Dell XPS13 won't turn on - terrible technical support
Paul765
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Paul765 Posted messages 13 Status Member -
Paul765 Posted messages 13 Status Member -
Hello,
10 months after purchasing a Dell XPS 13 (€1200), the laptop shut down and wouldn't turn on. After several calls to Dell where they initially made me believe that the warranty is only one year (whereas the law states it is 2 years) and several other difficulties, they sent a technician to replace the motherboard and battery connector.
It was surreal.
The technician came yesterday morning after his call from the Netherlands. He didn't speak French, only a bit of English. He changed the motherboard and the battery connector. Then he turned the computer towards him. I could see he was changing something in the BIOS. Then he gave me a card with a product code for Windows. I asked what it was, and he replied in his broken English that I wouldn't need it but that he had to give it to me. He then turned on the laptop, and a blue screen appeared asking for a "recovery key." The technician then said, "I've got to go now. Good luck!" and he left.
For an hour and a half, I tried to find this key. Without this key, it's impossible to start Windows. I then called Dell. For an hour and a half, we searched. In the end, the guy said, "You need a new hard drive. We can replace it, but to keep the old one, you have to pay €30." Wow! I have to pay €30 to keep the hard drive of the device I paid for 10 months ago. I thought all components of the machine belonged to me. Apparently, that’s not the case. And when I paid the €30, I then have to contact an IT professional at my own expense to extract the data from the disk... In hindsight, I believe they take the defective equipment, "repair" it more or less, and sell it to another customer whose machine needs to be repaired. I wouldn't be surprised if the "new" motherboard actually comes from a much older/worn-out device than mine, meaning it's equipment with a very limited lifespan. When I said it was outrageous to charge €30 to finish a repair, I was told that the requested repair had been done since I could now turn on my computer... (I wonder how many people buy €1200 computers just to turn them on, see the Dell logo, and never enter Windows...)
But the cherry on the cake was yet to come: the person from Dell told me to ask a friend or neighbor to download a USB stick with Windows 10, "Don't you know someone who can download Windows onto a USB stick? A neighbor, a friend, or a family member?" Apparently, Dell doesn't provide these technicians with the appropriate USB key, or perhaps they know it doesn't solve anything (hence the hurried departures with the cheerful "good luck").
In total, I spent almost an hour and a half on the phone with Dell for nothing. The person told me to definitely not call again and to contact them by email from now on...
In summary, I take from my absurd experience with Dell that it is essential to:
1) Not go abroad outside of Belgium, France, and Switzerland; no assistance is available.
2) Have a mobile phone line in the country where the intervention is requested (the country code of a foreign mobile does not enter their system - they don't tell you, they just enter the number without country code... - fixed line numbers are also not accepted - they say nothing, they just don't enter the number you provide -)
3) Not request an intervention more than 3 days before the desired day
4) Speak a language the technician understands (they will specify which one on the morning of the intervention)
5) Know that in case of a motherboard change, you will be asked for your recovery key. You will need a second computer to search for useful information for hours.
6) Have people in your immediate circle who can prepare a USB stick with Windows 10 for you (which brings us back to point 1, don’t stray too far)
7) Have €30 to buy the hard drive again that already belongs to you.
8) At this stage, have a good hair lotion because you will be pulling your hair out
9) Have some luck, but the technician will wish you that with a big smile. (If, unlike me, you are clever, have invested in a good door lock, and don't let the technician leave until you can use your computer, it will be him who needs luck, not you)
Dell is now playing dead and is no longer responding to me. It seems I'm on my own. After several hours of research with an IT professional, the problem has been identified.
The hard drive is intact, but it is not accessible without the "recovery key." So keeping the old hard drive for later data extraction would have been impossible. Similarly, using a USB stick with Windows on it wouldn't have worked. The advice from Dell's technical service doesn't hold water.
What happens on a Dell machine where Windows is installed at the factory is that at the time of the first startup, by default, Windows encrypts the hard drive and keeps a recovery key on a Microsoft account. Let me explain: at first use, the machine asks for your email address or Skype account. It is this address that will be associated with the recovery key, even if you change the admin identity of your Dell later. To find your recovery key, you must log in to your Microsoft account on microsoft.com, but you must do it FROM A COMPUTER THAT WORKS WITH WINDOWS. If you try to access your account via an iPad, for example, you will not see your recovery key. So make sure you have access to a second computer that has Windows. That's the only way.
These are things Dell could explain to the customer in 5 minutes and thus avoid hours and hours of frustration, trips, etc. They don’t seem to know the specifics of the products they sell...
If you are in a mess with their technical service and the will to live leaves you, know that you are not alone. Good luck!
10 months after purchasing a Dell XPS 13 (€1200), the laptop shut down and wouldn't turn on. After several calls to Dell where they initially made me believe that the warranty is only one year (whereas the law states it is 2 years) and several other difficulties, they sent a technician to replace the motherboard and battery connector.
It was surreal.
The technician came yesterday morning after his call from the Netherlands. He didn't speak French, only a bit of English. He changed the motherboard and the battery connector. Then he turned the computer towards him. I could see he was changing something in the BIOS. Then he gave me a card with a product code for Windows. I asked what it was, and he replied in his broken English that I wouldn't need it but that he had to give it to me. He then turned on the laptop, and a blue screen appeared asking for a "recovery key." The technician then said, "I've got to go now. Good luck!" and he left.
For an hour and a half, I tried to find this key. Without this key, it's impossible to start Windows. I then called Dell. For an hour and a half, we searched. In the end, the guy said, "You need a new hard drive. We can replace it, but to keep the old one, you have to pay €30." Wow! I have to pay €30 to keep the hard drive of the device I paid for 10 months ago. I thought all components of the machine belonged to me. Apparently, that’s not the case. And when I paid the €30, I then have to contact an IT professional at my own expense to extract the data from the disk... In hindsight, I believe they take the defective equipment, "repair" it more or less, and sell it to another customer whose machine needs to be repaired. I wouldn't be surprised if the "new" motherboard actually comes from a much older/worn-out device than mine, meaning it's equipment with a very limited lifespan. When I said it was outrageous to charge €30 to finish a repair, I was told that the requested repair had been done since I could now turn on my computer... (I wonder how many people buy €1200 computers just to turn them on, see the Dell logo, and never enter Windows...)
But the cherry on the cake was yet to come: the person from Dell told me to ask a friend or neighbor to download a USB stick with Windows 10, "Don't you know someone who can download Windows onto a USB stick? A neighbor, a friend, or a family member?" Apparently, Dell doesn't provide these technicians with the appropriate USB key, or perhaps they know it doesn't solve anything (hence the hurried departures with the cheerful "good luck").
In total, I spent almost an hour and a half on the phone with Dell for nothing. The person told me to definitely not call again and to contact them by email from now on...
In summary, I take from my absurd experience with Dell that it is essential to:
1) Not go abroad outside of Belgium, France, and Switzerland; no assistance is available.
2) Have a mobile phone line in the country where the intervention is requested (the country code of a foreign mobile does not enter their system - they don't tell you, they just enter the number without country code... - fixed line numbers are also not accepted - they say nothing, they just don't enter the number you provide -)
3) Not request an intervention more than 3 days before the desired day
4) Speak a language the technician understands (they will specify which one on the morning of the intervention)
5) Know that in case of a motherboard change, you will be asked for your recovery key. You will need a second computer to search for useful information for hours.
6) Have people in your immediate circle who can prepare a USB stick with Windows 10 for you (which brings us back to point 1, don’t stray too far)
7) Have €30 to buy the hard drive again that already belongs to you.
8) At this stage, have a good hair lotion because you will be pulling your hair out
9) Have some luck, but the technician will wish you that with a big smile. (If, unlike me, you are clever, have invested in a good door lock, and don't let the technician leave until you can use your computer, it will be him who needs luck, not you)
Dell is now playing dead and is no longer responding to me. It seems I'm on my own. After several hours of research with an IT professional, the problem has been identified.
The hard drive is intact, but it is not accessible without the "recovery key." So keeping the old hard drive for later data extraction would have been impossible. Similarly, using a USB stick with Windows on it wouldn't have worked. The advice from Dell's technical service doesn't hold water.
What happens on a Dell machine where Windows is installed at the factory is that at the time of the first startup, by default, Windows encrypts the hard drive and keeps a recovery key on a Microsoft account. Let me explain: at first use, the machine asks for your email address or Skype account. It is this address that will be associated with the recovery key, even if you change the admin identity of your Dell later. To find your recovery key, you must log in to your Microsoft account on microsoft.com, but you must do it FROM A COMPUTER THAT WORKS WITH WINDOWS. If you try to access your account via an iPad, for example, you will not see your recovery key. So make sure you have access to a second computer that has Windows. That's the only way.
These are things Dell could explain to the customer in 5 minutes and thus avoid hours and hours of frustration, trips, etc. They don’t seem to know the specifics of the products they sell...
If you are in a mess with their technical service and the will to live leaves you, know that you are not alone. Good luck!