*HP ENVY 15 (3XXX series) Owners Lounge*

[reNeglect]

Hey guys, i found recieved my HP Envy 15 3040nr yesterday. I've installed a Crucial M4 SSD and did a clean installation of windows. It seems that i am getting really poor battery life.. I've updated all my drivers and changed the setting to fixed in bios.

[dave.ladner]

Finally got my new Envy 15 after loving my old 1st Gen one for years.

So far everything seems to be working according, but I've yet to game on it, etc.

I managed to set a hotkey for switchable graphics, which is amazing. My On Screen display is working. All my buttons are working fine. Everything is going according to plan, EXCEPT:

After running a Minimized Image Recovery in the HP Recovery tool, (and even when I first started the laptop prior to this actually...) the HP Beats Audio Volume Wheel does not work. Nor the button. It does nothing.

The mute key works with specific drivers (I've tried literally 5-6 versions). It will mute, show on screen it is muted, and off-muted. However, I cannot adjust the volume with the wheel, it does nothing. And the beats button does nothing as well.

I have installed and re-installed several HP Quicklaunch versions, several IDT Audio HD Driver versions as well as the HP Support Assistant. Nothing has fixed this.

Any help or new updates on this?

[Lancealot]

I managed to set a hotkey for switchable graphics, which is amazing.

Can you explain to the rest of us what you did to accomplish this, please?

Cheers

[dave.ladner]

Can you explain to the rest of us what you did to accomplish this, please?

Cheers

Absolutely. The key is to have your BIOS setting on Fixed Mode, instead of Dynamic (where if you unplug the AC Adapter, it automatically switches to Power Saving).

I don't believe you can manually switch in Dynamic mode.

Once you've done this, right click on Desktop and go to Graphics Properties at the very top, with the Catalyst Control Center logo. Go into Power > Switchable Graphics, then click the Preferences button at the top and select Hotkeys from the pulldown list.

List the hotkeys for the Radeon Card, and the first 2 you should see to set are Power Saving Mode, and HD Graphics Mode. Since they aren't already mapped, I set Alt + F9 to Power Saving mode, and Alt + F11 to HD mode.

Typically when I'm on battery I'll want to be on power saving anyways, but sometimes I'm just moving a short distance to show someone something and need full graphics. The downside is it will automatically switch to power saving when you unplug, then you can switch it back right away. There's no reason to not have it in HD when plugged in so, no worries there.

Cheers and if anyone knows of a fix for a non-working Beats Volume Wheel (minus the mute key) let me know! Tried all sorts of drivers.

[dave.ladner]

As a follow-up to my initial "everything is great" reaction:

One of the USB ports on my left chassis was very slightly dented in. A small flathead screwdriver bent it very carefully back to normal. Port works fine.

My reds do show quite orange, as with most Envy 15 3xxx series it seems.

I just noticed that my screen (glass?) was actually popped out around the edges and bottom, so I took the same flathead screwdriver to "pop" it back in properly, again carefully.

Also my left front corner where the battery cover comes off was somewhat "loose", and would make a clicking noise as if it were not clipped on all the way when pushed at the right angle. A small flat piece of rubber from an old iphone case cut into a square between the battery and case solved this too.

Overall no deal-breaking issues for me, and all very easily fixed - although unexpected from a "premium" laptop. Note that I bought mine as a refurb however.

If I can get my Audio Beats volume dial working I will still be quite happy with this purchase.

[chocobo481]

As a follow-up to my initial "everything is great" reaction:

One of the USB ports on my left chassis was very slightly dented in. A small flathead screwdriver bent it very carefully back to normal. Port works fine.

My reds do show quite orange, as with most Envy 15 3xxx series it seems.

I just noticed that my screen (glass?) was actually popped out around the edges and bottom, so I took the same flathead screwdriver to "pop" it back in properly, again carefully.

Also my left front corner where the battery cover comes off was somewhat "loose", and would make a clicking noise as if it were not clipped on all the way when pushed at the right angle. A small flat piece of rubber from an old iphone case cut into a square between the battery and case solved this too.

Overall no deal-breaking issues for me, and all very easily fixed - although unexpected from a "premium" laptop. Note that I bought mine as a refurb however.

If I can get my Audio Beats volume dial working I will still be quite happy with this purchase.

