Cellphone interference...?

Question

Hey there, good afternoon guys. My notebook doesn't seem to have any problems right now, but I want to ask something in order to keep it that way. Here's the background: My previous notebook (not a Dell) had an awful problem after something like 3 years of use or so. The screen went really really dark all of a sudden. If you pointed some light at the screen, you could still see everything there, but it was way too dark for me to use it normally. At first, it would be fine depending on the angle I would open the notebook, but it kept getting worse until it got permanently like that. I had to plug in a separate LCD screen in order to continue using that notebook, since no one figured out what was wrong with it. Now, I have a Vostro 3550, and I noticed that the same phenomenon occurs if the back my cellphone happens to touch the area just to the right of the touchpad. The screen goes extremely dark, and reverts back to normal when I take the cellphone away. It happens whether the phone is turned on or off, but only if it's the back of the phone that touches that specific area of the computer. This is the first time, though. I found this out by accident today, it's not like I leave my cellphone there all the time or anything. So what I want to know is: is it okay to have the notebook and the cellphone relatively close to each other (in the same desk, for example) or does it cause some long-term damage? Do you know which component is affected by this? I'm really worried now, because of my previous notebook. The cell phone is a Nokia X2-00, by the way. Can someone please shed some light on this?

DELL-Babita S · Accepted Answer

Hi Gabriel,

Your cellphone may have some kind of a particularly strong sensor which is putting your computer to sleep/hibernate when you touch it to your system. The electro-magnetic interference may be sending a false signal from the touchpad and the system must be sensing that the lid is closed (though it is actually not). Go into Power Options and change what 'closing the lid' does and see if you still experience the same problem.

Several customers connect to the internet on their laptops using their mobile phone connections hence to infer that keeping a mobile phone next to the computer may not be safe, may not be entirely correct. However, if you are facing a problem or notice any abnormality, we recommend you do not keep both devices at near distances to each other to avoid any problems in the future.

Please reply if you have any further questions.

Thanks and regards,
Babita S
#iworkforDell

For easy access to drivers, manuals and product updates, please visit our Support Site .

DELL-Babita S · Answer

Hi Gabriel,

Thank you for your reply.

It is great to know that you consider your question regarding cellphone-interference as resolved.

Please feel free to contact me in case you have any other queries.

Thanks and regards,
Babita S
#iworkforDell

For easy access to drivers, manuals and product updates, please visit our Support Site .

Gabriel_Zeal · Answer

Wow, that was fast! You've got it right, it really is the lid sensor. Awesome, thanks a bunch!

Locked Topics – Laptops General

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