Page 11 - Single-pixel Lines in Dell Inspiron Screen?

Have the same issue with my Dell Inspiron 9300. After weeks of getting bounced around on long distance phone calls, I finally discovered the support chat for customers. Useful because I can now produce a transcript of what Dell has to say about these problems:

06:50:03 System You are now being connected to an agent. Thank you for using Dell Chat
06:50:03 System Connected with Supreeth_V
06:50:14 Supreeth_V Thank you for contacting Dell Hardware Chat support for the UK and Republic of Ireland. My name is Supreeth and I will be assisting you today. Please bear with me while I pull up the system details
06:51:54 Supreeth_V Hello Richie
06:51:54 Supreeth_V How may I assist you?
06:52:20 Richie hi there
06:52:29 Richie i just spoke with your technical support team on the phone
06:52:43 Richie i was disconnected after running a series of tests on my fault
06:53:02 Supreeth_V Yes. I was going through the case logs and found that the LCD is faulty
06:53:02 Richie essentially the problem is my LCD panel is faulty and needs replacing
06:53:10 Richie yes thats it
06:53:24 Supreeth_V Yes. That is correct. However, I see that you are in Argentina currently
06:53:29 Supreeth_V Am I correct?
06:53:39 Richie yes i am in buenos aires, argentina with my inspiron 9300
06:54:07 Richie i somehow need to get a replacement part here my laptop is unusable with this fault
06:54:11 Richie and i'm here for 2 months
06:54:15 Richie 2 more months
06:54:49 Supreeth_V Ok. Since the replacement of LCD would be Out of Warranty Service call and would be charged to you, you would need to contact the Argentinean support to book a service call there in Argentina
06:55:04 Supreeth_V We can only book a service call that can happen in the UK or the Ireland
06:55:49 Richie i really dont need a service call. i only want the part sent to me.
06:56:08 Richie dell in argentina wont deal with me, because i'm a dell uk customer
06:56:09 Supreeth_V Richie, let me explain this to you.
06:56:16 Richie i have already spoken with them
06:56:49 Supreeth_V Ok. Please allow me to explain the out of warranty service call.
06:58:49 Supreeth_V Since the warranty on the system has expired, any faulty part replacement would be either Out of warranty service call where we collect the system to the depot and replace the part if it is a Factory replaceable

unit or you would need to purchase the part if it is a customer replaceable unit
06:59:29 Supreeth_V The LCD is a Factory replaceable unit and I would have to book an out of warranty service call to collect the system to the depot and replace the part.
06:59:44 Richie you have sent these parts out to other customers
06:59:58 Richie my problem is well documented on dellverticalline.com
07:00:18 Richie if you can only send the part to my UK address, that is ok, i can have it shipped to argentina from there
07:00:32 Supreeth_V However, if you are confident of replacing the LCD by yourself then you can purchase the part from our part sales department. However, please note that the part sales department that I am referring to is a UK part

sales
07:00:54 Supreeth_V Richie, please understand for an out of warranty system we do not ship any parts
07:01:06 Supreeth_V You can contact our part sales department at 0870 907 5083 or 0870-907-4000 ( UK) 01-204-4007 or 01-286-0500. (Ireland). They will have the part and the pricing information. They are open from 9 am to 5 pm.
07:02:14 Richie what sort of price will i be expected to pay for this?
07:02:34 Richie do you know?
07:02:59 Supreeth_V I am afraid we at hardware support do not have the access to the pricing information. You would need to contact the part sales department regarding the pricing information
07:03:30 Richie what about the out of service warranty call
07:03:34 Richie how would that work?
07:04:19 Supreeth_V Regarding out of warranty service call, I will have to book an out of warranty service call to replace the LCD on the system. It will be charged to you.
07:04:24 Supreeth_V Once I book an out of warranty service call you will receive a call from the out of warranty service team with the estimate of repairs.
If you agree to it they will go ahead and collect the system from the address you give and the system will be returned in 5 to 7 business days after repairs.
07:04:39 Supreeth_V Please note the collection can happen only from a UK or Ireland address
07:06:54 Richie will i be charged for both the part and the work that's done to replace the faulty LCD?
07:07:29 Supreeth_V Yes that is correct
07:09:14 Supreeth_V Do you want me to book an out of warranty service call?
07:10:14 Richie well there's no point i am overseas atm as i explained
07:10:45 Richie i know you're just following a script and its not your fault... but i feel i've been treated very badly by dell
07:10:53 Richie and i would like to speak to a manager in the UK about my issue
07:11:12 Richie is it possible to pass my issue over to a complaints department?
07:11:14 Supreeth_V Richie, I can understand that. Please give me a moment, I will put you across to my manager
07:11:24 Richie thank you
07:13:39 Supreeth_V Richie, my manager would speak to you. May I know if you have any UK number where he can call you?
07:14:56 Richie i'm in argentina, i can't give you a UK number obviously
07:15:12 Richie i'm happy to call him if that's what it takes
07:15:20 Richie alternatively i can give you my argentine number
07:16:39 Supreeth_V Richie, this is the UK and Ireland support and we cannot call outside the UK and Ireland. Also we at chat support do not have individual extensions. Alternatively I can transfer the chat to my manager. Is that

