Is it any wonder that we have these problems with laptop lids/hinges?!!!

[britechguy]

Just thought I'd post this here for the sake of education and perverse amusement. The client for whom I am trying to find a replacement laptop had a Dell Inspiron from 2020 and it's right hinge detached from the lid and before she realized what was happening it put so much pressure on the screen that it fractured. In looking at even trying to source full screen assemblies it became obvious to me that we were in "uneconomical to fix" territory. When that happens, though, I often end up taking the equipment for recycling, and sometimes I decide to play with taking things apart and potentially fixing because I can (even though it would have cost way too much for the client to pay me to do it). I decided to go this route with this laptop since it has a Ryzen 7 processor and can run Windows 11. All my other "backup laptops" are so old that they are not supported hardware for Windows 11.

Here's what I found:

Right side of the lid, where the metal plate that the hinge screws into has come off, with collateral damage:

Notice that this plate was affixed to the lid with the thinnest of lines of glue, and not very strong glue at that. It's clearly visible.

Now, for the plate itself, the side that faced the glue:

You can see just how little of the surface area of the plate itself had glue applied and affixing it to the lid. The side where the hinge would screw into:


This plate has been reaffixed to the lid with Harbor Freight Welder Epoxy that's now curing for 24 hours as I type. That should hold it in place much more firmly than that silly line of whatever glue was used originally.

Here's the other side of the lid, with the hinge in place, but where I've removed the screws (very wide heads to distribute force) so you could see the arrangement a bit better:


Notice tha the piece of aluminum grounding tape is split, and that's because that plate is in the process of doing precisely what the one on the right side had already done. Since it was still quite firmly affixed on the whole, I just ran superglue under the edges figuring that once that sets up that side should then be pretty darned firmly affixed, too.

Given how stiff the hinge mechanisms are, and must be if you want the lid to stay in the position it's opened to, how these things are affixed to the lid is just criminally stupid. The lid itself did not break, but once that plate separates from the lid because of inadequate gluing, it's all over, including for the screen which will end up breaking fairly soon after (if the lid keeps being opened and closed).

Why the screws that hold the lid to the plate don't continue through to the lid itself to hold all together, with the glue acting as a supplement, I'll never know. If you're not going to do that, then for the love of heaven use a glue type, and amount, that ensures that the plate is never coming off that lid.

This kind of half-assed design is just so certain to fail that I cannot believe that any manufacturer would use it!

Once I have the lid and hinges fixed, then I'll set about finding a replacement screen when I feel like it.

 

[Markverhyden]

Just thought I'd post this here for the sake of education and perverse amusement.

What amazes me is OEM's are still having this same problem more than 30 years down the road. I attribute most of this to having design/engineering as well as manufacturing being handled by third parties like Foxconn. I do know that Apple still designs all their stuff and they rarely have physical problems like this. Also add to that the disposable/unrepairable nature of these laptops makes repairs a lower priority.

 

[britechguy]

What's particularly perverse is that the hinges themselves would likely last a century or more under normal, constant use.

The problem lies not in the hinges themselves, but the fact that what affixes them to the case (on both sides, as I've seen plenty of breakage in the base side, too) is just too freakin' flimsy to do the job it needs to do. And it truly would not be rocket science, nor prohibitively expensive (it would be cheap, in fact) to do something that "takes a licking and keeps on ticking."

The old (now departed) Toshiba Satellite series was one on which I never encountered this happening even once, and that was even on the cheapest (and often abused) consumer grade models.

 

[ThatPlace928]

Part of the problem is that the hinges are metal and screwed into a piece of metal in a plastic standoff in a plastic case, not to mention how utterly stiff some hinges are, as if they're glued together even though they're not.

One time, I forgot how stiff the hinges were on a beautiful display and I snapped the display myself. I practically cried over that one.

 

[britechguy]

It would be so simple, so very simple, to make the plastic just around the edges of those lids into a much more "frame like" structure that could withstand the hinge forces so much better.

But even that's not going to help if the hinge affixing plate for the lid itself does not STAY affixed.

