Dell XPS 13 9380 - Screen and input freezes / hangs temporarily

[Daniel C]

Hello,

I have a new 2019 Dell XPS 13 (9380). I ordered the official Ubuntu edition from Dell which came with 18.04. I then upgraded it to 18.10 for a short while, before wiping it and installing 19.04 from a fresh ISO download after that was released. This is the non-touch non-4K version (13-inch 1080p). I have the i7 model with 16GB of RAM and an NVMe SSD (so the performance should be pretty good).

Sometimes when typing in Gnome Terminal, the screen just freezes for around 1 second. The cursor doesn't move, additional keypresses don't appear, and any moving content doesn't update. After the freeze stops, all the keypresses that occurred during the freeze do appear (they're not lost). Immediately after the freeze, I don't see anything in dmesg output that gives a clue. It almost feels how some old desktops did around 10-15 years ago when everything would lock up while waiting for slow HDD I/O, and then suddenly keypresses etc. would catch-up.

If there is something specific I should look for immediately after a freeze in order to debug further, please let me know.

Note that this happens both on battery power but also when plugged into the charger.

Someone else on AskUbuntu asked this question for the same model (9380), which sounds very similar to what I'm seeing on mine (the freezing part): https://askubuntu.com/questions/1133191/ubuntu-18-04-on-dell-xps-9380-small-freezes-and-jumping-touchpad

Note that I filed https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xorg/+bug/1827790 for what I think is a separate issue related to screen flashing (as opposed to freezing). The two events do not seem to happen at the same time which is why I've filed them separately.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 19.04
Package: xorg 1:7.7+19ubuntu12
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 5.0.0-13.14-generic 5.0.6
Uname: Linux 5.0.0-13-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.20.10-0ubuntu27
Architecture: amd64
BootLog: Error: [Errno 13] Permission denied: '/var/log/boot.log'
CompositorRunning: None
CurrentDesktop: ubuntu:GNOME
Date: Sun May 5 16:16:54 2019
DistUpgraded: Fresh install
DistroCodename: disco
DistroVariant: ubuntu
ExtraDebuggingInterest: Yes
GraphicsCard:
 Intel Corporation UHD Graphics 620 (Whiskey Lake) [8086:3ea0] (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
   Subsystem: Dell UHD Graphics 620 (Whiskey Lake) [1028:08af]
InstallationDate: Installed on 2019-04-28 (6 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 19.04 "Disco Dingo" - Release amd64 (20190416)
MachineType: Dell Inc. XPS 13 9380
ProcKernelCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-5.0.0-13-generic root=UUID=fcb75d61-4e46-4391-8800-ccef7ff04f70 ro quiet splash vt.handoff=1
SourcePackage: xorg
Symptom: display
Title: Xorg freeze
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)
dmi.bios.date: 03/29/2019
dmi.bios.vendor: Dell Inc.
dmi.bios.version: 1.3.2
dmi.board.name: 0KTW76
dmi.board.vendor: Dell Inc.
dmi.board.version: A00
dmi.chassis.type: 10
dmi.chassis.vendor: Dell Inc.
dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnDellInc.:bvr1.3.2:bd03/29/2019:svnDellInc.:pnXPS139380:pvr:rvnDellInc.:rn0KTW76:rvrA00:cvnDellInc.:ct10:cvr:
dmi.product.family: XPS
dmi.product.name: XPS 13 9380
dmi.product.sku: 08AF
dmi.sys.vendor: Dell Inc.
version.compiz: compiz N/A
version.libdrm2: libdrm2 2.4.97-1ubuntu1
version.libgl1-mesa-dri: libgl1-mesa-dri 19.0.2-1ubuntu1
version.libgl1-mesa-glx: libgl1-mesa-glx N/A
version.xserver-xorg-core: xserver-xorg-core 2:1.20.4-1ubuntu3
version.xserver-xorg-input-evdev: xserver-xorg-input-evdev N/A
version.xserver-xorg-video-ati: xserver-xorg-video-ati 1:19.0.1-0ubuntu1
version.xserver-xorg-video-intel: xserver-xorg-video-intel 2:2.99.917+git20180925-2
version.xserver-xorg-video-nouveau: xserver-xorg-video-nouveau 1:1.0.16-1
---
ProblemType: Bug
ApportVersion: 2.20.10-0ubuntu27
Architecture: amd64
CurrentDesktop: ubuntu:GNOME
DisplayManager: gdm3
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 19.04
GsettingsChanges:
 b'org.gnome.shell' b'favorite-apps' redacted by apport
 b'org.gnome.shell' b'had-bluetooth-devices-setup' b'true'
 b'org.gnome.desktop.interface' b'text-scaling-factor' b'1.25'
 b'org.gnome.desktop.interface' b'gtk-im-module' b"'gtk-im-context-simple'"
InstallationDate: Installed on 2019-04-28 (8 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 19.04 "Disco Dingo" - Release amd64 (20190416)
Package: gnome-shell 3.32.0+git20190410-1ubuntu1
PackageArchitecture: amd64
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 5.0.0-13.14-generic 5.0.6
Tags: disco
Uname: Linux 5.0.0-13-generic x86_64
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)
UserGroups: adm cdrom dip libvirt lpadmin plugdev sambashare sudo
_MarkForUpload: True
---
ProblemType: Bug
ApportVersion: 2.20.10-0ubuntu27
Architecture: amd64
BootLog: Error: [Errno 13] Permission denied: '/var/log/boot.log'
CompositorRunning: None
CurrentDesktop: ubuntu:GNOME
DistUpgraded: Fresh install
DistroCodename: disco
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 19.04
DistroVariant: ubuntu
ExtraDebuggingInterest: Yes
GraphicsCard:
 Intel Corporation UHD Graphics 620 (Whiskey Lake) [8086:3ea0] (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
   Subsystem: Dell UHD Graphics 620 (Whiskey Lake) [1028:08af]
InstallationDate: Installed on 2019-04-28 (8 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 19.04 "Disco Dingo" - Release amd64 (20190416)
MachineType: Dell Inc. XPS 13 9380
Package: xorg 1:7.7+19ubuntu12
PackageArchitecture: amd64
ProcKernelCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-5.0.0-13-generic root=UUID=fcb75d61-4e46-4391-8800-ccef7ff04f70 ro quiet splash vt.handoff=1
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 5.0.0-13.14-generic 5.0.6
Tags: disco ubuntu
Uname: Linux 5.0.0-13-generic x86_64
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)
UserGroups: adm cdrom dip libvirt lpadmin plugdev sambashare sudo
_MarkForUpload: True
dmi.bios.date: 03/29/2019
dmi.bios.vendor: Dell Inc.
dmi.bios.version: 1.3.2
dmi.board.name: 0KTW76
dmi.board.vendor: Dell Inc.
dmi.board.version: A00
dmi.chassis.type: 10
dmi.chassis.vendor: Dell Inc.
dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnDellInc.:bvr1.3.2:bd03/29/2019:svnDellInc.:pnXPS139380:pvr:rvnDellInc.:rn0KTW76:rvrA00:cvnDellInc.:ct10:cvr:
dmi.product.family: XPS
dmi.product.name: XPS 13 9380
dmi.product.sku: 08AF
dmi.sys.vendor: Dell Inc.
version.compiz: compiz N/A
version.libdrm2: libdrm2 2.4.97-1ubuntu1
version.libgl1-mesa-dri: libgl1-mesa-dri 19.0.2-1ubuntu1
version.libgl1-mesa-glx: libgl1-mesa-glx N/A
version.xserver-xorg-core: xserver-xorg-core 2:1.20.4-1ubuntu3
version.xserver-xorg-input-evdev: xserver-xorg-input-evdev N/A
version.xserver-xorg-video-ati: xserver-xorg-video-ati 1:19.0.1-0ubuntu1
version.xserver-xorg-video-intel: xserver-xorg-video-intel 2:2.99.917+git20180925-2
version.xserver-xorg-video-nouveau: xserver-xorg-video-nouveau 1:1.0.16-1