Beats Audio Button needs the HP Quick Launch application and the HP Support Assistant app. Sometimes the HP Quick Launch app fails the first time you install it (it did for me). The second time it worked. Reboot and then the button should work again.

I know you said you tried this, but maybe wipe the apps off with Revo Uninstaller and try it again?

[Lancealot]

Absolutely. The key is to have your BIOS setting on Fixed Mode, instead of Dynamic (where if you unplug the AC Adapter, it automatically switches to Power Saving).

I don't believe you can manually switch in Dynamic mode.

Once you've done this, right click on Desktop and go to Graphics Properties at the very top, with the Catalyst Control Center logo. Go into Power > Switchable Graphics, then click the Preferences button at the top and select Hotkeys from the pulldown list.

List the hotkeys for the Radeon Card, and the first 2 you should see to set are Power Saving Mode, and HD Graphics Mode. Since they aren't already mapped, I set Alt + F9 to Power Saving mode, and Alt + F11 to HD mode.

This is so awesome, thank you! I've been looking to see how to get this setup so it was easier to switch and never noticed the option for hotkeys.

As a follow-up to my initial "everything is great" reaction:

One of the USB ports on my left chassis was very slightly dented in. A small flathead screwdriver bent it very carefully back to normal. Port works fine.

My reds do show quite orange, as with most Envy 15 3xxx series it seems.

I just noticed that my screen (glass?) was actually popped out around the edges and bottom, so I took the same flathead screwdriver to "pop" it back in properly, again carefully.

Also my left front corner where the battery cover comes off was somewhat "loose", and would make a clicking noise as if it were not clipped on all the way when pushed at the right angle. A small flat piece of rubber from an old iphone case cut into a square between the battery and case solved this too.

Overall no deal-breaking issues for me, and all very easily fixed - although unexpected from a "premium" laptop. Note that I bought mine as a refurb however.

If I can get my Audio Beats volume dial working I will still be quite happy with this purchase.

I haven't had the issue with the USB ports, but my monitor is dented/bulging on the bottom so I'll give that screwdriver nudge a try. I've also been meaning to fix a piece of electrical tape or rubber under the bottom battery panel as it makes a "clicking" noise if i tap it.

Now if only there were a fix to the keyboard making the rattling noise on the left side, everything would be all good.

Thanks for the great posts!


EDIT: Fixed the bottom of the screen - it now no longer bulges which is amazing as I was considering sending this under the warranty. The battery cover rattle has been fixed with a straightened piece of rubberized twist-tie which was taped down over the rubber pad - this doesn't allow it to slide around nor does it allow the cover to move away from the chassis to cause the rattle. The hotkeys work like a dream too!
All in all, I can't think of much more that could improve the Envy experience besides maybe grabbing a rubberized keyboard cover from eBay to keep out dust and perhaps to reduce the keyboard rattle on the left side. (These are on sale on eBay for $5 for the next few hours: http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-Envy-15-2...ht_4236wt_1159)

Cheers

[dave.ladner]

Still no luck with my Beats Button/Wheel. They just do nothing at all. Tried Revo Uninstaller and re-installing different versions of IDT Audio, HP Quick launch and HP Support Assist....

Hope it's not a hardware thing. I ain't sendin' this thing back.

[wetwillycf]

Still no luck with my Beats Button/Wheel. They just do nothing at all. Tried Revo Uninstaller and re-installing different versions of IDT Audio, HP Quick launch and HP Support Assist....

Hope it's not a hardware thing. I ain't sendin' this thing back.

I'm assuming that among the driver versions you've tried, you installed the IDT Audio driver and Quicklaunch that came with the laptop right? From the swsetup folder?

[Lancealot]

Still no luck with my Beats Button/Wheel. They just do nothing at all. Tried Revo Uninstaller and re-installing different versions of IDT Audio, HP Quick launch and HP Support Assist....

Hope it's not a hardware thing. I ain't sendin' this thing back.

Can you launch: "C:\Program Files\IDT\WDM\IDTNGUI.exe"
This should bring up the Beats Control Panel.

Did you say you have the HP On Screen Display Manager installed?
Can you launch: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Hewlett-Packard\HP On Screen Display\HPOSD.exe"

Cheers

Edit: Could you try Ubuntu linux and see if the audio buttons work there? This should assist in identifying whether the issue is software or hardware related.