fine?
07:17:14 Richie yes please transfer me via the chat, that is fine
07:17:41 Supreeth_V Ok. Give me a couple of minutes. I will transfer the chat.
07:18:00 System Supreeth_V has left this session!
07:18:04 System You are now being connected to an agent. Thank you for using Dell Chat
07:18:04 System Connected with Priyadarshini
07:18:39 Richie hello thanks for talking to me
07:18:39 Priyadarshini Hello Richie, this is Priya , manager with dell UKI technical support
07:18:54 Priyadarshini my pleasure. How may i assist you to day?
07:19:10 Richie ok here's my complaint:
07:19:29 Richie we've established the LCD Panel part in my Inspiron 9300 is faulty
07:19:44 Richie this is a manufacturing defect which your company is now aware as stated on (URL address blocked: See forum rules)
07:19:59 Richie i currently have 16-20 vertical lines running across my screen
07:20:15 Richie my laptop is close to giving me seizures with all the bright flashing lines
07:20:30 Richie so i need a replacement
07:20:32 Richie i'm in argentina
07:20:36 Richie for 4 months
07:20:45 Richie dell argentina will not supply me a part because i'm a dell uk customer
07:20:57 Richie dell uk apparently wont supply me a part because i'm in argentina
07:21:18 Richie so is the only solution according to Dell i must fly home and get my laptop repaired in the UK?
07:21:45 Richie i cant believe in this day and age something cannot be done to help me out here
07:22:06 Richie i've been a loyal dell customer for a long time... i've spent tens of thousands of pounds on computers.... and yet the moment i need some support from you, this happens.
07:22:10 Richie i'm very disappointed
07:22:24 Priyadarshini i understand your concern, Richie. Since the warranty on the system has expired , the LCD has to be replaced out of warranty
07:23:51 Priyadarshini The dell support for Argentina will definitely assisting you in purchasing the LCD, an out of warranty purchase does not matter if it is UK or Argentina
07:24:07 Richie yes but warranty doesn't override consumer rights. the part is at fault, one year for a £1000 computer is not acceptable.
07:24:18 Richie not only that, your company has been assisting other customers in getting this resolved
07:24:37 Richie if you go to the website (URL address blocked: See forum rules) you'll see your company is urging customers to contact them about this known fault
07:25:34 Priyadarshini Richie i would beg to differ, the website that you are quoting is not an official dell website
07:25:45 Richie the email address is official
07:26:07 Richie in any event, i'm certainly willing to pay a price for your assistance
07:26:24 Priyadarshini We have not acknowledged any such issue with the model that you have
07:26:37 Richie so you think its perfectly normal then
07:26:41 Richie that a £1000 computer
07:26:50 Richie should have 20 vertical lines running across the screen top to bottom
07:26:55 Richie after about one year of use
07:26:59 Richie you dont think its a very serious issue?
07:27:32 Richie you're not concerned that many other people are experiencing the exact same issue?
07:27:33 Priyadarshini Richie, please bear with me while i check on this
07:27:43 Richie my symptoms match exactly the cases reported here
07:28:39 Richie machines all purchased between june-august 2005... lines start appearing 15 months later... this is not a reasonable coincidence
07:29:33 Priyadarshini i understand, please bear with me while i check on this
07:29:40 Richie thank you i appreciate you looking into it
07:31:59 Priyadarshini i have checked with my resources, there are three models which are reported with this issue. I am afraid your LCD does not belong to either of the models
07:32:43 Richie what are the three models?
07:33:29 Priyadarshini the part numbers are J9662, T4976, and W4554 . And your LCD part number is U9098
07:34:03 Richie well i think you need to get someone to add my part number to your internal list
07:34:12 Richie it's clearly the same problems others have been suffering from
07:35:19 Priyadarshini dell has researched this issue and confirmed that the problem persists only with these three models.
07:36:19 Richie i can confirm this problem is persisting with my model, its here right in front of me now
07:36:28 Richie and here is the process that others complained about
07:36:35 Richie and what has exactly happened to me
07:36:36 Richie Stage 1: 1-2 lines appear on the LCD display about 15 months into the life of the product
Stage 2: About 2-3 weeks later more lines start appearing
Stage 3: In 6-8 weeks many more lines will have appeared rendering your product useless
07:36:58 Richie sure enough, 2 months after the first vertical line appeared, i now have about 20 vertical lines engulfing my screen
07:37:40 Richie i'm not blaming you i know you're only following procedure
07:37:56 Richie but i'm telling you without doubt, this problem is affecting my model and this needs to be sorted out
07:39:34 Priyadarshini I am afraid we need to raise a chargeable call to replace your LCD. Since the system is in Argentina, i suggest that you contact the Argentinean technical support to raise an out of warranty call
07:39:34 Richie if you think my model is not part of the problem line then your engineers really need to take a look at my panel and they'll see it is
07:40:27 Richie i've told you they wont help me, i have spoken to them several times, they say i have to deal with Dell UK
07:40:28 Priyadarshini We have confirmed the lcd which was shipped with your machine is not among the affected systems at all
07:41:13 Richie i'm telling you the lcd has the exact same problems that other lcd panels have suffered from, it is faulty...
07:41:25 Richie unless you're telling me 20 vertical lines on a 15 month old LCD panel is normal?
07:41:29 Priyadarshini We can certainly assist you if the computer is in the UK or ireland, however I would like to provide you with the correct contact numbers for argentinian tech support
07:43:37 Richie you could solve this problem very quickly if you'd just ship a replacement part directly to me in argentina via courier and i deal with fitting it here
07:43:47 Richie i'd be more than willing to pay all the expenses associated with doing this
07:44:07 Richie iif there's no way on earth dell can manage such a task, then you could send it to the address on my account
07:44:09 Richie and i deal with it
07:44:43 Richie i have spoken directly to dell argentina, they wont help, i have called them five times... each time after speaking to you guys
07:47:49 Priyadarshini Let me explain the different options available on a chargeable call
07:49:04 Priyadarshini Option 1: If the computer is in the uk/ireland we can setup a chargeable call wherein you will be offered a quote and after you approve the same an engineer will visit onsite to replace the part
07:50:29 Priyadarshini Option 2: If you intend to replace the lcd yourself, then we can provide the lcd part# and you can contact parts/sales and purchase the same
07:50:59 Priyadarshini May I know which option is more preferrable to you?
07:51:35 Richie well you know option 1 is impossible
07:51:48 Richie as i told you i'm in argentina until june and i need my computer
07:52:21 Richie i also know you sent a replacement part for another customer (a friend of a friend) who had exactly the same problem as me, so i know it can be done, but you just dont want to help me
07:52:39 Richie i'm not paying £600 for a replacement LCD panel when i can guy a whole new laptop for that amount
07:52:56 Richie let's just clarify your position on this
07:53:07 Richie 1. Despite 20 bright and decorative vertical lines running across the screen of my 15 month old £1000 laptop, Dell declares there is no fault with my laptop computer - and the LCD panel is fine
07:53:27 Richie 2. If i decide those 20 vertical lines are a fault, I have to pay Dell upwards of £600 to have the problem fixed by buying a new part myself. And you wont send any parts to me in Argentina.
07:53:34 Richie 3. Dell's position on this is not going to change. If I don't like it, I can take my business elsewhere.
07:53:56 Richie can you confirm 1, 2 and 3 are an accurate representation of the position?
07:57:14 Priyadarshini Richie, it does appear that the lcd is faulty, its just that we can't cover it as inwarranty since the computers warranty expired on 29-08-2006
07:57:54 Priyadarshini Also, we can send out engineers or parts within the UK and ireland region only
07:58:23 Richie you can cover it, i have consumer rights, it's your choice whether or not you value me as a customer or not
07:59:12 Richie i understand that. as i have said, if you cannot send a part outside the UK, then you could send it to the address on my account, that is not the problem.
08:01:03 Richie the bottom line is this
08:01:26 Richie the part is faulty, you know its not normal wear and tear, and you should replace it free-of-charge as a courtesy to me as a valued customer
08:02:04 Richie dell can then make their own claim to reimburse the costs from the manufacturer who supplied them with the defected LCD panel
08:03:14 Richie if you're not going to do that then fine, i wont be doing business with dell anymore... and i can assure you none my orders for vista PCs and laptops will be coming to dell
08:04:15 Richie i've never known a fault like this in a laptop before, and i find it quite ridiculous how much time i'm having to spend trying to get dell to take my problem seriously
08:04:49 Priyadarshini We can replace parts for hardware functionality failures as per the warranty, if you would like to buy the lcd screen and have it delivered to you in the Uk then please call our upgrade options on