My jaw dropped when I saw that tiny line of glue and also after touching it. It is definitely not an epoxy and it still has a bit of tackiness to it, like it's the liquid form of double sided foam tape. The biggest problem here is that far less than half the total surface area of the plate actually has glue between it and the lid itself.

 

[River Valley Computer]

We have even went to loosening the nut on the hinges to decrease the friction of it (after the repair).

 

[britechguy]

We have even went to loosening the nut on the hinges to decrease the friction of it (after the repair).

I've tried this, with no success, in the past. The HP Envy I know I posted images of when I did an epoxy bonder repair for a lid split has hinges that are insanely tight that I could never get to loosen up.

 

[ThatPlace928]

I've tried this, with no success, in the past. The HP Envy I know I posted images of when I did an epoxy bonder repair for a lid split has hinges that are insanely tight that I could never get to loosen up.

I've thought about using a very minute drop of oil on the hinges but am always so afraid I'll get it inside the case on something that shouldn't get oil on it. HPs are the worst for tight hinges, in my opinion. Never had a Dell do that, only HP.

 

[britechguy]

@ThatPlace928

Interesting. I've found the hinges to be "virtually identical" across many makes and, in fact, it wouldn't shock me to learn that all of "the big guys" source their hinges from just a couple of sources.

This is the first Dell I've had in hand that has this issue, but I've heard of others. I've heard of virtually any of the makes have this happen, though the precise mode of failure is not always the same. Most HPs I've seen it on have been from fracturing of the plastic into which the screws holding the hinges screw (and that's even though there's a brass "knurled nut" contained within that plastic. The stress eventually causes, well, stress fractures.

 

[Larry Sabo]

I do a lot of these and had three in the same day a couple of weeks ago. It's because the hinges tighten themselves with use, so I fault the hinges, mostly. A Dremel tool with a flat-head diamond tip cleans up the old cement and the residue on the hinge and LePage Gel Ultra Control CA glue re-attaches it securely. I leave it clamped for 24 hours. It's critical to reduce the torque on the hinges to reduce the chance of it breaking again. Haven't had one come back yet.

 

[symbatech]

I've thought about using a very minute drop of oil on the hinges but am always so afraid I'll get it inside the case on something that shouldn't get oil on it. HPs are the worst for tight hinges, in my opinion. Never had a Dell do that, only HP.

I've applied a drop or two of synthetic clock oil to the hinges many times in the past when I've done these types of repairs. It's fine as long as you don't go crazy with it. After applying the oil, I work the hinges back and forth several times, then wipe the hinge with a paper towel to absorb any excess. I've never had a problem with it, and it does seem to help reduce the friction a bit while still allowing the screen to stay in the open position.

 

[NviGate Systems]

I think grease would be the better option. It takes longer to work into the hinge but grease will avoid any excess spilling into the rest of the unit. I have a small tub of tractor grease (red) that I lube fans with. If they are not too far gone, that can give new life for older fans.

Hinges have long been the bane of laptops. I knew once they started gluing the displays and hinges it was bad. I do wonder, (devil's advocate) if the amount and type of glue is mean to allow for servicing of the unit in any way. Again, I've been out of that area of service for a long time. Hinges can and do fail, although often it's the display side or case side screws that are loose. Almost everytime I open a unit up the screws need tightening. I'd say between 1/4 a turn or less depending how long it's been in service.

It's almost worth telling customers with high end laptops or even low end ones it's good to have them inspected basically 3 times during warranty: Initial, Mid Point and just before the warranty ends so you can make a claim if need be. (and of course you charge!) I can't tell you how many times in the past customers came in with the warranty expired and they were having an issue and I've been like "that would have been covered by warranty!" but an associate or someone told them it wasn't a big deal.

@britechguy if a display isn't available for that unit, it will be a bit of work but you should be able to install Windows and use it on a external display. If you manually deploy Windows on a SSD prior, it might connect to an external screen for setup. I know it won't for typical setup as the drivers are not there, but once it's in OOBE drivers have been mostly setup (even if basic).

