Laptop Screen Repair Cost: How Much Does It Cost To Fix a Laptop Screen?

In this article, you’re going to learn how much does it cost to fix a laptop screen?

A laptop with a slightly cracked screen is quite troublesome thing. Even though you are extremely careful while handling your gadgets you can still end up cracking their screens. However, you should keep in mind that repairing your laptop screen is not an easy job, and there are complications behind it. Don’t worry in this article we will explain the step by step procedure to replace your laptop screen with the estimated fix cost.

This guide includes:

• Ways to repair the laptop screen.
• Cost of repairing a laptop/computer screen.
• Checklist, before the start of the repairing process.
• Repairing process i.e. Taking OFF & Putting ON.

So, if you want the repairing process to be as smooth as possible follow all steps. Let’s dive right in.

LCD/LED display:

Most of the laptop screens are made of Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) while some of these can be backlit LED screens, touch panels or active-matrix displays. Usually, LCDs are backlit by LEDs as LCDs do not emit light hence they use reflective properties. Nowadays, the new laptop screen has an in build touch interface companies like Toshiba are working on touch screen monitors and laptops. While some brands have introduced LED and OLEDs screens that consume very little power and are sight friendly it also can provide much better picture quality. However, the new OLED and LED technology have a new market that is yet to establish. The fix of the screen depends upon the type of display used.

How Much Does It Cost To Fix a Laptop Screen

We are going to explain fort the laptop screen repair cost. Most people are asking the question, how much does it cost to fix a laptop screen?

Stay with us and enjoy the article!

How does a laptop screen get broken?

There are many reasons that lead to a cracked laptop screen. The crack repair or replacement yet depends upon the type of screen and amount of damage. Therefore, it is important to know the reasons for a cracked laptop display.

• Excessive Pressure: The laptop screen is cracked mostly due to pressure applied to it. This can happen when something hard or heavy hits the laptop or when you accidentally drop it.
• Negligence: This can also happen when a laptop stays in a bag for an extended period of time and that bag is not pressuring bearable. The screen can get damaged while loading in and out in the bag. Laptops are a very delicate gadget that is surly handy but is easily breakable. The hinges are one of the weakest parts on the front panel. If you open and close the laptop in an aggressive manner there is more chance of breaking the hinge mechanism (open & close). It can cause damage to the laptop screen as a whole. Bending of screen and cracks are introduced because of this.
• Hardware Problem: Apart from physical problems such as hinges, a laptop screen may stop working due to various other reasons as well. These can be hardware problems in the motherboard or breakdown of video cable wire which is used for the display purpose.

Ways to repair cracked laptop panel:

There are three ways to repair your broken laptop screen. They have their own advantages/disadvantages.

1. Manufacturer: You can always send your laptop to your laptop manufacturer. Your laptop screen will be repaired professionally and accurately. But, it is quite expensive. You can also go for claiming your laptop warranty if it’s bought within the given time period i.e. 6 months-12 months. Well, this is the first method everyone is recommended to go for.
2. Technician: You also go to the technician for your laptop repairs. You need to pay them their repairing fee, which is less as compared to the first method we discussed. But, there is a possibility of fraud in buying aftermarket screens. It all depends upon the technician you opting for.
3. Home Repair: You can also repair the broken laptop screen at home. You can save yourself up to $80 – $180 this way. However, you should keep in mind that repairing your laptop screen at home is not an easy job, and there are complications behind it. We will go through all the steps in the next coming paragraphs.

Personally, we recommend you to do this repairing yourself because this process doesn’t require any expertise at all. All you need to have is a repairing kit and original screen at your home. This repairing screen can be bought online or from any laptop accessory shop On the other hand, this method also saves you a couple of hundred dollars. So, do not waste your time and money on any technician or manufacturer.

Cost of repairing your laptop screen:

The cost of repairing your laptop screen depends on the method you are using. (As discussed above)

• Manufacturer: A laptop that is under warranty can sometimes be repaired by the manufacturer without any cost to the customer however; the customer has to pay the shipment cost. Repairing a laptop screen (no warranty) from a manufacturer is quite expensive and customers are charged for the following things:

• Parts cost
• Labor cost
• Shipment cost
• Applicable taxes

This repair can total up to two-thirds of the total cost of the laptop originally. A total cost of $300 – $500 is charged by the manufacturer. For example, Toshiba charges $350 and HP charges $420 for an LCD replacement.

• Technician: A professional technician usually charges $100 – $300 for LCD replacement.

