Are there any known overheating issues with the HP Spectre x360 Convertible laptop?

[M_Chambers]

   I purchased this laptop less than 2 months ago and have noticed it getting very hot when in use and when charging, since the first time I used it. I have had many issues with it but nothing big enough to complain about until now. It would shut off on me out of nowhere, the screen going blue instead of black and the power would still be on & freezing often. I assumed it must be something I was doing or didn't do since it is brand new. I performed health checks on it several times and always had "no issues" detected. 1 1/2 weeks ago it looked as if the keyboard was beginning to warp. It wasn't very noticeable at first but this past Wednesday I had to unplug it from the charger and turn the power off because I could see it had warped into almost a U shape from being so hot. I let it cool off for a while, picked it up to inspect it and the laptop felt soft. I don't know how to describe it exactly...almost like clay or something. It actually bent in my hands. I'm no expert but I am pretty sure it wasn't supposed to do that. I found my warranty info and receipt but have been unable to reach an actual person with HP. Please advise what my next steps should be. This is the first time I ever had an issue with any HP product. 

Thank you!

Update to my original post: 

My son admitted to me that he caused the damage to my laptop, after I made a warranty claim with HP. I want to be fair to HP by updating this post and letting HP users know that this was not an overheating issue due to manufacturer defect.

I was contacted by HP and will be sending in my laptop for repairs. My out of pocket expense is only a fraction of what a new Spectre x360 2 in 1 costs. I am very pleased with the customer support I have recieved. 

[praveenbv]

Hi@M_Chambers, Welcome to the HP Support Community!

As I understand its new notebook it overheating and freezing issue,

No worries, as I'll be glad to help you, that said, I'll need a few more details to dissect your concern & provide an accurate solution: 

Did you know that the fan is system managed and cannot be changed manually?

Does the computer shut down due to overheating?

Have you recently made any changes to the computer before the issue started?

Have you tried to update the drivers and the Bios?

If you didn't, I'm afraid that's how the HP device is designed, making changes to fan speed may cause overclocking or over-throttling causing hardware malfunctions within the device and hence is not recommended or supported by HP.

If your device is overheating, please remember the below information:

NOTE: Generally, when temperatures inside the case rise above 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit), the risk of damaging important internal components increases greatly.

Also, to avoid CPU damage, we do not recommend throttling or overclocking the CPU, I recommend you refrain from using high-performance games on this laptop as it's not built for the same.

I would suggest you refer to the support documents as this will help you in resolving the issue.

Let's start off by updating the Bios, Chipset, and graphics card drivers on your PC from our HP support website, using this link.

Also, download and install HP support assistant on your PC. It should automatically download and install the latest updates and drivers for your PC.

Refer to this link to know how to use HP support assistant.

HP Notebook PCs - Fan is Noisy and Spins Constantly, PC is Warmer than Normal

Updating your Notebook computer BIOS

Keeping notebook air vents clear and clean

Increasing the efficiency of the notebook to reduce heat

Using Windows Task Manager to identify corrupt processes

Selecting power save settings to shut off your computer when it is not in use

HP Notebook PCs - Reducing Heat Inside the Laptop to Prevent Overheating

Hope this helps! Keep me posted.

Please click “Accept as Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.

Click the “Kudos, Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping!

Have a great day! 

[AndyStuart87]

Whether it’s a flash drive, hard disk drive or any other storage device, all are electronic products and equally uncertain in life. Overheating of any storage drive is more severe than we think. Every storage drive has a minimum and maximum operating temperature. Any change in the internal or external temperature significantly affects the drive performance and life.

Anything below or above the ideal temperature can have a bad impact on the drive and can lead to the following issues:

• Data loss
• File corruption
• Drive corruption
• Increase in bad sectors
• System crash
• Frequent system freeze
• Unexpected system shutdown
• Constant screeching, clicking or whirring sound
• Drive failure

To know more about the issue & how you can fix this, I suggest you to check out the below blog: https://www.stellarinfo.com/blog/how-to-fix-hard-drive-overheating-and-recover-data-in-windows-and-m...

Hope it will help.

[RioNYC]

My friend bought the same Spectre X360 model as I. We both have been complaining about the fan noise running continuously and the laptop feeling a bit too warm to our liking... ESPECIALLY when the powercord was plugged in. Not 100% sure if "overheating" damaged the motherboard itself but the laptop started to experience intermittent "Blue Screen of Death" and Black screen crashes one year into use. I kept looking for and religiously updating the drivers daily in the hope that perhaps HP would found a solution for their customers like me and my friend.  But the crashes had gotten worse over time until it was crashing almost every couple of hours, making any productive work almost impossible and each day hell. To make a long story short, the laptop finally died and was unable to start eventually... unable to load up its operating system.

I replaced the MotherBoard... apparently it was not working right anymore. After getting the laptop back from service, everything seems to work fine. The laptop was running so cool that the fan never even needed to turn on. 

Stupid me, I thought I was doing the right thing by updating to the latest BIOS from HP as suggested. Now, the laptop is running hot again. I'm not a computer engineer but I think there's something wrong with the BIOS update. So if there's nothing wrong with your laptop, don't update the BIOS.  I regretted it. Now want to get rid of my Spectre X360, and find another that is more reliable.

[itsmyname]

@RioNYC -- ESPECIALLY when the powercord was plugged in.

That makes sense. 

When running on battery-power, the computer slows down, to allow the charge in the battery last longer.

When running on electrical power, the computer runs at full speed, and the CPU generates more heat, and the fan spins faster, and the fan generates more noise.

Never place a notebook computer on a soft surface, such as a cloth, even though the cloth will protect the table underneath the cloth from getting scratched by the hard case of the computer.   Instead, put the computer on a hard surface, to allow any "air intake" areas on the bottom of the computer to draw in the full amount of room-temperature air.

[praveenbv]

Hi@M_Chambers,

Hi@itsmyname,

Let me know if you need any other assistance and I'd be happy to help 🙂 

Please click “Accept as Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution. 

Click the “Kudos, Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping! 

Have a great day!

[FenderUnbender]

Sorry to be nosey but I am very curious about how your son created this kind of damage? I appreciate your honesty with your update.

[itsmyname]

@FenderUnbender --  I could see it had warped into almost a U shape from being so hot. 

Putting a "laptop" computer on one's lap, or a soft cloth, or on an obliging dog, is going to limit the amount of room-temperature air getting through the intake vents on the computer.  Playing an online game is bound to work the processor very much, causing it to generate much more heat.

[praveenbv]

Hi@M_Chambers,

Please refer to the below article for more information.

https://support.hp.com/in-en/document/c05387497