Order LCD panel directly from Lenovo

[EricRC]

Hi,
The UXGA LCD on my T60p was damaged, is it possible to order the screen directly from Lenovo U.S and I do the replacement myself? My machine is still under warranty, so do I have to pay for the screen or is it free of charge?
THanks

[Troels]

Their policy is still not to ship outside the US, just like everything else they sell.
You can do the replacement yourself, but it will void the warranty. Are you sure the damage is not covered under warranty? In order to make sure, you will need to phone them and get them to create a case. If they accept, they will send out a shipping box - but that doesn't mean that the damage is covered by the warranty. I also think it is a problem when you're outside the US, so maybe talking to Lenovo in China would be a better idea.
If it isn't covered by warranty, it bascially means that in order to not void the warranty you must pay the repair people what a new LCD costs. This might be in the ball-park of $700. Personally i'd just ditch the warranty, and install it myself. Since you're in China i'd recommend to take a look at Taobao for HV150UX1. The HV150UX1-101 will not work for the thinkpad, only -100 and -102 will. I have bought from user dfgsdv, and i see he also has a HV150UX1-100, but i see there are a couple of sellers selling these.

Otherwise keep a look at the Marketplace forums here, although it might not be worthwhile with regards to shipping costs or import taxes (if any).

Just curious, what kind of damage does the LCD have?

[Johan]

While I completely agree with Troels (as always!) in that you will formally void the Lenovo-warranty be replacing yourself a non-CRU part [CRU: "Customer Replacable Unit"], such as the LCD, this will be far cheaper than having Lenovo do it, at your cost. If you nevertheless obtain a new LCD and either do this swap yourself, or alternatively if you have some trained, experienced ThinkPad-technician do it for you, then to me it seems that it may be pretty difficult for Lenovo to see that the LCD has actually been replaced (especially if by a purely identical part!), if, say, you will at at later date need to have the motherboard serviced (under warranty) at Lenovo. Therefore, in my opinion, you are actually dealing here with the issue of either being entirely honest, and not altering any formal "warranty-rules", or perhaps not being entirely... Fortunately, I am entirely confident that you don't think I suggest you should break any rules! Don't EVER do that!!

Try look at eBay near you for one of these 15" UXGA FlexView/IPS T60p LCD's: FRU 13N7076 (BOE Hydis), FRU 13N7194 (BOE Hydis sRGB) or MFG 42T0344 = FRU 42T0345 (ID Tech). You may be lucky to find them at ebay.com for less than $200 (in the USA) from time to time. Alternatively, consider putting up a "WTB" (Want To Buy) advertisement at the Marketplace - totally trustworthy fellows doing business here, many of whom are willing to ship overseas.

Good luck with having your LCD fixed, one way or another.

Johan

[ZaZ]

As someone who's bought IPS screen here, it can be a bit hit or miss. Not the quality of the sellers or the screens, but just finding one. Back in February I posted I was looking for a screen and I just got one last week. I wasn't really in a hurry as I already had a working screen for my R60. It seemed like right before I posted I was looking for one, there was a new IPS being sold every week and then nothing for a long period.

You can get one one eBay of course, but I think the cheaper ones are just compatibles, meaning they'll fit, but are not IPS screens. The ones marked AFFS screens are IPS, but they tend to be more expensive more expensive in the $250 range. I would think sending it to China would cost even more. In my quest for an IPS I've called/emailed most of the sellers on eBay. Most don't seem to understand what they're selling in my opinion.

I just did the replacement on my R60. It's fairly idiot proof, which is a good thing for me. Just take your time. Good Luck.

[richk]

I actually have a new (from IBM) T60 UXGA LCD assembly. It is the entire unit - frame, hinges, cable, antenna wires, etc. It comes without the clearplate stickers, which you would need to move from your original LCD. PM me if interested. (much easier to install than bare panel)

[EricRC]

Thank you for all of your responses and advice.
Actually I could ask the seller to ship the item to my relative who leaves in San Francisco if I could find a right one in the U.S
I'm still trying to look for one here in China. But it seems most of sellers don't have any more of these in stock.

[EricRC]

Their policy is still not to ship outside the US, just like everything else they sell.
You can do the replacement yourself, but it will void the warranty. Are you sure the damage is not covered under warranty? In order to make sure, you will need to phone them and get them to create a case. If they accept, they will send out a shipping box - but that doesn't mean that the damage is covered by the warranty. I also think it is a problem when you're outside the US, so maybe talking to Lenovo in China would be a better idea.
If it isn't covered by warranty, it bascially means that in order to not void the warranty you must pay the repair people what a new LCD costs. This might be in the ball-park of $700. Personally i'd just ditch the warranty, and install it myself. Since you're in China i'd recommend to take a look at Taobao for HV150UX1. The HV150UX1-101 will not work for the thinkpad, only -100 and -102 will. I have bought from user dfgsdv, and i see he also has a HV150UX1-100, but i see there are a couple of sellers selling these.

