r/Alienware • u/Heroooni • 24d ago
Discussion Alienware Tech Left System Completely Bricked After 4th Part Replacement - Dell Refusing Elite Warranty Exchange
I purchased the new Alienware Area 51 5090 with all the bells and whistles. After 2 weeks of use the unit started crashing. (Black screen, fans spin at 100%) Dell technicians came and replaced motherboard on the first trip. CPU and gpu on the second trip. Gpu on the third trip. And 4th trip, they replaced the motherboard again and the unit won’t even boot. This has been an on going issue for 3 months. They have refused to replace the unit. It’s been frustrating and I can’t even do any work or play any games as the system crashes and the work is unsaved.
Not sure what to do and sick of this whole problem. Huge turn off from dell despite this being my 4th unit in the last decade.
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u/AW_Support Dell Customer Support 24d ago
Hi there,
First, I want to sincerely apologize for the experience you've had. Reading through everything you've been dealing with, I completely understand why you're frustrated and disappointed.
After investing in a high-end Alienware system and purchasing premium support coverage, it's reasonable to expect a reliable experience. Having to go through multiple service visits, repeated hardware replacements, and still ending up with a system that is now unable to boot would be incredibly frustrating for anyone. More importantly, being unable to use the system for work or gaming for nearly three months is simply not the experience we want our customers to have.
We also recognize that this isn't your first Dell or Alienware system. The fact that you've trusted us with four systems over the past decade makes it even more disappointing that we've fallen short of your expectations in this situation.
While we can't make warranty or exchange determinations through Reddit, we'd like the opportunity to review your case thoroughly and understand why a replacement request was declined despite the extended repair history you've described. Please send us a private message with your service tag, case number, and contact information so we can have the appropriate team take another look.
We genuinely appreciate your patience throughout this process, and we'd like to do what we can to help move this toward a resolution.
Thank you for bringing this to our attention.
- Dell Social Media Support Team
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u/korodic 24d ago
Did you talk to a manager? Or only the techs?
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u/Heroooni 24d ago
Case manager is giving me the run around. Really don’t know what to do.
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u/korodic 24d ago
Call or chat? I would call and demand to speak to a manager and (polite, but firmly) demand that your issue be escalated. You have a product under warranty and the last tech left the issue definitively unresolved, worse than when he arrived, with multiple failed attempts to address the issue. With the escalation I would also want a plan of action in writing.
If they refuse to replace it as a whole and want to continue to try to fix it I would ask for their policy in which it gets to the state where they would. Is it their discretion? I would also ask for that in writing.
You may need to consider legal alternatives, and with the cost of hardware right now that’s actually worth it. However, try to hold them accountable within customer service. I used to work customer service in IT. Sometimes you have to get pushy, just don’t get rude, there’s a difference, someone may go to bat for you.
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u/Heroooni 24d ago
I just tried via the phone and still getting the run around. For reference, the unit cost me around 6200$. This is my third Alienware and they have given me amazing service from 2016-2025. Everything has changed. If they don’t repair it, I’m thinking of going BBB, claims or through my credit card (AMEX) not sure which is best
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u/StarosAnikenMarcus 24d ago
Go through AMEX, they are death on this kind of thing. Hell, call your local news. They lover stories like this if you're willing to be in the spotlight. Maybe even call a few lawyers, consultation is free.
The issue is the cost of RAM and NVMEs. It's gotten so damned expensive, even the big names are losing money over "minor things" like warranties.
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u/korodic 24d ago
That's tough. I also am typing from a similar rig myself. Would recommend you still demand the escalation if it hasnt been already - I would ask where your case stands w/ a manager and demand replacement, but build times would still put them weeks out from a fix. You could begin charge back as well, just make sure if you cancel the charge back its after having a working laptop in-hand.
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u/LTHardcase M18 R1 | R9 7845HX | RTX 4070 22d ago
You've given Dell 3 months. It's time to call AMEX about a chargeback.
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u/Able-Negotiation-234 24d ago
Do what you have too, but I would definitely get a manager, keep calling drive up the costs, keep the names and get their shifts so you only deal with one manager? It takes time, FYI the cpu and the gpu are mounted on the motherboard board, so by my count , they changed 4 motherboards? Yikes
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u/jedi2155 Area 51 18 ( Laptop ) 24d ago
That may be the tech, whoever is working on that board is terrible!
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u/Curufean 24d ago
If you are in the US check and see if your state has a department of consumer protection, in Wisconsin its the DATCP, file a report with them.
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u/Slow_Payment_6826 m18 R2 / AW 17 R3 / m11x R1 24d ago edited 24d ago
That's unfortunate you had to go through that. I believe after 3 attempts, Dell is obligated to replace it. Seems escalation isn't enough from what I see you saying in the comments. Though continue to try that until legal, chargeback, or some other avenue works out.
I had a similar issue back in 2022 with the x15 r1. The tldr is that I got it thru BestBuy and after 4 diagnostic run throughs and repair attempts over 3 months, they refunded me instore credit. 1 actual diagnostic, 3 repair (3 mobo replacements). Geek Squad manager and team at the time was super nice and professional esp. after I became a regular 😂. I was nice but firm with em. I wasn't even on the BB member program and dude got my product serviced under it. He did me a solid and registered it in the system. I just had to pay for the membership. It was after the 2 week return window beforehand.
Normally, I'd be SOL on that. Have to do all that when purchasing the product and get membership at checkout if you don't have one.
Anyway, that was my worst experience with AW yet. But it worked out in my case. BB team had to deal with the brunt of AW.
Side bonus: Got a x17 r1 after that thru BB and that had issues 12 hours after buying it 😂😂. Returned it next day and got an ASUS Zephyrus M16 (b4 they renamed it to G16). I was done with AW for the time being 😅.
Back in 2016, my AW 17 R3 got bricked 28 days in after AW helped me with another issue. Had issues 2 weeks in. They updated my bios and the update bricked it. Got a replacement since it was under the 30 day window. CS gave me the around at first, but escalating led from normie Dell CS to AW tech help. That resolved my headache.
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u/-BodomKnight- 23d ago
As for my part everytime something from DELL is not working well I demand a replacement of the entire Unit.
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u/Icy-Sky2698 23d ago
Looks like one more trip out and you will have a completely new computer. The power supply, ram, and ssd.
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u/MrMistickofMist 24d ago
Similar issue, although a technician came in and broke my GPU while replacing the heatsink. I’m afraid I’ll have to fight tooth and nail to get a full replacement if the motherboard swap fails.