• Home repair: Repairing your laptop at home requires the purchasing of LCD and necessary Tool. So, you can check the cost of LCD from ScreenTek or Amazon by entering the laptop model in the searching field. The usual cost of repairing a laptop at home is $40 – $200.

Troubleshooting for screen issues:

Troubleshooting is defined as analyzing and solving problems. Unless the screen is cracked here is a checklist to do before you start for repair / replacing process.

• Video cable Troubleshooting: If you don’t see any image on the screen or it has vertical and horizontal lines shaking, your video cable is faulty and it needs to be reconnected. Thus video cable troubleshooting is required. Lines continuously appear and disappear whenever the lid is opened/closed or sometimes the image shakes but it is temporary. Colors washed out and changing continuously is also a symbol of this problem. The solution is that you can reconnect the LCD video connector a couple of times; doing so will fix any possibility of decolorizing the image again. Replacing the old display is also the solution of this problem but that’s not a good solution because you’ll still have to disconnect the video connector.

• Graphic card Troubleshooting: If you see dark lines or discoloration continuously with the bigger font on your laptop screen then probably your graphic card or video cable is faulty. In order to check this problem, connect an external monitor to your laptop via HDMI to see if the same lines and discoloration effect still exist. If the same effect exists on the internal LCD when the display is connected to the external monitor, this helps to diagnose that LCD is not broken the problem persists in Graphic Card. GPU and Video Memory play a huge role in displaying an image whether it’s internal or external. If you check that the lines and discoloration effect is coming from your display, you have to change your logic board, replacement of LCD will not fix the situation.

• Software Updating: If the LCD driver is faulty this would result in a blank screen and the power supplied to the screen but no pixels are shown. Sometimes your computer locks up the settings. Resolution can be locked to low resolution; the refresh rate can be locked to 60Hz. Antivirus or malware blockers can also lead to forcing your computer to adapt to the safest default settings, which is called ‘Safe Mode’. Of course 800 x 600 or 1024 x 768 resolution versus your original 1366 x 768 or 1920 x 1080 is not suitable, this means LCD is faulty. You can fix this problem by updating or even reinstalling the video driver from your laptop.
  Whether you have an Intel graphic card, NVidia or even AMD it’s better to go to your chip manufacturer website and download / update the newest install package, this way you will not face any issues regarding software updating. For the laptops due to the presence of custom hardware settings laptop manufacturer website will have a better driver package than the gfx chip manufacturer. It is also necessary to update your Direct-X on a regular basis.

How to replace your laptop panel?

We will explain the step by step procedure to replace your laptop screen.

Inspect the laptop: The first step before the repair process is the inspection of the laptop to know the amount of damage and faults. It’s very important to know the extent of the problem and what things need to be repaired or replaced (certain cases). This will give you an idea of how much work you’re going to do and how much you will have to pay for the repair. You should know the dimension and model of the display so that you can go for replacing it. You should do some research via blogs and YouTube videos online to have an idea of the repair.

Find a replacement display: Before buying a new LCD / LED, it is better to remove the damaged screen first, to be sure that you can perform the replacement easily. After the following the first few steps, you should do some research via blogs and YouTube videos or interact even with repair professionals for further help on your exact laptop brand and model. Finding a replacement for LCD is typically very easy and nowadays you have so many options and variants to look for. You can just google out or use eBay, Amazon with your laptop model number and see their prices. Most regular screens will be from $50 to $80.

Tools: Screwdriver set with an adjustable size is the most important such as Phillips #00. Metal or plastic blades are also used to remove the broken pieces of screen.

The removal process is divided into three steps i.e. Taking OFF, Putting ON and checking process.

1- Taking OFF the lid:

• Remove the battery and unplug the laptop: Since you’re working with live wires it is better to take essential steps. Remove the battery and unplug the laptop so the computer is not powered on. Keep the removed battery in a safe place.
• Remove the screws: Laptops have small rubber screws around the screen. You can use a safety pin or a screwdriver to take off the rubber. After removing the rubbers place the rubber covers in a safe place so that you don’t lose them. You can see bezel from here.
• Remove the bezel screws: First off all remove the rubber cover from the screws. Many laptop models have the screws around the screen. At least 5 screws are present on the screen. Place the bezel screws somewhere safe with the rubber covers so both the components are together.
• Detach the bezel from the screen: Place your fingers at the lower edge of your laptop screen; now slide your fingers and pull the bezel with your fingers. It should be loose and easily moveable. If it does not, try changing the direction until it moves.

If the bezel is struck and is not sliding, then check your screws, you must have missed at least one of the bezel screws. You can now slide up and remove it from the bezel.

