Laptop repair gone south... what would you do?

[NETWizz]

Wow.. Is JB Weld strong enough to hold a hinge in place on a top cover mounting?

Yes, it is more than strong enough, but rough up whatever you are epoxying (i.e. with a Dremel or rotary tool is best).

Obviously, keep it 100% inside and not visible and open/close a dozen times to make certain it is strong before sending it back to the customer... The last thing you want is a failure and some other shop claiming you did a poor repair.

You did the right thing offering to pay. If it was me and an expensive laptop, I would actually replace the palmrest and not epoxy it, but if it is already not worth the money then JB weld (or similar) is a reasonable way to kick the ball down the road and get it off your desk.

 

[NviGate Systems]

There are also specialized epoxy called Plastic Weld, for ABS plastic.

I used it on a back panel on a laptop that had a crack. However, with cracks, it's often ha d to get the adhesive in the crack or you also risk the crack continuing after repair. What I did was completely break and finish the crack, leaving the part in two pieces, then glued together. Once fires I could flex it back and forth no issues.

 

[Computer Bloke]

you also risk the crack continuing after repair.

If you're able to drill a small hole at the tip of the crack this will very often stop it from spreading further.

But clearly your method works too!

 

[Captain Spaulding]

Only ever had problems with hinge repairs, I don't do them anymore, not worth the labour, they take ages, always tend to uncover extra problems and more parts that need replacing, I don't miss them

 

[Larry Sabo]

Only ever had problems with hinge repairs, I don't do them anymore, not worth the labour, they take ages, always tend to uncover extra problems and more parts that need replacing, I don't miss them

How timely! I'm in the middle of a nightmare with a hinge repair that went to hell. The hinge repair itself went really well, but I broke the screen during disassembly -- damned those adhesive strips along the inside of the bezel! $130 CAD for a new screen wasn't the worst of it. Somewhere during testing it looks like the motherboard got zapped (ENE chip has what looks like a scorch mark/dimple) and the laptop runs but has no video output, on-screen or HDMI.

The laptop in question is an MSI GE75 9SE, available on amazon for $4,465 CAD! <sigh> The loaner I just bought for him to use until his gets repaired cost me $905 CAD.

 

[frase]

If I get something that I can see has been dropped or hinges hanging on for dear life. I advise the customer, yes I can repair that. Though please keep in mind I have not seen any damage internally until I dissassemble the device. So saying that, something may well be broken due to the stress of the hinge. I will advise you further when I do dissassemble, if any further internal damage has been created by the original issue.

I get the customer to sign a document, covering me in due course of any further damage not noted on initial visual inspection.

 

[Rosco]

No chance of epoxying the mount back together? JB Weld has rescued a fair number of hinge mounts for us. Barring that, did you look to see if you could get the case from the OEM?

Two things we do differently:

1. We charge a diagnostic fee upfront for all bench repairs. If the customer decides not to proceed with the repair once the problem is identified, we keep the fee. If they do decide to repair, we credit that fee as a prepayment against the final bill.

2. We've stopped ordering parts that aren't reasonably available from our vendors, Amazon (US vendors only) or OEM. Too much nonsense like you've experienced.

As to how to handle, I would eat the labor and part charges and just toss the screen on my shelf somewhere in the very narrow chance some future repair could use it. It's only 60 pounds. Not worth the effort to return, IMO. That gets the customer out of your hair with the least amount of drama, and also with no basis to complain or leave a bad review.

This is excellent advice.

I had a very similar situation to the OP over ten years ago. I ended up just eating the cost to save any bad reviews. It then happened a couple more times before I learned my lesson.

The diagnostic fee is a must.

 

[kwest]

Sometimes you take a loss but I always take a $50 up front Diag that goes towards the repair.

Regarding the repair we have used screw rivets in the past for bad design hinges. We get approval on end result having some brass circles on the back of lcd before the repair.

DGOL 50 Pairs Brass Backscrews Golden Leather Fasteners Sturdy Binding Rivets Belt Strap Collar Back Screws PU Studs Length (0.158 inch (4mm)) https://a.co/d/fuQYKM6

 

[britechguy]

Having read this entire thread I am struck by the amount of creativity amongst the cohort in approaching this problem.

I'm also not regretting having declined several potential jobs (two of which I posted about at the time) that would have involved hinge and/or screen repairs on laptops that suffered what, to me, appeared to be significant drop damage.

 

[Blues]

I tend to heavy push high cost for screen repairs so far my total screen repairs done is 0. I would do one but everyone who has come to me about them has had a machine the can be replaced at equal or better performance for $500 or less and after materials and labor I haven't had a screen repair that would be less than $250 and that's just the minimum estimate so yeah not many takers.

 

[britechguy]

I haven't had a screen repair that would be less than $250 and that's just the minimum estimate so yeah not many takers.

