Inspiron 14 5401, shuts down during Zoom call

Question

Hi, May someone please help me? I bought this laptop last December 4, 2020.

The first time I used it, whenever I play an audio during the Zoom class, the other party couldn't almost hear it. The sound is very low.

The 2nd week, during the Zoom classes, the camera randomly shuts off. I could still see the camera light but the whole screen is black. The other party could still hear and see me. They could even see the screen that I was sharing but I couldn't see them. No matter what I pressed, the screen is still color black. And then 5 mins. later, it will open again.

I am so stressed because of this laptop. I always buy DELL Laptop, but I won't buy it again in the future. The DELL customer support is so hard to reach. They always passed me to another one.

DELL-Cares · Answer

rhiagail,   Does the issue happen in any other program? Have you tried uninstalling and reinstalling Zoom? If not you may try doing the reinstall first.

pw6717 · Answer

This happened to me today and last night. I have an Inspiron 13-5378. Today, I was on a zoom call and was sharing my screen. Suddenly my screen went blue/black (not quite dark/off). He could still see my screen and we could both hear each other, but the screen stayed that way, and I was unable to close the call/leave the zoom when the call ended 10 min later. I tried my mouse, the touch pad, the space bar, random keys, Enter, and even Ctrl Alt Del. After another 10 min, I rebooted by holding the power button down for 8 seconds. Yesterday, this happened when I was working on several large excel spreadsheets. I had several websites open, including a radio stream. Suddenly, my screen went blue/black. I tried the same as above for a few minutes - the mouse, touch pad, random keys, Enter, Ctrl Alt Del - nothing. Finally, I left it alone and worked on another task at my desk. About 10-15 min later, my home/log in screen appeared. I logged in and carried on. When it happened again today, I googled and read that with zoom calls, it can be related to the graphics card, but I don't know how to troubleshoot. My laptop has Intel Core i7 chip and Windows 10. I appreciate any assistance you can provide!

rhiagail · Answer

I was only using Zoom. I will try to uninstall and reinstall it.

rhiagail · Answer

How will we do it? I am a teacher and this laptop gave me headache. I just bought it 3 weeks ago.

DELL-Cares · Answer

rhiagail,   Following up to see if reinstalling Zoom resolved the issue? Let us know.

DELL-Cares · Answer

rhiagail,   We have not heard back from you.   Following up to see if reinstalling Zoom resolved the issue? Let us know.

rhiagail · Answer

still the same. Nothing changed.

DELL-Cares · Answer

rhiagail,   Since the system only randomly shuts down in zoom calls I will relay this information to the engineers and see what they have to say. I will let you know once I hear back from them.

rhiagail · Answer

It happened again today. Most of my students will not continue with me anymore. This is my work. Because of this laptop, I am gradually losing my students. I couldn't buy a new one as I just bought it last month. I trusted your product.

DELL-Cares · Answer

We understand how inconvenient this situation is and would want to get the issues fixed for you.Have you received any recent emails from the technical support team regarding this system issue?

DELL-Cares · Answer

rhiagail,   I see a system exchange pending for you.

Bdoolittle · Answer

I seem to be having the same or similar issue on my Inspiron 3000. During Zoom calls lasting more than 30 minutes my screen randomly goes black while someone else is screen sharing. I think by camera is working but not sure about audio. It is very troubling. I seem to be able to power down and restart, sign back into the Zoom meeting and proceed.  I see lots of discussion on this but no real fix on dell laptops. Is a fix available?

pw6717 · Answer

No fix that I'm aware of. They're exchanging the laptop of the other person on this thread because she had just purchased it and was well within the warranty period. The troubling thing to me is that this problem is happening on a brand new Dell laptop. Mine is 3+ years old, but now I don't want to buy a new Dell because the new ones have the same issue. I did the uninstall/re-install and ran the Support Assist Diagnostics Tool (and updated drivers as part of that process), but the problem reoccurs. I'm debating what type of laptop to buy next since Zoom calls will continue to be part of my daily work life for the foreseeable future. Any suggestions?

rhiagail · Answer

What do you mean? I still have the same issue. The support only emailed me once . After I answered, they didn't answer back. So irresponsible of you! I want a refund!

A refund is only allowed inside the first 30 days from the Dell invoice date. You first posted about this issue on December 29, 2020, 91 days "outside" of the 30 day mark.
DELL-Cares

aaaczn · Answer

I own an Inspiron 14 5401 which I bought a few months ago. The same problem occurred to me too. Recently, the situation has gotten worse, I can't seem to conduct any zoom meetings without my display crashing once I share the screen. Sometimes, it even occurs without me sharing the screen. The text gets blurry and I have no choice but to force shut down. Any updates on the solution to this terrible issue?

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Inspiron 14 5401, shuts down during Zoom call

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