Thinkpads Forum

I would be grateful for any suggestions about this. When I start up a X220 of mine, I have been getting a washed-out vertical band on the left edge. This stays in place without flickering, but can change color: if the desktop is solid blue, this becomes orange; if the desktop has a white background, the band washes out to white but the text is faint.

But when I squeeze the screen, with my thumb on the front and finger on the back, in the bottom left-hand corner, the band goes away.

Before trying to fix it with a screen replacement, does anyone have an idea whether this is a connections problem, a cable problem, or a problem with the screen itself? It is always exactly the same width, a very clean band.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions before I start unscrewing screws. I have tried to attach an image, but don't seem to be doing it correctly.

Hoge

Sorry to hear about your trouble. It does sound like whatever you do will require screen disassembly. Would you perhaps like to do it? Please follow HMM (except you don't need new screws old are fine). I don't have any experience here but purely thinking logically - you shall have a chance to re-seat the connection between the flex cable and the panel. Who knows maybe that will help?.. Again just thinking logically it does sound like the panel might be at fault. To try to cheer you up a little - is it a TN panel? If so you will be much happier after fitting an IPS one. I heard they are much better even if same resolution.

Thanks, atagunov.

It's the original screen, so probably not IPS. Forgive me, but I'm not sure what you mean by "HMM".

Going in and re-seating the cable does sound like the logical and harmless first step.

Hoge

HMM --> Hardware Maintenance Manual, in other words, the service manual. It contains the disassembly instructions.

Personally, I think the issue is not the cable but the LCD panel itself. An LCD panel has lots of flexible flat cables along the edges, bound by some kind of adhesive (I think). Sometimes one or more sections lose connection (due to various factors-- heat, manufacturing defect, physical damage, etc.) leading to what you're experiencing with your X220. Applying pressure will mend the connection, but it's a temporary fix at best.

Indeed this very website is the best place to find HMM-s for this era of Thinkpads It was a surprise for me too, but the link is around the top of this page.

Hoge Morris wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 14, 2021 9:11 pm

It's the original screen, so probably not IPS

Okay, I'd also recommend http://x220.mcdonnelltech.com/resources/ as a fabulous collection of info for folks like us who keep running X220-s. It will contain the list of IPS screen panels to hunt for. I was going to pick one myself but feel so lazy... I'd probably go to ebay to search for one, then AliExpress and to TaoBao as an absolutely last resort. Unfortunately increasing resolution is a much more heroic project involving application of a soldering gun, so I'd recommend to get one of the IPS 1366x768 ones listed on that page. Probably once you establish that fiddling with internals of your current screen is not a solution.