Background

I bought Dell Inspiron 13 5000 i5379-7302GRY-PUS over Thanksgiving weekend and have since found some issues with it. I left a review on Microsoft Store (where I bought it), only to find my review deleted several days later. I will leave my original review here verbatim and elaborate on some of the claims. You can decide whether what I wrote was fair.

My original review that was deleted by Microsoft

Defective Wi-Fi and overheats. Remember to update BIOS!
Wi-Fi would suddenly slow down to a halt during normal use. It’d get stuck in the middle of a YouTube video, or halfway loading a web page, etc. The Qualcomm Wi-Fi adapter seems picky about access points/routers. It works at 11n when AP is known to support 11ac. My other laptops can achieve 300+ Mbps at the same location with the same AP when this laptop tops out at 80 Mbps. Then on other 11ac APs it would work fine. Laptop overheats with first release BIOS 1.0.0. The issue was so bad that Dell chose to push 1.2.1 BIOS through Windows Update in addition to Dell Update utility to make sure all users get the new BIOS. On the plus side, quad-core i7 and SSD make it very fast and responsive. Great value for $599. RAM is user upgradable, unlike most 13-inch products of this generation. Unfortunately, I just can’t afford Wi-Fi that works only half of the time.

More details about the issues

Regarding Wi-Fi

I have since isolated the problem to one particular model of AP that is the Verizon Fios Quantum Gateway Router G1100, an AC1750-level model. Something is wrong with how the Inspiron 5379’s Atheros/Qualcomm QCA6174 (QCA61x4A) 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter negotiates protocol with the Fios router. I have tested the laptop on two such Fios routers and in both cases, 802.11n was used instead of 802.11ac. I have made sure the laptop is all up to date with respect to Windows Update and Dell Update.

I decided to blame the laptop because the Fios router has worked normally with all my other devices, be it smartphones or tablets, ThinkPads or MacBooks. Never had a problem before. The laptops all use Intel wireless adapters including 7260, 7265, 8260, 8265 and 3165.