Technical support is misleading me, attempting to charge me for repairs on 6 month old laptop

On October 21, 2024, I bought a DELL Inspiron 15 3520.
The first thing that I noticed was that the laptop arrived with the '0' and '→' keys on the keyboard slightly tilted (Evidence: 3. Keyboard problem), but since the issue was not very noticeable, I didn’t complain about it.

At first, the laptop seemed to function as expected. However, after approximately two months of normal use for my graduate studies, issues started to arise. The internet connection began disconnecting abruptly, and when I attempted to reconnect to Wi-Fi, I noticed that the Wi-Fi option had disappeared entirely. When I tried troubleshooting using the diagnostic tools, a message appeared: "The driver for your Realtek 8821CE wireless LAN 802.11ac PCI-E NIC network adapter isn't running" (Evidence: 2. Wifi driver problem 1; 2. Wifi driver problem 4). None of the suggested fixes in the diagnostic tool resolved the issue. The only solution was to restart the entire laptop.

However, I soon realized that this restart process, which typically took about two minutes, was now taking over 10 minutes. Just before the DELL logo appeared, a blue screen would flash, indicating a system error (Evidence: 2. Wifi driver problem 5). A similar issue occurred when shutting down the laptop—it took more than 10 minutes to turn off and became unresponsive when I tried turning it back on (Evidence: 4. Laptop unresponsive Jan11 and 17). Initially, these issues occurred sporadically, then every other day, and eventually, at least twice a day, significantly disrupting my work. This problem appeared with different WIFI networks, so it was not a problem of a bad connection.

Alongside these problems, I observed several additional issues (I have photos and videos as evidence):

1. Headphone Jack Issue: When I connect headphones to the jack port, a constant buzzing sound accompanies all audio playback. This issue persists despite trying different headphones and updating the drivers. It is particularly noticeable when using high-fidelity headphones, making it highly disruptive. Additionally, the microphone driver does not function properly during calls, though it temporarily works again after a restart.
2. Sleep Mode Issue: When the laptop enters sleep mode, it frequently undergoes a hard restart upon waking, abruptly closing all running programs and causing data loss (Evidence: 4. Sleep mode - unexpected restart 2; 4. Sleep mode - unexpected restart 3).
3. Crash While Streaming: On one occasion, the laptop crashed while I was watching a show. It remained unresponsive for several minutes and only recovered after a hard restart (Evidence: 5. Laptop crashing Jan7).

Technical Support Experience

On February 25, 2025, I contacted DELL technical support. A representative on the official DELL website chat advised me to drop off my laptop at the nearest Dell Carry-in Service Center (Evidence: Mail 02-25-2025 Dell).

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On March 5, 2025, I visited the recommended service center, Ubreakifix (2400 Boston Street, Suite 122, Baltimore, Maryland, US 21224), and dropped off my laptop. The technician on duty listened to my concerns, consulted his coworkers, and suggested that the issue was likely a motherboard defect. However, they did not provide any physical receipt for my laptop at the time. It was only after persistent follow-ups via email that they finally sent me a receipt on March 7, 2025. According to the receipt, the estimated pickup date was March 12, 2025, at 1:00 PM (Evidence: Mail 03-07-2025 Ubreakifix).

On the same day (March 7, 2025), I forwarded the receipt to Dell so they could access the repair details (Evidence: Mail 03-07-2025 Dell).

On March 11, 2025, I emailed Ubreakifix to check if my laptop was ready for pickup, but they responded that they were "waiting on parts to repair your device." So, I continued waiting patiently.

On March 14, 2025, I followed up again, and they provided the same response: "We are looking into the matter to provide you with an estimate on parts arrival as we are still waiting on parts." (Evidence: Mail 03-07-2025 Ubreakifix, page 8/11).

Later that day, I contacted Dell technical support, and they responded: "We have checked with our internal team and found that there are multiple issues with the system. Additionally, we have discovered some damages, and the diagnosis is still in progress." (Evidence: Mail 03-07-2025 Dell, page 2/3). This statement is important because, as it will be evidenced in the next emails, it contradicts what Ubreakifix had told me.

