HP Spectre x360 - Laptop wobbles and doesn't rest flat on table

[wolf13]

Hi HP,

I have the same issue with my Spectre x360 which I bought today. My laptop also wobbles and doesn't sit flat on a flat surface.

Please advise how to resolve this problem.

Is this a warranty case?

[Zain2k]

Hi wolf13,

If you just bought it, I would return it right away as I believe these were a faulty batch, which HP is failing to acknowledge.

I returned all mine and waited about 2 months before ordering again. I now have another machine, probably from a better batch, which doesn't wobble and has a mouse pad that is firm and not lose.

I'm surprised these faulty batches are going through quality control.

On a more positive note, the SpeCtre x360 is a great machine, I love it, I think HP have done a fantastic job, it's just a shame that they have this faulty batch and their still selling from that batch. 

All the best!

[BootSpork]

I had the same issue. The area at the corner of the right palm rest would wobble if I pushed down on it while the machine was sitting on a desk open.  I loosened the torx screws on the bottom plate of the machine, and the problem went away. Not so loose that they're in danger of falling out, but just snug. I don't know if you're wobble is the same as mine, but it's probably worth a shot if you'd rather not deal with warranty service and down time.

[wolf13]

Thank you guys for your advises.

I think that better is to return and change the laptop.

It is not a cheap-class laptop. And when you buy it you should expect the better quality. Not to loose the screws or find another "interesting" solutions.

[Sweyn]

I have the same problem. It sits solidly with the top open at 90° or less, but further back, the front right corner of the base hovers an mm or so above the desk, wobbling and making a thump when I put my hands down to type.

Sliding the cleaning cloth, preferably doubled-up, under that foot temporarily fixes the wobble. So I've stuck some blu-tack covered in electrical tape to that foot as a temporary measure. It solves the wobble problem but it looks bad and might not stay stuck forever.

So I'm on the lookout for better suggestions. Is there some repair that can be made under warranty? Or something I can do to fix it myself?

[wolf13]

Hi Sweyn,

My problem was solved by the service centre simply by replacing it with the new laptop. They told that they had to dismantle the entire notebook and did not find a solution how to fix a problem. So they send a new one.

By the way, this new laptop also is not an ideal machine. It also has all the problems, which another users are talking about in this forum. For example it has a problem with trackpad - it has a "click" when you simply touch it; it is noisy in a quiet room (noisily bursting processor); the fastening of a monitor to a keybord is not very good (the slit on one side is approx. 2mm bigger than on the other side); around all the screen is a seal which in some plases simply "dissapear"; the backlight of a screen is very strange (in some place it is very light - in my case in the down side of a screen - it is very visible when you are reading something on a black sreen); the HDMI port is very strange (sometimes I can not connect my external monitor because the jack is not fixed in the port - it is necessary to take it off and back for several times).

But in general this is a great laptop. I can not only understand why HP do not contol the quality for this model? What the Сhinese company is producing it and is it so difficult to check all the process of assembling? I have also the previous model of this 13` line laptops from HP - Folio. On that laptop the quality is much better. After 4 years of using it there are no any major problems like this new one has from the factory.

And also I am wonder - is someone from HP officials reading this forum? Why they do not react? Why we need to give advices to each other how to fix the problems? 

[Sweyn]

Hi Wolf13, thanks for sharing your experience! That is a shame that the service centre don't have a fix.

Apart from the hassle of having to physically return the unit (a 2-3 hr round trip) and re-install all my software and settings, I'm reluctant to return it due to the possiblilty of getting a unit with other problems. Often companies will supply refurbished units for warranty replacements, which are ones which have been returned by others, hence are not brand new and are more likely to have their own quirks. I'm pretty happy with my unit overall.

Regarding your other problems, here's my experience in these areas, and some problems / gripes of my own:

Touchpad: if you're brave, you can fix this yourself. I fixed mine. See details here. This was my other major complaint that marred the high-end feel for me.

Fan: I seem to be lucky here. No problems with fan noise, and only comes on under heavy load. Most of the time it's silent.

Monitor fastening: Mine isn't noticeably uneven, but close inspection (taking photos and overlaying) reveals that at 90°, the right side of the monitor is mounted 0.6 mm higher than the right (image below). Not enough to be a problem for me, but I wonder if it has something to do with not resting flat? if the screen is further from the joint on that side, it has more leverage when tilted back, which could explain tilting up on the right hand side. With your wobble, was it just when the monitor was tilted back, or did it happen even when the screen was closed?

Monitor seal: My seal is OK most of the way round, but I think I might have what you're talking about at the bottom of the screen, in the area below the "Hewlett Packard" logo (second picture below). Here, the screen sits above the level of the rubber seal, and there a small amount of flex when I push the screen here. Can't say that this has caused any problems, and I don't notice it most of the time. I just wonder if it's supposed to be like this.

Backlight: I have the QHD screen. I have noticed the backlighting is stronger towards the top edge of the screen. The difference is somewhat noticeable when using Tent mode, compared to normal mode, where the reduced brightness gives inferior contrast to text at the top of the screen, while blacks at the bottom of the screen have a purple tinge. Also in tablet / portrait mode, where one side of the screen is slightly brighter.  It looks great on darker / more colourful images, but brightness differences are more noticeable on white backgrounds. I find the brightness of whites to be very directional, and there's a weird 3D effect going on where the eyes get different brightness levels, especially in portrait mode. Also in laptop mode I need to have the screen tilted at just the right angle for my eyes, or the brightness is much decreased. The screen looks very good overall, but under normal use I need the brightness to be at 90+% or it looks dull. This burns battery like mad. Overall I wish I'd got the FHD screen. I had a Pavilion X360 with FHD IPS screen briefly, and assuming it's the same screen used on the Spectre, it was brighter, less directional, used less battery, and had fewer problems with font / app scaling when using external displays, since I could use 100% across all of them. The extra resolution of the QHD does give extra sharpness if you're looking closely, but really not that much difference.

Ports: No problems with mine. Your HDMI port sounds like it needs repair!

I also had a bit of a problem with double clicks registering on the touchscreen fairly often when I didn't want them to - mainly scrolling during web browsing. In Firefox this results in text being highlighted; in Edge / IE it results in annoying zooming. I think this might be software-fixable, but I don't remember it being an issue with the Pavilion X360 so perhaps it's hardware. Even if it is hardware, it's difficult to tell if it's an issue for just this unit or more generally for this screen.

The sound quality over headphones is poor (no bass). Also there's a "pop" sound before any sound starts playing, and after it ends. But there aren't really any claims made for the audio being any good, and I suspect that a cheap USB headphones/mic dongle will fix this.

Overall, though, it's a good machine. 🙂 Powerful, portable, good looking, quiet, decent keyboard, and I really like the stand / tent / tablet modes. I would have stuck with the Pavilion X360, which covered a lot of the same bases, except the keyboard in my unit didn't seem to be properly screwed in, and the headphone socket had a hiss on it. They are great machines, but I agree that there are some quality issues that HP needs to sort out, since these spoil the experience.

[Vurhan]

I just bought my ash silver spectre x360 and it has the same problem. The laptop wobbles from the right palm rest area as it doesnt sit flat on the table. Will contact the support asap.