HP=welfare of laptops?

[650hpAMG]

Well, after returning my Envy 15 for screen issues, touchpad that did not work properly, sticky cd eject, keyboard that did not work as it should, I decided to just go ahead and get an Envy 17. So far so good , everything working fine except for the cheesy crappy keyboard they use. Today, tried to eject my Office disc, nope. Will not eject at all, not even close. On my Envy 15 it would barely stick out and I could pull it the rest of the way out, On the Envy 17, it is not budging, lots of noise, no disc. Tried widening the slot a tad, still nothing.

What a POS! and here I thought I was one of the few with a trouble free HP laptop. Nope.

I have owned a LOT of laptops, none ever as bad as these HP Envy laptops. Now deciding on my next move-shopping, most likely payup for a MBP. Fortunately purchased from Amazon with a 30 day return policy.

[abaddon4180]

I have owned/used a lot of HP notebooks, everything from budget Compaq notebooks to Elitebooks, and, for the most part, they have been among the best laptops I have used.

[650hpAMG]

Was able to fix it, unscrewed backplate , removed subwoofer assembler, removed cd drive, noticed a piece of felt had lifted up blocking the cd from ejecting. Pushed this back down for now where it seems to stay and all is well, for now. It's like buying a damn Ford or Chevy, always have an excuse.

I can understand one laptop having issues, however the amount of negative reviews and comments here and elsewhere coupled with two problematic HPs in a role= concerned. I still have 28 days to return this. It better not act up at all the entire time.

[abaddon4180]

There are so many people complaining about HP laptops because HP is the biggest manufacturer in the world. Even if they had the same percentage of problems as other manufacturers you would see more people with problems simply because they sell more.

Having some of the lowest prices also works against HP. When the average consumer goes to buy a computer they go to Best Buy and pick what they think is the nicest laptop, in terms of looks and power, for the price. Most of the time it is an HP. The problem is that the average consumer has no idea how to take care of a computer. They get viruses/malware/spyware, use the laptop on very soft surfaces stopping the fan from working properly and never update drivers unless they are in Windows Update. Then they blame the manufacturer for their computer being slow or overheating.

[650hpAMG]

There are so many people complaining about HP laptops because HP is the biggest manufacturer in the world. Even if they had the same percentage of problems as other manufacturers you would see more people with problems simply because they sell more.

Having some of the lowest prices also works against HP. When the average consumer goes to buy a computer they go to Best Buy and pick what they think is the nicest laptop, in terms of looks and power, for the price. Most of the time it is an HP. The problem is that the average consumer has no idea how to take care of a computer. They get viruses/malware/spyware, use the laptop on very soft surfaces stopping the fan from working properly and never update drivers unless they are in Windows Update. Then they blame the manufacturer for their computer being slow or overheating.

While I appreciate you chiming in, I would have to respectively disagree. Largest does not necessarily mean more complaints per say, just the same as VW vs. Toyota and their associated complaints. VW have always (owned 6 including Audi) ) been a car with issues, while Toyota's (7 of those including Lexus) have been incredibly reliable. And I have owned more car/trucks than even laptops.

Have owned Winbook (anyone remember those?), Del (is Dell not large?), Lenova (same here), Compaq (pissed me off when HP got them), Apple (best built), etc. Had them all. This Envy series is suppose to be their upper end of consumer laptops to a degree. Granted the price is not the $3500 I paid for an XPS laptop years ago, still HP bills the line as such.

The keyboard is shoddy, if you have not used one, go to the store or read up in the Envy forum. Very cheap. And unless I am just that lucky, 2 of my Envys in a row-problems straight from the box.

To use a $8 cheaper chipset in the Envy 17 which houses two HDD slots but no RAID options at all is pure none sense. Pure cost cutting. And realistically, how much more would a quality keyboard cost HP?

I understand corporations cutting corners, and of course they factor in a certain amount of defects and returns into the equation , at the same time my personal experience of playing with 5 of these Envy units is that corners have been cut. I would have gladly paid an extra $100 for the RAID option, or even a keyboard that belongs vs. something that currently is worse than my little sons vTech PC that cost $100 from Target.

