Dell Laptop screen - fix estimate

grumpycrab

Have a neigbours laptop - screen shows horizontal lines and flicker; colour is off from start too. Not really usable as is. External monitor is fine so guess this is a panel fault? Anybody guess cost to fix? Shame because its quite a good spec. (i5, 6GB RAM). If the panel fails totally will the laptop still be usable with external monitor?

prowla

The laptop should work with an external monitor, provided that the issue is (as it appears to be) with the inbuilt display.


Regarding replacing/repair, it could be connectors (some of those wires can be thin and fragile) or the panel itself.


These things can happen if a hinge has failed, which is then causing cables to flex more than they were designed to.



Having it professionally repaired could be expensive (random guess £150 + parts), as (depending upon the issue) it may need the whole laptop to be disassembled. OTOH, a professional might be able to diagnose it down to more easily replaceable parts (eg. a ribbon connector).


I've repaired them in the past, but it took a whole evening, plus sourcing replacement parts, so that's some sort of an indicator of effort.

grumpycrab

Thanks. Hinges look ok and hasn't been abused so tending to think its a panel issue rather than cable. But uneconomical to be professionally repaired by the sound of it.

neilmcl

I recently put in a new screen on my Dads Dell Inspiron 15 laptop. Around £50 from Amazon and it took 10 mins to fit, pretty straightforward all in all.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B010GGJM3I/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

AndyPix

I would look on tinternet for screen prices for that particular model and decide from there if it worth fixing .


Screens are pretty easy to swap out you could do it yourself i suspect ...


Yes an external display will still work if the panel fails

GunJack

ebay for panels, depending on the model around £30. If you charge £25-30 that'll be about right (although I have been called cheap before now )

Chrishazle

A while back I had to replace the screen on my wife's Inspiron 1720, bought a replacement screen off eBay, found a superb "how to" video via Google/Youtube, followed the step by step instructions, quite easy to do.

grumpycrab

Had a go at this - Dell n5050 panel swap. Some good videos online but still nerve-racking - especially the tape holding the 40-pin connector down. I hope I haven't damaged the connector...

[STRIKE]Code is LTN156AT17. Will this do? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271470498805[/STRIKE]
EDIT: Exact code is LTN156AT17 7BCDOREJ05 D02 so this is what I want I think.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/330740637261

Pic of my work here.

System

Dell laptops are notorious for that kind of failure but as everyone has posted, its a sub £100 repair even if you pay someone to do it. The connector isn't as fragile as grumpycrab is suggesting, just remove the tape completely, release the lock tabs, pull the connector out and when replacing just use a bit of sellotape to replace the original.

grumpycrab

Tarambor wrote: »

The connector isn't as fragile as grumpycrab is suggesting,

Good - I'm the OP! Just need to order the replacement panel. Does the following look good enough?
Exact code is LTN156AT17 7BCDOREJ05 D02 so this is what I want I think.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/330740637261

Frozen_up_north

My previous laptop was a Toshiba that got a few "thunder bugs" between the backlight and the LCD. The hardest part was figuring out how to take the screen out without damage and it looks like Grumpy Crab has that sorted.

When re-fitting, make sure it's sealed to avoid those pesky bugs getting in.