Bunch of LCD warranty questions...

[none]

Hello all,

I noticed my T41p is slowely developing the problem some people have been having with slow red pixels... I am thinking about calling IBM warranty, but first I had a few questions..

1. What is IBM's dead/stuck pixel policy on warranty replacement LCDs? I sure wouldn't want to be stuck with dead pixels in exchange for my no-dead pixel LCD...

2. Does anyone know if this problem is in fact with the LCD, or the inverter card, or something else? Other posts I read suggest the problem is with the 14" Samsung (which is what I have), although several people reported the problem with other makes.

3. Is there a perticular "better than the other" replacement FRU I should be asking for from IBM? Any LCD perticularly better out there, like a Thai Keyboard is to the Chinese one?

Thanks in advance all

[K. Eng]

1. Warranty replacement LCDs unfortunately have the same policy as the ThinkPad notebooks themselves. You might get a display with some bad pixels, although I haven't heard any complaints about bad replacement LCDs. here on the forums.

2. No idea.

3. As far as I know the Samsung is the best out there.

[dvorak]

I'm having the same problem here, third display already, starts to bother my work and definitely makes me think twice before purchasing more Thinkpads for the company (atleast 14.1" models - ones without FlexView).

I've asked for a replacement, I'm not sure if should I stick with a 14.1" model, as they all seem to have this problem, IBM hasn't yet replied, although they noted they need my machine for further analysis.

[dfumento]

3. Is there a perticular "better than the other" replacement FRU I should be asking for from IBM? Any LCD perticularly better out there, like a Thai Keyboard is to the Chinese one?

People tend to think the Samsung is the best.

Please see the FAQ in my signature. That is what it is there for!

Also, IBM actually has a spec which they tell how many dead pixels etc. before they replace the display under warranty. I don't remember where it is. I'd call IBM anyway.

[dash7540]

Here is IBM's ThinkPad LCD warranty policy:

http://www-1.ibm.com/support/docview.ws ... &loc=en_US

It looks like it will take a lot of dead pixels just to get a replacement, especially for those who have high-resolution displays.

[AbsoluteRaleigh]

2. Does anyone know if this problem is in fact with the LCD, or the inverter card, or something else? Other posts I read suggest the problem is with the 14" Samsung (which is what I have), although several people reported the problem with other makes.

The inverter & cable are not related to the bad pixels. All brands have issues w/ bad pixels.

I expect someday we will not have to deal with them like we do now.

[dvorak]

2. Does anyone know if this problem is in fact with the LCD, or the inverter card, or something else? Other posts I read suggest the problem is with the 14" Samsung (which is what I have), although several people reported the problem with other makes.

The inverter & cable are not related to the bad pixels. All brands have issues w/ bad pixels.:D

I think none was not referring to dead-pixels, but instead to the red-glow problem he is having.
My machine is also cursed with this disturbance, and IBM doesn't seem to be very eager to accept it as their fault and replace the machine after I have tested numerous displays and wasted an extreme amount of time communicating with them about the issue.

[AbsoluteRaleigh]

I think none was not referring to dead-pixels, but instead to the red-glow problem he is having.
My machine is also cursed with this disturbance, and IBM doesn't seem to be very eager to accept it as their fault and replace the machine after I have tested numerous displays and wasted an extreme amount of time communicating with them about the issue.

I am under the impression that "none" has bad pixels which light up red, like little red pin pricks... I may be mistaken although but I have re-read the post and that is what I am getting out of it.

What does your LCD do? Glow red? If EZServe doesn't help you can always take it to a local IBM authorized service center and you can show them the problem face to face...

[dvorak]

I am under the impression that "none" has bad pixels which light up red, like little red pin pricks... I may be mistaken although but I have re-read the post and that is what I am getting out of it.

What does your LCD do? Glow red? If EZServe doesn't help you can always take it to a local IBM authorized service center and you can show them the problem face to face...

Well the glow, or slow red pixels, which ever you call them, happens when switching to black from a lighter color.
For example, when I switched to black (full screen) the start menu button was visible as a red contour. Also when playing a movie, the subtitles faded away in 10 seconds or so, that means I could fully read them after new ones were layed on top, now that is extremely disturbing and a major issue, especially if you're trying to do a presentation to a client.

