XPS 8950: More terrible after-purchase support

Question

There may be a pattern here, but I'll add my bit of additional narrative to the sad tale.

I got an XPS 8950 less than a month ago. I ordered it with an M.2 system drive and a 3.5" SATA drive installed in one of the two drive cages inside the case. It arrived earlier than expected. Great!

On December 19, I ordered the $12 caddy needed to install an additional 3.5" drive, or two 2.5" drives, in the empty second drive cage. The site said it would be shipped on December 20. Of course it wasn't. And now, at least according to their "support" people, it never will be:

"Kindly be informed that the item is unavailable due to end of life."

They gave me a number to contact if I want to order an "alternate product." What "alternate product"? Is there a different plastic caddy that also fits in the empty cage? There's nothing listed on their website. The caddy I ordered remains listed for sale, but now with an absurd delivery date that's over two months away.

They obviously have the caddies. They must be putting them in most of the new computers they're selling: at least all those that are configured with a SATA hard drive, which is a bunch of their starting configurations. Indeed, that is how the very first configuration offered is set up ... and they promise they can deliver (for free) five days from now!

The last two paragraphs of their email message to me, edited for accuracy to add the bracketed language:

"At Dell, we take [completely unfounded] pride in our service so please let us know if you have any other questions [to which you would like an inaccurate answer]."

"Thank you for choosing Dell. We appreciate your business [so long as you're buying an entire computer, but once you've paid for that, please don't bother us]."

sj-seattle · Accepted Answer

Just a followup, on the off chance anyone is interested....

The suggestion of an alternate source is a good one. No one seems to have any XPS 8950 caddies, unfortunately.

After being told by email that my existing online order was being cancelled because the part is "end of life," the actual order was updated to move the expected delivery date to February 28 (original ship date: December 20). So, yes, Dell acknowledges the part exists, but they're more interested in installing them in new systems than selling them to customers whose money they already have.

In a second email (responding to my earlier message saying I don't believe the part is end of life), the customer service guy told me to call sales ... who told me the same thing the online order system already did. When I pointed out that they must have them in stock to put in new machines, he passed me on to technical support. Of course, when they asked whether I wanted the caddy to replace broken one or to add an additional drive, I opted for the ethically-supportable but practical mistake of telling the truth (the latter).

In the meantime, I ordered a caddy that fits the 8940 and prior series on eBay. It looks like the same thing in photos, but apparently requires some surgery before it'll fit into an 8950, which has a different drive-cage design. If I can make it work, I can cancel the order; if I can't, I'll be out $12 and I guess I'll strap the drives into the cage with cable ties while waiting for the good one.

RoHe · Answer

There are still supply chain delays from China, especially now with the rapid rise in Covid cases there.

Lots of places are selling 3.5" HDD caddies for XPS 8950. Some even say it's new and "Dell OEM".

Check this page and some of the others listed at bottom of that page for best price/shipping cost/delivery date, etc.

And I'm sure you can also find them on that other big shopping site too.

sj-seattle · Answer

What bugs me is that they obviously have them, because they're installing them in new computers. Okay, I get it: getting $1,800 for an assembled computer is much more interesting than getting $11.99 for a piece of plastic all by itself (though I bet the percentage margin on the $11.99 is much greater). But I don't like it.

There are a lot of places selling caddies the seller says will fit in the XPS 8950 (and '40 and '30 and '10). The Dell part number for the 8950 caddy (34DYH), however, is different from the caddy for the earlier models (65KHD). Per a post in another thread, you can get the 65KHD into the 8950 with the use of a hacksaw.

Thread (see the last post on page 1): Solved: XPS 8950, add a 2nd SATA HDD - Dell Community

In photos, the two caddies look pretty close to identical. I suppose it's also possible that the non-OEM ones are actually more versatile due to omitting bits of the OEM design.

Not much choice other than going with a fake (hacksawed as appropriate), or just attaching the drives to the cage with plastic ties.

Tesla1856 · Answer

It's been many years since I purchased a part directly from Dell. I used to get Dell parts from a place called Parts-People. Maybe a few ('working pulls' and they call them) from a reputable-seller on eBay (works out of Austin, TX). Now-days, I just get them from Amazon.

terrorvision · Answer

I had exactly the same problem last March after purchasing my new XPS8950, in the UK Dell Customer Care gave me the number of a third party company, based in London who tried to charge me £110 for a caddy plus £25 delivery (it was also a premium rate call which cost me over £7), I eventually got one of Amazon.com for around $12 which didn't quite fit but after cutting it slightly slid in but didn't click into place, I also needed a connector too which again Dell couldn't supply, unfortunately after installing the hard drive I found that the fans were speeding up and then slowing down so I removed the hard drive and just used an external one instead. I'm at the moment trying to extend the warranty which again wont work online and Dell Customer Care cant help with either.

Dell Customer Care is nothing like it used to be and I'm beginning to think that once you by a Dell these days then your on your own.

sj-seattle · Answer

Final note:

The caddy I got (on eBay) that was listed as being for the 8940 and earlier worked fine in the 8950. Fit in the cage and clicked into place exactly how it's supposed to. I have no idea why this one worked and others apparently don't. Dell's caddy designs are mysterious, apparently even to Dell.

I installed two 2.5" SSDs, using the plastic Dell adapter, which is readily available on eBay and (according to the eBay listings), fits into a wide variety of Dell caddies (including Optiplexes). As you'd expect, I guess, since it's turning something that's physically standard (2.5" SATA drives) into something else that's physically standard (3.5" SATA drive). Actually, the hardest part of assembling it was what you'd expect to be the easiest: getting the adapter into the caddy. The caddy came with four pins that go into the screw holes in a 3.5" drive, and getting them into the adapter's holes was tricky. There may be some trick I didn't get. I pulled out two of the pins and replaced them with screws.

Power cables (provided by Dell with the system) no problem.

SATA cables: I used ones with straight ends, rather than 90-degree. That's actually necessary for one of the drives in a 2x2.5" installation, as it sits in a recess in the caddy. The other one would, I think, be better with a 90-degree cable. The case (left hand removable panel) forces the cable into a pretty sharp bend with a straight connector. I actually got 90-degree adapters (with the correct orientation and everything), but they were a bad design. They sit on a little circuit board that is slightly too wide, so it hits the adjacent power plug and won't go all the way onto the drives data connector. So it was the simplest, most standard, bits of equipment that were the biggest problem.

Anyway, it works fine.

RoHe · Answer

@sj-seattle  Yea! Well done, and thanks for the info that the caddy you got is the right one.

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XPS 8950: More terrible after-purchase support

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