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Portable XPS15 Users - check your battery

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by Mister_Tad, 9 Jan 2019.

  1. Mister_Tad

    Mister_Tad Will work for nuts Super Moderator

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    So this may not come as news to anyone, but it was news to me, so thought I would post.

    One of my fans started buzzing recently so Dell sent a replacement (only after trying to send an engineer... to replace a fan), and upon cracking open the laptop I was greeted with this...

    [​IMG]

    Hmm... pretty sure that's not supposed to be like that.

    When following up with Dell about a replacement, they queried whether the trackpad was raised from the palmrest... sure enough it has started to raise a bit, and the buttons are difficult to press - I'm mousing most of the time, and when I'm not mousing I'm tapping instead of pressing, so wouldn't have noticed this until it properly came apart and needed replacement as well... probably out of warranty (and looking into it is a total pain to replace as you don't so much replace it, as remove every component from it and attach it all back to a new one)

    Seems that this isn't an uncommon issue, however I was unaware of it until now, so posting this as a public service announcement for those that were also unaware... and hopefully in warranty.
     
  2. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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    Ah, the good ol' lithium-ion pillow. Never a happy sign, that.
     
  3. Mister_Tad

    Mister_Tad Will work for nuts Super Moderator

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    They're not even comfortable, and potentially explosive.

    The worst kind of pillow.
     
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  4. David

    David μoʍ ɼouმ qᴉq λon ƨbԍuq ϝʁλᴉuმ ϝo ʁԍɑq ϝμᴉƨ

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    Ooh, better check mine tonight. Cheers for the heads up.
     
  5. Mister_Tad

    Mister_Tad Will work for nuts Super Moderator

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    If you don't want to crack yours open to check (or lack the T5 to do so), this is the sort of thing you're looking for on the trackpad.

    [​IMG]
     
  6. liratheal

    liratheal Sharing is Caring

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    Pff. A little bit of poisonous self-oxidising fire never hurt anyone!

    Besides, it's winter! It's cold at night. Who wouldn't want a self-heating pillow?
     
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  7. modd1uk

    modd1uk Multimodder

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    Did exactly the same to my mates XPS laptop a few weeks ago, he only noticed the track pad being raised, I took it apart as he thought he'd bust summit but nope, the battery was all swelled up, new battery and the track pad is sitting like its brand new now.
     
  8. David

    David μoʍ ɼouმ qᴉq λon ƨbԍuq ϝʁλᴉuმ ϝo ʁԍɑq ϝμᴉƨ

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    I nipped home at lunchtime and I'm happy to report my trackpad is still where it's supposed to be.
     
  9. modd1uk

    modd1uk Multimodder

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    It was only a few screws to remove the bottom of my mates XPS, carbon fibre bottom jobbo, might be worth checking yours to see if its started swelling at all, his was out of warranty so just bought a new battery..not cheap though!
     
  10. Mister_Tad

    Mister_Tad Will work for nuts Super Moderator

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    I've just had a note from Dell to let me know they're shipping out a new battery, palmrest/touchpad/fingerprint assembly and bottom cover for delivery tomorrow.

    Here's to hoping the touchpad drops back into place once the battery is swapped out, as swapping it looks like it will take hours. I once again asked for the parts and no engineer since the latter would mean the laptop being out of commission for most of the day, on a working day, which isn't ideal.
     
  11. modd1uk

    modd1uk Multimodder

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    Should be fine, my mates was WAYYYYYYY out, like new after a new battery had fitted. Battery looked like somebody had farted in a sleeping bag.
     
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  12. Mister_Tad

    Mister_Tad Will work for nuts Super Moderator

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    I'm thinking mine should drop right back in too... always nice to have spares though.

    IIRC it was around £70 to extend the warranty, so have definitely had my money's worth with this little bundle.
     
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  13. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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    I'm hoping they've put better batteries into the XPS13, 'cos I only had a since-expired one-year warranty with mine...
     
  14. David

    David μoʍ ɼouმ qᴉq λon ƨbԍuq ϝʁλᴉuმ ϝo ʁԍɑq ϝμᴉƨ

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    Oh I've had mine open a few times, mate. Changed the 128gb m.2 and 1tb hdd to 512gb m.2 and 1tb ssd, and I re-timmed the cooler. It's wierd though - it has a lovely alu body but the screws are made of cheese. I need to sort out some replacements somewhen.
     
  15. modd1uk

    modd1uk Multimodder

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    Little paintbrush to get rid of the inevitable crumbs that will have creeped into the touch pad too ;).
     
  16. Blogins

    Blogins Panda have Guns

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  17. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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  18. Vault-Tec

    Vault-Tec Green Plastic Watering Can

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    This thread sponsored by Stay Puft batteries...
     
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  19. meandmymouth

    meandmymouth Multimodder

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    The company I used to work for had XPS15's for everyone and this was a common issue. Slightly concerning, really.
     
  20. lancer778544

    lancer778544 Multimodder

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    If anyone needs a replacement battery and hasn't got a warranty plan to fall back on then let me know and I can get a quote from Dell via my work for you. I just replaced the battery on my XPS 13 and it was about £80. It's a lot, don't get me wrong, but I would never use a non-genuine battery.

    I replaced mine, not because of it puffing up, just because it was draining a bit too fast for my liking, especially when it was off and not doing anything. The new battery is much better.

    I can also help with Toshiba, HP, Clevo, Asus, Acer e.t.c if anyone needs anything :)
     

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