08700624524 and the part# is D8987
08:05:49 Richie so you dont agree with this:
08:05:49 Richie the part is faulty, you know its not normal wear and tear, and you should replace it free-of-charge as a courtesy to me as a valued customer
08:05:56 Richie dell can then make their own claim to reimburse the costs from the manufacturer who supplied them with the defected LCD panel
08:06:22 Richie answer that and if the final position is i have to spend £600 on the part, then you can kiss me goodbye as a customer
08:07:24 Priyadarshini Its unfortunate, perhaps you can consider renewing the warranty, but I have informed you what best we can do
08:09:58 Richie are you saying if i renew the warranty you'll deal with my problem in a proper way?
08:12:49 Priyadarshini You can contact the customer care for more information on the same. If we see that the computer has a valid warranty, we will proceed to replace parts as inwarranty
08:13:49 Priyadarshini Is there anything else I can assist you with?
08:14:29 Richie i'm willing to consider renewing the warrety if you'll replace the part, but that has to be an understood condition.
08:14:35 Richie yes i have one other question
08:15:32 Richie if my model was one of the three parts you have declared as faulty, J9662, T4976, and W4554, would you have replaced the part for free?
08:15:39 Priyadarshini As I have specified earlier, if the computer has a valid warranty, we will proceed to replace parts as inwarranty
08:17:05 Priyadarshini We have confirmed your computer was not shippped with the part numbers you have mentioned above, but yes, if it belonged to one of these we would certainly replace the LCd for free
08:22:11 Priyadarshini I believe, I have been able to clarify all your concerns, as of now. Hence, for your further queries related to your warranty, I would request you to contact the Customer Care Department.
08:22:41 Priyadarshini Is there anything else apart from this, I can help you with?
08:23:46 Richie nope, i have all i need now.
08:24:08 Richie thanks for clarifying my concerns
08:24:19 Priyadarshini_Lobow You are welcome.

