XPS 15 9500, color banding

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I have problem with colors on my XPS 15 9560 too, but since 2-3 weeks ago after update INTEL GPU, I wrote to Dell Support, but if my warranty is ended, they can't help me. I checked this community and I see that I am not alone with this problem, so now I'm wondering if I should wait for some update of driver or Premier Color app or do what to get normal color? Because now it's too much colorful (especially red, orange)

Any answer from people of Dell? 

Hello @DELL-Cares 

is there any update on this color banding issue?
I tried the suggested solution, but as soon as I click the "restore to original colours" in the Intel Graphics Center, my screen turns black and doesn't show anything any more (it is on but showing blank). After this, the only way to reset it is to connect a second monitor to see and open the Dell PremierColor -> then the screen comes back to life. The colour banding of dark images stays horrible, regardless of the Dell PremierColor app running or not. It is a shame in this price segment, an update fix has to come from Dell.

Please let me know about any further solutions!

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I had the same issue with my XPS 15 9500 FHD+, as soon as I disabled/uninstalled colour premier and then used Intel panel to restore the original settings, my screen went black and had to connect to a second monitor just to navigate it. The only solution was to bite the bullet and do a complete reset of the computer. After that, my XPS 9500 had significantly less colour banding by a good 80%. I installed all my applications etc, however, I did not open colour premier or Intel panel nor do I intend to do so again till there is an update. The colour premier is causing the issues of extreme banding, you would think DELL would get on it and sort it out. I paid £1700 for this machine and this screen issue should not be a thing at this price level. But that's DELL for you ...  customers since 1984.

Does anyone have any update on this issue? I just purchased a 9500 with a 4k display. I saw the work around consisting in deleting Dell PremierColor and resetting the colors in the Intel app, but the screen goes dark and the only way to reactivate it is to plug in an external monitor and re-install ColorPremier... 

Such a shame, it is such a beautiful machine, i'd hate to have to send it back, but for photo editing, it is useless... I sent emails to Dell and Intel before seeing this thread, and I am now concerned there is no fix. 

@Alchimiste Sadly there is no fix, and I would not waste your time trying to explain it to DELL customer service like the rest of us, they will just tell you to replace your screen or XPS15. They will not get it into their heads that it is a software-related issue. The only option you have is to do a full window reinstall which will return the laptop to factory settings and will reduce the banding to about 80-90% however you will be left with an oversaturated colour scheme which is not great for media editing. Until DELL addresses the issue which could be never as let's face it DELL consumer service is deplorable, and as they have done with most issues relating to the XPS15 9500 and other systems they will probably sweep it under the rug, we just got to live with it or return the XPS15 if the option is still available.

Hi together and merry christmas, this issue is still not solved by Dell. It seems all devices that run DELL Premiere Color are affected by this issue. Uninstalling DELL Premiere Color is the only option that really works. You could also leave Dell Premiere Color installed and active and also activate Windows HD Color. This reduces the banding in the dark areas, but makes the system very choppy and not fun to use. I really wonder how Dell can sell so many notebooks and so few people complain about the bad color banding...

Thank you for your replies @Valefor88 and @cwswiss. I've tried a number of work around other than reinstalling windows from scratch. Windows HD color does help a lot with the heavy banding/dithering, but cannot be activated with battery power. After some time on it and a final calibration, I had it almost to an acceptable state, but when I unplugged the power, it all went back to doodoo, despite turning off all battery management features. 

I am somewhat flabbergasted this notebook is reviewed almost everywhere as the best solution for photo editing, along side the Macbook Pro. Perfomance is one thing, but if you can't see the image properly, what's the point? This a beautiful machine with a gorgeous display, I hope Dell and Intel can work together to get it working as it should. But if they cannot, I will return mine. 

Merry Christmas

Hi @Alchimiste ,

in fact you can activate HD color even when on battery.