[Daniel van Vugt (vanvugt)]

Please check that you haven't installed any gnome-shell extensions. If you have then please uninstall them all, reboot and retest.

[Daniel van Vugt (vanvugt)]

Also, the attached kernel log shows ath10k (wifi driver) crashing a couple of times. I'm not sure if that could lead to any shell freezes though.

[Daniel van Vugt (vanvugt)]

Also, your Xorg log shows the mouse "BM30X mouse" repeatedly disconnecting and reconnecting, which may cause the whole screen to freeze briefly because it is in Xorg. Please try removing that mouse from the machine and tell us if that fixes the bug.

[Daniel C (djcater)]

Hi Daniel,

Thanks for taking the time to look at this issue.

Regarding the Bluetooth mouse, I only bought that recently, and this issue was occurring before then (just using the touchpad).

To double-check though, I just switched off the Bluetooth mouse and rebooted and still get the temporary freezes. The disconnecting you see I think is the mouse going into power-save mode after a period of inactivity (it needs a click of a button to wake-up and reconnect).

The Wi-Fi crashes are interesting, I hadn't noticed that in the logs, but I did have an issue where the Wi-Fi stopped working until I disabled and re-enabled it. I will file a separate bug for that, as I don't think they are related (since rebooting, I have seen some hangs, but dmesg at the moment does not have a "firmware crashed" line, and Wi-Fi is still working).

I can regenerate the logs from the current session, which should have no Wi-Fi crashes and no Bluetooth connections, if that helps clean out some red herrings from the logs.

