Unfortunate things happen with computers all the time. I understand that. But when a recommended Dell update bricks a Dell computer, I expect Dell to fix it.
My first "real" computer was a Dell desktop purchased in 1998 and since then I've been a fan. For over two decades I have purchased almost exclusively Dell and Alienware computers. In the last 20 years I've purchased over 20 Dell computers as a student, professional photographer, and then the owner of Fstoppers. I have never received a free computer, advertising money, or a review unit from Dell, but I'm sure you've seen countless posts and videos recommending Dell products. I'm a legitimate fan of Dell.
No computer lasts forever and many of my Dell computers have broken in some way or another over their life. Sometimes they break within the warranty window and Dell will pay to repair them. Sometimes they break outside of the warranty window and I have been forced to pay to repair them. That's only fair.
But this situation is different. This time my computer is out of warranty, but Dell's own software broke the computer, at least that is my take on the situation. Let me explain.
Patrick and I recently moved to Puerto Rico and we decided to bring our two Dell XPS 15 laptops and my older Alienware Aurora desktop. We specifically chose to bring this computer with us because it is significantly smaller and easier to pack than all of the other Alienware Area 51 desktops we own.
When we got here the computer was working fine but I decided to do a fresh install of Windows 10. After the update, I went to Dell's website to download all of the recommended drivers. One of the recommended installs was a bios update. This bios update froze the computer during install and when I restarted the computer, it wouldn't boot. The "update" had corrupted the software that runs on the motherboard itself.
I researched this problem and found other people with the exact same problem and to fix the issue, Dell had to replace their motherboards. I was annoyed at the inconvenience but was confident Dell would do the same for me. I knew my desktop was out of warranty but this was obviously Dell's fault and they had always treated me fairly in the past.
After being transferred to the "out of warranty" department, I was informed that I would have to pay to fix the computer. They sent me a few options via email and the "onsite" option is "$149 + $171" and I'm not sure what that includes. Is that the cost for a replacement motherboard and a tech to install it? The email isn't clear. It's not a ton of money, but it's the principal of the situation. This feels like some sort of ransomware; Dell recommends software that breaks your computer until you agree to pay them to fix what they broke.
At the same time, I do see things from Dell's perspective as well. Computers break for all kinds of reasons and they certainly can't afford to fix every computer they've ever made for free. Plus, some people are claiming that this is 100% my fault because "bios updates are risky" and I should have known what could happen. Others are saying that maybe the computer wasn't actually frozen when I restarted and if I had just waited a bit longer this wouldn't be an issue. Obviously, I don't agree with these arguments but I'm sure Dell feels the same way.
What do you think I should do? Should I just pay Dell to fix the computer and forget about all of this? Should I continue to pressure Dell to fix my computer for free? Or, should I pull all of the valuable components out of this computer and put them in an OEM motherboard and case?
Have you tried making a bootable drive with a USB key and reinstalling the BIOS on the Dell?
Once the BIOS is toast there is no redo from any source without replacing the BIOS chip, either by itself or through replacement of the MB.
For that money you can get brand new top of the line mother board.
Personally, I'd ditch the Dell. I've had a couple, and they were nothing but trouble. Kind of like Mac, upgrading is difficult because of very specific hardware requirements. Dell, like Mac, doesn't play well with others (even Windows).
It's for your business so the decision is a straight commercial one. If the value of your time to chase it is most likely greater than the cost to fix, then pay the money.
Double check power supply and wiring and still no go. Keep everything and replace the motherboard.
Well, I can tell you refere to your manual you have serval different options here, the first option you can try if you haven't already take the cmos out of the computer and unplug it and do a power drain for about 2 mins but holding your power button and if it still doesn't come on refer to your manual and see how you can do a bios update without going into the bios usually a USB option when you start the computer it's black but you can get it to accept bios updates from the USB it's a fail safe and you should be able to unbrick it that's all dells gonna do . The final option file a BBB and talk to corporate tell them your a long time customer and they will have to service you or face the bad review. Once you tell them it was a bad bios update just tell them what happened and they can sort this for you . Hope I helped signed up just to comment .
