Several months back, I bought an HP Pavilion DV6000 and reviewed it here on PCMech. I gave it a pretty good review. I was happy with it. But, that review has garnered a LOT of traffic. So much, in fact, that it now finds itself as the ninth most popular article on the website according to the “Most Popular” list on the homepage. Now, why is that? Mainly because of all of the user comments complaining about various things failing on the unit. Most prevalent among them: wireless.
Then a reader by the name of David (not me, I promise) pointed over to the Berlind’s Testbed blog, by ZDNet. He talks about how he has seen a lot of complaints about failing wifi in the Pavilion notebooks and that the HP support forums are being flooded with such complaints. Take a look at this support thread at HP for the wifi problem on the DV6000. I caution you, the thread is PACKED with comments and may take a while to download if you are not on a fast internet connection.
The same blog from ZDNet asked HP about it and eventually got a response where HP admitted to the problem with the wifi on these Pavilion models. Apparently, HP posted a BIOS fix in the support forums to this problem, however it is said not to work very well and doesn’t solve the problem for most users. In fact, most users who have had this fixed ended up getting a motherboard replacement or a replacement system. This is a hardware problem, not something that can be fixed with a mere BIOS update.
Is HP Support Really Supportive?
There has been a lot of expressed disappointment and anger at HP over this. Not only because the problem exists in the first place, but because HP has been completely silent on the issue (up to very recently) even while their customers are flooding the support forums with this issue. The perception has been that HP does not monitor it’s own forum. And, quite frankly, recommending a BIOS update for a wireless card failure is practically laughable.
But, HP’s support is on the verge of laughable anyway. Just yesterday, I had to call HP because of a failing battery in – you guessed it – my DV6000. While the Indian guy I spoke to was quite nice, he ran me through diagnostic steps that were kind of stupid. I have also wrote in the past about my experience dealing with HP support on my laser printer. This is admittedly completely subjective on my part, but it seems as if HP technical support has a habit of grasping at straws and ignoring common sense when it comes to troubleshooting. Perhaps they need to use their heads more than the corporately written flow charts that their technicians no doubt use.
Reality Check
So, while I am writing this article based on other people’s observations, the volume of posts about this problem, both on PC Mechanic as well as on HP’s site, indicate that there is a fairly widespread issue of failing wireless cards in the HP Pavilion notebooks. I hope HP takes proper responsibility for this. If you have the problem, just make sure that you contact HP before your warranty expires. HP is really good at throwing hardware at the problem, so chances are you will get a free replacement.
The harsh truth is this: You can’t buy an all-in-one notebook computer with those kinds of specs for ~$800 and expect it to be the highest quality in the world. The attractive price tag given the specs is why so many people are buying these Pavilion notebooks. But, just buy it knowing that it will have a failure point.
David Risley is the founder of PCMech.com. He is the brains, the thinker, the writer, the nerd.
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I have a hp pavilion dv9000 and in the middle of my university asignments the power refuses to stay on. the blue light comes on for about one second and off it goes again. can anyone please help me? i have a deadline to meet
Hello tinko, I had the same prob with my pavilion dv6000… after 1 year I bought it the wireless goes out, 5 months latter the same problem as yours and nothing on screen, then shuts down…. Im sorry to tell that the motherboad is dead :S I changed up with a new one and it just dies 6 months latter…. keep the hard drive and the other is just a peace of crap….
please tell your friends NOT TU BUY AN HP COMPUTER :S
jdavid summed it up – do not buy an HP PC, or a Dell, or an IBM. As a matter of fact don’t buy a PC. Purchase an Apple. They never break and they stand by their products.
We just found out our 26 month old Pavillion laptop has the same problem. HP would not consider fixiting it on their dime, even though they acknowledged the problem was of their making. They do not back up their product. I will NEVER buy another HP product agin, and am telling all my friends to stay away as well. DO NOT BUY ANY HEWLITT PACKARD PRODUCT…EVER!
Talk to HP and see if it is the mother board issue everyone here is talking about. If so, see if you can get if fixed. I didn’t realize that there was a bigger issue, so I’ve suffered with lack of wireless and with the same battery issue you described for months. I’m past the 24 months you get, so I’m screwed by HP in that it is a bad motherboard and a $450+ repair for me to have them fix.
