New Kaby Lake XPS 13: coil whine

Anyone with a reasonably quiet XPS13 but one that squeaks when playing video-games, etc, try the driver update solution?

I tried the Realtek driver. My laptop still squeaks when playing Minecraft. Plus it leaves an X on my audio Task Bar icon saying "No Audio Output Device in installed."

Hello everyone, I just wanted to buy the Dell XPS 9360, but after reading the first thing I thought up. As far as the current noise problems are concerned, they only refer to version 13/15 "with i7 ... did anyone encounter such problems in i5 version?

Gihros, looks like the problem is in defective components on motherboard not in processor.

So the problem can affect all laptops, and it's a shame because I can not find a better linux laptop with skylike / kabylike and USB type C

There is a new Realtek audio driver on the Dell website (March 2017). That installed for me ok, but it's no fix for the coil whine on my XPS 13.

Any ETA on the fix/A02?

Will it be a matter of weeks or months? I'd like an idea of the "time scale".

@Ervytis

It is only one person. I would like to find other accounts, but it is incredibly difficult to find information about the A02.

Anyways, assuming Dell's engineers know what they are doing, the revision should help address the coil whine. They talked of a reduction, not an elimination. As mine can get pretty loud (sometimes), I would be happy with a reduction.

On 4/20/2017, I purchased an XPS 13 9360 from Costco, equipped with an i7-7560U processor, 512G SSD, 16 GB memory, and QHD Touch Display. It also came equipped with the A00 motherboard complete with coil whine. The coil whine makes the computer unusable. It appears there is no solution, so I'll be returning it tomorrow.

4 months after the suggested answer, and Dell still can't promise that we can get the A02 motherboard to make the coil whine issue become less noticeable.

I think that 4 months to fix an issue is way too long! It's sad that there is a laptop that can compete against the macbook, but Dell just keeps not caring about their customer base :(

We'll probably get more excuses again for the lack of update and progress.

Hi Rich,

First of all, im sorry about your experience with the coil whine.  Im guessing the system you purchased was Windows based?  Are you asking for a replacement system or simply a refund?

thanks

So I owned an XPS 9343 bought in Jan 2015 which was an awesome laptop with NO coil whine at all.  I decided to upgrade to the XPS 9360 (512 GB SSD, 16 GB RAM i7 7500 processor, QHD touch display).  Received it beginning of February and interestingly never had coil whine that I noticed.   However within 5 days of use the screen went black and wouldn't turn on again.  I have Dell Premium Support and they offered me a system exchange.  The new system has a definite coil whine (which I have never heard in any of my Dell laptops over the last 13 years) but it is more likely the same as heard in Situation 1 - ie you can only hear it in a quiet room and I don't notice it changing depending on what I am doing.  However I contacted Dell about it and within 2 minutes of explaining it they offered me a system exchange again (as this is a known issue to them).   They also offered me a full refund should the system exchange not fix the problem.  The new computer arrived 2 days ago and with turning it on to set up I immediately noticed the coil whine again!

The motherboard on my 9360 laptop is listed as A00.

It is now April 2017 so obviously nothing is changing based on the thread of posts.  This is frustrating to me as Dell has always provided superior service and product in the last 13 years for me.  

However - as I love everything else about this XPS (and the coil whine is relatively quiet for my unit) and there is little on the market that can supply the same (ie great battery life, optimal ports, touch screen, small footprint with 13 inch screen and fast)  I have decided to keep it.  

I'm certainly hopeful that there will be something sorted in the future.

Mel

I have a maxed out Ubuntu XPS 13 9360. Mine has a very noticeable whine. It's quite irritating and disappointing for a laptop I thought would be fantastic. I heard about the whine before I chose it and thought it could not be so bad, but I'd definitely not have chosen it if I had known the extent ahead of time.

It's not enough that I'll go to the trouble of replacing it, mostly because it's for work and I can't live without a laptop for a long time, but it would be good if something could be done.

Prior to receiving it I was very excited about the Linux XPS 13's. Now I doubt I'll get another.

@Community,

Barton George and I would like to provide the below update. We thank you for your patience and continued feedback on this topic.

Problem:

There is small number of XPS 9350s and XPS 9360s that produce a level of piezo electric noise that is considered out of spec by Dell. The out of spec level of noise can be heard above a busy office environment, above soft music or above certain levels of climate control noise. This level of noise is what is covered under Dell’s limited warranty.

Solution:

If you have the higher noise level as described above you can call Dell technical support and mention document ID SLN305206. This document will help guide your case to the next steps, which may include some basic troubleshooting/questions and potentially a motherboard replacement.

Updates/clarifications:

9360:

A02 motherboard: I had previously advised the Community that an A02 motherboard would be released to warranty service stock. This has changed. A02 motherboards are only available at the factory for new 9360 systems built on or after January 1st 2017. A02 motherboard will not be available in warranty stock. Instead, Dell has come out with new part numbers that have been placed in warranty service stock. SLN305206 as given above will guide Dell technical support agents on how to obtain the appropriate motherboard replacement part number. Note: SLN305206 only applies to systems shipped before January 1st 2017.

9360 systems shipped after January 1st 2017: Dell considers 9360s shipped after January 1st 2017 to be operating within spec due to the improvements made ( A02 motherboard ). If by chance there’s a perception that the noise on a 9360 manufactured after this date is at the higher level described at the top of this post, Dell has a normal escalation path so that any reports of this can be investigated.

Certain 9360 system configurations were available as Fast ship systems*:  Given that these 9360s were pre-built, there may be situations where a fast ship system was manufactured before January 1st 2017 but have a purchase date after January 1st 2017. These fast ship systems may also be covered under SLN305206.

*Fast ship systems are also known as ‘Smart Selection’ configurations or are indicated on our sales website as “ships same day”.

Checking your board revision number: I had previously advised here that owners could find the A0X revision of their motherboard by going to the ePSAs and seeing the A0X version listed there. This is no longer the case as the A0X number reported inside ePSA may be reporting the wrong number. If an owner absolutely needs to find the A0X version of their board, the CPU heatsink will need to be removed in order to see the serial number sticker. Dell Support will normally not ask owners to remove the heatsink at any time during a support call unless there’s a specific need for that information. Dell does have internal tools in order to find the original motherboard version shipped with any particular system. Dell can find this information based on service tags and/or original order number.

9350:

Motherboard replacement:  Dell has made changes to warranty service stock regarding the motherboard. The solution for 9350 is to replace the motherboard for cases with the noise level described at the top of this post. This 9350 solution is included in SLN305206 along with the 9360.

Once again, thank you for your patience.