My fiance bought me a Dell G3 Gaming laptop end of November 2018, I was out of country, so when it arrived around December 10th he just kept it in the box. I arrived in the US January 16th 2019, and started the laptop for the first time, used for basic internet stuff, hadn't even installed mt game to fully try it on. After 2 weeks of having the laptop install new updates, one night it had more recommended, so I let it install and it froze my computer completely, when it did came back after I restarted my keyboard wasn't working and eventually the battery ran out and even tho the led was on, it wouldn't recharge. 2 weeks of use. I got in contact with Dell and they got my laptop February 6th. February 8th I get an email saying they needed to replace the keyboard but they didn't have the part so they offered me a refurbished one, I felt offended because I had paid more than 700 dollars on that laptop and I used for 2 weeks and it broke. I said it was an absurd and I wouldn't take the refurbished one, but I'd take a new one or a refund, they said a new one wasn't possible because it was out of the 30 day purchase, and they tried to talk out of the refund. So i waited for the part to arrive, they were supposed to have shipped my laptop back to me February 18th, after a couple of days with no answer I got an email saying now they needed to replace the motherboard and it wasn't available. So I'd need to wait for more 7 days for the part to arrive so they could fix it, by that time I was pissed because they had had my laptop for 20 days and I was demanded a refund, after a long phone call they started the refund process... 2 week use... yep, no longer buying Dell that's for sure.
“Unfortunate things happen with computers all the time.” That’s a bit of a shocking statement for me to read. I’ve used and overseen art directors working on literally dozens of Macs since about 1992 and never had it happen once. It may happen but thankfully not ‘all the time’ and never once to me or anyone I know.
https://petapixel.com/2018/09/15/my-experience-with-apple-as-a-photograp...
I too had a customized “Alienware “ laptop made for a trip I planned to Europe. The laptop worked as expected in one city in Italy then flew to another city. The laptop made it for two weeks then , just wouldn’t power up. Alienware fixed it and dumped it on eBay six weeks after purchasing. Glad I had plenty of Lexar cf cards on that trip. I’ve been a MBP user every since. It’s even faster than the Alienware and (most importantly) DEPENDABLE !
Lee - I've had this problem in the past. Most desktop motherboards have pins and jumpers on them that can be used to reset the bios. You might give them a try. Most likely 3rd one.
https://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/19/sln284985/how-to-perform-a...
This is for resetting a *working* BIOS.
I'm curious... and this question is for everyone, have you ever updated the firmware on your camera? Do you ever read the disclaimer before you continue? Have you ever read what the firmware does for you before attempting to update and possibly bricking your camera? Would you attempt such an update right before a paying job? Common sense to some would say you would never do that unless you were confident you either could fix it or make it work before you needed to make money with your camera. The computer BIOS isn't exactly the same thing but it at the very least comes with the same precautions if not more. Do not attempt to update the BIOS on any computer if you aren't going to read the warning much less understand it. Every brand has problems and that is never an excuse but I can assure you Dell would like your computer to work flawlessly. We should all use the brand we trust and likely you have lost some here. I have a great deal of experience with quite a few brands and I can say this type of thing happens everyday to all of them. If you have any experience with tech support you should go hang out in an Apple store for a minute or 2 to get an idea of what they are dealing with. If you could replace the motherboard yourself you probably wouldn't think twice about it or even bring it up here. You also likely wouldn't have interrupted the update process. Public shaming a company because you failed a BIOS update out of warranty is a "WEAK" attempt from you to use your influence to get something for free. Simple as that. Seems to me you could actually use this opportunity to get someone to help you for "Free" if you needed it.
I don't understand why this antiquated system that only allows one bios image is still in place, there should be the ability to have multiple bios images stored and to roll back if required. It is 2019 not 1981.
I have a dual bios motherboard from Gigabyte. It exists. Just not with Dell.
All I have to say is, good luck. I had this exact same thing happen with BIOS update 1.7.0 on my XPS 15 9550 which was 15 days out of warranty and I fought and fought with Dell to no avail. I've bought more than just computers from them, it's been tens of thousands in servers and other hardware and they don't care. Unfortunately, I don't have as big a voice as you do, so you have something there. I posted to their community forums with others that had same problem trying to get a class action lawsuit started because I agree with you, it's basically ransomware by stealing money from you for a repair that should not be needed. I would definitely be interested to know what you do and if your willing to go legal with this because I'll be the first to sign up for that bandwagon. I ended up having to pay for the repair and I extended the warranty period for a few hundred more in-case they pull anything else with any future updates.
Yes you are correct, they are liable if BIOS update fails, and the public relations fallout might be bad, even if they think that out of warranty systems are not their concern.
Please note though that BIOS is out. Most modern systems will rather have UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface), and you should invest only in a system with a motherboard running UEFI. BIOS must run in 16-bit processor mode, and only has 1 MB of space to execute in.
https://www.howtogeek.com/56958/HTG-EXPLAINS-HOW-UEFI-WILL-REPLACE-THE-B...
https://uefi.org/
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/bo...
UEFI operates with drives partitioned in GPT, and not in the legacy MBR:
https://www.howtogeek.com/193669/whats-the-difference-between-gpt-and-mb...
EFI use was pioneered by Apple, while PC makers ignored it largely, until they started to face drives over 2.2TB, beyond BIOS limits, and decided to sit down together with Apple and make the 'Unified EFI' standard. I hope these hints will help you make a better decision with future systems.
