how hard is it to replace a laptop lcd?

mnewxcv

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a buddy of mine dropped his asus laptop and the screen cracked. geek squad quoted him $400 for the replacement screen, $400 for installation. A screen can be had on ebay for ~$150 shipped, how hard would it be to replace it?
 
$800 will get you a new computer, good lord Geek Squad is capitalizing. Where do we go to learn about Geek Squad? I'm trying to fix computers locally and would like to see what they are doing to draw in so much blood.

I replaced my Dell Precision M4400 laptop screen twice, it was extremely easy because Dell has a manual for almost every laptop and a assembly/disassembly portion for every piece. Basically I had to open up the bottom, unscrew the hinges, unplug the wires and the screen pulled right out. Reverse process for placing it back in. Though, I can't say Asus will be as easy. I'd try to see if he can find a manual first.
 
It's easy to replace an LCD, actually. Most manufacturers (of laptops) provide fairly detailed instructions in the "service" manual for a given model if you can locate it. HP, IBM/Lenovo, Dell, and a few others are really great about that info, Sony and others are tightass bastards so you do it slowly with no printed instructions.

2 hours, give or take a bit for most people, just go slow and take your time. Keep the screws/parts separated, even take notes if you must and write down what you're doing step by step. When you get it remounted and replaced, reverse the steps.

As long as you end up with a working unit and no extra pieces laying around or none missing, you'll be fine. :D
 
[H]adouken;1033807003 said:
$800 will get you a new computer, good lord Geek Squad is capitalizing. Where do we go to learn about Geek Squad? I'm trying to fix computers locally and would like to see what they are doing to draw in so much blood.

I replaced my Dell Precision M4400 laptop screen twice, it was extremely easy because Dell has a manual for almost every laptop and a assembly/disassembly portion for every piece. Basically I had to open up the bottom, unscrew the hinges, unplug the wires and the screen pulled right out. Reverse process for placing it back in. Though, I can't say Asus will be as easy. I'd try to see if he can find a manual first.
The reason is because Geek Squad needs to get a NEW LCD from ASUS and they charge a premium for it. We cannot just order one off of eBay. Fortune 100 companies just can't do that. Unfortunately those are the prices for LCD replacements from MFG (don't believe me? Check Dell, Apple, etc.). And by the way, Geek Squad makes no money off of LCD replacements whatsoever. That is all credited to the service center. Please know your facts before bashing. Troll.
 
same thing happened to a friends mac laptop, was quoted $800 for replacement.
I think youtube has some videos of those, although depending on your model it may be hard to find.
Joe pretty much on the dot bout it, but if your friends a bit apprehensive bout it, you can get the replacement screen off ebay, ang prolly get someone to install it locally.
 
The reason is because Geek Squad needs to get a NEW LCD from ASUS and they charge a premium for it. We cannot just order one off of eBay. Fortune 100 companies just can't do that. Unfortunately those are the prices for LCD replacements from MFG (don't believe me? Check Dell, Apple, etc.). And by the way, Geek Squad makes no money off of LCD replacements whatsoever. That is all credited to the service center. Please know your facts before bashing. Troll.
I wasn't bashing, I was just impressed at Geek Squads style/pricing/methods, since $400 for LCD replacement labor is downright kick-ass on their profiting ends.

The fucks your problem? Tight-ass employee...
 
[H]adouken;1033807679 said:
I wasn't bashing, I was just impressed at Geek Squads style/pricing/methods, since $400 for LCD replacement labor is downright kick-ass on their profiting ends.

The fucks your problem, tight-ass employee...
Again, Geek Squad does not make money from those repairs. It is the service center that makes the money there.

The store that sends it off makes literally $0. In fact we make negative money because we have to deal with shipping and receiving it.
 
Ditto on it (probably) being relatively easy. I did it multiple times with my Inspiron 8500, and learned enough to be able to dive right in on a 1505.

You will probably need to remove the panel above the keyboard to reveal the hinges. Unscrew hinges, disconnect any cabling that goes up there, then you can remove the top part. From there its just a matter of getting the bezel off. Just apply gentle pressure to stubborn parts, I recall it being difficult to get some parts off because they were firmly snapped into place, it just required some care and elbow grease to get it done.

It will no doubt be considerably cheaper to do it out of shop. If you are daunted, as others noted, you can probably find a local shop that would replace it on the cheap, maybe 50-100 bucks tops. Or heck, maybe even a college student/friend/co-worker that'll do it even cheaper. Good luck.
 
I've replaced a few in my time. It's actually pretty easy. Find the Service Manual for your friends model and it will give you step by step with pictures for replacement of any part.
 
its fairly simple on all laptops to replace the screen(except macs). They all follow the same general procedure.

remove the bezel above the keyboard(usually just pops off with a screw driver, some have screws holding it in on the bottom), take the keyboard off, disconnect the video cable, flip the laptop over unscrew the panel for the wireless card, unhook the 2 wires, unscrew the hinge from the main part of the laptop(the screen should now be detached from the body), pop off the rubber pads unscrew all around the bezel, use a small screw driver starting at the middle bottom to pry the clips off and you'll have access to the screen itself, unscrew, unhook the connactions and rehook the new one in, then follow the steps in reverse order.
 
Again, Geek Squad does not make money from those repairs. It is the service center that makes the money there.

The store that sends it off makes literally $0. In fact we make negative money because we have to deal with shipping and receiving it.