(Yes, they made the problem and acknowledge it, but tsk tsk to me for not knowing they would fix it until too late)
Bottom line – if you are still having your problem, try taking the battery out and unplugging it (Both at the same time). Put them back in and see if it boots up. That is what I have to do with mine. It is beyond annoying, but it allows it to work. I now get my wireless by plugging in a cable too…..
Since I just learned these are known problem. I called HP. They pretty much blew me off since I’m beyond the “extension of the wrrantly to 24 months after the start of the original warranty. You have to LOVE that wording “beyind the start” – in other words, we aren’t extending the warranty 24 nonths, but rather 12 if you have a standard 12 month warranty and not at all if you are on a 2 year warranty.
Yeah, HP sabatoged admits to breaking the computer, but won’t fix it. They gave me a case number (8025857744), but I’m not sure why. They guy pretty much said “yeah, we know about the problem, but unless you want to pay, then go have a nice day” and sent me packing….
Grrrrr…..
Tinko, please dont worry i am providing to the steps and i am sure it wil resolve the issue you just follow the steps :-
1.Turn off the notebook by using power button.
2.Disconnect the AC adapter
3.Disconnect the battries
Step a – Remove the battery
Slide and hold the battery release latch to the release position.
Lift the front edge of the battery and remove it from the battery bay.
Step b – Replace the battery
Toe the rear edge of the battery into the base enclosure.
Lower the front edge of the battery and
press the battery into the battery bay until the release latch clicks.
4.Is their any peripherals connected to the notebook- disconnect it.
5.Press the power key for thirty seconds.
6.Reconnect everything back.
7.Turn on the computer.
Hp tech — Jyoti
Jyoti, you have to be kidding me. I’ve had the exact same problems with my hp pavillion and I have to do your exact instructions every single time my wireless disappears. And that only works about half of the time.
HP fixed my problem about a year ago when it was still in warranty, and now the problem is back. The best part is, is that HP won’t do ANYTHING about it. They said sorry you’re out of warranty. I’ve never been so frustrated in my life. Especially when people from Apple say to remove the battery and put it back in as a solution.
HELLO ALL!! Positive news. I posted back in Feb about my dv 9301us losing wireless internet. I sent it in to HP with the packaging that they had sent me after my phone conversation with some very helpfull staff. They sent my laptop back to me within a month. Charged me nothing because it still had some kind of fac war (less than 2 yrs old) and the problem was the MOTHERBOARD. They said it was common. IT ALMOST FELT LIKE THEY KNEW I WAS GONNA CALL AND SAY EXACTLY WHAT I SAID. Took about half a second for the rep to diagnose my pc. I’ve been using it ever since with zero problems. So, as promised, I am throwing a party. 4 kegs of sam adams honey porter. Mmmmm.
One of the lucky ones graduate… There are thousands of HP door stops out there… I have 3…
I have a problem with my wireless on my hp pavillion tx1260ea. The bluetooth works fine, but the the wireless LAN is not working at all. I have updated my BIOS, All drivers, reformatted windows…still no response from the wireless LAN card. In device manger nothing in the network adapter section shows up as wireless, as my brothers does. However i have 2 other friends with the exact same laptop experiencing the same problem. one that had it fixed as it was under warranty, HP failed to mention what they replaced. one with the prolem ongoing. I belive there is a major fault with the wireless LAN minicard/bluetooth (my model), as far as i am concerned, it is a hardware fault, where the wireless LAN is burnt out therefore failing the device giving all kinds of failed wireless symptoms. I am doing to change the wireless LAN card, and if the problem is resolved, I will post this on here to guarantee the problem resolve solution.