Just rightclick on the desktop to go to the display settings. There you´ll find the HD on/off switch. And right above the switch there is the link to the HD color settings. On this page you have to scroll to the very bottom where you can find the options on how to handle HD color settings when on battery.

Problem with HD colors turned on is a choppy interface throughout the system and local dimming that can not be switched off.

I could not find any review (print, online or youtube) where theses issues were highlighted. Every reviewer claimed this product on par with macbooks.

Well, I just lost a whole post because Dell wouldn't allow me to use the word cr4p in their post.

Anywho, just wanted to share my experience with this issue with everyone (especially since there are posts from TODAY in this thread).

The original way to fix the color banding (back in like... July) was to go into Dell Premier Color (DPC), chose which setting you wanted, go to startup, disable DPC in startup, then go to Intel Graphics Command Center (IGCC) after, go to Display > Restore Default Color (as so many posts before me and suggest you do).

Since that is no longer working, I decided to go with the method that many of the posts in this thread suggest I do, which is to uninstall DPC completely, and then restore default colors in IGCC. However, that, again like many before me, just left me with a black screen unless I connected to a secondary monitor.

I saw one individual state that they had to go into their BIOS and do a full restart/wipe of their system to fix. Luckily I did not have to (and hopefully you won't have to either), and I just googled "re-install DPC", which lead me to the Windows Store link to install it. The SECOND I had it installed and ran it, my display came back (which I'm very thankful for, as I'd rather have my display working with color banding, than not have the display working at all).

It's incredibly frustrating that Dell doesn't seem to want to work Intel on this, and basically (maybe this is getting a little too conspiracy theoristic but hear me out) completely cripples their computer without their own programming calling the shots, rather than working with Intel to make sure that the very expensive display that they've put into their computers functions as it is suppose to. Clearly anyone who buys the 4k touch display has been completely duped by Dell.

Get the FHD+ display on your Dell XPS 9500 peeps. The UHD+ display and touch screen isn't worth the hassle of dealing with terrible color profiles. I bought this computer with this screen because I thought it would have the better color accuracy, but it's so hindered by the Dell programming, that you won't get it.

hmmm not sure why this all in one paragraph....

Seems to me that there are too many conflicts with the different managements, between Dell, Intel and Windows 10... I've worked through many different configurations and calibration methods, and I think I have found something that works for me as a photographer and printer. I will run with it for a while a see how it works out, but colors and tonalities look very good, and having gone through a LR library with monochrom and color images, I am not seeing any banding.

Below are the different steps I took. I created a ICC profile with DisplayCal and a i1Pro spectro-densitometer, which I am happy to share. I cannot attach it here, so just send me a PM.

The profile has a Gamut coverage/Gamut Volume of: sRGB: 99.9%/157.5% Adobe RGB: 99.5%/108.5% DCI P3: 91.2%/111.5%

Windows 10 Display settings: - disabled HDR - I tried to do calibrate the screen in HDR and it was awful - disabled auto brightness - Windows HDR settings: Battery Option > Optimize for Image Quality - I am not sure if this doing anything since HDR is off, but I noticed banding occurs if it is on the other settings. - Advanced Display Setting > Display Adapter Properties for Display 1 > Color Management > Color Management: remove all profiles and keep only the one you've made or the above.

Dell PremierColor: - deleted the app

Intel Graphic Command Center: NOTE: you need to have an external monitor hooked up and MIRRORED because the screen will turn black after adjusting the saturation slide. When the screen turn black, open Dell Cinema Color and the screen will turn back on. - Adjust slider saturation to 0 - System > Power: turn everything OFF as it also controls auto-brightness.

I am not sure how all this will affect the battery life, but I prefer a shorter battery life over a poor image quality. It should be simpler... and good enough right out of the box for a system which is supposed to be best solution out there for photographers. Like I said above, I will run with it for a little while to see if it holds, otherwise I will look into the FHD+ as @ObstacleJid suggested...

I hope Dell and Intel will provide a more viable solution soon!