Nice bit of revisionist history. UEFI was a Intel standard for their Itanium processors which was released around 2000-2002. Apple released the first consumer facing UEFI interface in 2005 when they killed off the PowerPC systems. MS introduced UEFI support in 2006-2007 with Windows Vista. The first major shift to PC's supporting UEFI wasn't until 2010/2011 when it became most cost effective to do so and technology was moving to x64.
This will not help Lee to make decision as to pay for identical BIOS board, challenge Dell, or get an UEFI based one (my preference). I would though have filed a BBB complaint about Dell. Their conduct is simply wrong, and not very PR clever to boot.
"I would though have filed a BBB complaint about Dell."
Bahahaha. Maybe have Lee write a Yelp review and start a Change.org petition while he's at it. BBB is a joke.
So what else Mr. Bahahaha? Short of taking a lawyer, spending thousands and thousands on facing a computer giant? If you find one that is. I would be rather swallowing the small indignity, and forget about the story: "it is not a perfect world." Not buying Dell is like getting angry on your bank, switching and causing yourself a ton of effort, and discovering that someone at the new bank is just as bad.
On Lee's place I would have looked for a new motherboard, with UEFI to be future secured (system disk over 2.2TB.) This would turn the firmware issue into a hardware upgrade, maybe even yielding a long term advantage.
The only laughter from me was the BBB recommendation. That racket is a joke.
I'd do exactly what you recommend: swallowing the fact that public shaming is unlikely to move a corporation as large as Dell, realizing that legal action would be costly and time-consuming, and spending the money on a new motherboard to get the machine up and running again. Nothing wrong with buying Dell in the future though, in fact I'm a bit shocked that the computer wasn't custom-built in the first place. Desktops are so easy to construct and generally you end up with a cheaper machine and/or a more powerful machine for a similar cost.
Understood. Maybe BBB is ineffective, or not anymore effective. It is possible that they are simply swamped by complaints, and thus everything vanishes in a noise of similar reports. Just like the Do-No-Call initiative: so effective in the beginning, and now being summarily ignored. Entering a complaint is a futile exercise, a waste of time.
I made an account just for this comment, so here goes:
Having grown up loving electronics, working in IT, and aspring to better myself in this industry, I can say with utmost certainty that this is indeed your fault. A common rule with BIOS updates is to never update them unless you need one of the features it offers, especially if you don't have some sort of battery backup to keep the computer safe in the case of an outage. Essentially what you've done is program basic functions of the motherboard out, it's completely dead unless you have some amazing micro soldering skills.
I believe that if you really are as loyal of a Dell customer as you say, it wouldn't hurt for them to replace this for you, but claiming it's their fault is simply wrong. I would recommend getting either a custom motherboard from another vendor or just getting the one they offered.
Oh and, I really don't think it's smart to be buying anything from only one brand, you should try others, you might like it.
Sounds more like: I brick my computer thru a bios update
Just put an Apple sticker on it I bet it will boot right up.
Almost dropped a couple of g's on a G7 on the Dell website, I'm thinking twice now. Glad I saw this article Lee. You would think a company that's worth 15 billion, and Michael Dell's net worth of 23 billion, they would make things right. They wont be getting my purchase.
If it makes you feel better. My Aurora R6 bricked on me 2 days ago. 5 days after the my one year warranty expired. Fortunately i decided to extend the warranty for one more year a week before the expiration day. The one year extended warranty cost me $160.00, about the same they are charging you.
I used to do a lot of overclocking before i ventured into Photography. There is 1 thing i learned, Never ever flash the BIOS unless the mobo is dead or it will not work bec your proc is not supported. Also, when i do this, im making sure the power is connected to a UPS just incase the power went out.
also, did you noticed this before flashing?
"Warning: Do not turn off your computer or disconnect from your power source while updating the BIOS or you may harm your computer. During the update, your computer will restart and you will briefly see a black screen."
Only thing i would personally do now is find the same mobo and change the BIOS chip. or just change the mobo with a different brand. No need to argue with Dell. All brand has this warning and all bios flashed in the wrong way will definitely kill your mobo.
Turn off auto updates. If it ain't broke don't fix it.
Is it bricked or just windows doesn't start up? If second then very likely something changed at BIOS configuration that became incompatible/conflicting with your system. Call a PC technician.
Half way through the video, I was thinking "this is why i build my own". lol
I don't know about this specific model but usually, every computer manufacturer suggests to do the BIOS upgrade ONLY if you have the problem that the new BIOS version is supposed to fix. Said that being on IT guy myself I use to do all the BIOS upgrade anyway on all of my clients' PCs just to prevent problems, and I might have been very lucky but in more than 20 years it only failed once and many many years ago. I guess considering the popularity of your YouTube channel Dell will solve the problem very soon.