On March 18, 2025 (almost a week past the estimated pickup date), I contacted Ubreakifix again to inquire about the repair status, but they did not respond. Instead, I received an email stating: "Thanks for choosing uBreakiFix by Asurion for your device repairs! Sale Completed: 03/18/25." From this, I assumed that the laptop repair had been completed (Evidence: Mail 18-07-2025 Ubreaifix).

On March 19, 2025, I went to Ubreakifix in person to pick up my laptop. However, the staff informed me:

1. The repair was still in progress, and they were still waiting for a part (in this case, the replacement for the ‘0’ key).
2. They could not replicate any of the issues I had reported (from the Wi-Fi driver malfunction to the buzzing noise in headphones).

Since they claimed they hadn’t found any problems, they had done nothing further. When I asked for a detailed report on their diagnostic protocol, they told me they didn’t have one. They provided no documentation proving they had conducted any performance evaluations. Since I had already waited two weeks without a temporary replacement device, I had no choice but to take back my laptop without any evidence of testing or repairs. Later that day, I received an email from Ubreakifix stating: "I'm happy to see that the store was unable to replicate the issue you were experiencing with your device, and it has been returned to you." (Evidence: Mail 03-07-2025 Ubreakifix, page 10/11)

Dell’s Contradictory Response

On March 19, 2025, I contacted Dell to express my disappointment with Ubreakifix’s poor technical support (no documented evaluations and a two-week delay just to try to replace a single key). Dell responded: "After reviewing your system, we found that it does have accidental damage are not coverage under the warranty. However, due to the nature of the issue, our team has requested payment for the service as part of the warranty terms." (Evidence: Mail 03-07-2025 Dell, page 3/3)

This response was highly suspicious because:

• Ubreakifix had claimed they could not reproduce the problems and did not conduct a diagnosis.
• Dell now claimed they did find an issue but attributed it to "accidental damage."
• They pretended to be working on the issue by requesting payment for technical support, even though, as will be seen later, they ultimately asked me to cover the cost

On the same day, I contacted Dell support via chat to request clarification on these conflicting conclusions. The representative was unprofessional and refused to provide details. She repeated that the problem was "accidental damage." When I requested the official diagnosis and evaluation report, she told me she could only send it after I closed the chat. I also requested contact details for the complaints department, but instead, she sent me links to Dell’s online diagnostic tools and a price list for paid evaluations—suggesting that I pay for another assessment despite already waiting two weeks for inadequate technical support (Evidence: Mail 19-07-2025 DELL; also, your chat records can be reviewed for further evidence.

On March 20, 2025, Dell responded again:
"Based on our records, it appears that there is physical damage to the Wi-Fi card, which is why this issue falls under accidental damage and is not covered under warranty. Repairs would require payment, or you would need to purchase an accidental damage service plan."

Again, this contradicts what Ubreakifix told me—if they didn’t conduct a diagnosis, how does Dell now claim to have found "accidental damage"?

The Core Issue

The inconsistency is clear:

• Ubreakifix claims they found no issues (yet they have no proof of testing).
• Dell claims there is an issue but attributes it to accidental damage (also with no proof).

Now, Dell is asking me to pay $59 for a hardware diagnosis and $99 for a software diagnosis—just to determine whether there’s even a problem. If Dell had already concluded the issue was "accidental damage," there should be a technical report proving it.

If there were legitimate evidence of accidental damage, I would willingly pay for repairs. However, given the lack of transparency and the persistent Wi-Fi issues I continue to experience (Evidence: 2. Wifi driver problem 6, date 29/03/2025), I find it difficult to trust Dell’s support. Their refusal to provide documentation and their attempt to charge me for diagnosing what appears to be a manufacturing defect is highly concerning.

Considering that I have already wasted two weeks waiting for a repair that never happened, that they did not offer me a temporary laptop replacement—directly impacting my productivity—and that they are actively misleading me while demanding payment for a diagnosis that should have been conducted weeks ago, I am now requesting an extension for a laptop replacement. I am unable to send my laptop for another two weeks of repairs only to be told—without any documentation or proof—that the issue is due to accidental damage on my part and that I must pay for repairs on a laptop that is less than a year old.

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