X220 IPS screen self replacement

[twotoneblue]

@ssd_thinkpad
I am sure the Toughbooks can nicely take a beating - however I was also using "durable" in the sense of technological longevity (I'll get the X220 w/ i7). My Barton-build was an SFF (desktop), but now I've finally come to my senses and I'm not going back to desktop. Docking w eSATA and external screens, keyboard, mouse, optical drive... its a desktop when you need it

[ezekiel2517]

I'm in the same boat here... want to replace my TN screen with an IPS.

ssd_thinkpad, did you go through on the replacement? did it go smoothly or what happened?

yaoxing, I still see IPS screens for the x220 on taobao. Could I get your help in buying one and shipping it to California, USA?

[ThinkRob]

I bet the lighter panasonic n series which has a much worse display is more durable than the x220. Here is an ad for the father of the n series, the w series:

Yeah Toughbooks are pretty good at taking a beating. Then again, for a lot of the models, it seems like durability is their only design criteria and that everything else comes second. No problem with that -- just a different set of design goals than the ThinkPad. ThinkPads are business notebooks that happen to be pretty durable. Toughbooks are durable notebooks that happen to be a decent choice for business users.

[d94dsj]

I have made a successful self screen replacement from TN screen to IPS screen, however with some lessons learned.

I purchased my x220 in Sweden, where very few x220 models were offered with an IPS screen. Actually I found only one and that one was about 5000 SEK (about 740 USD) more that a similar one with the TN screen.

So, I bought one with the TN screen, model number is: 4291-37G.

I then ordered a screen from ebay listed as "LP125WH2 SLB1 Compatible" from the German seller "lcd-displays" for 96 EUR (about 126 USD)

It arrived only a few days later and I installed it according to the service manual - a LOT of steps, the section "2050 LCD panel and LCD cable" lists 11 FRUs to remove before removing the actual LCD cable.
Actually, only one of these 11 FRUs needs to be removed (at least for my model and I suspects it's the same for any other x220 model).
Anway, the replacement took a couple of hours of fiddling, and then I turned on the x220 only to discover that there was no visible difference in screen quality

After e-mailing with "lcd-displays" it turned out I had indeed received a TN screen. The "compatible" apperently does not cater to the IPS tech.
They offered an IPS replacement where I would pay for the difference in price plus shipping. The IPS one was 118 EUR (ca 155 USD) so not that much more expensive.
I bought the IPS model and it arrived two dayer afterwards!
Here is a link to the one I bought (IPS):
http://www.ebay.de/itm/230731242028

Now I replaced it by only the 2010 and 2050 step in the service manual (LCD Front Bezel and LCD Panel and LCD Cable), 2020 LED board not needed to remove.

And voila! The IPS screen is so much better

I can really recommend this upgrade; I guess the hard thing is to source the correct screen depending on where you live.

/Daniel

[steveg47]

I found this vendor that ships to the US.

http://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale/who ... creen.html

Prices seem very reasonable if indeed the replacement is an IPS panel.

Update: this vender has a poor reputation. Use at your own risk.

[Esben]

Bought also the X230 IPS screen from lcd-displays, and it was shipped from Estonia and delivered in Denmark within 20 hours. Quite amazing service level. Today I did the swap. To sum up the replacement process, it's two plastic covers, six screws and one cable. It takes all in all about 15 minutes to do the swap, but you can maybe do it even faster. On the IPS screen picture quality and viewing angles are much improved. I did check the codes on the back of the display, and it's newer than the IPS panels on which people had problems with ghosting.

Now I only hope that someone out there is in the mood for a very cheap TN panel

[Loucks]

I have no personal experience with them, but I know a couple of people in the US who have ordered displays for T series notebooks from laptopscreen.com and been very happy with the result.

I don't think a higher resolution 12.5" display exists. 768 vertical pixels is an opportunity missed, but I haven't been able to find anything better in this size.

[Jason404]

Does anybody if it possible to fit a replacement IPS panel into the X220/X230 which has a higher resolution?