Lexmark X63 Review

Overall Rating

Printing is ok, when you can get it to work consistently.

Scanning worked only a couple of times during the machines 14-month history.
Cannot fax documents directly from the computer, i.e. have to print, then scan.

I would STRONGLY discourage anyone from buying a Lexmark X63 multifunction printer. We have had nothing but grief with this printer from day one.

Neither the seller, Dell Canada, nor the maker, seemed to be very knowledgeable about the various symptoms, and error messages received.
We went through troubleshooting sessions under one single reference (case) number, that took in excess of 10 hours.
Neither of the techies got to the heart of the matter, namely the fact that it was neither a computer, nor a printer problem, but an interface problem, that required a change in settings.

The sad part: the problem was left hanging until the printer was out of warranty. At this time Lexmark seemingly had lost/deliberately wiped out all reference to previous support calls.

While the machine was still under warranty, both Dell and Lexmark refused to acknowledge responsibility. Their answer always was a very superficial one, i.e. "Try xyz after you get off the phone, since the printer is on the same line we are talking on... . If you get (a speciefied result) then there is nothing wrong with either computer, or printer." BALONEY. The printer would work a couple of times, then the same error message would come back time and again, i.e. "Printer not found" or something to that effect. The band-aide solution: Unplug the printer, shut down the computer, plug in the printer and power up again. What a nuisance!

Try copying: Yes, the blinken thing went through the motion, and out came a blank page.

Try sending a fax: Yes it worked` EVENTUALLY, i.e. after considerable tweaking. However, the recipient always gets a blank page.

Try scanning: The viewing booth displays a blank page, after the machine has gone through the motion of scanning in the page.

On the other hand, we eventually were able to receive, AND were able to print both a 2-page fax, plus a Confirmation report for both the 'Send' and the 'Receive'.

Please note that some of the above 'Positive' results occurred, AFTER a techie at Lexmark had conclusively told us, that the printer evidently was broken, and yes, 'too bad, so sad' since it was out of warranty. It was also 5 minutes before his quitting time, as he had (somewhat gleefully) informed me.

The next day I found out from Dell that they still sell Lexmark printers, but under their own label. So again, CAVEAT EMPTOR!

On the other hand, the sales people at Dell evidently were not savvy enough to answer questions re the compatibility of certain features, like the compatibility/interaction of an Internal Fax Modem, combined with a DSL (high speed) internet connection on the same phone line. Nor were they, or their technical support people knowledgeable enough to provide detailed information on the actual features of the ALL-IN-ONE Printer/Scanner/Copier/Fax features of the Lexmark X63, prior to the purchase of this package, i.e. computer with internal fax modem and all-in-one printer.

Be aware of the fact, that this machine is only intended to fax documents that are being scanned in, i.e. it does not have the capacity to fax a document directly from the computer. To do the latter, you still require an internal fax modem, and either Window's Fax driver, or separate Fax software, such as the BVRP Phonetools.

The BVRP department of Dell was evidently unable or unwilling to tell me what I later learned by researching a string of discussions on a BVRP Forum, namely: You cannot hope to run the internal fax modem on the same line your DSL is connected to, regardless of how many filters you correctly install, because there is simply too much noise on the line, for your phone tools, to discern a dial tone.

YOU have to do your homework, THOROUGHLY BEFORE YOU BUY. Sadly, most of us do not have the detailed knowledge to ask all of the right questions before the fact.

Members' Comments onsybille's Review

• bettyscruffytwo on 2nd Feb 2004

  I have worked hard to give up cursing and for the major part of 10 years I have succeeded until I got the X63 from Lexmark. I am a full time internet student and I have had so much grief my spouse and children are trying to bring a lawsuit for all the stress I've had with this printer/fax/copy machine. I have got it to work partially at times but it seems to know when I really need to use it. I have uninstalled and reinstalled 3 times today. Still getting Error message. I see that this printer was discontinueed in Jan 'o3. I bought it in May 'o3 from Sam's club.

• mgl02178 on 10th Apr 2004

  This machine does not do anything well: poor scanner, poor copier, it sends faxes but it does not tell you if it did send or not - often does not send. I have given hope to be able to receive a fax because it just won't. Also did I forget to say that it is the slowest printer I have ever seen.
  Just buy anything else, in addition the maker of this machine just does not care about your problems.
  Lucky I purchased it at Costco and they were happy to take it back for another machine.

• hrhill on 10th Jul 2004

  The Lexmark X63 has to be the biggest piece of junk I have ever purchased. From day one it has not worked. I've installed uninstalled it several times with no luck. I've had a pro visit my house to figure out what was wrong and he said it was an internal conflict with the software and hardware. What a piece of junk.

• Maddoguk2 on 5th Aug 2004

  Aha, somebody else with problems. Probably the worse printer on the market. After spending 2 hours getting the settings and installing the software, I tried to print from Word. Big joke, my Son just fell over laughing when he saw the message. Just said 'The device is busy, please try later' What was it doing? I thought it may be the telephone line so I disconnected it. Same message. I have now given up with this useless piece of junk and I have now got a HP which got working within 5 minutes of taking it out of the box.

• judyndskies on 30th Aug 2004

  I too bought this Lexmark 63 disaster machine. I bought it Dec. 2002 and it was withdrawn Jan 2003. I have called tech. support repeatedly and they should have told me before my warranty ran out that this was a faulty machine. Now, I, like several others am stuck with this machine. I think the company should be responsible and replace or refund our money for this piece of junk.

• Kindly Wise on 8th Nov 2004

  My Lexmark X63 came from CostCo in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and worked fine with my IBM Inspirati PC until 14 days after the warranty ran out! Then the contact image sensor on the scanner/fax aspect of the machine ceased to function.
  
  The machine being off warranty, I e-mailed Lexmark to ask if I could buy a replacement part (me being handy with such repairs). I was told that I would have to take it in for repairs at a minimum cost of $65 CA, since Lexmark North America only receives and distributes the complete machine.
  
  The contact image sensor is distributed by LITEON Semiconductor, which is a subsidiary of a Chinese manufacturer. LITEON and their masters did not reply at all to my repeated e-mails.
  
  If anyone can direct me to a source for CIS's for the Lexmark X63, I'll be surprized and delighted. Meanwhile, my kids are using the former multifunction unit as a printer (it still does that pretty well) and I have switched to Brother for my fax / scanning needs.
  
  Kindly Wise