I just got a Dell XPS 15 yesterday and today when I tried to turn it on, nothing happened. After panicking for like 20 minutes I realized the battery was just dead, but now I'm wondering if this is some kind of bad omen? Should I be worried about keeping this laptop or is it just a coincidence?
Dead battery out of the box is just a logistics thing, not a curse - laptops sit in warehouses and shipping for weeks, so they arrive drained. You caught it fast, charged it up, and now it works fine, which is exactly how this is supposed to go. No bad omen here, just a normal first-day hiccup that resolved itself.
Did your laptop actually have a hardware problem, or just need charging? You're fine - a dead battery on a new device is basically the opposite of bad luck, since it means the battery is working exactly as designed by holding a charge from the factory. Plenty of electronics sit in warehouses or stores for weeks before reaching you, so arriving partially drained is completely normal. You've already confirmed everything powers on once charged, so there's no reason to worry about keeping it.
bad omens from electronics aren't really a thing - what you're describing is just normal logistics. new laptops ship partially charged or fully drained depending on how long they've been in transit, and a dead battery is actually a good sign because it means the cell was working well enough to fully discharge. the fact that it powered right up after charging shows everything's functioning as intended, so you're looking at zero red flags here.
Don't spiral into superstition over this - it's genuinely one of the most common things that happens with new laptops 😅 I had the exact same thing with a device I picked up a couple years back, plugged it in, waited like 10 minutes, and boom, it fired right up. Batteries drain during storage and transport all the time, so what you experienced is basically the most boring, mundane outcome possible. Your XPS 15 is totally fine, and you've already confirmed everything works, so just enjoy your new machine!
How long was your laptop sitting in a box before you got it? That's your actual answer right there - new devices ship with depleted batteries as a safety measure during storage and transport, so you basically dodged a real problem by catching it immediately. Going forward, here's a tip nobody mentions: when you first charge a new laptop, let it hit 100% and then drain it completely down to 0% before normal use - this calibrates the battery meter and tends to improve longevity over time. You're all set and there's zero reason to worry about your XPS.
There's nothing unlucky about it, but I'd actually double-check that the charger itself is working properly - sometimes new gear ships with a faulty adapter, and if yours isn't delivering power correctly, you might run into deeper issues down the line. Beyond that, dead battery is just dead battery, no curse involved.
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