XPS 13 / Ubuntu 15.04 Freezes with Caps Lock Blnking

I seem to have fixed these issues on my setup.  From reading the thread, and from my own experience, I think it is hard to resolve as the kernel panics are due to two issues, not just one.  First, there is the suspend issue, and second there is the wireless issue (a faulty pointer). The combination of solutions that seems to work (and both need to be used) is as follows:

For the suspend issue, blacklist mei and mei_me.  Do this by adding the following lines:

blacklist mei
blacklist mei_me

to /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf.  

For the wifi issue, apply the patch to the kernel as descibed here: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/bcmwl/+bug/1415880.  Just follow the instructions in the first post and you should be good to go.

For reference, I am running Kubuntu 15.04, with kernel 3.19.0-18-generic.  I have been suspending for two days with no issues, and have switched wireless networks many times on purpose to insure no hangups.  If I see any problems I will report back, but I hope this helps others in the meantime.

Same issue here. Ubuntu 15.04, A04, kernel 3.19.0-21, with BCM4352 wireless card. Daily kernel panics are almost always preceded by periods of very unstable wireless connectivity. I am not actively changing wireless settings / access points when this happens.

Same here, 

I'm using the latest BIOS A04 on my Dell XPS 13 with Full HD and without touch screen. So far (last two weeks) I got five times a Kernel panic with blinking caps lock key: 

- When searching for another wifi network

- When entering suspend mode

Additionally, the wifi connection does not seem very reliable.

- When entering suspend mode

Have you blacklisted the "mei" and "mei_me" packages in /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf?

Blacklisting those should resolve kernel panics when entering suspend. There is a post above with details for how to do this.

- When searching for another wifi network ... Additionally, the wifi connection does not seem very reliable.

The majority of my kernel panics were from resuming from suspend so the above blacklisting resolved the majority of my kernel panics.  Now I get 1-2 kernel panics a month it seems, although I am not frequently changing wireless networks.

There is a bug in the Broadcom drivers for Ubuntu which creates a null pointer when changing wireless networks.  Since most of my kernel panics are resolved, I have not taken the time to apply the patch to fix this, but in theory others have documented how to patch the issue in code yourself.

Regarding reliability, I have not had any issues with my wireless (even without the null pointer patch).  In fact, most issues I have are with my wireless routers and when they act up I tether my Sputnik to my iPhone using WiFi.

You manually replaced the hardware yourself?

After blacklisting mei and mei_me and replacing the wifi card to the 7265 one I have not seen a kernel panick (in about 2 weeks). The wifi with the 7265 card works much better.

Yes, I did. The link to a discussion is below. There is also a pictured tutorial by ifixit.

en.community.dell.com/.../19638741

If it's any comfort I am seeing exactly the same behaviour with exactly the same kernel/ubuntu (gnome). Very frustrating. 

Did you solve it? 

Linux toni-XPS-13-9343 3.19.0-22-generic #22-Ubuntu SMP Tue Jun 16 17:15:15 UTC 2015 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

I am on bios 04 but I still get kernel panics once in a while (almost every day, but I close the lid, 3/4 times a day) 

Key repeats: YES still there, annoyingly, mostly with the space, so all my emails these days have two random spaces here and there. 

I don't use bluetooth much. 

Definitely some random trackpad jumping, when I am in gmail the email just disappear and I end up with a draft (at least it didn't send an email for me yet). 

I haven't seen the clock mode stuck, but it might have happened as well as sometimes the system feels slower.

So all of these posts are old and no solution from dell yet? 

Just to confirm, you have:

1. Upgraded to kernel 3.19+
2. Applied the patches from Dell (important to appy them AFTER upgrading kernel even though it says they are targeted for 3.13)
3. Blacklisted mei and mei_me packages
4. Replaced the wireless card or self-patched the Broadcom drivers to resolve null pointer issue

After these steps (in this order) you're system should no longer have key repeats or frequent kernel panics.  The wireless card will still not support channels 12 and 13 and bluetooth still isn't working (apparently).

I have done steps 1-3 and I don't have key repeats or kernel panics.  Since I haven't patched or replaced the wireless yet, I don't have channels 12/13, bluetooth, and I can get kernel panics once every month or two due to the null pointer issue...but I live in the US so the 12/13 channel issue is not usually an issue and the kernel panics aren't enough of a problem to demand immediate attention.

To the best of my knowledge, Dell Pro Support still haven't figured out how they want to handle these issues...so no, there is no ironclad solution from Dell yet.  Most of the fixes, workarounds and troubleshooting is still being done largely by the community (at least from my perspective).

For me, those steps fixed the kernel panics but not the keyboard. Nothing fixed the keyboard for me, and even the replacement laptop that Dell sent me also had the same keyboard problems.

BTW, replacing the Broadcom card with the Intel 7265 is the best solution to wireless & BT issues. Patching the Broadcom driver fixes the kernel panics, but doesn't make it work properly. Even after being patched, Bluetooth still didn't work after waking from suspend. The Intel 7265 works seamlessly with no need for driver installs or patches.

Nice to see you're still monitoring this forum MRC01!

Hmmm...I am a bit puzzled by the fact you are still getting keyboard repeats and I haven't had key repeat issues since I patched in the 3.19 kernel with the LTS testing repository back in February (before 3.19 kernel was available for 14.04 LTS).  In fact, I think you and I were going back and forth troubleshooting back then.

I have come a similar conclusion about replacing the Broadcom card.  I just haven't gotten around to it yet and I am waiting on Pro Support to approve the replacement so it won't void my warranty/Pro Support contract.

At the end of the day, I think I will just buy a Mac and install Linux onto it when I want to upgrade from this laptop.  The amount of troubleshooting and pain I have had to endure with this generation of the Sputnik has probably turned me off of Dell for a good while.

I can confirm that blacklisting the modules works as part of the solution.  Before that, closing the lid and opening it would send the laptop into a kernel panic (XPS 13 9394 A04 Ubuntu 15.04).  After putting in the blacklist and rebooting, I've tried closing the lid a few times and it seems to resume just fine.

I have this problem too, and also suspect it's a combo of suspend and wifi issues.

It's a total pain in the ***, causing me freezes ~10 times each day, and resulting in data loss all the while.

The problem only appeared recently for me,  probably within weeks. I've blacklisted the modules, have not patched the wifi drivers, and the issue still persists. Running Fedora 22.