For new players, one symptomn of a hinge problem is the display physically "jumping" when opened or closed. If the laptop is used at home and never moved (which some do because a laptop was cheap) I often fix it best I can and I deliver it still open and advise them to leave it open and it will last much longer. Granted that doesn't work for every ocassion, but it can do something.

I do wonder now with increased availability of 3d printer if printed laptop cover parts for screen will be possible. There would be a slight labour investment for designing it, but for an enterprising individual it might be a unique method of fixing. Although knowing the major OEM they likely would sue.

 

[SAFCasper]

What amazes me is OEM's are still having this same problem more than 30 years down the road. I attribute most of this to having design/engineering as well as manufacturing being handled by third parties like Foxconn. I do know that Apple still designs all their stuff and they rarely have physical problems like this. Also add to that the disposable/unrepairable nature of these laptops makes repairs a lower priority.

Personally I attribute it to planned obsolescence. Reinforcing a hinge is a simple design and adds trivial cost. But what do the majority of people do when their laptop hinge breaks after 3-4 years? They buy a new laptop = $$ for the OEM.

In the residential/consumer space I don't see this changing. Manufacturers have nothing to gain from selling a laptop that will last a decade. More profit selling you several poor quality laptops over the same decade.

Commercial grade laptops are a bit different as OEM's provide extended warranty. They are on the hook if laptops start falling apart after 3-4 years of usage. Although even the quality of those are dropping lately. I will no longer recommend Latitude 3000 series laptops to clients as the quality is so poor. Had several hinges break in a similar way on these. It's 5000 series or higher now.

 

[timeshifter]

Isn't this more of a problem with the stupid 2-in-1 design where you fold the screen completely over so you can use it like a tablet (which only about 10% of users actually do)?

 

[NviGate Systems]

No, it's all hinges. Metal on plastic. You guess who wins.

 

[dcomp12]

Isn't this more of a problem with the stupid 2-in-1 design where you fold the screen completely over so you can use it like a tablet (which only about 10% of users actually do)?

I see it more on the regular Laptops vs the Hybrid Tablet laptops. Seems the latter they build the hinges better and they do not have a hard stop so Clients do not force the lid open to the stop point plus more.

Forciing it to the stop point and adding pressure PLUS PLUS openening the clip from the corner instead of the middle and opening it fast but not slowly basically puts the stress on the hinge,

I remember the worst offenders were the HP DV series back in the day So many of them either the hings or dead Motherboards.

 

[britechguy]

Seems the latter [2-in-1 laptops] they build the hinges better and they do not have a hard stop so Clients do not force the lid open to the stop point plus more.

I have to agree, particularly with your final point. You would have to do a full fold-over open and then continue forcing past the point where the "stands on table" inverted V shape is reached. I've yet to see anyone do that.

I agree with @timeshifter as well in his observation that relatively few people who buy 2-in-1 machines ever do the fold-over maneuver. Many have no idea that they can, but even those who do use them far more often in "typical laptop" mode than anything else. Those who really want, and use, tablet style machines tend to buy those (and they are, relatively speaking, few and far between as well).

 

[lan101]

I remember the worst offenders were the HP DV series back in the day So many of them either the hinges or dead Motherboards.

I swear those were the worst laptops ever made lol...but there were a few that I'd seen that lasted a long time too lol.

 

[britechguy]

"After" pictures from my epoxy repair. The actual right hinge plate, which had previously been held to the lid by a thin line of glue, is now affixed to it with 100% coverage on the back side with welder epoxy. The bottom piece of the lid that had become detached from the main lid body and bent somewhat was carefully reapproximated to the main lid and the seam sealed up with the same welder epoxy to the extent it could be. The interior (looks sloppy, but who cares) is probably less likely to break than it was "before the injury."

Full lid, exterior side. I tend to paint over the gray welder epoxy (sometimes in a garish contrasting color, not this time, but it isn't meant as an invisible match, either):


External repair corner close-up:


Interior of repaired corner: