I am having the same difficultiea with my M5030 as of an hour or so ago. After trying the trick to discharge any static electricity I am still getting a blank screen and seven loud beeps when I attempt to power the unit up.
Seeing the post above and noting that it is dated just a few weeks ago, I had hoped to resolve the issue with Dell in a fashion that would not involve an expensive service charge (my warranty is expired). Sadly any free repairs for what seems to be a chronic issue with these units must not be standard; I called Dell customer service and was quoted a rather steep fee.
Dell representatives, what are my options for getting this fixed? Is the deal mentioned above simply too good to be true (as the customer service agent implied), or is there yet some hope of having this situation rectified?
@Cjones: my replacement was done back in July 2013 despite the computer being out of warranty. Good luck as Dell has changed their policy from what I have been informed.
My experience with Dell during the last 10 years has been this....I buy a new laptop and a month after the warranty expires the laptop stops working. If I did not know any better I would think. I then call and am recommended a new warranty at a ridiculous price. I will no longer buy Dell. this is either because the charger stops charging or the laptop over heats and shuts down, this time around it is the seven beeps.
After quite a few weeks of deliberation I stumbled upon an outside forum thread concerning this very same issue (same model, same problem). There were a few people who attested to obtaining positive results after taking a harder line with Dell agents over the phone. While I did not want to be rude to people who are only doing their (already less than pleasant) jobs, I decided to be a bit more assertive and call back.
I spoke with an out-of-service operator, argued a bit, and asked to be handed over to the supervisor. After pressing him a bit and trying to get him to forward me further up the chain of command, I got him to admit that any future calls would go to him anyway. I kept asking to speak with technicians directly, or anyone who could do more than he. Finally he took my phone number and said I would receive a call from "technical support."
Dell Escalation Management called in a few days. I had to push here a bit as well, but not nearly so much. I got a one-time exception and was sent the standard box for shipping my laptop off to be repaired at no charge.
Be persistent and assertive. If one is being reasonable, there should be no problem of conscience in demanding that one's interests as a customer be addressed.
Thank you, Escalation agents, for resolving my concerns and making sure that I not only have a working computer for school, but a somewhat more positive (if still wary) opinion of your company.
Well, I didn't have the same luck. Called 1-800-822-6031, talked with Shira and then Dupash (I think.) Their position is that all these M5030s have been fixed already. I informed them a few times that mine hasn't been. It worked for two years then exhibited the seven beeps problem (the problem started a year ago, and at that time I did a lot of searching on the problem, tried the thing with the battery out and holding down the power button, all to no avail. Then I set the laptop aside and used something else.) Recently I decided to look at the laptop again to see if it could be fixed, and found this thread and similar ones. Having seen that they replaced a board and processor just a couple of months ago, I decided to call them. Waste of time. Bottom line is that they won't fix it unless I pay $360 for the repairs. Ha. I am now in a position of needing to purchase another laptop. Will I buy another Dell, the same company that sold a laptop that lasted for two years and then turned into a paperweight? I think not. We have Dells at work and they work great, but for home use I am done with Dell. Time to give another company a chance to earn my business.
purchased this lap top and, as happened with several others, the mother board and video chip completely failed and I got the 7 beeps of death signal. it's a common problem with this model and one that dell WAS giving a free fix for. however, the nice indian rep told me that "one should not expect much of a machine that's 4 year old". and this this was from a supervisor since I could not even understand the first person who answered my call. really?? one cannot expect a $400+ machine to work for more than 4 years? and then the dell reps cop and attitude telling me the warranty is expired and I'm asking for too much but they'll fix it for $326 if I send it in. so, in order, failed machine, unintelligible phone support, rude supervisor = never never never buy dell products. you can search issues in forums with customer service as well, seems it's non-existent. as a temporary fix to get your files off your lap top and clean it out before you turn it into a paper weight, turn it on, wrap the beeping machine in a blanket for about 20 min, turn off for about 5 min, turn back on. repeat until it boots up--took me twice.
Yep had the same thing just happen to ours, dell fixed it out of warranty last July 2013 then the 7 beep came back this week. Called dell they said you are out of luck. My son wrapped it in comforter for 30minutes and it is working again. Will never purchase another dell.
Same laptop, same 7 beeps of death less than 18 months after paying Dell too much of my hard earned money to have it fixed. This laptop has not been mistreated and never showed any errors before this happened.
I WILL NOT be paying Dell a second time to repair a design defect.
Same here, but Dell sent a tech to my house, replaced the motherboard, worked until the guy left. Then I turn it on, it boots up and as soon as the fan comes on (after about 15 seconds) shuts itself down. Dell won't respond to me anymore. There are literally thousands of complaints about this defective laptop and they choose to do nothing. I think we as consumers should have an outlet. Anyone out there with ideas?
here is the totally unacceptable response I got in relation to my better business bureau complaint. this guy called me and was totally unprofessional, flippant and rude then sent this email...