Otherwise keep a look at the Marketplace forums here, although it might not be worthwhile with regards to shipping costs or import taxes (if any).

Just curious, what kind of damage does the LCD have?

Hi, it seems that you know a lot about China, you even know Taobao and have talked and made deals with one of the sellers there, I assume that you master Chinese well

I did a search for "HV150UX1", there're certain sellers selling this model, but most them don't have them in stock anymore , And they don't think the LCD could be restocked anymore

Actually, the LCD was cracked accidentally, and I don't think Lenevo will get it fixed since I didn't purchase an accidental warranty.

[Troels]

To be honest, i don't one bit of Chinese
But i'm lucky that the one i contacted spoke and could write English. Well, the HV150UX1 isn't made any longer, but it's weird that they list them
I made an order on a different panel from user dfgsdv and was met with great service - is he out of stock too? Normally i wouldn't choose Taobao because it is far away, which makes maximizes shipping costs - and making payments are very hard, since i was told that most Chinese banks do not take wire transfers. Maybe some of them takes paypal, but i'm not totally sure how that works over there.
Anyways, i think you should think about Richk's offer, eventhough you might not need the lid and hinges and bezel, it might come in handy someday, or you can resell it. Who knows

[EricRC]

To be honest, i don't one bit of Chinese
But i'm lucky that the one i contacted spoke and could write English. Well, the HV150UX1 isn't made any longer, but it's weird that they list them
I made an order on a different panel from user dfgsdv and was met with great service - is he out of stock too? Normally i wouldn't choose Taobao because it is far away, which makes maximizes shipping costs - and making payments are very hard, since i was told that most Chinese banks do not take wire transfers. Maybe some of them takes paypal, but i'm not totally sure how that works over there.
Anyways, i think you should think about Richk's offer, eventhough you might not need the lid and hinges and bezel, it might come in handy someday, or you can resell it. Who knows

I've talked to dfgsdv, and he doesn't have anymore brand new HV150UX1-100 in stock, and he's got 2nd hand ones which cost slightly over $200 plus shipping within China.
Actually I found one from a seller in Beijing, he claimed that his panels are brand new and grade A screen which don't have any dead pixels and blemish, and if I find any imperfections when I have the screen in hand, I could return it and have a full refund. However, though it is a HV150UX1-100, there isn't an FRU part number on the sticker of the screen. It cost less than $150 so I think it is worth a try. If it doesn't make me satisfied, I'll return it and consider Richk's offer
I'm curious that how did you complete the transaction with dfgsdv eventually? I mean how did you make the payment? And is the shipping for Denmark exepensive? Did you purchase an QXGA panel from him? Since he's dealing QXGA panels on several forums in China. As far as I know, most banks in China provide wire transfers, at least Bank of China does. Some of the international dealers in China accept Paypal. The only inconvenience for Paypal users in China is that they cannot withdraw funds to their bank accounts in China for free, they either do a wire transfer which charges a $25 fee per transfer or they need to setup an account abroad or in Hongkong in order to withdraw funds without paying additional fees.

[EricRC]

I actually have a new (from IBM) T60 UXGA LCD assembly. It is the entire unit - frame, hinges, cable, antenna wires, etc. It comes without the clearplate stickers, which you would need to move from your original LCD. PM me if interested. (much easier to install than bare panel)

Hi,
you've got PM

[Troels]

[...] I'm curious that how did you complete the transaction with dfgsdv eventually? I mean how did you make the payment? And is the shipping for Denmark exepensive? Did you purchase an QXGA panel from him? Since he's dealing QXGA panels on several forums in China. As far as I know, most banks in China provide wire transfers, at least Bank of China does. Some of the international dealers in China accept Paypal. The only inconvenience for Paypal users in China is that they cannot withdraw funds to their bank accounts in China for free, they either do a wire transfer which charges a $25 fee per transfer or they need to setup an account abroad or in Hongkong in order to withdraw funds without paying additional fees.

Hmm ok. I believe the HV150UX1-100 was used for other OEMs too. The datasheet doesn't indicate it being for Lenovo or anything of that sort, so maybe it was transformed into being compatible with the T60/p series.
Heh, the solution was to order US dollar notes from my bank and send them in an ensured envelope. It turned out to be the cheapest solution afterall as Paypal etc. wasn't possible. Shipping was $85, but that's what DHL takes. And yeah, it was a QXGA.
Hmm, but i still get the impression that Paypal is not really popular in China - sure $25 is a lot of money for just getting the money onto the bak account i must admit. Wonder why it is so high - they could use some competition