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September 14th, 2023 22:15
m15 R7, nonstop issues, terrible customer service
I purchased an Alienware m15 R7 back in April after debating what high powered laptop I should go with. I have had 4 Alienware's in the past, 3 of them went on to have major issues but the last one I had was great. So I ordered a new m15 R7 with a 3070 Ti, i9, 240Hz 1440p monitor. Basically my dream laptop.
The first week I set it up for work, installed a few games and everything appeared to be great. A few hours into the RE4 remake it turned itself off. I hoped it might have been an update or a small issue. Turned it back on and it happened again. I tried some less intensive games and it seemed to be okay, I thought it might just be an issue with RE4.
Fast forward a week, it is now happening with other games. I reach out to Dell who tells me to reformat it, check this and that, blah blah.
After finally finding some time to go through reformatting and reinstalling everything I don't really have time for gaming for a few weeks or so. During this time I purchase some accessories and a razer dock to keep the laptop elevated and help with airflow, I play some older pc games and it seems fine.
I noticed every so often it now says "plugged in, not charging" until I reboot several times or unplug replug in the cord several times, I also noticed an issue where it wakes itself from sleep while it's shut.
Finally I have more time to spend to game so I install some newer titles and boom. Back to overheating, more frequent this time. I reach out to customer chat who tells me the same thing, reformat it, run Dell tools, then I finally tell them this is a reoccurring issue, the laptop has been reformatted twice now and it's a hardware issue. Finally we are able to ship the computer out for repair.
A week later I check the website and see a technician has received my laptop, minutes later has run a diagnostic, and within an hour has shipped it back to me. I immediately conclude that the laptop has simple been wiped and shipped back so I reach out to Dell customer chat, again, who says they "cannot find an update and will call me". I never get a call.
Today I get my laptop back, I open it nervously to find a sheet of paper saying it's fine and has been reformatted, I take it out of the packaging to see an absolute mess or dust, dirt, grease, like the computer has made it through a natural disaster, I'm talking disgusting.
![](https://www.dell.com/community/assets/community/687062f5-603c-4f5f-ab9d-31aa7cacb376/PXL_20230914_181002811-aac627ee-854a-4bab-84aa-b4ad560ec5d7-373088566.jpg)
![](https://www.dell.com/community/assets/community/687062f5-603c-4f5f-ab9d-31aa7cacb376/PXL_20230914_181020288-206193b0-fb15-45a7-b706-cd69f174c3e0-293130344.jpg)
![](https://www.dell.com/community/assets/community/687062f5-603c-4f5f-ab9d-31aa7cacb376/PXL_20230914_181007944-8eb6ec89-04a7-4cfb-9a6c-bf79398b27d5-727190214.jpg)
![](https://www.dell.com/community/assets/community/687062f5-603c-4f5f-ab9d-31aa7cacb376/PXL_20230914_181028285-3fb9445d-e27b-403c-85c2-c2766d4f5bbf-1347940573.jpg)
I boot it up to find windows has been reinstalled, all the Dell and Alienware tools and missing, and when I plug it in I am welcomed to "plugged in, not charging". I reach out to chat again, this time very frustrated, knowing that nothing was done to the laptop.
I spend 3 hours on remote assistance while they claim they are "working to resolve the issue" which makes no sense considering it's hardware. Then they tell me they are running a tool that will solve my issue, but what it's actually doing is scanning the OS to see if it's corrupted. I ask them if that's what the tool does and they say "yes", then I ask why they are running a tool to check for corruption on a reformatted computer that has a clean version of windows, they say "to be safe".
I basically get the run around and talk to several managers who tell me my only option is to have someone come to my home and install a new LCD, Battery, Heat sink, and swap the charger. I asked to make sure this is with new parts and he said "the parts will be refurbished". So now I have requested a phone call and speak with another manager who says to me "These are high performance laptops so overheating is not uncommon, it's normal and the laptop makes sure it won't be damaged". This was ridiculously insulting. I was then told that "our refurbished parts aren't new but they aren't used" and that all I had to do was have my laptop repaired by an in home technician and everything would be fine, even though the last technician just wiped it, dirtied it and sent it back. So I asked to speak with someone higher up and was told I would have to wait up to 3 days to hear back. This concludes my experience.
Maybe it's my fault for not returning or exchanging it in the first few weeks when I noticed the issues, but I was told over and over to follow whatever steps and I would be fine. Here we are 5 months now and I have barely been able to use the laptop, every time I finally have everything ready and installed it overheats and then it's wiped. Now I have to wait around for someone else to call me because I said I wasn't comfortable having a stranger over to fix my new laptop with several used parts.