I really have spent a small fortune on Dell computers the last few years. I wont be buying anything more from them. They can go to hell and I hope they continue losing customer share... they deserve to with this pathetic attitude towards people.

dell = hell hehe

Dell is now saying they will fix out of warrenty units with the classic vertical line problem.
Rick

I may have been premature. Although my Inspiron laptop is within the window of Nov. 2004 through Oct 2006, DEll says that my panel is not covered in the repair.

Boo :

Can I ask, if it's within the window why is it not covered ?

Yes, it has to have a LCD panel with one of these three part or lot numbers: J9662, T4976, and W4554.
And they seem to have a record of which LCD screen number that you have in your computer.

According to Lionel, this represents a relatively small percentage of all of the units within the window.

So they're really not taking care of most people.

Rick

From Dell Vertical Line:
I have been loyal to Dell for past three years now. After having Inspiron 9200 and selling it to a girlfriend of mine she experienced this exact screen failure. I have bought at the time *state-of-the-art gaming laptop* and now after one and a half year 1st line showed up.. I am in China now and I called Dell service here to recieve a response that they cannot get the screen for it cause this model wasn't sold here at the time.. What BS. I mean, if you buy Chrysler in US and deliver it to Europe will the service reject you because car was not sold there? No, they will order it for you and you will, of course, pay for it. Then I called States and after U.K service to receive, in the end of a log story, phone no. of a 3rd?! party vendor which can send it to me for 650 eng. pounds?!! I mean, really..... Please if someone has some technical data of the Samsung screen, like model No. please post it so I can try to get the part from Samsung semiconductor.

