located from Texas, but I often find that standard delivery methods are just as fast as express ones.

 

Indiana. But the tracking page (from FedEx) said it was shipped Next Day Afternoon, or whatever it is FedEx calls it So they did ship it Overnight. No complaints

Screws arrived today... Dell sent like 5 different sizes, 2 each... so like 10 screws total The right one was in the batch, so I'm happy.

~Aryq~

 

Well, at least they made sure to cover all their possible bases this time.

Good to see you've gotten what you need, and plenty of spares to boot.

 

Yep, I'll definitely be keeping that little envelope of screws around for future upgrades and what-not

~Aryq~

 

Glad it all worked out for you. I probably would've just went to the hardware store haha.

Anyways I think shipping depends on where you're located, if you're near a facility you usually get things quite early. For instance I live approx 10 miles from a FedEx facility and with a standard 3-5 day I still received my laptop within 18hours of shipment

 

I challenge you to find a hardware store that carries screws that tiny. I searched everywhere - Micro Center, Radio Shack, Home Depot, Ace Hardware, and TrueValue Hardware. Not one of them had a screw nearly as small as this one.

 

Yeah, the screw needed/used is probably the smallest screw I've seen in any PC/laptop I've worked on over the past decade of working on computers. I have a massive bag of screws that I've accumulated over the years, and it didn't have anything even close to what was needed in it

The 370 Bluetooth module is now secured in place, and we're bookin'!

~Aryq~

 

can anyone show me where excatly the WPAN Mini-PCIe slot is for the bluetooth mod?

 

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/studio1737/en/SM/minicard.htm#wp1180188

Instructions for removing/replacing the wireless cards, including Bluetooth, are about halfway down the page. The Bluetooth card goes in the full-height slot, which will be labeled "WPAN".