S9 simply "unusable". Any luck in returning?

I bought an X05 S9 in August 2011.
I read every post on this forum up to that point and was aware that some people had "issues" with this laptop but I was able to get the "newest" (at that time) version with the Intel WiFi that was "supposed" to have "fixed" the problem.

I have regretted the decision from the day it arrived. I wrote a review here after 1 week stating. However, I was unable to return it (Newegg refused returns AND was about to leave on long trip and there was not time) so "worked with it". My laptop was virtually worthless for ANY WiFi related activity on that trip. Even when there was "good signal" (as in an airport) it simply refused to connect or repeatedly dropped connection every few minutes. I was again using it last week and had same issues. 15 feet from an access point (2nd laptop connected no problem, iPhone had full bars-- S9 would have 1 bar and not connect).

In addition, my keyboard and trackpad remain "buggy" with cursor frequently jumping around screen even when track pad set to most limited sensitivity.

I love the screen, I love the size/shape. For watching movies, it's great. For doing ANY WiFi work it's practically worthless.

I've tried an external WiFi adapter and it makes ZERO difference (which tells me there may be more to the problem than JUST the anntenae placement).

I can't return it to retailer but would like Samsung to either REPLACE it with a new, working unit (06 series?) or buy it back. Has anyone had ANY luck getting Samsung to "admit" that the early S9's were simply "lemons" and get refunds/replacements or does anyone know of a possible Class Action forming against them. For the $2,000+ that I spent, I should have more than a Video player/paper weight. This unit in NO WAY performs to spec. I would absolutely NOT recommend this laptop and very much regret not buying a MacBook Air. The Mac has real limitations, as well (no USB 3.0 being biggest, for me, inferior screen and no ability to add RAM) but AT LEAST IT WORKS AND IS RELIABLE.

Also, I have noticed that I already have QUITE A FEQW DEAD PIXELS in the screen (which may even have been there since day 1). Has that been a problem for others? Perhapos I can work THAT angle to get Samsung to replace?

I am just disgusted every time I try to use this laptop for its intended purpose (i.e., mobility).

 

Polite persistence may be the best route. Make sure that you have the disk drive backed up and reload Samsung's factory installation so you can confirm that you have the WiFi problem with Windows as they supplied it. Then contact Samsung about both the WiFi and the display issue and see if they will accept the machine for warranty service.

John

 

"reload Samsung's factory installation..."

that's an excellent recommendation. Of course, I copied install stuff to BU drive and reformatted SDD to get the "extra space".

Guess I can reformat and reinstall from BU but sure seems like a waste of time...

BUT, as you say, it may take that...

What I really wanted to know is if ANYONE has had any luck getting Samsung to "fix" the WiFi issue/ (which, from my understanding is due to case material problem and antennae issue) can really only be "fixed" by a replacement with an X06 unit or a refund....)

 

Samsung (and most other manufacturers) want to be sure that the problem is the hardware and not a driver or software screw-up. It's inconvenient for the user but I suspect that half the problems get fixed by Windows reinstallation.

John

 

Based on what? I have a whole army of Consultants that would refute that.

For the record, I wish a simple reinstall WOULD fix it. But it doesn't in our experience.

 

What John is saying is that improper installation of drivers and/or corrupted drivers caused a huge proportion of the returns for manufacturers, so he advised you to reformat and restore to Samsung's image so that we can verify if the problem is really hardware-based before you can be sure and politely insist on a return/repair/refund/replacement from Samsung.

Based on my experience with HP support, about 80% of cases at the service centre were solved by reformatting, indicating software problem.

 

Ah, yes. That I agree with. I cringe when users muck up their systems and don't do a proper reset to verify it was in fact a software (or user) issue.

But in the case of the wireless issues it's pretty well documented that the Series 9 (first gen) have some serious design faults.

Hopefully the 2012 Series 9 machines are perfect. But that remains to be seen.