Dell Vostro key "sissor hinge"

Frozen_up_north

My Vostro had a key top "popped up" while I was typing and unfortunately it looks like the thin plastic sissor type hinge under the key top is worn. Not a good advert for Dell as the laptop is only 6 months old and hasn't had a lot of use.

Foolishly thinking Dell Support would send a couple of the plastic parts in the post, sadly not, they say it is not a warranty issue (claiming "damage") and a repair would be £156. It is most definately poor quality construction and not damage.

I have tried a couple of sources of similar parts on eBay, but oddly enough no luck so far. Kind of surprising as it seems like a common problem and there are several YouTube videos showing exactly the same problem.

An old Asus that I have has a different type of sissor hinge which is far stronger than the one on the Dell, otherwise it would have been an easy swap.

Any ideas, sources, etc?

Thanks

HillStreetBlues

What model is it?

Bonhomie

Frozen_up_north said:

My Vostro had a key top "popped up" while I was typing and unfortunately it looks like the thin plastic sissor type hinge under the key top is worn. Not a good advert for Dell as the laptop is only 6 months old and hasn't had a lot of use.

Foolishly thinking Dell Support would send a couple of the plastic parts in the post, sadly not, they say it is not a warranty issue (claiming "damage") and a repair would be £156. It is most definately poor quality construction and not damage.

I have tried a couple of sources of similar parts on eBay, but oddly enough no luck so far. Kind of surprising as it seems like a common problem and there are several YouTube videos showing exactly the same problem.

An old Asus that I have has a different type of sissor hinge which is far stronger than the one on the Dell, otherwise it would have been an easy swap.

Any ideas, sources, etc?

Thanks

Of course it's covered under warranty. They just fobbed you off. I certainly would not accept that.

PHK

It might well be a consumer rights issue but Dell can set almost any terms and conditions for its warranty because warranties and consumer rights are two different things. 

OP you need to tell Dell you aren’t claiming under warranty but are requesting a repair under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 because the key was obviously not suitably durable. 

If they refuse then you’ll need to get the laptop inspected and report produced. If the report says that either the key is inherently faulty or that it should have lasted longer AND that it has not been misused or accidentally damaged, then send the report to dell and again request a repair under the Consumer Rights Act. If they again refuse then post in the Consumer Rights forum asking for assistance with a Letter Before Action/Claim. 

Newcad

I agree that it should be covered, but we all know that such things can be a pain to argue about with some manufacturers.

It's probably easier to replace the whole keyboard, and cheaper to DIY than paying Dell to do it.
(Of course DIY will void your warranty, but as they don't seem to be honouring that anyway what's to lose?)

See these:
https://www.dell.com/support/contents/en-uk/videos/videoplayer/how-to-replace-a-notebook-keyboard-with-bezel/6079820558001

https://siliconconnect.co.uk/product-category/laptop-parts/replacement-keyboards/vostro-keyboards/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=Vostro&rh=n:4730579031&ref=nb_sb_noss

Frozen_up_north

I finally found both an eBay supplier and a European one, that supply replacement scissor hinges. It's crazy that a Dell "small business" grade laptop uses such flimsy parts in the keyboard. Equally irritating is that an email to Dell asking for replacement hinges hasn't had a reply.

The Amazon link for a complete keyboard is interesting, thanks Newcad, unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a match for the Vostro I have.

I will try another email to the Dell support people regarding the hinge part as opposed to paying for an "on site" visit.

Frozen_up_north

I finally had a reply from Dell. They do not sell parts for keyboards, only the complete keyboard assembly. They didn't explain why they consider any keyboard issue to be outside their warranty. Agghh...

Newcad

They probably get the keyboards made out and shipped to them ready to fit, (or even get the whole latop made out), so won't even have the individual parts themselves.

unforeseen

Hp are the same. Complete keyboard or nothing. If you have an elite book then it is the complete top cover as the keyboard is built in. 

Frozen_up_north

The replacement scissor hinge parts came today and the problem is fixed for a fraction of the cost of the Dell solution. The parts came from https://www.laptopkey-europe.com/

There are eBay suppliers, but they seemed vague as to the proper part.