To all Dell XPS 15 (9550) customers:
Dell product management / production made a major error with XPS 15 9550. Believe it or not, if you ordered one without a built-in hard or SSD drive (because an SSD card is included), the standard drive cable, connector and drive bumpers / rails are missing. Here are the Dell part numbers:
XDYGX - Cable, Hard Drive, SATA 7MM
3XYT5 - Grommet, Hard Drive, Rubber
This gets better. If you then order a hard drive or SSD upgrade directly from Dell, the missing cable, connector and bumpers ARE ALSO MISSING!
Here is what the drive parts look like, from Dell's service manual:
I discovered this screw-up today when my new XPS 15 arrived, Next Day Air, for a major project. I opened the case to install more RAM and an SSD drive -- and discovered the missing parts. So I contacted Dell Support. A very helpful CSR told me that the earliest Dell could deliver the parts was two weeks out. I offered to pay for Next Day Air. Nope, still two weeks. I ended up ordering the parts via Amazon for $80, not including Rush shipping.
I Googled this issue and found lots of unhappy Dell XPS 15 customers in the same boat. This failure was definitely bad for them, and for Dell's reputation. Dell should clearly step-up and (a) solve this problem on all new XPS 15 systems, (b) offer quick parts delivery to desperate customers, and (c) inform Dell phone and chat support staff of the problem and solutions.
Mark Hays