What command do I run to recollect the same logs and attach them to this bug?

[Daniel C (djcater)]

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[Daniel C (djcater)]

(OK, I ran apport-collect 1827791 but that didn't seem to add much, so I ran apport-collect --package=xorg 1827791 and that added all of the output that was originally added).

Hopefully the new files are cleaner (no ath10k crashes, no Bluetooth mouse).

The CPU temperature warnings occur during boot (or CPU-intensive tasks). The hangs have occurred since then, with no new messages being added to dmesg, so I do not think that's related.

[Daniel C (djcater)]

I forgot to reply to the question about Gnome Shell extensions.

No, I have not installed any. The only ones I have are ones that were installed as part of 19.04:

 dpkg -l | grep -i gnome-shell
ii gnome-shell 3.32.0+git20190410-1ubuntu1 amd64 graphical shell for the GNOME desktop
ii gnome-shell-common 3.32.0+git20190410-1ubuntu1 all common files for the GNOME graphical shell
ii gnome-shell-extension-appindicator 28-1 all AppIndicator/KStatusNotifierItem support for GNOME Shell
ii gnome-shell-extension-desktop-icons 19.01.1-1 all desktop icon support for GNOME Shell
ii gnome-shell-extension-ubuntu-dock 64ubuntu7 all Ubuntu Dock for GNOME Shell
ii yaru-theme-gnome-shell 19.04.2 all Yaru GNOME Shell desktop theme from the Ubuntu Community

[Daniel van Vugt (vanvugt)]

Thanks for all that.

I think we're still missing a system log. Please wait until the problem happens, note the time and date and then run:

  journalctl -b0 > curjournal.txt

and send us the file 'curjournal.txt'.

[Daniel C (djcater)]

Hi Daniel,

Here is the output of journalctl -b 0, as requested.

I turned off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth before rebooting, to reduce the noise in the logs. This was on AC power as well.

Let me know if there's anything else I can do to help.

Regarding the Wi-Fi crash you noticed, someone else has already reported that for this laptop model here: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1818881

Thanks.

[Daniel van Vugt (vanvugt)]

Thanks.

Per comment #27 please also tell us the exact date and time that the freezes occurred so we can be sure to look at the right part of the log. If you are not sure or can't remember then please repeat the steps in comment #27.

[Paul Natsuo Kishimoto (khaeru)]

This sounds very much like what I tried to describe in #1826219; also on a Dell XPS 13. Subscribing.

[Daniel C (djcater)]

In comment 28, the freeze happened just before taking the log, yet the last log entry was from ~1 minute earlier, so it doesn't look like there were any relevant log entries.

However just now I had a freeze, and there are some messages in dmesg:

[10980.231902] perf: interrupt took too long (2512 > 2500), lowering kernel.perf_event_max_sample_rate to 79500
[11986.082217] perf: interrupt took too long (3142 > 3140), lowering kernel.perf_event_max_sample_rate to 63500
[16384.901113] perf: interrupt took too long (3928 > 3927), lowering kernel.perf_event_max_sample_rate to 50750

Also in journalctl -b0:

May 20 22:30:09 daniel-XPS-13-9380 kernel: perf: interrupt took too long (3928 > 3927), lowering kernel.perf_event_max_sample_rate to 50750

The previous journalctl message is from a few minutes prior.

Searching for the error message suggests that perhaps these messages aren't any major cause for concern though.

[Daniel van Vugt (vanvugt)]

Yes those messages themselves are safe, but I think they may suggest the kernel got stuck for a while (somewhere, anywhere). And that would correlate with this bug.

If there were any other kernel log messages around that time then please paste them here.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

[Expired for gnome-shell (Ubuntu) because there has been no activity for 60 days.]

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

[Daniel van Vugt (vanvugt)]

Thank you for reporting this bug to Ubuntu.
Ubuntu 19.04 (disco) reached end-of-life on January 23, 2020.

See this document for currently supported Ubuntu releases:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Releases

We appreciate that this bug may be old and you might not be interested in discussing it any more. But if you are then please upgrade to the latest Ubuntu version and re-test. If you then find the bug is still present in the newer Ubuntu version, please add a comment here telling us which new version it is in and change the bug status to Confirmed.

[sander (s-devrieze)]

Please re-open this bug report. I confirm this issue on a Dell XPS 13 9380 with 16GB RAM.

The following command solves everything, but is of course only a workaround and not a solution:

sudo swapoff /swapfile

My wild guess is that fragmentation on the filesystem in combination with a very big swap file (32GB) causes this bug.

[sander (s-devrieze)]

Note that I am using Ubuntu 18.04 LTS which is not end-of-life.

[Daniel van Vugt (vanvugt)]

sander,

Since there's a chance the root cause of your issue is slightly different to the original report here, please open a new bug by running:

  ubuntu-bug gnome-shell