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November 5th, 2015 16:00

XPS 15 9550 Coil Whine

I was hoping this wouldn't be an issue with the newer generation models, as it was my understanding this was fixed towards the end of the previous generation. Unfortunately, I have audible coil whine on my new XPS 15 9550 when plugged in to the power adapter. When disconnected from the adapter, the whine is much less noticeable. It is most noticeable for me when scrolling in Chrome, as an example. KB backlight makes no difference. It does get slightly better when the battery is fully charged, but is still quite audible to me.

Is anybody else experiencing this with the Skylake models? I am extremely disappointed at this point, I like everything else about this laptop other than the coil whine and the webcam being at the bottom of the display (which I can live with, unlike the coil whine).

2 Posts

December 15th, 2015 09:00

New Power Supply did fix the issue.

February 17th, 2016 06:00

UPDATE - WITH RESOLUTION TO COIL WHINE:

I have now had several days with the new power brick, the new power brick definately resolves the problem, no more buzzing!  I can switch back and forth from the new power brick to the old one, each time I use the old brick the buzzing is back.

Therefore I must say that some of the initial bricks that shipped with the XPS 15 are defective.  If you have the buzzing/Coil Whine then I suggest you contact Dell for a new Power Brick.

Here are pictures of the old and new power brick, they are different part numbers.

Hope this helps the rest of you guys!

Kai

4 Posts

March 8th, 2016 04:00

I also had coil whine issue (buzzing coming from both the laptop and power brick) on my XPS 15 9950 with the power brick DP/N ORN7NW. The new power brick DP/N 06TTY6 resolves the problem as there is no more buzzing of any kind.

Thanks a lot samsausage1 !

27 Posts

November 5th, 2015 20:00

I don't think mine has this issue. Is it easy to hear or do I have to try to listen for it?

3 Posts

November 6th, 2015 05:00

For me, it's easy to hear, but it's certainly one of those sounds that some people might not be sensitive to. I can hear it from a few feet away.

3 Posts

November 6th, 2015 09:00

Here is a video. Make sure to watch in HD so you can hear it.

3 Posts

November 8th, 2015 14:00

Having same noise issue--isn't too bothersome but is definitely noticeable

33 Posts

November 10th, 2015 14:00

Running a 9550 i7/16/1TB/4k for a few days now and haven't heard any of that whine.  Plenty of fan noise tho.

8 Posts

November 17th, 2015 20:00

I have the coil whine as well.

5 Practitioner

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274.2K Posts

November 18th, 2015 11:00

same here, is this something that can be resolved with a software update? or is the only option a replacement?

just got my xps 7 days ago and dont really fancy waiting another month for a replacement.

Anyone from Dell have something to say about this?

4 Operator

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3.5K Posts

November 18th, 2015 13:00

I thank all of you for posting here. The XPS 15 may not be completely silent, and may have some electronic sounds but any noise should be fairly quiet, is the noise so loud that it can be easily heard in normal conditions or something that is only noticed close to the system in a silent room? I know that ormandj mentioned that the whine was worse with the AC adapter connected, have any of you others noticed this about the ac adapter?  It is unlikely that any of the hardware is defective but I do suggest running diagnostics just to be safe.  Please reply back if it does seem like the Ac adapter is the problem for most of you or not, and if there was anything found by diagnostics.

 

TB

November 18th, 2015 17:00

I also have this problem on my new Dell XPS 15 9550 MS Signature Edition. I have ran diagnostics, nothing came up. I also have tried multiple outlets and even some of the XPS 15 9550 Dell power adapters from the store. I do believe that only some can hear this as it is an extremely high frequency and those over age 30 or 40 may not be able to hear the higher frequencies. The sound always comes from the inside of the laptop, assumingly the motherboard, around the area where the power adapter plugs in. Also, the sound only emits when the laptop is charged to 100%. The power adapter is not making any noise. As a young guy at age 21, I can hear it especially when the room is quiet and when the system is being taxed in some way. It is most noticeable when scrolling or moving the cursor via trackpad or microsoft designer bluetooth mouse. Quite annoying. I am replacing mine and will see what comes of that. Honestly, I have not had this problem with other manufacturers. Seems to be a problem Dell cannot solve coming from what I have heard about other XPS models. Really detracts from the otherwise wonderful construction and experience!

5 Practitioner

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274.2K Posts

November 19th, 2015 00:00

Hello Terry and thank you for your response,

when the AC adaptor is not plugged in there is no noise whatsoever.

But when it is plugged in there is a barely, but still audible whiny noise (the laptop has to be switched on) which seems to come from the laptop itself.

Have in mind the whiny noise is not always loud , sometimes i really need to look for it to hear it.

The room i am using it in is fairly quiet but with some background noise and the whine is audible from the normal typing distance.

Tried running the express and extended diagnostics on my pc and all of them resulted in a pass. 

To be honest the sound itself, at least in my case isn't that loud or disruptive, but i cannot remember experiencing a similar thing with any previous laptops before.

If there is a possibility there is an underlying issue then i'd like to ask for a replacement as soon as possible (i am within the 14 days of purchase).

4 Operator

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3.5K Posts

November 20th, 2015 09:00

Ryanjdesalvo, and  Christosk

I have sent friend requests to both of you, please accept.   With your reports of the noise, I really can't say if this is abnormal or not.  I don't like that at least with Christosk's system how the AC adapter makes a difference.

TB

November 28th, 2015 04:00

Any updates on this issue? I just received my xps 15 yesterday (FHD, i7, 16Gb ram, 512 SSD) and I notice this coil whine too when plugged in.

Should I return the unit to get a refund?

Thanks

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