The first issue was also mentioned in this thread with another model, so Dell may have a bug in some common firmware they're deploying to multiple systems.  You may want to subscribe to that thread especially as it's already gotten a reply from Dell.

The second issue is by design on newer Dell systems, although I hate it.  Dell has opted for form over function here.  The last few versions of the XPS 13 and my own Latitude 7480 behave the same way.  In all of those cases, there's an LED along the front edge of the system that is solid or flashing when the system is charging depending on charge level, and apparently Dell thought it would be distracting to have a "pulse" animation in that area of the system while it was asleep, but the result is that sleep and shutdown are no longer visually distinguishable.  Maybe some users don't care about that distinction anymore, but I certainly do.

For the third, check Event Viewer entries in the System log in the seconds leading up to these unexpected shutdowns to see if there are any clues as to why that's happening.  Is it possible that the system is entering hibernation, since there is a "Hibernate after X minutes of inactivity" option in Power Options, for example.

Thank you much for your reply, I'll definitely go check out that thread. 

Well that is a bummer about the sleep indicator. I have a Precision 5520 at work and am always caught off guard when I see that LED lit...now I know why. I suppose however that it doesn't change how I use the computer...but it is nice. Maybe they'll fix it someday.

I always forget about the Event Viewer...I'll take a look. The system does not hibernate...it says "Shutting down" ont he screen instead of "Hibernating". Which is driving me crazy...I did test it today by running it on battery and it never shut down just went to sleep. So now it seems to have fixed itself. I also have all the hibernation settings on "Never". So I'm confused on what happened that night...it actually shut down completely two times!

Just posting a quick update. The new version of the BIOS fixed the issue where my serial port on my replicator wasn't being recognized by Windows. So far the issue with it randomly shutting down seems to have fixed itself...I have left it running on batttery on several occasions and could not get it to do it again. I'm wondering if there were some Windows 10 updates and I just didn't catch the notification when it installed those. 

Now onto a new issue. I have two monitors connected to my port replicator. Sometimes when the computer goes to sleep or turns the displays off they don't completely wake up. The monitors will be clearly on but no picture will be displayed. The only fix I have found is to shut down the computer the hard way and reboot. Then sometimes on boot up it will make my primary monitor (with login screen) on the wrong one. A reboot has always fixed this. 

I think for now I am going to do a fresh install of Windows 10 and see what happens and to rule any issues out there.

Does anyone have any insight into this? I can force the monitors to come back if I open the laptop screen. It is not my dock as I switched it out with one I borrowed from work. 

@DELL-Justin C@DELL-Alasdair R

Any update on this?

I got a Precision 7520 myself (as @geonerdist) and can't see the serial port in the device manager either. It's activated in the BIOS but that's it, no com1 in windows... Actually I tried all settings in BIOS back and forth (disabled, com1-com4), still no serial port in windows. The device manager shows only LPT1 in the ports section - even though I deactivated the parallel port in the BIOS just to see if the BIOS does at least something. It seems to me the port settings in the BIOS don't work at all.

Unfortunately I can't downgrade the BIOS as it's a business laptop. Currently it's running v1.9.1

This is kind of a major issue because replicating ports is the main purpose of a port replicator / docking station, isn't it? :smileyfrustrated:

Hi Makuckn,

The issue was resolved with the release of version 1.10.2:

http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04/drivers/driversdetails?driverId=YJ17C

@Makuckn @DELL-Alasdair R @DELL-Justin C

They're right, that was fixed with that update. @Makuckn, do you experience the same issues I describe with your external monitors that getting video back (but are powered on and not asleep) when the laptop is docked and wakes from sleep? I have actually let it sit now to see if it'll fix itself or not. It will actually blue screen with the stop code MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION. Any thoughts on this? 

For the record, I ended up buckling down and contacting Dell Tech Support directly. Short story but in a matter of a week of starting the conversation I am happy to report that after having a new motherboard and SSD installed this system is working like a champ.