An update on the warranty claim. Today I heard from Dell that a replacement machine has been ordered. I received the paperwork, similar to what you get when you place an order yourself. The packing list for the replacement shows exactly the same specs as the faulty machine so I've approved that, and a new machine is scheduled to ship from the factory in China late August for early Sept arrival. Hopefully, it might be quicker than that. I am impressed with Dell's Premium Support. From reporting the fault to them on the day the original machine arrived, to a replacement machine being authorised and then ordered from the factory took four days including a whole weekend. Some things I learned in this experience:
I posted a few weeks ago about my new XPS 13 leaving the factory in China and on its way [URL]#M87487 I bought the machine with an i7 CPU and 16 gigs of RAM. It arrived yesterday morning. Very happy with my overall experience from order to delivery - ordered July 24, delivered to me in the UK on August 5: total time less than 2 weeks. Tracking status easy to follow via Syncreon website and then DHL as the final delivery agent. All good! Not so good is a faulty screen. When I turned it on for the first time to complete the setup, the black screen displayed a thin vertical red line just to the right of the white Dell logo during startup. Disconcerting to say the least. Very disappointing too: I guess the factory missed this during quality testing. I called Dell's 0800 toll-free support number to see what my options may be under the warranty. The friendly and helpful agent asked me to run a couple of tests that cycled the screen through a series of solid primary colours where the line was visible on most of them. The results confirmed a fault, she told me. Two options - 1) engineer comes to replace the LCD panel, or 2) Dell replaces the machine entirely for another one. I chose the latter. That choice meant someone higher up in the Support chain had to approve the replacement. That approval came today and so I expect to receive a replacement within a week to ten days. In the meantime, I can use the faulty machine as the fault doesn't prevent use. So far my interactions, engagement and overall experience with Dell on this order has been good. The support service is very good, I have no complaints. So I await further news on the replacement plus timing. I'm keen to be clear in understanding from Dell what the replacement is, i.e., I expect like-for-like which also means brand new out of the factory. Let's see what I hear early next week. Meanwhile I'm getting to know my XPS 13. What a delightful machine!
XPS 13 9305 arrived... with a faulty screen