My thread about it that I've been updating when something comes up:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=7759

But to make a long story short, I've been in contact with the UK Complaints Coordinator, gotten my display replaced two times (so its my 3rd LCD now), spent an enormous amount of time, which turns to financial expenses, and their current stand is that I should hand over the laptop for an unspecified time for analysis. It has been over two months from the time I first discovered this problem. My last display was also said to go to analysis, and they were to call me if anything was found, it's been over a month, no calls, so you can imagine I'm a "little" unsatisfied with the current result.
Indeed they, after me noting I cannot be without a computer, offered a loan machine, but I don't find it a good solution either to use an inferior machine than the one I bought, and after, when mine, one day, returns, again switch computers.

Edit: Forgot to mention that IBM's (atleast according to the person I was in touch) main reason for not supplying a replacement is because they're uncertian the fault is by IBM systems, and proposed it could be the fault of my third-party CAD slash other design software. I'm sorry, but it is ridiculous from a technical point of view.

[dfumento]

Sorry you're going through so much trouble.

[aamsel]

The problem with LCD replacement is that you will never again get a new panel. Every future panel you will get will be a "refurbished" one, and may or may not have one or more defects.
Once you send a notebook in for service, you will have refurbished parts inside. This also applies to onsite service parts.

Andrew
Austin, TX

[none]

I think none was not referring to dead-pixels, but instead to the red-glow problem he is having.
My machine is also cursed with this disturbance, and IBM doesn't seem to be very eager to accept it as their fault and replace the machine after I have tested numerous displays and wasted an extreme amount of time communicating with them about the issue.

I am under the impression that "none" has bad pixels which light up red, like little red pin pricks... I may be mistaken although but I have re-read the post and that is what I am getting out of it.

I don't have stuck red pixels, it's the oh-so-common problem dvorak described with the red pixels being slow when switching brightness. By the sounds of it I should stick with my current LCD lol... Seems like people aren't having much luck with their replacement panels, or even getting a replacement panel in the first place

[dvorak]

Quite possible that mine's also a used-part, it has some sort of pressure in the middle, looks brighter than the rest, (close to what happens when you touch the screen with your finger, ) that's visible from looking at the screen from a 10+ degree angle when the screen is black. Probably that's what the last owner returned it :)

I don't have stuck red pixels, it's the oh-so-common problem dvorak described with the red pixels being slow when switching brightness. By the sounds of it I should stick with my current LCD lol... Seems like people aren't having much luck with their replacement panels, or even getting a replacement panel in the first place :P

Forgive me to do this inside a thread, but, none, I sent you a private message and hopefully you'll reply to it also, after you have read it, currently still resides in my Outbox folder, hence unread by you.

[AbsoluteRaleigh]

The problem with LCD replacement is that you will never again get a new panel. Every future panel you will get will be a "refurbished" one, and may or may not have one or more defects.
Once you send a notebook in for service, you will have refurbished parts inside. This also applies to onsite service parts.

Andrew
Austin, TX

Parts may be new, used, or refurbished.

System boards, LCDs, CPUs, etc are usually used but sometimes new or refurbs... Hard drives and keyboards are almost always new... Right now most T4* systems going in for wrnty are getting brand new system boards... You never know... Any company will try to use used parts when possible..

[AbsoluteRaleigh]

Hopefully you will get the problem resolved...

It sounds pretty rare- not sure why it would happen on multiple LCDs.

[systemBuilder]

DON'T assume that its bad to get used parts. All things in this world follow a reliability model known as "the bathtub curve". When brand new, there is a short period known as "infant mortality" where the failure rate is very high. There follows a very long period (years and years) with practically NO failures. And then if properly designed, at end of life, everything fails at once and this is known as "the wear-out period."

You should be thankful that you got some slightly used parts when your laptop was repaired. These parts have passed through the high mortality infant mortality period and have a long and healthy life ahead of them. Except for high-wear parts like keyboards or disk drive, it doesn't matter if they are used because they are unlikely to be among the first parts to fail on the computer.

- Professor of Graduate-Level Fault Tolerance.

[o1001010]

i don't know too many answers but the one thing i do know is that samsung is no where near the best, out of all i think it may be one of the worst. big company, but unlike ibm, they make garbage. i actually think they make things that is on a timer (eg be broken after 2 years) aka designed lifetime. so they can make more money.

and as the brightness thread shows, lg and the other model is better