Hello everyone,
So I think by now, this problem has already been reported several times. I hope in my post, I can try to collect all the previous posts and what I've learned from them and put it all in one post. Yes, the new Dell XPS 13 (9360) models is confirmed to have a persistent issue of randomly shutting down and attributing this issue to an "ASF2 Force Off” in the BIOS event logs.
I myself own a Dell XPS 13, and yes, it has the same issue. Here's what happened on my end: I bought a new Dell XPS 13 nontouchscreen with 8GB RAM on October 31, 2017. And it arrived and worked well for about a week before randomly shutting down for the first time. I thought it was just a one-time thing, so I kept using it. Turns out, it shut down again and again in randomly moments every hour or so for the next 2 days, so I know it is definitely an issue. I ran an F12 Hardware Diagnostic along in Thorough Test Mode and a Dell Hardware Diagnostic, and the results were that no hardware issues were found, so I know it’s not a hardware issue. I ran a virus-scan just to check that one off the list. Interestingly though, I ran a Dell "Repair" option in the F12 menu, and apparently, there were some unrepairable issues found. Anyways, I got sick and tired of the problem, so I wrote to Dell Customer Service, who replied by sending me a "replacement" model. Meanwhile, I looked at the BIOS event logs and turns out the problem was attributed to an ASF2 force off...I have no clue what it means precisely, and neither does Dell.
Within about 2 weeks, I received the "replacement" model, and the second I turned it on, I was greeted by a "System Overheated" message, which really made me feel disappointed. I did a quick check in the BIOS event logs and turns out my “replacement” model was actually a refurbished model that was at least 2 months old. I wrote back to Dell Customer service and complained that I didn’t receive a brand new replacement system as promised due to my first Dell XPS 13 being a couple weeks old. I also complained that the replacement model had issues and that all I wanted was a functioning Dell XPS 13 laptop.
In 2 more weeks, I received a Dell XPS 13 touch-screen variant with 16GB RAM as my second “replacement” model. At first I was happy that Dell gave me a free upgrade to the most high-end XPS 13 model, however...the problem came back two days ago on November 29, 2017...The computer randomly shutted down, and went to a blue screen with the words “It looks like Windows didn’t load correctly.” This was the same issue as the first Dell purchase I made. I turned off the computer and look at the BIOS event logs: ASF2 force off.
I searched the forums and turns out that at least 30+ Dell XPS 13 users are having the same issue with the random reboots attributed to ASF2. So far, the only person who seems to have a fix is a reddit user who suggested a downgrade to BIOS 2.1.0. Another user noted that this problem seem to only happen when the system is not plugged in, though I haven’t fact-checked that myself.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
These are the other posts about the same issue:
http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3518/t/20025527
https://www.reddit.com/r/Dell/comments/7gqb50/two_brand_new_dell_xps_13_keeps_restarting/
http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3518/t/20025127
en.community.dell.com/.../20025526
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hopefully, Dell realizes that this is a widespread problem and release an update sooner or later to fix this. I currently have 3 unreliable Dell XPS 13s sitting in front of me...