At this time I do like the laptop, want to hold onto it, however in a position that I can easily move on to something else. Never a fanboy of my purchasing decisions, I buy and hold onto what I like and fits my needs. Currently this damn laptop is bugging the living hell out of me over the keyboard. The left side 'sounds' and 'feels' different vs. the right side and then the backspace key has a squeak. A SQUEAK! So I will have to got out into the garage, get a small needle and toss in some white grease or similar on my new computer. Wow. Samsung is a large manufacturer of many things, not just laptops, however complaints for the Series 7 are no where near the levels of the Envy 17. I came close to the Series 7 as there is no doubt it is a better built unit-judging from me using two in the stores and reading the forums. Wi-FI antenna location is the biggest complaint on that.

Again, never a fanboy of my decisions, so far HP does not impress, but I have 3.5 weeks to decide and even past that my credit card gives me protection on my purchase.

Finally, one of the IT guys at work, after telling him I had ordered the HP (Envy 15), he said think again, once the company switched from Lenova to HP, complaints and issues 'skyrocketed.' Same amount of end users, however even with a ratio of 1 to 20 (HP to Lenova) in the company, HP has a far higher qty of issues with them. The guy likes Apple, so he cares less about whether HP or Lenova is better, just that nobody really care for the HP now at the office due to the amount of issues. Initially I shrugged it off thinking he just did not care for HP, well, now I know why.

Might also have to do with the fact that people have different expectations. Having owned so many computers and having built well over 1000 pc's , I have seen the extremes.

[abaddon4180]

Everyone has their own opinion. Like I said, I have personally owned or used for extended amounts of time dozens of HP laptops and recommended dozens more to friends and family. The vast majority of the computers have never had any problems.

[ilvhse]

Working with and deploying hundreds of hp laptops for business use and they all wrok great. I have an envy 15 had issues initially, but some updated drivers corrected those issue. Love this laptop!

[650hpAMG]

Working with and deploying hundreds of hp laptops for business use and they all wrok great. I have an envy 15 had issues initially, but some updated drivers corrected those issue. Love this laptop!

I am going to have to call you out on this one. With respect of course. As someone that has first hand knowledge of corporate equipment leases, field operations, including IT support of said field equipment, absolutely and unequivocally, you are being a bit disingenuous here. Sorry.

In just about EVERY case of 'deployed' computers as you state, the expectations of what a 'great working' laptop is and what an end user that used their own personal funds to acquire stem from different aspects of the brain.

Short of a motherboard on fire, no boot, no display, etc, an IT Dept simply WILL NOT consider a PC 'deployed' to be defective over issues that might otherwise prompt concern with said personal end user. Screen not line up, so what. Bad keys, again, not worth the expense. Case have a gap or mis-aligned? Again, not a concern. Reds that look like orange? No corp. is going to care. PERIOD!

Been doing this too long to know above scenario all too well.

So again, it is all about expectations. Curious what you drive.

[excalibur1814]

I look after over 200 ish machines with most laptops bing HP and we have little to no issues. This just seems like another bashing thread, obviously with merit, against HP. You'll also have issues with a MBP if you're not lucky. All of them have issues.

[Crimsoned]

Excalibur, in which way do you look after them. Do you deal with HP's customer support? Or do you service the laptops?
Any more details?

Reason I am bringing it up is most large businesses with their on techs rarely rely on HP's support. Thus many have few bad things to say about the brand.

Most of their laptops work reliably, this is true. It is rather sad how HP can get most budget/mid range laptops perfectly. (Working 100% all year round) but when it comes to their higher end line ups, they fail...
In the case of the HP Envy 17 (previous/new redesign), as well as HP Envy 15 there were some serious design flaws. Overheating (Envy 17/15), throttling (Envy 17), even CQ issues.

The HP Envy is supposed to be HP's top of the line consumer notebook. For a top of the line, I find the thermal design to be poor and the experience to be poorly thought out...