Dear Mr. Miller,
As discussed, I would like to inform you that the warranty for the computer with service tag number 73G99N1 has expired on 11-12-2011. I regret to inform you that we will not be able to repair the computer without charge.
Please accept our sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused and reply to my e-mail for any further assistance.
I suggest everyone that has a problem make a formal complaint to the Better Business Bureau. It's not terribly effective but with critical mass maybe we can get something done.
<ADMIN NOTE: Address and contact information removed as per privacy policy>
My response to Dell via the Better Business Better Business Bureau.
I must reiterate that one only need to look into the Dell forums to see that many people have had this very same problem and that many people have also received free repairs for it when the machine was past the warranty stage. One of the Dell representatives told me exactly this too. He said they had an specified number of repairs they made on machines with expired warranties and after that they discontinued the free repairs. I'm not sure why, if this is a known problem, that Dell chooses not to resolve it. However, such denial of responsibility and sheer arrogance for the customer is unacceptable. I encourage others with the same or similar problem to also lodge Better Business Bureau complaints and to never buy another Dell product until they can prove they actually value their customers.
My wife's Inspiron 5030 did the 7 death beeps thing last year and I went through many reps and escalations before I paid about $190 to fix it. Now we have the same problem again just 16 months later. I am not even going to submit myself to the frustrations of trying to get service from them.
Current work laptop is a 7 month old Latitude E6540 with a fan that runs up and down crazily. (many complaint on the internet, no fixes) It boots slower on Windows 7 Pro than my old M4400 did on XP Pro. The machine is made cheaply and already has a bent case and cracked panel near the keyboard.
After more than 10 years of consistently good Dell performance and service I will NEVER AGAIN purchase one. HP seems to be the leader in the laptop field right now.
chiefjefe
10 Posts
0
January 19th, 2014 11:00
I was also helped with this problem by Dell with a no cost motherboard replacement. I think their policy changed.
cjones2
2 Posts
0
February 4th, 2014 20:00
I am having the same difficultiea with my M5030 as of an hour or so ago. After trying the trick to discharge any static electricity I am still getting a blank screen and seven loud beeps when I attempt to power the unit up.
Seeing the post above and noting that it is dated just a few weeks ago, I had hoped to resolve the issue with Dell in a fashion that would not involve an expensive service charge (my warranty is expired). Sadly any free repairs for what seems to be a chronic issue with these units must not be standard; I called Dell customer service and was quoted a rather steep fee.
Dell representatives, what are my options for getting this fixed? Is the deal mentioned above simply too good to be true (as the customer service agent implied), or is there yet some hope of having this situation rectified?
chiefjefe
10 Posts
1
February 5th, 2014 05:00
@Cjones: my replacement was done back in July 2013 despite the computer being out of warranty. Good luck as Dell has changed their policy from what I have been informed.
carmenmorales771
1 Message
0
March 13th, 2014 14:00
cjones2
2 Posts
0
March 16th, 2014 10:00
After quite a few weeks of deliberation I stumbled upon an outside forum thread concerning this very same issue (same model, same problem). There were a few people who attested to obtaining positive results after taking a harder line with Dell agents over the phone. While I did not want to be rude to people who are only doing their (already less than pleasant) jobs, I decided to be a bit more assertive and call back.
I spoke with an out-of-service operator, argued a bit, and asked to be handed over to the supervisor. After pressing him a bit and trying to get him to forward me further up the chain of command, I got him to admit that any future calls would go to him anyway. I kept asking to speak with technicians directly, or anyone who could do more than he. Finally he took my phone number and said I would receive a call from "technical support."
Dell Escalation Management called in a few days. I had to push here a bit as well, but not nearly so much. I got a one-time exception and was sent the standard box for shipping my laptop off to be repaired at no charge.
Be persistent and assertive. If one is being reasonable, there should be no problem of conscience in demanding that one's interests as a customer be addressed.
Thank you, Escalation agents, for resolving my concerns and making sure that I not only have a working computer for school, but a somewhat more positive (if still wary) opinion of your company.
