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BaileyWeiler
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October 26th, 2026 19:33
Dell Pro Max 16 Plus: same freezing fault after motherboard and memory replacements, Dell refuses system exchange
We bought a Dell Pro Max 16 Plus in September 2025 for about $8,100, with a 3-year onsite warranty. It is configured with an Intel Core Ultra 9, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD and NVIDIA RTX PRO 5000 Blackwell 24GB graphics. It is a business machine used daily for 3D CAD work.
In the 13 months since purchase, it has had the same freezing fault three times despite two major hardware repairs. Dell has declined to replace it.
Symptoms
The system freezes completely: the screen stays on, but the cursor and keyboard stop responding, and only holding the power button recovers it. It has also restarted on its own without warning, with the fans running loudly when this happens. At its worst it happened several times a day.
Repair timeline
- September 2025: Laptop purchased and put into service.
- December 2025: Freezing began. Dell approved an onsite repair and replaced the motherboard (SR 220043078). The freezing returned within about 30 minutes of use.
- January 2026: Dell had another BIOS update installed.
- July 2026: The restarts and freezing came back and got steadily worse, from about once a week to several times a day.
- August 4, 2026: Our IT provider took the laptop in for diagnostics. They backed up the drive, wiped it and reinstalled Windows to rule out software, then tested it in coordination with Dell. Dell could not find the cause remotely and had the laptop shipped to its repair depot. <To protect you, your private information was removed from public view. All private data was saved to your private Case. DELL-Admin>
- September 2026: Dell first tried to return the laptop with no physical repair. After our IT provider pushed back, Dell replaced the memory and reloaded the operating system. The laptop was returned on September 18. Our IT provider asked Dell for a replacement at that point; Dell declined and repaired it instead.
- October 22, 2026: The same freeze happened twice in one afternoon.
- October 26, 2026: I contacted Dell support as the owner and requested a system exchange. The agent said Dell can only replace parts, not the unit.
Where this leaves us
- The laptop was out of service for about 7 weeks in August and September alone, under a warranty sold as next business day onsite.
- Our employee has been working on a borrowed computer for much of this time.
- Dell has now replaced the motherboard and the memory, updated the BIOS and reloaded the OS. The same fault keeps coming back.
What we are asking for
We are asking Dell to escalate this case for a system exchange with equal or better specifications, including RTX PRO 5000 class graphics. Three failed repair attempts for the same fault on a workstation of this cost should qualify.
I’d appreciate it if @DELL-Cares could review the case history and contact me privately.
(edited)
noahmitchell
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Posted October 27th, 2026 04:04
That pattern after a board swap, new memory, and a clean Windows install points away from the usual suspects, so I would check what is left in the chain before the next repair. Look in Event Viewer right after a freeze for critical Kernel-Power entries and any WHEA or display driver errors in the minutes before it, and note whether it only happens under heavy 3D load or also when idle. If you have not already, run it for a day or two on just the built-in display with no dock or external drives attached, and run the pre-boot diagnostics plus a long SSD health check, since a flaky drive or power delivery issue can freeze the whole machine without a blue screen. Keep that dated log with the October 22 freezes and the 7 weeks of downtime together when you push for escalation, because repeat same-fault repairs are a much stronger case than a single incident.