Whatever you do it is not going to help you because HP hardware error will burn any NEW USB WIRELESS CARD as well. In my opinion, considering how many screwed customers trying to get HP support (which is just terrible) and fix the problem, HP should have done much better job in resolving this issue. I installed 2 USB wireless cards after original one went down, but each one of them stopped working just couple of days I installed them. So let’s face this problem. We all wanted to save some money buying inexpensive HP crap so partially we are to blame. HP knows very well that some customers will be pissed but they do not report how many pissed customers they had in last quarter – they report profit Wall street. HP knows if you price product correctly and if you have your marketing department up and running, you can sell whatever you want (all kind of shit) over and over again. Exactly. Over and over again. Some of you will say – never HP anymore, but in 2 years HP laptop will be $199.00 and guess what? Exactly, you will be buying HP shit again because Apple is 10 times more expensive. Scam is built into our business model which is basically:
1) sell piece of crap
2) support that shit for 1 year
3) tell customers warranty expired
4) market another product.
.
This is why Asus and other formerly minor manufacturers have grown exponentially. Their low end pc laptops are reliable and don’t generate thousands of negative comments. HP has gone the way of Chrysler, unable to adjust their pricepoint, service and quality to the market, relying instead on aging goodwill.
Awesome computer for the price. The Processor, which is nothing really special as far as power, is currently crisping my palms, and the touchpad could fry an egg. Heats up to fast. The RAM is also puny, which makes for real annoying lags. The keyboard is fantastic, very easy to type on. NUM pad would be nice, but can be lived without. The touchkeys are a good idea, but could use some work. Toshiba could help them out there. I use the volume control buttons a lot, just wish the “beeps” were not so loud. The problems people have with the computer are pretty consistent. It has other problems that are a result of vista.
Sometimes, in sleep mode, the screen randomly lights up. If you have had problems with this, it can be fixed easily. (http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/fix-sleep-mode-randomly-waking-up-issue-in-windows-vista/)
Problems
About two weeks after the warranty expired, the wireless card went out. HP was pretty good about getting it fixed, and I have had no problems with it since. But I was horrified by the results of the repairs, which could have been just an isolated incident. There was a dig in the touchpad, as if someone had taken a Henckels to it. There was also a patch about three inches square just to the left of the touchpad. When I booted, everything went OK, but it wigged out when I touched the pad. It was extremely annoying to have to deal with that again.
Overall, good computer, just don’t try to rip through any real processor intensive applications with it.
I am currently having the same problem with my laptop now, ive been having on going problems with it and now i read this letter and it explains it all however i am upset at the fact that the proice is now $8oo when i paid a little over $15oo.oo for it :”/
Good to know I’m not alone. I’m going through the same problem with my wireless interface card for the last two weeks. Whoever finds the solution, please post it. It will help a great number of people, of course, me included. In the meantime, I will try contacting HP and see what they do for me. Thank you all.
I’ve been here before and had seen the grimm forecast for my laptop’s lifespan. I found too that the laptop gets quite hot, and as a student I found that it couldn’t always handle my work load, which usually means having multiple windows open at a time. I paid $1500 for it, and as most students at the start of any year was on a tight budget, and hence I only took the 12 month warranty. I swear the minute it ran out I started having problems. The battery now refuses to hold charge at all, and the processor overheats and the computer simply loses power completely if it’s plugged in for too long, limiting my use of the laptop at all. However, I boycotted it for a few months in favour of my boyfriend’s Toshiba satellite laptop, and when I turned it back on to retrieve some files, I found that it wasn’t as hot… bizarre, but it hasn’t overheated since. I’ve even tempted fate by loading a processor intensive game… and to my surprise I was able to play to my hearts content, for hours on end. My conclusion? HP Pavillions have too much Oestrogen, and they get PMS. Maybe it got jealous, now it works again? Who knows! My boyfriend was just came over and told me about this great laptop he found on ebay… hp pavillion. Oh god, not again…
Just got off the phone with HP support. My WIFI has failed on my Pavilion dv2225nr. Bios updates and driver updates were all done this past year. I did not realize then that I was just putting a band aide on a bigger underlying problem. HP is aware of the heat problem on the Pavilion line. They are also aware that this causes premature failure of the WIFI built into the mainboard. The Bios updat adjusts the cooling fan to run more in an attempt to keep this WIFI failure from happening during the warranty period.
