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XPS 15 9560, battery swelling, Touchpad bulging
I've been having the dreaded bulging battery issue which is preventing my Touchpad from working. It seems technical support is completely oblivious to the previous and ongoing issues with battery swelling. Has anybody had any luck in the free replacements which Dell previously did for out of warranty laptops?
Since support seems to be stonewalling me, I reached out to the Massachusetts government to see if they can help to get this resolved. Any tips would be appreciated, as it seems unfair to have to pay over $100 to fix such a prevalent and ongoing issue.
ejn63
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April 29th, 2021 09:00
First things first: get the battery out of the system and disposed of immediately, before that $100 bill becomes the cost of a new system -- if you leave it where it is, you will soon have a chassis and mainboard beyond repair.
No, there's no free replacement of the battery. This is a 4-year old battery and as these are consumables, needs to be replaced. There is no coverage for a battery after one year - and just as a dead dry cell battery often leaks and destroys the device, so too will this one destroy the notebook.
It needs to be replaced - immediately.
ProfitDurian
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April 29th, 2021 10:00
It seems my reply got lost, so I'll share again. You can see in these threads and articles, Dell previously acknowledged this as a known issue with a different model and replaced batteries out of warranty. Since this is the exact same issue, all I am looking for is the same treatment.
https://www.dell.com/community/Laptops-General-Read-Only/XPS-15-9550-touchpad-issue-that-Dell-apparently-can-t-fix/td-p/5041627
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Dell-offers-to-replace-swelling-XPS-15-9550-batteries-for-free-even-if-out-of-warranty.247546.0.html
https://www.reddit.com/r/Dell/comments/6yycc9/dell_is_replacing_outofwarranty_swelling/
Dell posted a bulletin about this for the other model, but it has since been removed, leaving me with little to go by when following the same steps as others who had this issue in the past:
Thank you for your inquiry. There were either no bulletins found for the system you have entered, or the bulletin you received is no longer an active program.
ProfitDurian
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April 29th, 2021 11:00
I tried sharing the link to the Dell bulletin message about the free replacement, but my reply keeps getting removed. Not that it really matters since Dell has long since removed the bulletin. There are also plenty of posts in a closed thread here and on reddit, as well as news articles about the replacement program.
ProfitDurian
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April 29th, 2021 12:00
Dell only admitted the issue for that model - however, if you have seen the thread I am talking about, the problem is much more widespread across many models, which all use similar batteries. There is nothing materially different about the different models in the XPS line that would make this issue only applicable to a specific model. And as evidenced by the photos I posted, I am experiencing the exact same issue. As you said, yes the battery is a consumable, however, this is not simply a matter of being unsatisfied with the battery capacity after a few years of use. The battery issue is now preventing my trackpad from working, and since Dell obviously knew about this issue, it's irresponsible of them to not take responsibility for the consequences of this fault.
Additionally, I contacted Dell support last year before this issue had progressed to where the trackpad is non-functioning, yet I ended up being ghosted by the support without any information about any risks of continuing to use this laptop - which to be honest seems a bit negligent.
ejn63
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April 29th, 2021 12:00
Removing the battery will restore the touchpad function, and should be done immediately to prevent the system from being destroyed by the swollen battery.
And though you clearly have an agenda to espouse, there is indeed a difference between a batch of batteries that fails before its expected lifespan, and yours - which has failed due to being worn out.
The design life of a battery is 18-24 months; yours has exceeded it by a factor of two or more.
You will not get a replacement free of charge, and leaving the battery in the system will result in the destruction of the system.
ejn63
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April 29th, 2021 12:00
That was only for a specific battery model, and was only due to a fault in the manufacturing that led to early failure.
Any battery that's end of life -- which is about two years -- can swell. At the first sign of it, the battery should be replaced. See above - not doing so can lead to a safety issue and will result in the destruction of the system.
The fact is that lithium batteries can swell when they're at end of life, just as brake rotors can be destroyed if you ignore the wear sensors on the brake pads in your car, making for a significantly higher repair cost. Batteries, like brake pads are wear items - they do not last the life of the system any more than your brake pads will last the life of the car, and when they fail, they can do serious damage.