My HP envy ultrabook left hinge broke and now my screen wont light up

[egaunnac]

I just got off the phone with HP Tech Support, and they told me that there was nothing that the only thing that they could do to fix my wife's laptop was for me to spend about $192.00.    The laptop is an HP 6T-1000 Envy.    The left side hinge broke for no apparent reason.   My wife nor I have ever dropped the laptop.   It is out of warranty, but when there is a flaw that many people have complained about, then the company should take responsibility.    

I spoke with Eric (Customer service rep) on the phone this evening, and he said that because this laptop was 3 years old that there was nothing that could be done except pay HP to fix the laptop, and that this was "general wear and tear" for a three year old laptop.    I expected to hear that from someone reading off a script, but then I told him that I was on this forum, and that I had seen others with this problem.    He immediately forwarded me to his "supervisor" who was a little more beligerent, and asked me what exactly I expected HP to do about this old laptop breaking.    I said that it was clearly a mechanical failure and that I had seen that multiple people on this website had been having similar problems.   He said that everyone on this website had models that were covered by recalls.   He said he could push my case up the "ladder", and he forwarded me back to Eric who took my phone number, and said that I should expect a call tomorrow.  

I strongly feel that this is not something that should happen naturally, since my wife is overly delicate with her electronics.

I am hoping to get some support from the HP agents on this website. 

Here is a link to the phone call that I had with HP.   (about 50% of the call was spent on hold)

(Personal information removed) Sent user PM

[Sparkles1]

Hi all.

I just wish to let you know that you may be able to purchases the hinges and replace them yourself.

For the Envy 4 here is a link to the  HP Envy 4 Maintenance and Service Guide.  It does list part numbers for display hinges and also instruction on replacing them. 

If you were to repair it yourself it would greatly reduced the cost.

You can locate the maintenance and service guides from the HP website by searching under the User guide link.

If one is available it will be listed there.

If you have any other quersions or concerns with this , please contact HP support for assistance.

Please call our technical support at 800-474-6836. If you live outside of the US/Canada Region, please click the link below to get the support number for your region. Phone Assist Worldwide

[JeffHelp]

10/08/14 - Jeff reached out to customer

[egaunnac]

Hello all,

I spoke with a very polite case worker at HP today.   He informed me that he would do everything possible to get my  wife's laptop repaired.   He collected all of my information, and put me on hold to check if HP could even obtain the hinges to complete the repair.   He came back and said that miraculously they did have the hinges available.   He then said that unfortunately it would cost $180.00 to repair the laptop because it was out of warranty.     He said the maximum discount that he could give me was 40% off, this would bring the cost down to about $108.00.    IMO this sort of mechanical failure is clearly a flaw in the design.   As a result of this being a design flaw, and since I found so many stories of hinges breaking on laptops just like this one, I said that I would not be willing to spend anything to repair something that HP clearly needs to take responsibility for.    He then provided a second option, which was that if I purchased a new laptop then he could provide an extended warranty on that new laptop at no cost.   He then told me that the value of that extended warranty was $179.99  (hmmm, how about NO).    He was very polite, but politeness does not excuse companies from not fixing the products that they charge premium prices for.   In a failure of a basic part, it should be repaired for free.  We already bought the laptop, and we treated it really good, so why should we pay more to have the core functionality continue working.

After getting off the phone with him my wife and I decided that there was no more time in our lives' to deal with HP customer service reps, supervisors, or case workers.    We weighed the pros and cons and we decided that I would make the repair.    We decided that the cosmetics of the laptop did not matter as much as the core functionality, so we knew that we would have to use screws (cough cough, GET A CLUE HP).

I got the idea for the repair from here:  http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Other-Notebook-PC-Questions/Frustrated-with-HP-Envy-6-1001TX-hinges-sna....  (scroll about halfway down and see the post from user "ignatious". I want to give a huge thanks to him!

I went to my local hardware store and purchased the smallest screws and nuts that they had, which unfortunately was 3mm X 12mm.    This is much longer and and 1/2 mm wider than the screws recommended in the post that I linked too above.   I knew that I would have to cut them down.    