The HP support rep informed me that my 1year warranty ran out feb 08. He then informed me that my model was included in a series that was extended an additional one year of warranty due to the WIFI and heat problem. Which is good if your notebook fails within 2 years. Unfortunately mine ran out 3 months ago. ARE YOU FREAKIN SERIOUS??? They are more than happy to charge me for a new Mainboard and labor if I am willing to send it in and wait 2 months.
Why, if I registered my Notebook with HP for warranty, did they not notify me of this know issue when it reared it’s ugly head 2 years ago? Hmmmm??? Was it because of the Money??? If so, I guarantee that HP has lost more money by losing an exponential number Loyal customers than they would have by recalling these lemons and keeping their Loyal customers.
Hey HP, you are nothing without out us, the consumers. When you lose us and our purchasing dollars, you will disappear. You will learn soon what happens when a BIG company screws over hard working Americans. We spread the word, ralley together and boycott that BIG company.
I plead to all Americans, who are considering purchasing HP products or HP stock, to strongly reconsider. HP loves money more than they love their customers…
Good Bye HP
Interesting comment Screwed by HP. Why didn’t HP notify people that had registered of the problem? At a minimum, they should have stated that BIOS needed updated.
I don’t know anything about class action law suits, but this seems like a prime candidate if ever there was one……
Head to Fry’s or Best Buy and purchase a USB Wireless Adapter. Mine cost $20 and works with my home WIFI and at Saxby’s where I spend time with Colleagues. Don’t spend money on the motherboard repair because this would giving more $$ to HP who should not be in the PC business. They make great Server and Blade systems though.
Same stinking problem here. Second time, now my warranty is out and HP wants $400 to fix. Why not just buy another computer for that. I can not even pull up HP wireless assistant, the icon is gone, orange light only no blue. This sucks!
Have you guys tried formatting your hard drives. Doing this worked for me.
Been there done that… No joy…
Well HP Better START EXTENDING THE WARRANTY A LITTLE LONGER $400 DOLLARS JUST TO FIX THE MOTHERBOARD TO FIX WHERE THE BUILT IN WIRELESS IS I THINK I AM JUST GOING TO SELL MY LAPTOP FOR THE SAME PRICE I BOUGHT IT FOR ALL THOUGH THE BUILT IN WIRELESS IS NOT WORKING I WILL SELL IT FOR $1150 THAT IS WHAT I BOUGHT IT FOR IN 2006 ITS ONLY 4 YEARS OLD STILL BRAND NEW JUST FINNISHED REFORMATTING IT AND PUT A CLEAN WINDOWS VISTA ON IT
Check out this video… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctHTF3oNdxI
There are lots of demo’s on youtube on how to fix our TX1000. Only if you have no other choice that is…
Have any of you people ordered the broadcom wireless card that goes in the bottom of to dv6000 series laptops cause it could be a simple as the card its self gone bad so I’m waiting for my new card so I can see what happens. Also I did some checking all the HP dv6000 series ar still safe to use all you need to do is buy a wireless usb stick nothing will happen to the motherboard
I have a similar problem, maybe writing the facts here will help understanding what is happening.
1. I have bought a Pavilion DV6276eu in May, 2007. About 11 months later (april 2008) (1 month before the warranty ended) I could no longer connect to the Wireless Assistant (the light stays amber, and no possibility to access the Wireless Assistant in the Control Panel.
2. The same day (coincidence???) received an “URGENT SUPPORT” mail from HP saying that my Bios needed to be upgraded. After this action, everything worked fine, and my warranty was extended to May 2009.
3. Now, one month after the warranty ended, I have a similar problem. but because I don’t have warranty anymore, HP refuses to do something about it without me paying for support.
4. Solution: i bought a small ASUS Wireless USB adapter, plugged it in and…everything works fine now.
Sure, it is shitty that HP leaves its customers in the cold. But at least everything (?) is working fine.
I bought a refurbished dv6000 for my daughter, and the wireless and motherboard failed within the first year, out of warranty. HP fixed this, no charge. They say the motherboard was replaced. Here I am 15 months later, and the exact same failure has occured. Only this time HP won’t stand behind their product. They want $300-$400 to fix it. That’s like spending $10,000 on a car which has a blue book value of $8,000. The wireless problem is only the symptom of the design failure of this machine. I’m amazed that HP hasn’t been taken to court. There should be a lemon law for computers. the more I read, the more I realize that HP put a bandaid on my computer by turning up the fan speed. The reality is that this machine does not manage the heat properly, and eventually it will destroy the motherboard. The wireless ability is just the first symptom.
It is any wonder that there are multiple after market sellers of motherboards for this computer? If you’re thinking about buying one, in any condition, DON’T!
I’m in the exact same position you’re in. They fixed mine when it was under warranty, now its not working again and they want $400 to fix it. Its unbelievable how are they are getting away with this.
Same issues, I called 6 months ago about the broadcom issues. They told me it was out of warranty. I learned they extended the warranty becuase of this issues and called back. Now they tell me I missed that date by a week. They want $$$ just to talk to support at this point. WOW…. Class Action anyone?
yeah you’re right! do some action yourself there’s a free chat support where HP tech would still be able to help you out for free… dont tell me your wireless i broken you cant access the internet! Use you half bean brain! use a wired connection or use your friends computer to access the internet to talk to a technician… dorie the smart lols class action duh!
People stop complaining about this wireless Issue We All know Hp won’t Do anything Cause All those Tech support are going to be going to Jail Cause they are not doing their job they are Ripping people off $400 dollars just to fix one little wireless problem should only cost like $30
So people don’t complain anymore Just save your money go out and buy a $40 usb wireless Adapter cause nothing else will happen to the computer if everything else is working great then all you need to do is buy the wireless Usb Adapter and presto you have wireless
When enough people get irritated, then there can be an action against HP. If this was a fluke, that would be one thing, but this is an acknowledged defect in the product. The BIOS fix seems to try to alleviate the chances of the defect breaking the machine, but based on what I’m reading it does not fix the problem, so you still run the risk of frying components.
Those that have suggested it are correct in that people could go buy a replacement wireless card. But why should that have to happen when it is HP’s faulty system that prevents the existing card from working? Also, read the postings at HP about this problem. The wireless card not working is JUST ONE of the possible issues. If you are “lucky” like me, you’ll hit some of the other issues like battery/power issues and more. An overheating mother board can fry anything. Chances are, the more you use the machine (bio fix or not), the more likely you are to fry more of the motherboard.
An analogy…..
If you went to McDonalds and they gave you burnt fries, would you say “cool, I’ll just get some replacement ones at Burger King?” No way, you’d ask McDonalds to fix the fries or give you new ones. What if you got home before you noticed they were burnt? Would that excuse McDonalds from fixing the problem when they know they burnt them? HP burned your wifi….. Does it really matter how long it took you to come back and complain about it if they know they did it?
Was there a recall on these machines?
Great fries analogy, Brad. There actually is a class action suit in the works, or at least it was being investigated in the States. I was contacted by a law firm to ask if the problem had been resolved for me. This was quite some time ago and I don’t have the details anymore, however, I’m sure a search could turn up something. I’m also in Canada, so don’t qualify to participate further than providing the law firm with some feedback. And no…there was never a recall, which is part of the grounds for the lawsuit.
I had my motherboard replaced in November 2007, just a tad over 6 months from purchase. (Yes, I went through all the BIOS updates that were being pushed, and which did nothing). Once returned to me, I kept getting all kinds of errors and had power issues as well. Customer service admitted to me that there were known power issues. I finally reformatted the entire thing maybe 9 or 10 months ago. First thing I noticed was that everything worked, including the camera which had rarely functioned since the day I first pressed power and never once worked on MSN before that. I believe this was related to VISTA because about ten days later I had to reenter the code that is stored on the bottom of my notebook and voila..stuff stopped working again. The second major thing that happened with the reformat was that the battery check actually noted for the first time that my battery was FAULTY! Hallelujah! I’d been complaining for months and I was continuously told that since the battery check said everything was normal, there was nothing that could be done…even though my battery life was down to 10 minutes! Seriously! 10 minutes of battery life was not validated because the system said there was no problem! I immediately called back after the reformat (which i did while on the phone just so I could say it was done while under customer care). I was told that the battery wasn’t under warranty, however since there was a record of my complaints, and it was a “known problem” they would now replace it for free. I was happy, of course, despite the fact that my complaint only counted once the software backed me up!
