Dell Inspiron 11 3000 screen rotation

EDIT: 

a litte update, i found out that when it is in "tablet mode" the rotation is inverted upside down, not sideways.

when i tilt it upright, it rotates upside down, and vice versa in tablet mode.

i didnt see the technician changing any settings for screen rotation. could it be a hardware problem?

I just received my Inspiron 11 - 3147 and am having the exact same problem.  Spent hours today trying to fix it with tech support and they have no clue.  It must have something to do with the orientation sensor, but bottom line is that any time I put the machine in table or tent mode, the screen is upside down.  You can orient it back using hotkeys, but the next touch of the screen sends it upside down again.  UGH!  

only problem is will it rotate when I want it to, i.e. in tablet mode v. laptop?

only problem is will it rotate when I want it to, i.e. in tablet mode v. laptop?

Once autorotate is off,  you would have to manually rotate by pressing ctrl + alt + uparrow (the arrow pointing in the direction that you want to be up) or change the orientation settings in Intel HD graphic properties to get the easel or portrait configurations.

My has stopped auto rotating after one week of having it. I want it to auto rotate! So far this thing has been a  Substitute character word removed as per TOU>

This seems to be affecting a lot of customers.

There is no fix that I can see.  As far as I can tell, the problem is the result of the interaction of at least two categories of sensors (I am mentioning this in case any of the Dell tech team ever bother to read this):

1.  Sensors in the screen section.  This is most obvious.  The drivers need to know which way is up.

2.  Sensors in the hinges (or attached to them).  The drivers need to know if we are using the computer in laptop or tablet mode.  The tipping point is when the entire computer is flat.  The moment the screen falls beyond that tipping point, the system should switch from laptop to tablet mode.  (Unless we have placed a software lock on either tablet or laptop mode.)

These two categories identify the five possible configurations of use.

1.  hinge angle less than or equal to 180 degrees = laptop mode.

2.  hinge angle greater than 180 degrees = tablet mode

    2a.  screen right edge highest = tablet mode in portrait position with hinges to user's right

    2b.  screen left edge highest = tablet mode in portrait position with hinges to user's left

    2c.  screen top edge highest = tablet mode in landscape position with hinges facing user.

    2d.  screen bottom edge highest = tablet mode in landscape position with hinges facing away from user or facing up.

This information is what the drivers would use (in theory) to accomplish two tasks:  orient the screen properly and shut off the keyboard in tablet mode.

I can't speak for others, but I can definitely say that on my machine, it fails about 80% of the time to shut off the keyboard.  And it fails 100% of the time to correctly orient landscape in tablet mode.  And it succeeds 100% of the time orient in portrait mode and laptop mode.

I have found no solutions and I think the problem has to be in the sensors themselves rather than the drivers.  Even iPhones have occasional problems with their sensors -- I think the technology is still developing and Dell is saving money by buying the low end of those products.

Until they can state that they know the problem I am not going to give them my computer to play around with for two weeks -- I need it and who knows what other problems will be produced.

So here are our workarounds:

First (and most important):  Ditch the extremely poor Dell keyboard available in the notification section.  It dominates the whole screen preventing you from seeing the fields you are filling in and it lacks vital keys.  MS has its own onboard keyboard called "on-screen keyboard".  This keyboard has two vital sticky keys:  Ctrl and Alt.  Figure out how to invoke this keyboard (probably with a desktop shortcut or attaching it to the taskbar.

Second:  Tap the setup icon in the Notification Area until you get the mini-popup of tiles that allow you to choose whether or not the orientations are locked.  Know how to get this display invoked.

Third:  Before switching a mode.  Figure out where you want the display.  Use Ctrl+Alt+(up-down-left-right arrow of your choice).  Lock the orientation, then turn the computer as you wish.

If you are lucky, you won't need the on-screen keyboard to make any further adjustments, but if you do, the sticky keys allow you to switch orientation easily.

This isn't the best solution.

For the tech guys, here's a solution that will leave everyone happy:

Use only the screen sensors (scrap the hinge sensors) to detect any changes in orientation that persist beyond two seconds.  When this happens, flash four bands on the screen, one along each edge.  The user taps the band on the edge they want as the "top".  Re-orient the screen and lock it in this position.

Easy as pie and even allow the user to lie on his or her back and hold the tablet above them or sideways.

[I hope someone pays attention.  It doesn't happen much around here.]

hours into my new laptop...this is the only feature that I find not working - and since it is a feature - I would love for it to work correctly and every time - Is this with Every Single Inspiron Sold - or just a few of us that are blessed with this minor inconvenience in our life?

suggestions? live with the glitch - or return to store and loose all the hours of my life today setting up this one? ?? TY! m

I had this issue and called tech support.

On the support site for the 3147 and 3148 there is a Firmware download called REDWOOD G-SENSOR CALIBRATION FW.  This only appears for the Windows 8.1 operating system.

The zip file needs a password, that was given to me by a technical support person.  It is 'breakfix' (no quotes). 

I believe this will fix the problem, however it did not help me because I have Windows 10 and this app would not run properly under the new operating system.  Tech support is supposed to call me back with a Windows 10 fix.

Thank you for your reply.  I believe that I have Windows 10 also - I'm an very Un-TechSavvy.

Would you please post the solution in for W10 :) 

Thank you in advance. marleen

Yes, this solution also worked for me

I checked my settings. The auto rotate box was unchecked. When I checked the box my display starting rotating perfectly. Thanks

I just got a 3157 that installed the latest Windows 10 update and I don't see the auto-rotation lock switch anywhere in the Control Panel or other Settings interface.

I see how to flip the display manually in for tent mode and there's a setting that implies which order it rotates when I'm using a key command (?) but absolutely zero results when I search for auto-rotation and certainly no on/off toggle that it sounds like I should be seeing.

Thanks in advance for any help!

As if by magic, the screen rotated properly after the next time I'd restarted.