Ugh... destroying a Series 9, one repair at a time

When I bought my Series 9 back in January, I noticed that the right hinge was a bit crooked when compared to the left one. Ironically enough, this was the exact same thing that happened when I bought my Alienware m11x. Dell eventually covered the hinge replacement under warranty, so I've been waiting on a bulletin about them for the Series 9... except that it doesn't look nearly as common for this one, so I'm guessing that won't happen. Anyway, the hinge worked, it just creaked a little and looked a little funky, and the nearest Samsung service center for this laptop is listed at 1,100 miles away, so I figured... meh.

A few weeks ago, I noticed the front lip of the computer seemed loose... like it was opening up. I checked the screws on the bottom and they were tight. But it would flex enough that if I rested my right palm on the lip while I used the computer, the left mouse button would actually stick down if you pressed it instead of just tapping, until you lifted your palm. Again, not a huge issue, but starting to intrigue me now. I use a Bluetooth mouse most of the time, so I let it slide a bit longer.

A few days ago, I went to open the lid and it made a "pop" noise. It looks like the hinge has flexed enough that the upper lid hits it a bit, causing it to bend and then pop back into place. Well, that's no good.

Talked to Samsung and they repeatedly told me that physical damage is not covered under warranty. I replied that it's not physical damage on my part; there is no evidence of any denting, dropping, etc. If there's a drop sensor in this thing it'll show pristine. It lives in a Samsung leather sleeve and that itself lives in a Timbuk2 Control laptop case. However, I was informed that if they find evidence of physical damage, and a broken hinge can be evidence of that, they will require a credit card to repair the damage.

Has anyone dealt with Samsung on something like this? I tried taking a pair of pliers wrapped with some nylon tape to bend the hinge cover back out of the way of the lid so it didn't scratch it up, but I've pretty much only succeeded in scratching up the corner of the laptop, so I put a stop to that pretty quick. Are they basically going to look at this and say "yep, physical damage, that'll be $xx"? (Or $xxx... or $xxxx!)

If I'm VERY careful I can open and close it without the two touching, but I use this laptop for presentations and for displays, such as at the upcoming CES 2013, and other people may be opening and closing it. I don't need someone popping the thing open accidentally.

As an aside, whoever decided to put the screws under the feet is on my hate list. They don't re-stick back on for anything. How hard would it be to put the screws... you know... next to the feet... where all the other screws are?

 

Which model of Series 9? Was this the X3A? The X3B / X4B and newer all fix the base on with 10 accessible screws around the edge.

I would strongly suspect that one of the hinges wasn't fitted properly. Samsung's publicity about the development of the 2012 Series 9s gives a lot of emphasis about the refinement of the previous designs and one can take the view that many differences between an X3A and an X3B can be to fix shortcomings in the former. For example, 10 screws around the edge of the X3B base hold base and chassis together much better than only 4? screws under the feet.

If you are confident that you have not mistreated the computer then I would set out the facts clearly, supported by photos and logical reasoning, and send it in for them to fix at their expense. The problems you are encountering are most likely a combination of mis-assembly and inherent weaknesses in the original design. So far, there have been negligible reported build issues with the newer Series 9s.

John

 

I'm a little confused by your reply -- I have the X3A, but mine has the ten screws around the edge (two of which are under the feet, four exposed, and four underneath little removable plugs around the flip-down ports).

I have applied for an RMA and just need to print the label... I'm just sort of concerned I'm shipping my laptop across the country and the only thing that'll come out of it is a bill for some amount of money to replace the chassis under the guise of "physical damage". It's likely partially my fault for not dealing with it from day one, but as I said, I had an Alienware that exhibited almost an identical problem -- fortunately, they covered it after all.

 

The newer Series 9s have all 10 screws around the edges and none hidden.

I hope all goes will with the repair.

John

 

Copying all my stuff off this thing today so I can send it out tomorrow. I was again starting to hesitate, since I bent the hinge back a bit so that it wouldn't hit the screen and I do use this thing daily for work. However, now the left touchpad button isn't working properly. The bottom-left corner is sunk in like there's nothing holding it up. You can still click it if you push anywhere but the very corner; if you push it there, there's no real movement at all (I'm assuming the actual buttons are about an inch from the sides based on how it feels).

If Samsung won't deal with it, I've still got a Squaretrade warranty I can make use of; however, I'm trying to avoid that since they only cover up to a certain dollar amount and each time you use them it reduces that dollar amount.

The m11x was a tank compared to this (both in size and, now, durability, it seems)... I'm starting to regret the decision to swap.

 

Just wondering how the repair went with Samsung. My lid is a little loose not miss aligned like yours, but I fear that at some point it will get to the point were the lid will not stay open as it should.

I too thought about opening mine up to see if there are some screws that I could tighten to make the lid a little stiffer.

 

I am sure there will be some screws inside that secure the fixed part of the hinges to the chassis. I would take the base off and check that those screws are tight. If they are, then the hinge mechanisms themselves must be working loose. They are probably not adjustable and would require replacement.

John

 

Well it's not good news as I just invest in the 9 series, I was looking somethings that look like the MBA but for windows

 

On the contrary, that this is one of very few instances of a Series 9 needing repair should be considered to be good news. The original post here relates to the X3A (2011) and Samsung put a lot of effort into further improving the design and engineering of the more recent models.

My X3B still seems very sound at a year old (albeit it hasn't had heavy usage) but did have to get the battery replaced while my X4C has had heavy usage in the past 9 months and still seems to be very healthy.

John