Woah woah woah, you mean that Geek squad doesn't actually fix it they just send it off to another company to fix it !?

I understand that it is an attractive option to sell to get people in the door and buying other services but that seems like an outrageous amount of trouble to go through just to get people there.


But yeah, if you go look for an LCD from the OEM it will run you $300 + or so depending on the size. And the labor is worth no where near $400, you are paying for their insurance, shipping and other fees. A company I worked for charged $285 for labor on an LCD replacement that we didn't always make a whole lot of money on; so you can imagine a large service business would have much more liability from having a SLA with best buy.


So my recommendation is to ebay the LCD panel and learn how to do it. It really isn't that hard and you will save yourself the money.






Oh, and even though the location receives no earned money on the replacement there is a "finder fee" type amount that Best Buy does receive for each one. Every replacement contract type business gives at the least $10 for the job opportunity. (based off of every major service contract I've seen) So unless this service company got the sweetest fucking deal in town best Buy should make a little bit just on volume.
 
A screen can be had on ebay for ~$150 shipped, how hard would it be to replace it?
An Asus laptop isn't hard at all. $150 is cheap and I would consider finding a reputable place that takes no BS returns. LCD failure is extremely high.

Woah woah woah, you mean that Geek squad doesn't actually fix it they just send it off to another company to fix it !?
No they send it to a service center that has the parts and tools (also geeksquad). What he's saying is that they don't specifically fix something like this in the stores.

And the labor is worth no where near $400
I can guarantee geeksquad is not charging $400 for labor alone. Labor for an lcd replacement is a fraction of that, go into any store and ask.

Oh, and even though the location receives no earned money on the replacement there is a "finder fee" type amount that Best Buy does receive for each one.
There isn't, trust me. Bestbuy buys panels (and other parts) by the thousands from OEM's and stocks them in preperation for repairs. Theres no finders fee's, no reach arounds, no nicely wrapped gift baskets on the holidays.

I'm trying to fix computers locally and would like to see what they are doing to draw in so much blood.
Marketing and product placement, plain and simple. If it helps any, theres a lot of mom and pop shops in my town that draw tons of business by simply advertising that they are a local company with community roots. It's a great idea IMO and I like to see local businesses thrive.
 
I replace a couple screens a month at work, we charge 1 hour labor ($110/hour) + we mark the screens up about $30-50, but we usually get replacements from random companies, not from the manufacturer.

Total cost is generally $250-350 for us to replace screens.
 
No they send it to a service center that has the parts and tools (also geeksquad).


So they send it off to a service center that is also geeksquad but UncleDavid218 is telling us that geeksquad makes no money on it ????


I can guarantee geeksquad is not charging $400 for labor alone. Labor for an lcd replacement is a fraction of that, go into any store and ask.

I know, that's why the rest of the sentence said: "you are paying for their insurance, shipping and other fees."


There isn't, trust me. Bestbuy buys panels (and other parts) by the thousands from OEM's and stocks them in preperation for repairs. Theres no finders fee's, no reach arounds, no nicely wrapped gift baskets on the holidays.

Well i guess there wouldn't be a finders fee if geeksquad is shipping it to a geeksquad service center...... what do the OEM parts have to do with that anyway ??
 
The reason is because Geek Squad needs to get a NEW LCD from ASUS and they charge a premium for it. We cannot just order one off of eBay. Fortune 100 companies just can't do that. Unfortunately those are the prices for LCD replacements from MFG (don't believe me? Check Dell, Apple, etc.). And by the way, Geek Squad makes no money off of LCD replacements whatsoever. That is all credited to the service center. Please know your facts before bashing. Troll.

To the end user it is geek squad. Either way if they manged to quote 400 bucks in labor it is way fucking off. Also there is no reason to ship off a notebook for a non-warranty repair like that.

When I worked at compusa as a level 2 tech we had to re-solder dc jacks in notebooks. Also ended up replacing a notebook screen at least a few times a month. We charged flat labor(140 bucks) plus part. If you get the lcd in housing it takes an entire 15 minutes to replace. If you get a bare panel it takes maybe 30.

Also you have to at least laugh at the fact that a few of the companies would send a consumer the part where your geek squad can't be trusted in doing it.
 
Either way if they manged to quote 400 bucks in labor it is way fucking off.
For the second time, geeksquad didn't quote $400 dollars for labor on an lcd replacement. Theres a real easy way to prove this, call them up and see for yourself.

Also there is no reason to ship off a notebook for a non-warranty repair like that.
The service centers have the tools, knowledge, and training from the mfg's to do these repairs. The people in the stores mostly stick to software issues. The volume of business that geeksqaud does pretty much mandates this.

Also you have to at least laugh at the fact that a few of the companies would send a consumer the part where your geek squad can't be trusted in doing it.
No clue what your talking about. What is it exactly that geeksquad can't be "trusted in doing"? They simply don't do laptop hardware repairs in the store.

So they send it off to a service center that is also geeksquad but UncleDavid218 is telling us that geeksquad makes no money on it ????
Geeksquad makes money on the labor, not on the parts they install (i.e. theres not a markup on parts).

I know, that's why the rest of the sentence said: "you are paying for their insurance, shipping and other fees."
When geeksquad does a non-warranty repair you pay for part + labor + tax + shipping. Labor + tax + shipping on a lcd replacement is around $150. Call a store and ask them.

To steer this thread back on topic, OP find a reputable lcd vendor on ebay. Buy a panel, install it yourself, it's not that difficult.
 
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