Dell Stops Shipping Vostro 1310 & 1510 Laptop Models in Europe To Fix Misaligned Keys

Posted by Andrew Tingle on May 3rd 2008 | 5 Responses

Dell Vostro 1510 Laptop

Dell has confirmed that it has ceased shipping two models in its Vostro laptop range, specifically the Vostro 1310 and 1510 models, after a customer – whose vigilance is obviously somewhat more finely tuned than Dell’s own quality controllers – pointed out that the keyboard’s entire lower row was quite obviously totally misaligned making touch typing on the keyboard near on impossible.

The customer, Jake Gordon, noticed the problem having ordered his new Dell Vostro 1310 the day after the model’s release and contacted Dell to advise that something was amiss and, to Dell’s credit, the very next day they released the following statement:

A limited number of Vostro 1310 and 1510 in Europe have been sent out with the wrong keyboard layout. We are working diligently to offer a solution to impacted customers and correct the error. Once a solution is in place, we will be contacting impacted customers directly to both apologise and instruct them on next steps. We are still investigating this issue and will come back with more detailed information as soon as possible. We have made a mistake here and will be acting as quickly as possible to find a satisfactory solution for our customers.

Dell Vostro 1310 Laptop with Misaligned Keyboard

The issue appears to be caused by the addition of a new ‘/’ key being fitted between the oversized left Shift key and the ‘z’ key, causing the entire lower row of the keyboard to become shifted noticeably to the right, as can be seen in Jake Gordon’s image pictured above which has been uploaded to Flickr.

A Dell spokesperson has confirmed that customers who have purchased the affected models will ‘be given a choice to receive the keyboard kit or have a tech [representative] come on-site’ adding that the new keyboard is ‘easy to install’.

Those who believe that their Dell Vostro 10310 or 10510 has this misaligned keyboard should contact Dell’s customer service – though it should be stressed that as these keyboards have only been made available in Europe it’s only European customers who may be affected.

[image credit Jake Gordon]

(The Header image is for illustrative purposes only and does not show one of the affected Vostro 1510s)

Have you received a Vostro affected with the misaligned keyboard. Did you order your Vostro from May onwards (when Dell were aware of the issues)? See: Dell Still Selling Vostro 1310 & 1510 Laptops With Faulty Keyboards? [Our Readers Say Faulty Vostros Still Being Supplied].

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Dell Stops Shipping Vostro 1310 & 1510 Laptop Models in Europe To Fix Misaligned Keys

5 Responses/Trackbacks concerning
“Dell Stops Shipping Vostro 1310 & 1510 Laptop Models in Europe To Fix Misaligned Keys”

RESPONSES

Response by Steve | June 19th, 2008 at 10:24 pm

Our company has just received a new vostro 1310 and the lower set of keys produce the incorrect characters. ie the keyboard is shifted by one letter!!
c=v, v=b, b=n etc
I tried to contact Dell telephone support but was informed they had closed for lunch!!
How am I expected to run a business with that level of support!!!
Response by Andrew Tingle | June 20th, 2008 at 4:40 pm

Shame on Dell, though I’ve had otherwise very good feedback concerning Dell’s customer support. I hope they come to your assistance soon otherwise you could try voting with your budget and looking elsewhere.

Nice site/business, by the way.
Response by Dave | June 21st, 2008 at 1:28 pm

They haven’t stopped shipping them at all!! I ordered a Vostro 1510 6 days ago unaware of the problem with the keyboard which was apparently identified by Dell more than a month ago and guess what, it has the same problem.
How can they take an order and payment for a product they know is faulty and still send it out as if nothing was wrong with it? It defies belief and smacks of dishonesty.

I have read on the web that they are giving the option of receive a kit and fix it yourself which some have done, damaged the unit and invalidated their warranty, or have a tech visit and get it fitted, which others have gone for but many of the techs are not keeping appointments and when they do are unaware of the actual fault and are not equipped with the correct software, etc., to complete the job properly.
Avoid Dell is my advice this is the last purchase they will have from me.
Response by Andrew Tingle | June 21st, 2008 at 2:01 pm

Dave/Steve,

In light of your comments I will be adding a new post concerning your feedback and asking all Dell customers who have received these faulty keyboards SINCE Dell’s announcement to leave comments there as, once they have built up a little (assuming they do) I will then look to approach Dell with a request for an official response to the concerns.

Obviously, if I don’t get that much of a response approaching Dell would be a little silly (I need critical force backup – then I can really put them on the spot).

Post now on. Please see:

Dell Still Selling Vostro 1310 & 1510 Laptops With Faulty Keyboards? [Our Readers Say Faulty Vostros Still Being Supplied]
Response by mudhaffar | December 30th, 2008 at 6:10 pm

Well , in my country (IRAQ), where no law protects the final costumer (like me) , we do not expect a solution or any help from the local representative of Dell , so what i did is pulling out all the faulty key row & re-attaching them one-key toward the left-shift key , putting the (\)ket to the left of right-shift , this will solve about 95% of the problem . All you need ; small screw driver , good light & patience .
Iff you need detailed discription of the way , let me now .