Crackling sound while playing music in HP SPECTRE X360 Ultrabook

[Johne4U]

HI everyone.  A short post to update you all on my position.

Having insisted during my last support call that I felt the issue was not specific to my laptop, but to the product as a whole, and the fact that HP are not acknowledging (and therefore working towards a solution) to this problem, that I had to conclude that the laptop was "not fit for purpose", and therefore requested a full refund.

I was contacted 3 days later by a HP representative.  I was instructed to email them with my specific reasons as to why I deemed the product was not fit for purpose, and therefore requested a full refund, they would review this, and respond accordingly.

I was told it would normally take up to 2 days before I would receive a response.  2 days have past, and I have yet to receive such a response.

I will keep you all informed.

[Iamnotpleased]

Please keep us posted, Johne4U. When HP makes good and refunds you, let us know, becuase I'll be wanting to do the same thing.

[Lonely_Martian]

I would like to add my voice to this conversation. This issue is incredibly annoying and I'm considering asking for a refund if it isn't fixed before my warranty expires. My brand new laptop is completely unusable for any sort of media consumption. It's also pretty embarrassing after showing this fancy machine off to my Apple loyal friends.

After reading all the comments in this thread, I think I'm going to skip the temporary non-fixes listed here and just start pestering HP and Microsoft with calls about the issue.

Mr Martian

[RottenApple]

Hello,

We purchased our machine at the Microsoft store with Windows 10 and we purchased the "Microsoft Complete Extended Service Plan".  This plan extended the warranty with the manufacturer and provides accidental damage coverage from an insurance company.  Microsoft support advised me that I must work with the manufacturer to resolve the issues.

I followed all of the HP diagnostic steps, which did not solve the concerns.  I contacted HP and requested warranty replacement. I was informed that the warranty only covers repair at their depot. Unfortunately we really can't be without a machine and I requested an advance replacement with a different generation of hardware. I am waiting for a supervisor to call back tomorrow and discuss any options.

Our machine is a G1 which may be a first generation (HP Spectre x360 - 13-4101dx (ENERGY STAR) Pro G1).  Hopefully there is a G2 without this issue.  If this continues in other generations, a full refund is the best option.

- Apple

[Johne4U]

Further update. 

I wrote to HP as requested, explaining my reason why the item was "not fit for purpose", and therefore why I wanted a full refund. 

They called me today confirming that they agreed to pay me a full refund on return of the laptop.

I have completed the relevant paperwork and emailed a copy back to HP. 

I will update you all as to how smoothly this process goes.

[BinaryJay]

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@Johne4U wrote:

Further update. 

I wrote to HP as requested, explaining my reason why the item was "not fit for purpose", and therefore why I wanted a full refund. 

They called me today confirming that they agreed to pay me a full refund on return of the laptop.

I have completed the relevant paperwork and emailed a copy back to HP. 

I will update you all as to how smoothly this process goes.

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I'm glad you got what you wanted, in my case, I would much rather they provided a model without the problem in exchange instead of a refund as I like everything else about the spectre x360 including what I paid for it.

[TedSteel]

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@BinaryJay wrote:

I'm glad you got what you wanted, in my case, I would much rather they provided a model without the problem in exchange instead of a refund as I like everything else about the spectre x360 including what I paid for it.

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Ditto.

[RottenApple]

Hello Johne4U,

I know this is a personal choice but I agree BinaryJay.  When the Spectre is working it does fit many of our needs.

The other concern with our current machine is that we only get 4 hours of battery life.  Hopefully other owners have more battery life.  We have the i7 version with the 1920x1080 display.

If you move to another machine, what have you selected?

[marcolorenzo]

Regarding your battery life issue, have you tried turning the new Battery Saver function from Windows 10 on? I was also getting around 4 hours of battery life before I set it to permanently on when on battery and now I usually have at least around 7 hours of pretty substantial usage (not including time whilst sleeping).

But do note that I have the i5 version so it might not eat up as much power due to the weaker CPU. Still, try turning on the Battery Saver and hopefully you'll see better battery life without sacrificing much (if any) performance.

[TedSteel]

I 2nd the battery saver comment.

If I'm just working on the machine and not doing a ton of video playback, I get easily 7-8hours. But I keep the screen brightness down a good bit. Totally unscientific, but I'm sure there are days when I've gotten 12+. This is with some web surfing, MS Office Products (local, not Office 365) and supplementary tools like calculator and notepad. 

I also have a direct line of site to my wifi router so that probably helps too.

I will say - if McAfee Live Safe kicks off a full scan, it certainly affect battery life negatively.