Since then I haven’t had any major reoccurring problems, though I do believe my battery life is starting to deteriorate once more.
There is an extended warranty on the HP site related to the wifi/motherboard issue.
Touch pad still gets very, very hot when system has been in use for a while. I’m hoping my system will live a little longer, but I will definitely never purchase HP again, as much as I like my little notebook.
I’ve had wireless trouble with THREE hp laptops. One dv1000 that I personally own, one dv1000 and a dv6000 that I use at work.
The dv1000 that I own would crash whenever I turn on the wireless. The wireless on the dv1000 and dv6000 that I use at work won’t turn on.
Also, I just realized that the M2727 Laserjet printer/fax that we picked up a few months ago won’t receive faxes anymore.
You know, I’ve been eying up an HP desktop at Costco for sometime – they look pretty sweet with the removable multimedia drives and glossy screens, but… I wouldn’t dare buy one right now.
I will definitely never purchase HP again,you too
I am another who is without wireless thanks to this shame of a computer.
What a worthless machine. It overheats, the power is faulty, and this all happens right after the warranty expires. Magically.
Unbelievable.
I’m never buying HP again and telling everyone I know not to buy one.
In May 2007 purchased an HP Pavilion notebook for my daughter’s HS graduation. Early this year she had the power issue, called HP, they had her do the “remove the battery, unplug, try again” thing. Then sent her a box and fixed it for free. Last week (conveniently 6 weeks after our warranty expired), her notebook melted. Looked like it started at the power supply, burned the inside and melted the battery. She called them up, she told them the problem, they said they’d ship her a box and fix it at no cost. We thought it must be a known recall issue or something, because the warranty was up. Well, they call yesterday to tell her it’s considered “physical damage” and it’ll cost $300, and if they find anything else wrong inside and she doesn’t authorize payment, then they won’t fix anything. I told her to call back, complain, bit#@ at them and bad mouth the HP name…she’s not comfortable doing that, and from what I’ve been reading here and other sites, it won’t do her any good anyway! No more HP for us. Her old Sony VAIO is still running and it’s 8 years old.
I have had many many problems with the HP Pavillion desk computer… It was sent to the trash after 63 hours of calling and trying to get HP to solve the problem…. only to have it crash and burn again……HP continues to support foreign countries by employing their staff to their support team. I am over any American company using foreign customer support. WE need to let everyone know our anger with this policy, along with Printers that only us HP expensive ink cartridges…. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH AMERICA!!!
I have the same wireless problem with my Pavilion 9000 series. The wireless cannot be found and the amber light is lit. After a bios update had no effect I went and bought myself a usb wireless adapter. This is the only solution I have come up with that works because I refuse to give HP any more of my money. It is better than a door stop that I was almost going to do with my laptop. HP know the problems with the 6000 to 9000 series notebooks and does nothing to help us poor saps. Well piss enough of us off and the company goes down the drain for lack of people purchasing the products.
I’ve bought a DV6000 two years back, and as you said, David, tag price for such features was too good to be true! my wireless is no does not want to work! and it gets even worse… VGA Card failure! and the worst thing is that my mean pc waited until the warranty expired and started to show its ugly face! now when i went to HP they said i have to replace the mother board which costs around 320$!!! i fixed it at a computer shop but the wireless still not working and there is no guarantee that the VGA card won’t break again!
i’m very disappointed but don’t know what to do? what is the best brand with least problems? is it toshiba? IBM? Acer?
I purchased a pavilion HP laptop for our daughter in July 2009, within 31 days “It Crashed”. Best Buy did honor the the product and tryed to replace it. Upon checking the 2nd computer out, a person informed me that approx. 6 of the same computers had been brought in the same day!!! with the same problem. We now have purchased a Dell computer.
I HOPE we made a good choice. Upon picking the new laptop up, I was informed they were up to 10 – hp computers that had been brought back with the same problem. HP has ISSUES!!