I never thought an experience would drive me so bonkers that I would create a reddit account just to voice my displeasure and rant, but here we are. This has been the worst customer service issues I've experienced and I hope no one else has to go through this.
Thanks for listening.
TL:DR - Endless issues with Alienware m15 r7, terrible customer service. If anyone else has a similar experience, or some advice or kind words, I would love to hear about it.
Thanks everyone!
<Violations as defined by Dell removed. Read the Forum Code of Conduct. DELL-Admin>
kulcheski
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September 22nd, 2023 14:26
I repaired the laptop myself by taking it apart and applying thermal paste. Ran 10 hours of maxed out Cyberpunk 2.0 with new NVIDIA DLSS 3.5. No overheating, no issues.
Dell wanted to gut my entire brand new laptop and change out:
-New Mainboard
-New SSD
-New Heatsink
-New Battery
-New Charger
They wanted to gut it and install refurbished parts to fix and issue that cost me a couple dollars for the thermal paste.
rflery
8 Posts
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September 16th, 2023 06:41
(edited)
kulcheski
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September 20th, 2023 00:11
@nobuenus I had an issue with mine and if you can, return it and go elsewhere. The repair center will complete mistreat your laptop. With mine all they did was reformat it and grease it up, crumbs and dirt everywhere, it was disgusting.
Return it, do not accept "refurbished" parts. <Per the Terms of Sale that you agreed to when purchasing, you have no choice in this subject. Once past the 30 days from the Dell invoice date, all parts will be refurbished. DELL-Admin>. Read the other horror stories with these models. I am in full regret mode, wasted endless hours with Dell, customer chat, customer care, supervisors, corporate "managers" all to be told refurbished parts need to be used and if they don't work we will repair it again.
good luck my friend.
(edited)
kulcheski
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September 20th, 2023 00:15
@rflery I don't know what happened to Alienware and Dell but man, this is easily the worst customer service i've ever received (if you can even call it that). Just get the run around and a bunch of lies. I hope your new one works out although it's probably an old refurbished computer.
The one thing I know for sure is that none of my clients, family or friends will ever be ordering from Dell/Alienware ever again. For me, 10+ years of dedicated and well over $10,000 in alienware products. Never again.
kulcheski
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September 20th, 2023 00:16
@Ehask71 Wow, I'm sorry to hear about your experience. I can't believe this is the way Dell operates. This is worse than a shady mom and pop shop. I have had nothing but a run around, lies, misinformation and pass the blame. It's amateur hour for sure. I'll make sure everyone I know hears about this experience and stays away from Dell in the future.
kulcheski
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September 20th, 2023 19:33
<Posting multiple threads with the same complaint and soliciting other users is not allowed and a violation. This is considered spamming which is against the Forum Code of Conduct. All of your replies on other user threads have been moved to your thread. You may only reply on your thread. DELL-Admin>
Endless lies from Dell management. I wrote a post not long ago that described my overheating issue with my m15r7. How the depot dirtied up the laptop, didn't check hardware and sent back unrepaired.
I wanted to point out that Dell "Corporate Management" assured me over the phone that a dell technician would come and replace, get this "the motherboard, the SSD, the heatsink, the monitor, the battery, the charger". So basically, they wanted to replace everything except the keyboard instead of replacing the laptop. I asked specifically to make sure the technician worked for Dell and these parts were used, I was told "yes".
The technician calls yesterday to arrange a time to come over, first I ask him if he works for Dell, "no, I am certified to repair Dell computers". Then I ask "Are these parts brand new?". I am told "No, they are refurbished". Is it possible these parts are used "Yes, the parts could be used but should have been checked". So immediately I cancel the repair. I, and everyone else, should not have their new computer fixed with used parts, that is unacceptable.
Lies. I also inquired about extended the warranty up to 5 years since I had no faith about the potential repair working out in the long run, I was quoted $1,500 dollars for 5 years with accidental damage. However, if you add a new laptop into a cart on their website and add 5 years plus accidental damage, the warranty is closer to $600. So after all the issues I have faced, they offer me an extended warranty at roughly $900+ dollars the cost of if I got a new laptop.
I could go on further about the lies I was told, and how I endless caught them bending the truth, but what is the point. My only goal now is to stop anyone from having to go through this nightmare. Avoid Dell and Alienware at all costs. If you managed to get a working laptop, I wish you the best, I pray for you that nothing goes wrong.
For me? I guess I'll eat the $2,000 cost on the laptop or just apply new thermal paste myself, meanwhile I will head to Costco to purchase a new laptop with similar specs. They offer 3 years extended warranty with accidental damage for $100 dollars.
Good luck everyone.
(edited)