BTW I have contacted Vertical_line and Dell advocate since then and Dell China has contacted me so now I am waiting for the result. I will keep you updated.

P.S. Doubleohwhat, Thank you, thank you, thank you for the organization and raising of the issue w Dell. I do like Dell and my XPS is very nice toy And please remove those posts, nonsubject related, on the web page.... THX...

/direct2dell.com/one2one/archive/2007/06/19/17774.aspx

'So what are we doing with customers who are affected with this specific issue? The same thing we've done with affected 17” displays: We will replace any LCD that develops a vertical line associated with this specific issue within three years of purchase, at no charge for parts and labor. Also, Dell will offer refunds to customers who paid Dell to replace LCDs affected by this issue'

I first got my vertical lines last November. At that time Dell were denying everything.

I signed up to this thread and DVL website.

Eventually the advocate thing happened in April just as I was bracing myself to buy a new Inspiron as it worked out as 10 GBP less expensive then buying the new screen plus Vista (which comes with new inspiron). The spec was crap but I would just have swapped the screen over and kept the 'new' one for spares!!

But then I was contacted by advocate in May and yesterday at last I had my machine returned by UPS.

What a lot of hassle though- 9 months to sort out- I ended up last week before CAR service enacted with 17 lines: I have not really used the laptop since March.

I had an interesting experience with my father in laws 9300. I asked him if I could put some classical music on it for him for fathers day.
When I got the laptop the screen was having problems with deciding whether to be in power save mode or in full power.
The more I tinkered with it, the more it blinked.
My father in law didn't seem to understand the danger in allowing a screen to continue to vasilate between those two modes. When I explanined to him that this was hard on every piece of circuitry as well as the back light. He asked me to figure out the problem.
Of course, it was a conflict between the XP pro software and the Dell software. The two were not syncrinized and the operation was a bit beyound his desired scope of knowledge.
He asked me simply to take the dell utility out so as not to worry about it again. He did tell me that there had been a few occasions where these lines had shown up in the screen.
Add that software issue to disabled screen saver and shut down settings and you have a recipe for screen disaster.
My point is this........that must be a common problem with that model. It took me a little while to figure it out. I'm sure that dell is sick of user reported problems regarding that.

Before someone points it out, I know
Vertical lines are generally caused by ribbon cable problems or failing circuit boards for the most part.

I have a Dell 9400 Inspiron with the nice 17" screen option and now it has a vertical white line on the left side of my screen starting last week. It exhibits the same problem everyone else is having. I bought it early May of 2006.

I just called Dell and I was told that this computer is not covered out of warranty for this problem. The rep had an attitude and REFUSED to connect me with a superior when I asked. I was very very cordial with him and in no way sarcastic or even raised my voice so it was definitely undeserved.

I then decided to send an email and got this reply:
"As you may be aware, Dell is providing out of warranty assistance to customers with specific Dell notebooks: Dell Inspiron 9200s, 9300s, 6000s, 8600s, Dell XPS Gen 2, Latitude D800 and D810, and Dell Precision Mobile Workstation M60 and M70 notebooks. These notebooks may develop a one-pixel wide vertical line across the LCD screen over time.

Please note- not all of the specified systems are affected and we are identifying the defective LCDs by their specific part numbers. I am more than happy to look in your specific system issues. Please send me your order number or service tag so I may better research your system. I await your response."

I havn't heard back yet after sending my info but I assume she will tell me that I have a 9400 and therefore cannot help (like the guy on the phone) . . .

Guys even I 'was' a victim of vertical lines appearing on my 2 yr old Inspiron 9300.

My first contact to dell as expected was to replace the LCD at my cost as it out of warranty, which I wasn't prepared for.

I went through a website where it says Dell is replacing LCDs with no cost to customer because its a manufacturing defect, blah blah. I referred to this website during my second call to dell support, after talking to the supervisor and all they've AGREED TO REPLACE WITHOUT CHARGE.

Less than a week later technician was at home with the new LCD, changed it in 10 min and that was it. I didn't have to ship it anywhere

Here is the website you can use when you call Dell folks:
http://
direct2dell.com/
one2one/
archive/2007/06/19/
17774.aspx

(Had to modify the URL as I was not allowed to share any URL in the post....new member)
Good Luck!!