New Kaby Lake XPS 13: coil whine

I am waiting on the coil whine issue to be fixed, then planning to buy the XPS 13. If nothing better comes out until then.

Justin,

How will this hardware solution be implemented on the machines that were already sold?

Thanks.

Greetings Ciprian.dell,

It will depend upon the level of service purchased with your laptop. We sell the 9360 with 2 options: Onsite service or mail in service.

The future will tell us more about what the actual hardware fix will be.

Have been on the fence about this laptop due to the coil whine issue. Even cancelled a 9350 order hoping the 9360 would fix the issue. Anyway got a 9360 on the way from a decent deal (i7/8GB/256GB/FHD), and will judge for myself if the noise will be bothersome to me. Hope I won't have to return it; I do have very good hearing...

Dell really should take this issue seriously. Anywhere on the internet where people are discussing the XPS 13, the subject of coil whine comes up. It's well known and really undermines buyer confidence.

I've just called the Dell support and they told me there is no solution for the new version of the laptop and they can't replace it with a non-noisy version because all versions are noisy (both 13 and 15). The guy also told me they are aware of the issue and the entire line has this problem. The only option is to send this back.

Already fixed according to the Dell rep in this thread:

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3518/p/20002964/20971119#20971119

Just received my new 9360 xps 13 last week and the issue is most definitely still there (laptop was built in early January 2017).  Running on battery the level is acceptable, and I can only hear it when I put my ear right up to the keyboard.  However on AC power it's a totally different story, I can hear the high pitch from a good distance away even with a lot of ambient noise in the room.

Build quality is great and I love the laptop, but I think this is going to drive me bananas over the long haul.  Really on the fence to send it back for a refund at this point.

Danprat: what's a "good distance away"? If I can hear it from across the room it's going right back.

Taavoke: is that in comparison to the normal AC adapter? or to running on battery?

My laptop (3960) is also affected by the coil whine, but I noticed that after I started using dell dock (including charging via usb-c) the coil whine has significaly reduced.
I know it is not a solution, but I thought it is worth mentioning.

I don't know what an active warranty is. Here, in my country, we have only a standard warranty of 3 years.

I will check with the seller, but I am sure that they will have no idea about this situation :). 

Justin, thank you for this info.

I have the A00 version of the motherboard on my 9360, and I bought this machine in December :).

I am not from US, I am from Europe. I can still return it. I don't know what to do. If I decide not to return it, I would have my motherboard changed for free when the new one is ready? Is the A02 the last version or your engineers are working on a new version?

Thanks.

@Ciprian.dell,

Thank you for your question and feedback.

Situation 2 is covered under warranty, for systems that have an active warranty.

A02 is the latest. I've not heard about any further revisions to the board.

@Community

I’d like to take a moment to clarify on Ravi C’s comments from his post.

First, an introduction:

There were 2 situations on previous models regarding coil noise:

Situation 1:

-the coil noise could only be heard in a very quiet environment but could not be heard in say an office environment ( during meetings, climate control running, while working at an office desk ).

Situation 2:

-coil noise could be heard in busy office environments ( during meetings, climate control running, working at office desk )

Dell Engineering deemed the behavior from Situation 1 to be: working as designed

For systems in situation 2: Dell came out with a motherboard revision for certain models previous to the XPS 9360.

In regards to the XPS 13 9360 noise:

-I've been advised by Dell engineering just this morning that starting in late December all new 9360 orders ship with changes to reduce the noise to levels as described in situation 1 above.  These systems have an A02 motherboard which features the fix.

-Dell engineering is still working to make the A02 motherboard available within replacement motherboard service stock. ETA to come in the future.

-Also please note that not all pre-A02 systems were affected by this noise concern as described in situation 2 above.

-Fast ship systems built before late December that remained in stock and sold after late December, will not include the A02 motherboard. Fast ship = our pre-built versions that ship next business day. Also known as ‘smart selection’ systems.

-You can check your motherboard revision by entering the Dell ePSA diagnostics. To do so, power on your system and when you see the Dell screen, start tapping the F12 key till you see the diagnostics start. Once in the ePSAs, you'll see a little button in the lower right hand corner of the screen. Click the button and you'll get a new menu. Then, click on 'system configuration' and look for the PPID. At the end of the PPDI you'll see the revision "A0X". As outlined below:

Button in lower right hand corner:

Click System Configuration:

Then you'll see your motherboard version at the end of the PPDI. For example "A01"

I have:

Parts Only - end date 2017, November 9;

Onsite Service After Remote Diagnosis - end date 2019, November 9

I think I am covered for this motherboard update, right?