Don't let them go...you are a high profile guy and take full use of your status. As for any other individual say like me they would not even bother to respond. You should do everything to shake DELL till they do the right thing. I use 2 Dell laptops and like it but if this happens to me, I am sure they would not do the right thing, I would dump DELL and make sure to bad mouth their services where ever I can. Just my 2 cents.
Bless your heart. This is what happens to PC's :)
A little hindsight - if you read the release notes for the new BIOS and there aren't any compelling features for you, pass it by. As to your current situation, keep hassling them (social media) until they relent.
You bricked your computer by doing it wrong. Never restart or pull the power during a bios update. It might look like it isn’t doing anything or seem like it is taking too long, but you don’t know that.
I have the same issue. I consider myself tech savvy. I know how to update a bios and what it does. I would never install 3rd party code. I would normally not update my bios however i was having some start up issues which validated installing a bios update.
In fact, I was quite happy when saw the IMPORTANT UPDATE message appear in my dell maintenance app. I clicked the button to INSTALL BIOS UPDATE. The PC shut down and never restarted. Waited an hour or so while i did some editing on another PC. Still No lights, no response, nothing. Held down buttons, checked power supply, i even opened it up and disconnect the bios battery for a few days. nothing! bricked her good! No failsafe bios? what the dell!
Anyways... Dell charged me £39 and sent me a box to send it to them.
Today (nearly 4weeks later) they sent me a quote for £870
No price breakdown. Just said "new mother board".
I bought the PC from dell 3 yrs ago for £584+vat its an All-in-one.
So at the repair cost of £870, i may as well toss the PC in the bin and buy another one.
Although my PC was out of warranty, i feel that Dell needs to assume some responsibility.
<Fuming!> What to do?
Wow. I will bring up your case to my dell rep
Thanks. I have requested that they look deeper into this issue and my circumstance. So far i have not heard back from them. PC has been gone for a month. All i can do is sit and scratch my head. Frustrating!
My DELL did the exact same thing. A 2 yr. old machine one month out of warranty. Update was pushed to me by Dell to install. Perfectly running machine was useless after update and would not boot. Pushed power button and it glowed orange for about 2 sec., then went off. No one touched or went near the machine during update. Called DELL and they agreed to fix for free by mail...ONE time only, then they suggested I buy an extended warranty to protect myself from updates gone awry. This is better known as RANSOMWARE. Customers shouldn't have to pay $175/yr. to protect themselves from the manufacturer's updates.☹
Well, lucky for you, you now have a big enough following and public image that Dell will likely see this and make amends with you. This isn't the first time that your public image has solved something that the average person can't get done. And no, I'm not "butt hurt" because of it. Kudos to you for using your voice to makes things noticed.
I would wait it out and see. Many people would say "F this" and move to another company. But all companies have their issues...especially when they are as large as Dell. That said, I'm not a Dell fan. My first computer was also a Dell (around 2000 or so). It was ok then, but don't think they are anything special (except I really like some of their xps models). My thought is the only reason to buy from Dell over any other Windows based computer from some big box store is their customer service. If that fails, what do you have?
Yes, I think you are absolutely right and Dell should fix this issue at their cost unless they have a better explanation as to how you caused the problem.
I have this.. maybe not exact unit.. but an R6 Aurora.. and the alienware software that handles the updates keeps popping up to tell me there's a bios update available.. I tried allowing it to update once, it never worked (or tried to apparently) because the message keeps popping up still.. the most unnerving part is the image next to the "R6 updates" is that of a laptop... I'm sorry to hear about your.. but I will try to remember to come back and check in to see if there's ever a final update, or if we're just on our own... good luck Lee
Buy Mac.
Woah.... you moved to PR? Never would I have guessed that from every. post. you. make. mention. that.
Fix it!
Same thing has happened to me. However, I received an "URGENT" update from DELL that included the BIOS update. After installation the update did a "restart" but it never restarted. No POST. Hit the power button, the system begins to POST but within one second shuts down. I paid DELL $39 and shipped the desktop to them for diagnosis, they stated it was a failed motherboard, cost was going to be another $259! I agree 100% with you, DELL directly caused this bricked motherboard but refuses to accept any responsibility. I need the computer so I have paid them....but after buying DELL computers for my business and family for 25 years I am through with them! What a shame.... You would think that DELL would learn from other "Name-Brand" computer companies that are now considered garbage.... Keep us all posted on any progress you might have with making DELL pay for this repair! And THANKS for your video!
Had the same experience as the author. No motherboard replacement was available. I put my hard drive in a refurbished XPS. The Dell update also corrupted Windows 10 files which I repaired. I will not be buying Dell products again nor installing their updates.