The single one of these I have had cost more than that, but it was for a machine that cost well above $1K when new and was only 9 months old.

As much as I despise, "uneconomical to repair," as a reason for ditching something, the end user needs to be given an accurate assessment of likely repair costs versus replacement costs. And when it comes to any laptop that's more than a couple of years old, any "significant repair" will cost money that's far better spent on replacing it.

When you add to that the fact that you can get performance out of hardware these days at mid-range prices that flagships of a few short years ago couldn't touch, well, it makes replacement more attractive.

 

[Blues]

Yeah closest I had was a 4-6 yr old laptop that when new was around or over $1K but today could be equivalently replaced for $400-600 and the screen was about $80-$120, which when quoting I would use the $120, and then I looked up some breakdowns of the machine and new the labor would be at least another $200. The guy loved the laptop but ultimately decided to replace it and I had also quoted some backup and migration options for him that we about 2/3rd to 1/2 the cost of the repair should he replace instead.

 

[kwest]

Some screen repairs take less than 5 minutes. Pull bezel, 4 screws, one cable and reinstall. Not bad for 200. Yes a glass screen takes more times but I wouldn’t turn down every job. Hinge is more involved.

 

[Blues]

I'm not turning the job down the client is and so far no system brought before me has had a simple pop the bezel and a few screws.

 

[ThatPlace928]

I'm not turning the job down the client is and so far no system brought before me has had a simple pop the bezel and a few screws.

I've had several easy ones like that. BUT, if it involves broken hinges / hinge caps, I generally search for the entire display assembly, which includes the display, back cover, hinges, and covers. That way, I only have to install the whole assembly, not piece by piece.

The display assembly arrives in one piece [already put together] and in one package. It's cheaper than buying everything you need separately and waiting for more than one package to arrive.

 

[frase]

Some screen repairs take less than 5 minutes. Pull bezel, 4 screws, one cable and reinstall. Not bad for 200. Yes a glass screen takes more times but I wouldn’t turn down every job. Hinge is more involved.

Ha you have not repaired an Alienware Laptop as yet then. Worst I have ever repaired thus far, though I charged a high fee.
This was two hinges - original model had a defect in the hinge strength. So had to replace a top cover and display & bezel. I had to order components from overseas, USA if I recall.

 

[HCHTech]

We do a small amount of screen replacements, maybe 3 or 4 a month. Most of them are simple and we don't purposely overprice them. Some, however are a mess. We have one now that involved a hinge. The hinge was the original problem, very stiff and eventually broke the mounting points on the lid, and further use like this broke the screen. We couldn't get the full assembly, but were able to order the lid (which included new hinges) separately from an amazon vendor along with a screen from our normal vendor. The lid came without a web cam so that had to be swapped over. The screen we ordered was damaged in shipment so we had to swap it out (laptopscreen.com for the win here - they overnighted a replacement). So what should have been an hour's labor job turned in to at least 2 probably 2.5. Client was ok with it so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[kwest]

Ha you have not repaired an Alienware Laptop as yet then. Worst I have ever repaired thus far, though I charged a high fee.
This was two hinges - original model had a defect in the hinge strength. So had to replace a top cover and display & bezel. I had to order components from overseas, USA if I recall.

We have done lots of Alienware screens. Yes repair is expensive and time consuming.

 

[Big Jim]

I have a suspicion that JB weld in the US is a different compound to the UK, I've never had any success with it (not with hinge mounts anyway)
the only thing I have had any success with is a mix of bicarb and liquid (not gel) super glue.
although that is emergency only as it is very brittle.

My preference is always to replace the broken part.


also, you say that you have spent 3 hours on this laptop so far, doing what exactly ?
screens replacements are normally 30mins max, is this an overly complicated model ?

 

[Blue House Computer Help]

TBH This was a while ago and there was more drama that played out after my post here, so I don't remember exactly which of the things made up the 3, but it was complicated from beginning to end. The screen was expensive and complicated to source, the hinge mounting screws onto the back cover were very unusual size (One of them had gotten lost when it broke so never came to me in the first place, and I literally couldn't find them anywhere on the Internet or in several local computer shops, and had to call in a favour from an IT friend who pulled some of them from a laptop of the same model he happened to have and be about to throw out). The disassembly itself was complicated in the first place, though I don't remember why. Oh yeah, there was also an attempt by the customer to claim it on insurance (rejected because she turned out to have a way high excess that was even more than my price to replace every last broken bit), which required a report on whether it was feasible to repair, which took some extra time, though I did charge for that.

And after this post, we ended up getting a new palm rest and transferring all the components over to it. So all in all, one of those things where if I had known at the beginning how it would end up, I would have gone a very different route, but hey, you live and learn.

**sigh**.. I guess that's one more expensive laptop kept out of the waste stream, so why don't I feel like a good citizen yet?