OOW Dell Technical Support

Forums › Laptops and mobile computers › OOW Dell Technical Support - CGA

michaelmurfy

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#177732 12-Aug-2015 20:31

Hi all,

I've got an Alienware 14 that has started having a few problems, first off it is now not charging beyond 90% (Windows shows "Plugged in - not charging") but soon after the power adapter died. My laptop was at that stage 1 month out of warranty and needed a new power adapter urgently so just bit the bullet and bought one. I've tried removing the battery and also running it down to try and re-calibrate it. It is now running a fresh version of Windows 10 with updated drivers but still having the same issue.

The behavior still happens - stops charging at 90% and nothing I do can get it to fully charge. I thought it may have to do with the battery however this has 95% capacity remaining. I've had zero luck with Dell Technical Support who seem to be always closed when I call them but am wondering who has been successful with getting a CGA claim done through Dell? Surely a power adapter + battery should last a little longer than this?

I've got a HP Ultrabook which is coming on 3 years old now and has never had any issues and as a bonus the battery is still at 90% capacity. I am incredibly careful with battery maintenance and ensuring things like the power bricks don't overheat.

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xpd

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#1365035 12-Aug-2015 21:45

Batteries usually only have a 1 year warranty on them. The charger should last a lot longer. Dell will just argue that youve used the battery more than claimed and that youve abused it somehow.

What time are you calling Dell ? Ive called them all through usual business hours and never had a problem getting them, and its usually a US (or at least sounds it) based call center that answers anyway.

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michaelmurfy

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#1365124 12-Aug-2015 23:09

Ah right. I called at 8pm but sounds like they might close at 6 which is a little bit of a shame seeing I am at work then. It doesn't appear I can access the email support as my laptop is OOW and the website doesn't give me that option (just tells me to call them).

Whilst I understand Batteries are considered consumables I would have through an expensive laptop would last a little over a year without any problems :)

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#1365131 12-Aug-2015 23:19

Dell have made the batteries in some laptops, part of the laptop, so they aren't user replaceable. eg. You would have to disassemble the casing to get it out, which could void the warranty. So I wonder if those batteries would be considered consumables. A consumerable is something that you can easily remove and switch out yourself, and replacements are easily sourced.

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#1365242 13-Aug-2015 08:52

There is a form on their support site somewhere Ive used a few times to get support, and found its been faster than trying to deal with their 1st level team ;)
Ill see if I can find it and link it here.

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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#1365250 13-Aug-2015 09:08

Whilst I understand Batteries are considered consumables I would have through an expensive laptop would last a little over a year without any problems :)

While Dell may consider batt consumabels, they are still covered by the CGA regardless.

You may be worrying about nothing.
90% , pfft, who cares . It could simply be a software error not showing the full charge.

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#1366454 14-Aug-2015 15:30

Is there a built in recalibration feature in the bios.? Failing that maybe there is a dell software feature.

wasabi2k

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#1366461 14-Aug-2015 15:42

Highly likely battery is just broken - faulty charger might have been doing funny things to it.

If it is out of warranty, good luck getting anything from Dell. Yes your laptop was very expensive, doesn't mean they are going to do anything for you out of warranty.

You could probably argue the CGA, but good luck - who knows how long that would take.

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michaelmurfy

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#1366880 15-Aug-2015 13:27

Cheers guys.

I think I've found the culprit and that is how Windows estimates the battery percentage. Managed to get 4hr out of it so likely a software bug.

michaelmurfy

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#1439999 3-Dec-2015 16:34

So some news (finally!)

I phoned Alienware Support from the contact numbers on this page, I've found you can't (normally) get to that page if you've got a computer with an expired warranty. The chap I got was quite helpful however English wasn't his strong point.

Ran some diagnosis on the laptop which picked up an issue with the battery. The power adapter seems to be working overtime to provide the required power to the computers graphics card when I am gaming and also I've since found another issue with a huge row of bright pixels on the screen which I bought up.

Service tech is booked for tomorrow under the CGA as quoted by the guy. I only had to bring up the consumers guarantees act once and the guy acted on it. They're replacing the LCD panel, battery and power adapter so hopefully we can put this one to rest! Phew!

wasabi2k

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#1440001 3-Dec-2015 16:40

michaelmurfy: So some news (finally!)

I phoned Alienware Support from the contact numbers on this page, I've found you can't (normally) get to that page if you've got a computer with an expired warranty. The chap I got was quite helpful however English wasn't his strong point.

Ran some diagnosis on the laptop which picked up an issue with the battery. The power adapter seems to be working overtime to provide the required power to the computers graphics card when I am gaming and also I've since found another issue with a huge row of bright pixels on the screen which I bought up.

Service tech is booked for tomorrow under the CGA as quoted by the guy. I only had to bring up the consumers guarantees act once and the guy acted on it. They're replacing the LCD panel, battery and power adapter so hopefully we can put this one to rest! Phew!

Great result.