5 ms·

My XPS 9550 had two batteries swell and the 2nd time it broke my upper case and trackpad. I replaced the case, trackpad, and keyboard, but Dell won't sell me a

My XPS 9550 had two batteries swell and the 2nd time it broke my upper case and trackpad. I replaced the case, trackpad, and keyboard, but Dell won't sell me a battery and their batteries have DRM so you can't use a 3rd party unit. My top of the line, i7, 32gb ram, 2gb gpu, 1tb nvme drive laptop is now no better than a paperweight. When plugged into shore power you can't get max CPU or GPU power and it's an annoying mess to deal with so it's just sitting. I now own an X1 Carbon 7th gen and a 2020 i5 MBP and love them both. I'm traveling more than ever (bought a camper van to get out of the city center) and they are typically more abused than the XPS ever was. No problems at all. Shit, my 8 and 10 year old MBPs are still running after giving them away to friends in need. I have a thin Anker dongle that has type a ports, ethernet, hdmi, and type c and a couple cheap backups in various bags. It's a small price to pay and all of our devices save the iPhone are type C now so I am slowing moving to one cord for everything. Anyway...I'll never buy another Dell for the rest of my life. End rant

protomyth 6y ago
Dell won't sell me a battery and their batteries have DRM so you can't use a 3rd party unit Dell is horrible for this type of stuff. Had to retire a server early because of this type of policy. I wouldn't recommend them at all.
SilverRed 6y ago
This is a horror story and its bigger than just dell. Replacing a macbook battery is virtually impossible as well. IMO this is a problem that needs government action. The right to repair laws should include that ALL consumer electronics which use a battery have a serviceable battery and that parts be sold for x years.
InvaderFizz 6y ago
> Dell won't sell me a battery and their batteries have DRM so you can't use a 3rd party unit. Are you sure you can't use a third party battery? Plenty of hits on Amazon for Chinese branded ones. I replaced a XPS 9570 battery with a Chinese one a few months ago, seems fine to me.
- 650REDHAIR 6y ago
  Missed this previously, sorry! Yes. I've tried flashing older BIOS versions. Multiple new chargers. I've tried 5 different batteries from Amazon and eBay. 2 have worked for a hot minute before failing to be recognized. I've popped in the swollen battery to test to make sure something else wasn't working and the swollen battery stays recognized. Reading Reddit/talking to others in similar positions it's hit or miss whether the specific machine will work. I can't find a pattern with BIOS version, model, dates, etc. To date I've probably spent 30 hours troubleshooting and I've given up :(
adgjlsfhk1 6y ago
I had the same problem with a 9550. Luckily I was able to remind them of Samsung enough that they were willing to fix it for free.

protomyth 6y ago

Dell won't sell me a battery and their batteries have DRM so you can't use a 3rd party unit Dell is horrible for this type of stuff. Had to retire a server early because of this type of policy. I wouldn't recommend them at all.

SilverRed 6y ago

This is a horror story and its bigger than just dell. Replacing a macbook battery is virtually impossible as well. IMO this is a problem that needs government action. The right to repair laws should include that ALL consumer electronics which use a battery have a serviceable battery and that parts be sold for x years.

InvaderFizz 6y ago

> Dell won't sell me a battery and their batteries have DRM so you can't use a 3rd party unit. Are you sure you can't use a third party battery? Plenty of hits on Amazon for Chinese branded ones. I replaced a XPS 9570 battery with a Chinese one a few months ago, seems fine to me.

650REDHAIR 6y ago
Missed this previously, sorry! Yes. I've tried flashing older BIOS versions. Multiple new chargers. I've tried 5 different batteries from Amazon and eBay. 2 have worked for a hot minute before failing to be recognized. I've popped in the swollen battery to test to make sure something else wasn't working and the swollen battery stays recognized. Reading Reddit/talking to others in similar positions it's hit or miss whether the specific machine will work. I can't find a pattern with BIOS version, model, dates, etc. To date I've probably spent 30 hours troubleshooting and I've given up :(

adgjlsfhk1 6y ago

I had the same problem with a 9550. Luckily I was able to remind them of Samsung enough that they were willing to fix it for free.