Is Dell Support Legitamate?

I am asking for some input about Dell support. This is in relation to my previous thread on here "Dell Inspiron laptop slow loading" I own a Dell inspiron 15 series 5000 laptop. It frequently it takes a very long time to load web pages and when on a page it sometimes freezes up an sometimes when scrolling it takes a few seconds to move the scroll bar. It is very jerky when it tries to move. I have a intel(R) core(TM) i7-6500 CPU@2.5GHz 8.00GB RAM 64bit . It is using Windows 10 Home and is a touch screen. It is only a few months old.
I contacted Dell support and they ran a long test and said it was a software problem and they would need a "special Dell tool" to fix it but I would have to pay $198.00 to have this done. I am a bit skeptical as to their intentions. The technician was giving me a hard sell to sign up. Do I need to get this service? has anyone else run into this problem? I took a speed test from Xfinity and another outside site ,Ookla,and speeds were Download 23.1mbps/upload 6.0mbps and 25.1 download/10.62mbps respectfully. Also I have a IMAC using same equipment as this laptop and it's readings were download 37.1Mbps/upload 6.7Mbps and for Ooka download 42.1/upload 12.37Mbps I have installed on my laptop an APP "networx" I ran a speed test with it and it was download 2.44Mbs/ upload 7.33Kbps. Can anyone help ? Thank you for your time.

 

"Legitimate" is a tricky term. Is Dell support legal? Yes. Are they malicious? No. Are they in it to make a profit? Of course. Do they often charge exorbitant prices? Absolutely.

Clearly, your computer is no longer under warranty. So you have the option to use Dell support, or take it to a shop. Think of it like you would your car that is no longer under warranty. If you take it in for repairs to the dealer, they too are legitimate and most likely will fix your car right. But it will cost more than if you took it to your local mechanic. The problem with the local mechanic is they may not be legitimate and may not fix it right. And they most likely don't have same experience with your make and model as the dealer does.

As far as your network speeds, I don't really no what your complaint is - or how you are connecting. You need to first look at your service contract with your ISP and see what you are paying for. Unfortunately, they often read something misleading (if not down right, should be illegal, deceptive! ) like, "guaranteed speeds up to xxxMbps".

Have you scanned for malware? Is your computer fully updated?

 

Um, did you discover the 'Dell Support' 'phone # via a search?

If so, you are being scammed by imposters, always contact a company via their own official website.

 

It was their web site.

 

Thanks,
I do see what you mean about the profit angle I have no problem with that but my computer is only a few months old and they say that any software problems are not part of the warranty. I would have thought that if Dell sold the computer they would back up any problems regardless if it was hard or software. They put it in the computer when they built it. Everything is updated and no problems noted about malware. I scanned with spybot S&D and my antivirus is Kapersky total security. I am connecting with wi-fi with Xfinity. I was just wondering if my internal wi-fi components were faulty.

 

Good point. I should have mentioned that.

This is true for all installed software EXCEPT Windows. When it comes to factory installed Windows, the "System Builder" is responsible for Windows support for 1 year. The exception there is if that Windows license is a full "retail" license, but that is unlikely. If full retail, then Microsoft is responsible for Windows support for 1 year.

I said above, "clearly your computer is no longer under warranty." I may have misspoke. I assumed since Dell did wanted to charge you that it was out of warranty - that's what I get for assuming again. But if not under warranty, then I don't understand why they would not help you - at least until it was determined the problem is not caused by the hardware or Windows.

You might need to call them again and remind them it is still under warranty. If you bought the computer from Best Buy or another retailer, you might contact them.

Can you at least temporarily connect via Ethernet and check your speeds that way?