• Disconnect the connected cables: You’ll need to find a video cable, which is taped to the back panel. You need to peel off the tape and then remove the connector from the back screen panel. There is also a power cable on the back panel of the screen. It all depends on your laptop manufacturer and model. You can now remove all the screws from the display panel for this use a pin or a screwdriver. Place all the screws somewhere safe, so that they are not misplaced.
• Remove the laptop screen: Since the video cable is already removed. Now its time to remove the laptop screen. Slide the display panel forward by pushing it and then carefully removing it from the metal / plastic frame. You can also use plastic/metal blades for removing this. Place the display panel on a soft surface. Carefully remove the broken glass from the screen.

2- Putting ON:

• Model number: Barcode is found on the back of the laptop. This is where the manufacturer’s label and the model number of the laptop are written. There is also a barcode there; you can search for details of the laptop after scanning it through the manufacturer’s app. The model number consists of different letters and numbers.

For example, if the label says Intel, IT177CW1, you can search the screen for this model respectively.

• Buy a replacement screen: You can just Google out or use eBay, Amazon with your laptop model number and see their prices. You can also buy the display panel from your nearest hardware/laptop store. Most regular screens will be from $50 to $80. The display panel should be the same as the model number.
• Place the screen in the metal frame: Once you have bought the replacement screen from the market or online. Make sure the newly bought screen is placed in the right way and it easily fits into the metal frame.
• Reconnecting the video and power cable: Connect the video cable and power cable to the back panel of the newly bought screen, recheck if the cables connected are secure and fitted properly. Your cables will fit properly if your new screen is the same model as the previous one. Now for the checking step!

3- Checking Process:

• Put the battery back into the laptop: Check that your new screen is working before putting on the screws. Connect the power source to the laptop and turn it on again. Make sure there is no color issue on the new screen.
• Check that the screen works properly: Now it’s time to check what we have done. Open a blank white page in a word pad and check that there are no lines or cracks on the new screen. The display on the screen will look the same as it was before. If you see any color difference, contact the screen provider.
• Put in the bezel and screws: Now for the final step attach the bezel over the screen. Then, put the screws in with the help of a screwdriver and tighten them up. Now the final step is to add screws to the display panel. Now you’re ready to go. Enjoy!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1) Why does a laptop display panel crack?

The laptop display panel is cracked mostly due to pressure applied to it. This can happen when something hard or heavy hits the laptop or when you accidentally drop it. a laptop screen may stop working due to various other reasons as well. These can be hardware problems in the motherboard or breakdown of video cable wire which is used for the display purpose.

2) Can you fix a laptop with a cracked panel?

Yes, you can fix a laptop with a cracked panel. You’ll definitely have to replace it and buy a new one. However, it is expensive. If you’re the kind of person who loves to fix things by himself then you can try to fix a broken display panel. Go through the above-detailed article to get an idea of how you’re going to start.

4) Can you fix a laptop display panel if it’s not cracked?

Yes, If you don’t see any image on the screen or it has vertical and horizontal lines shaking, your video cable is faulty and it needs to be reconnected. Thus video cable troubleshooting is required. The problem may also be due to Graphic card troubleshooting or even Software updating. Therefore, you should go through the following article on “how much does it cost to fix a laptop?”

5) Is it safe to replace a laptop screen at home?

Yes, it’s completely safe to fix a laptop at home. You just need to take care of a few precautions which are given in the article, set of tools and you’re good to go. If you’re the kind of person who loves to fix things by himself then you can try to fix a broken display panel at home. Go through the above-detailed article to get an idea of how you’re going to start.

6) How much does it cost to replace a laptop display panel?

A total cost of $300 – $500 is charged by the manufacturer. For example, Toshiba charges $350  and HP charges $420 for an LCD replacement. But, if you try to fix a laptop by yourself, the repair can total up to two-thirds of the total cost of the laptop originally. It will be $40 to $200.

Conclusion:

This is the guide compiled by our team as extensive as possible to help you guys out. If you’re the kind of person who loves to fix things by himself then you can try to fix a broken display panel by taking necessary precautions as mentioned in the guide. This guide not only includes precautionary measures but also a way of fixing the screen step by step from taking OFF to putting ON. It also consists of the estimated cost in each step. Personally, we recommend you to do this repairing yourself because this process doesn’t require any expertise at all. All you need to have is a repairing kit and original screen at your home. This repairing screen can be bought online or from any laptop accessory shop On the other hand, this method also saves you a couple of hundred dollars.

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