x15 R1, keyboard issues

Has anyone else been having issues with their x15 R1 keyboard? I've had this laptop for less than 24 hours now and so far I've noticed the keyboard:
1) often misses letters when I am typing
2) randomly stops working completely for 5 minutes at a time

I've already uninstalled and reinstalled the Alienware Command Center hoping that would fix it, and of course restarted the laptop several times, but unfortunately these issues have continued.

If anyone has found a solution to this, I would greatly appreciate any assistance. If you are having the same issues as me, I feel your pain and annoyance. I was hoping to get a better experience with something that costed me a whole paycheck.