OhioGuyDWD
2 Posts
1
June 5th, 2014 14:00
Well, I didn't have the same luck. Called 1-800-822-6031, talked with Shira and then Dupash (I think.) Their position is that all these M5030s have been fixed already. I informed them a few times that mine hasn't been. It worked for two years then exhibited the seven beeps problem (the problem started a year ago, and at that time I did a lot of searching on the problem, tried the thing with the battery out and holding down the power button, all to no avail. Then I set the laptop aside and used something else.) Recently I decided to look at the laptop again to see if it could be fixed, and found this thread and similar ones. Having seen that they replaced a board and processor just a couple of months ago, I decided to call them. Waste of time. Bottom line is that they won't fix it unless I pay $360 for the repairs. Ha. I am now in a position of needing to purchase another laptop. Will I buy another Dell, the same company that sold a laptop that lasted for two years and then turned into a paperweight? I think not. We have Dells at work and they work great, but for home use I am done with Dell. Time to give another company a chance to earn my business.
chiefjefe
10 Posts
1
June 6th, 2014 07:00
@ohioguy if your story is correct I don't blame you one bit
humanpeace
6 Posts
1
July 2nd, 2014 15:00
purchased this lap top and, as happened with several others, the mother board and video chip completely failed and I got the 7 beeps of death signal. it's a common problem with this model and one that dell WAS giving a free fix for. however, the nice indian rep told me that "one should not expect much of a machine that's 4 year old". and this this was from a supervisor since I could not even understand the first person who answered my call. really?? one cannot expect a $400+ machine to work for more than 4 years? and then the dell reps cop and attitude telling me the warranty is expired and I'm asking for too much but they'll fix it for $326 if I send it in. so, in order, failed machine, unintelligible phone support, rude supervisor = never never never buy dell products. you can search issues in forums with customer service as well, seems it's non-existent. as a temporary fix to get your files off your lap top and clean it out before you turn it into a paper weight, turn it on, wrap the beeping machine in a blanket for about 20 min, turn off for about 5 min, turn back on. repeat until it boots up--took me twice.
chiefjefe
10 Posts
1
July 2nd, 2014 16:00
Yep had the same thing just happen to ours, dell fixed it out of warranty last July 2013 then the 7 beep came back this week. Called dell they said you are out of luck. My son wrapped it in comforter for 30minutes and it is working again. Will never purchase another dell.
jdc8
6 Posts
0
July 9th, 2014 07:00
Same laptop, same 7 beeps of death less than 18 months after paying Dell too much of my hard earned money to have it fixed. This laptop has not been mistreated and never showed any errors before this happened.
I WILL NOT be paying Dell a second time to repair a design defect.
cla1rees
2 Posts
0
July 9th, 2014 12:00
Same here, but Dell sent a tech to my house, replaced the motherboard, worked until the guy left. Then I turn it on, it boots up and as soon as the fan comes on (after about 15 seconds) shuts itself down. Dell won't respond to me anymore. There are literally thousands of complaints about this defective laptop and they choose to do nothing. I think we as consumers should have an outlet. Anyone out there with ideas?
humanpeace
6 Posts
0
July 9th, 2014 12:00
here is the totally unacceptable response I got in relation to my better business bureau complaint. this guy called me and was totally unprofessional, flippant and rude then sent this email...
Dear Mr. Miller,
As discussed, I would like to inform you that the warranty for the computer with service tag number 73G99N1 has expired on 11-12-2011. I regret to inform you that we will not be able to repair the computer without charge.
Please accept our sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused and reply to my e-mail for any further assistance.
Regards,
Surendra Raj
Dell | Executive Customer Support Team
Phone +1 800 624 9897, Extn: 72-83898
My work schedule is 9:00 am - 5:00 pm CST Monday to Friday.
humanpeace
6 Posts
0
July 9th, 2014 13:00
I suggest everyone that has a problem make a formal complaint to the Better Business Bureau. It's not terribly effective but with critical mass maybe we can get something done.
<ADMIN NOTE: Address and contact information removed as per privacy policy>
humanpeace
6 Posts
0
July 10th, 2014 11:00
My response to Dell via the Better Business Better Business Bureau.
I must reiterate that one only need to look into the Dell forums to see that many people have had this very same problem and that many people have also received free repairs for it when the machine was past the warranty stage. One of the Dell representatives told me exactly this too. He said they had an specified number of repairs they made on machines with expired warranties and after that they discontinued the free repairs. I'm not sure why, if this is a known problem, that Dell chooses not to resolve it. However, such denial of responsibility and sheer arrogance for the customer is unacceptable. I encourage others with the same or similar problem to also lodge Better Business Bureau complaints and to never buy another Dell product until they can prove they actually value their customers.
Regards,
Paul Miller
jdc8
6 Posts
0
July 10th, 2014 11:00
My wife's Inspiron 5030 did the 7 death beeps thing last year and I went through many reps and escalations before I paid about $190 to fix it. Now we have the same problem again just 16 months later. I am not even going to submit myself to the frustrations of trying to get service from them.
Current work laptop is a 7 month old Latitude E6540 with a fan that runs up and down crazily. (many complaint on the internet, no fixes) It boots slower on Windows 7 Pro than my old M4400 did on XP Pro. The machine is made cheaply and already has a bent case and cracked panel near the keyboard.
After more than 10 years of consistently good Dell performance and service I will NEVER AGAIN purchase one. HP seems to be the leader in the laptop field right now.
Jim Coleman