I followed the instructions that "ignatious" posted and very shortly I had the screen bezel off, and then both hinges unscrewed from the lid.   I drilled my holes and threaded my bolts through ( did have to use a slightly larger drill bit to allow my 3mm screws to get through).   I tightened nuts on all six bolts, and then I snipped as much as I could off of the bolt using wire cutters.   I then put everything back on, and the result is that now the laptop is stronger by at least 10X what it was before.   The main reason that the hinges are breaking in the first place is that the only connection between the hinge and the lid is some glue, and not surprisingly everyone knows that glue is not a permanent solution.    It is a good thing that HP does not make cars. 

Here is a link to a photo album with the photos of the work:  http://s1266.photobucket.com/user/egaunnac/library/Megans%20Laptop%20hinge%20broke

I could not locate black screws, so the screws are quite noticeable, and there is a small gap between the bezel and the lid due to the thickness of nuts, but that is a small price to pay for knowing that we will never have this problem again. 

I want to thank all of the users on these forums that had the same problem as me, many of them had the hinges repaired by HP, and then they reported that the hinges broke again.   This provided me with the information that HP is no longer interested in building a quality product, they would rather just keep putting inherently faulty parts on their machines, until eventually they run out of the hinges.    I also want to thank Jeff for PM'ing me, I won't be needing your help, but I do appreciate you reaching out to me.    If HP had a permanent fix then I might have paid for it, but it is unacceptable that a mega company fixes their product with the same faulty parts.    Have a good day everyone! 

[Vini11]

I had similar issues!

Let me start by saying I have always had an HP laptop, my old one is 8 years old and still running, structurally sound.

I love my current HP envy, it fits all my needs and I have had it now for two years.  However, I have been having problems with it since I bought bec it because of the right bezel/hinge that keeps popping out. I am extremely careful with it, it has not been dropped or has had any accidents but currently, the exterior seems to be cracking, especially around the screen.

The first time I ignored it till the back cover started coming loose. I was a graduate student and a week without a laptop would have killed my grades and my laptop became a desktop for a week. I sent it in for repairs while the warranty was still valid and it came back all good.  I have had the bezel pop out again, but have not had the time to get in in with the warranty, the screen now has lines across it which go away when I move the screen to a particular angle. I am scared to close the screen as the back cover is popping off and the front bezel is cracking near the hinge, moving along to the back of the screen cover. I cannot move my laptop.

I have noticed a lot of people are having the same problem. I am worried that repairs will cost a lottt!!!! I was wondering why HP has not recalled these laptops. I do not want to change my laptop but worse comes to worst, I may have to buy a new one because this is very hard to work with. Please let me know what can be done. I have called customer service but they were not especially helpful as compared to the last time. I am aware that I don't have warranty at this current time but I am dissapointed with the quality of my computer's structural components that make an otherwise amazing notebook unusable.

[kevin-t]

Hi @Vini11 ,

I have sent you a private message. If you are not sure how to check your private messages then this post has instructions that will guide you through the process.

Thanks for visiting the HP Support Forum

[zk1290]

Hi HP staff,

My HP Envy Ultrabook now has two broken hinges. I purchased this laptop in Jan. 2013, so I would expect a much better lifespan for this product. At first, the left hinge and its encasing broke, which has caused the screen and its backing to become detached. Now, the right hinge is also broken, which has made the situation much worse. My computer is beyond the warranty, but it seems that this is a serious design flaw, as others are having the exact same issue with this model. I am a graduate student and I use my laptop every day for work, so at first I tried to carefully open and close the laptop in order to prevent damage (especially to the screen). I really want to resolve this issue without having to pay  an absurd amount of money for an issue that is obviously a result of a bad design.  

[Sparkles1]

HI @zk1290,

I just sent you a private message. If you are not sure how to check your forum messages, this post has instructions

[ejp80]

Hi,

I am now on my third (yes third) HP laptop.  Each one of them has had a broken left hinge!!! The one I am currently using is 3 years old and I am still paying for it.  Unfortunately my warranty just expired (I had no idea), I would have renewed my warranty as the hinge on this one has been fixed twice! I am now in the market for another laptop and will not be purchasing an HP!!

[JeffHelp]

11/12/14 - Jeff reached out to customer