Posted on 10/30/2013 1:30:23 PM PDT by Hojczyk
Computer maker forced to offer replacements after buyers complain of smell from Latitude E6430u like 'tomcat's litter box'
Dell was first made aware of the issue in June 2013 when a Dell user called “three west” first posted about the smell of a new Dell Latitude E6430u saying “the machine is great, but it smells as if it was assembled near a tomcat's litter box. It is truly awful! It seems to be coming from the keyboard”.
Dell first suggested cleaning the keyboard and air vents around the laptop to cure the smell, but as more and more users complained of the same stench being emitted from the laptop from different countries and regions, it soon became clear that it wasn’t users to blame but the actual laptop.
“Well .. here I am Sunday doing some work on the couch and my wife says ,"What stinks like cat pee?". I said ... I think its this laptop ... she puts her nose up to the keyboard and BAM! It really stinks,” said gambit29.
The smell was narrowed down to an issue with manufacturing, which was apparently resolved in October, meaning that new machines running off the production line were cured of the cat-pee smell.
For all those suffering from the smell, the only solution was to return the affected laptops to Dell for a replacement, although Dell was initially worried it wouldn’t “have sufficient stock for everyone and also that any parts we are sending out do not also have the same issue”.
Unfortunately, not all of Dell’s replacement machines were free from odour as one user complained: “I just received my 5th replacement 6430u yesterday and the smell is still there ...”
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
Great! My cat peed on the keyboard of my Dell laptop, and now I know how to get a free replacement!
Herding cats is easy. Get a bowl of tuna, and let them follow you.
Many rubber/plastic items in products from China have that cat pee or skunk smell to them.
When I had a Dell I had good success with tech support. When my computer died, a guy talked me thru the diagnostics which pronounced it dead then he talked me thru the process of removing the entire motherboard.
When I got the replacement motherboard, they talked me thru the reinstalling process.......
No, they were just submitting a web urine sample to Obamacare...
I have a Dell laptop (bought new), a Dell netbook (bought from their refurb store), two used Dell desktops and a new desktop now 4 yrs old.
The laptop (for which I got a service plan) required a new motherboard. The tech came within one day and did the repair. No issues since. The netbook developed a defective video card within the warranty period and they handled that quickly. No complaints with them at all. No issues with any other Dell product.
Perhaps cat was on the menu the day of assembly.
My only experience with Dell was a bad one. I purchased a laptop last month, with Windows 8 and it would not properly support a secondary monitor.
I got a full refund from Costco.
I hadn't thought of that in decades but you made me remember it. I can smell it now. Thanks a lot.
Wonder who is their plastics supplier?
People didn’t read the EULA carefully enough. There it is, line 358, subsection 3, item c: “As a part of customer enrichment your keyboard will smell like kitty pee.” Black and white, and you pressed the OK button. Nobody ever reads the EULA. Suckers.
Their website says they use a lot of recycled plastic.
I’m sure many of their parts probably come from China. I wonder if they are assembled there too?
The supply warehouse is right next to a Baby Ruth factory.
I am extremely happy witht my new Dell desktop .
Ever build a fireplace hearth with cat pee sand?
dont...
One of the few I guess. I read nothing but bad stuff about DELL esp. their customer service/support.
My biggest complaints with Dell was that they used non-standard parts.
Had a power supply die on me, and, instead of getting a replacement from the local computer parts store for $20, I could either pay $100 for a “Dell-specific” power supply from them or get lucky and pick up a refurb on eBay for about $50.
What really killed me was when the CPU fan died. $10 at the local computer store, right? WRONG! A fan is a fan, but the connector to the mother board was completely different than everyone else. Being clever, I managed to rewire the new fan with the old connector, which did the trick. Still...
Don’t know if they’ve changed their policy, haven’t owned or recommended a Dell in about 5 years.
Consider yourself lucky. I spent 1 week talking to techs in India whom I couldn’t even understand. And they never fixed the problem, just tried to sell me upgraded service plans.
I will never buy a Dell anything again.
It must’ve been the Cat-5 cabling packed w/ the units ....
Who needs tech support.
Only called dell once. At work the new pc’s cd drive was defective. Just needed a new one sent.
No, don’t tell me how to replace it, just send a new drive.
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