Laptop screen broken

Simon · Sep 02, 2014, 22:31:51

I accidentally leant on the lid of my Dell laptop, and now the screen seems to be broken.

Looking online, it seems these LCD screens are quite delicate, and I have exactly the same symptoms as the guy showing how to repair one in this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fqq5ifrYvZs

Now, I would never have the patience to attempt to replace the screen myself, so does anyone know roughly what these cost to have replaced by the average computer / laptop repair shop?

zappaDPJ · Sep 03, 2014, 02:06:18

Replacement screens are surprisingly cheap, but the labour won't be. I've done quite a few, Dells included. It's literally a 10 minute job on most Dells if you know what you are doing but a lot of repair shops don't. The cost will depend a little on the model/screen size etc. but a ball park figure would be £25-£40 for the replacement screen plus £20 if they break the bezel and an hour's labour which for a PC repair shop would be anything upwards of £50. Between £90-£125 all in would be a typical cost. Anything more and I'd tell them to sling it.

Simon · Sep 03, 2014, 08:26:45

Thanks for that, Zap. It's a 15" screen. I've seen screen replacement advertised online for ~£80, but that would obviously involve sending it away, and I don't particularly want to have to do that. There are a couple of shops locally so I'll pop in and see what they have to say.

zappaDPJ · Sep 03, 2014, 10:00:33

£80 for a 15" sounds too good to be true if that includes the return delivery costs.

Simon · Sep 03, 2014, 10:03:52

I don't know if it did. I didn't look into it that closely at the time.

Steve · Sep 03, 2014, 11:06:45

I think we paid about £80 locally to get one replaced.

Simon · Sep 03, 2014, 11:13:48

I've had a quote of £89 all in, so I've left it with the local shop. They didn't have a screen in stock today, but they said I should get it back tomorrow afternoon.

I didn't realise these things were so fragile. My old Asus laptop took loads of abuse, and was dropped at least twice, admittedly onto carpet, but survived. I only put my hand on the lid of this one, while reaching for my glasses, and it's buggered!

zappaDPJ · Sep 03, 2014, 13:06:37

That sounds like a realistic price. Laptop screens can break quite easily if pressure is applied especially if it's uneven.

Glenn · Sep 03, 2014, 16:48:49

I put a screen in for a chap at work the other day, £37.50 for the 17" screen and 15 minutes to fit it. He had got angry with the laptop and slammed it on the desk, the chassis is now bent

Simon · Sep 03, 2014, 18:05:11

Yes, I'm sure they don't take long to fit if you know what you're doing.

zappaDPJ · Sep 03, 2014, 18:33:38

The only time consuming part is taking the front bezel off, especially if it's snap to fit. Everything else can be done in a few short minutes.

Technical Ben · Sep 03, 2014, 22:05:42

Quote from: Simon on Sep 02, 2014, 22:31:51
I accidentally leant on the lid of my Dell laptop, and now the screen seems to be broken. Looking online, it seems these LCD screens are quite delicate, and I have exactly the same symptoms as the guy showing how to repair one in this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fqq5ifrYvZs

Now, I would never have the patience to attempt to replace the screen myself, so does anyone know roughly what these cost to have replaced by the average computer / laptop repair shop?

I don't know anywhere, but I've done a couple myself. I'd be willing to do it for you. I'm local to Peterborough. Though, really I should really recommend my work to do it.

I'll give you Works number if you PM me, and they can give you a quote (though I don't know how we could help avoid the fees involved, sorry).

What model is it? Screens run between £25-£65, and it only takes an hour at most.

[Edit]
Ah, just remembered, work only repair Toshiba, so I can offer to do it for you without worrying they'll get angry. But if your handy with a screw driver, doing it oneself is also an option.

Simon · Sep 03, 2014, 22:29:26

Thanks very much for the offer, Ben, but I think you may have missed this:

Quote from: Simon on Sep 03, 2014, 11:13:48
I've had a quote of £89 all in, so I've left it with the local shop. They didn't have a screen in stock today, but they said I should get it back tomorrow afternoon.

So, it's already in the shop, and should be sorted tomorrow.

Technical Ben · Sep 04, 2014, 08:07:32

Quote from: Simon on Sep 03, 2014, 11:13:48
I've had a quote of £89 all in, so I've left it with the local shop. They didn't have a screen in stock today, but they said I should get it back tomorrow afternoon.

I didn't realise these things were so fragile. My old Asus laptop took loads of abuse, and was dropped at least twice, admittedly onto carpet, but survived. I only put my hand on the lid of this one, while reaching for my glasses, and it's buggered!

They don't make them like they use to!

Glad you got a good price on that. I doubt anywhere stocks actual parts locally. The differences in even revision models of the same spec are mind boggling.

Possibly only Apple parts are worth it, as they keep consistent on models. (Imagine trying to stock a replacement part for every Acer, Asus, Dell, Packardbell, Toshiba, HP, Lenovo, Google, Archos, Sony, Zoostorm etc, and the 5 models released each quarter for each company!!!).

[edit]

Oh, that's strange. Sorry if my reply was late. I could swear I only had your first post and 1 reply show yesterday Simon, I see I was about a day late to offer finding a local repair shop.

Simon · Sep 04, 2014, 08:20:36

No worries, it's the thought that counts.

Technical Ben · Sep 04, 2014, 18:34:56

When it comes to offering repairs, it's often the thoughts of "oh no, not again!"

Simon · Sep 04, 2014, 18:54:34

I had a text message from them at 11am this morning, to say it was ready. Picked it up after lunch, and all seems fine. Really can't complain about that sort of service.

Technical Ben · Sep 04, 2014, 22:22:18

Great! Nice to find an honest repair place.

Been hit too many times in the past with shops advertising second hand stuff, to find it's broken when I get it to the till ("Oh, this bit don't work, but your happy paying full price, right?") or friends getting "repairs" that replace everything in the machine except the faulty part.