Broken Hinge envy laptop

[hkb1]

Hello, 

I purchased an HP envy x360 laptop about 1 year and 1 month ago. I take very good care of my laptop, as it was very expensive, and I have never dropped it or done anything to cause this issue. I have never had issues with my laptop until 7 days ago, when I was using it in tablet mode. When I was unfolding it back into normal laptop mode, the left hinge completely cracked and gave in. The crack in the hinge has spread to the screen and any moment now I feel like the whole laptop is going to completely fall apart. I can no longer use it in tablet mode (which I should be able to), because if I tried to fold it into tablet mode again, it would break even more.

I have done my investigations on my laptop and I can tell that this is a very poorly designed hinge--the screws were embedded in pieces of plastic. I have also done my research on this issue and many other HP customers have also had the left hinge break at no fault of their own.

I have contacted HP support several times, and no employee has done anything to fix the problem. I currently have my laptop taped together because HP support refuses to accept responsibility for this manufacturing issue. Considering this laptop was so expensive, it should definitely last longer than a year. I have explained to customer support that this was not a problem I caused, however they refuse to tell me anything other than it costs $300-400 to fix it because it is "28 days out of warranty." I understand why warranty exists, but a customer should not need to pay money to extend their warranty to fix something that the company itself is at fault for. If I dropped my laptop myself, or spilled water on it, then I understand that is my fault and I would need warranty, but it seems ridiculous that I have done nothing to cause this issue, and they wont fix it unless I pay $300-400 because it is one month beyond the warranty expiration date. The HP support employees were extremely uncaring and unhelpful to me--they interrupted me every time I tried to explain myself, and I had to argue with them to let me talk to the manager. When he finally said he would transfer me to the manager, I quickly learned the new HP support employee that he transferred me to was in fact also NOT the manager. So he lied to me. This is extremely unprofessional of such a well known company, and I expect HP to take responsibility for this very poor design, and either fix the hinge and screen at no charge, or replace the laptop because it clearly has a widespread issue of a faulty hinge. 

I am a college student and literally cannot afford to spend even $100 to fix something that was not my fault. Please HP, recognize that many customers have this issue. Take responsibility for the poor design, and take care of your customers. I expect a repair or replacement at no cost, and if this is not taken care of I will gladly further escalate this issue. 

Here are some links to show you that this is a very common issue and it needs to be addressed:

https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Hardware-and-Upgrade-Questions/17-quot-HP-Envy-Coming-apart-a...

I am very surprised this product is not on recall considering how many customers have faced this issue.

[danny-r]

@hkb1

I have brought your issue to the attention of an appropriate team within HP. They will likely request information from you in order to look up your case details or product serial number. Please look for a private message from an identified HP contact. Additionally, keep in mind not to publicly post personal information (serial numbers and case details).

If you are unfamiliar with how the Forum's private message capability works, you can learn about that here.

Thank you for visiting the HP Support Forum.

[ichi730]

Hi,

Normally if your computer is out of warranty, its out of warranty. You have to be responsible as well in making sure that your device is secured in case of emergencies just like what you are in right now.

The reason why the reps are not taking any chances? Its simply because your computer is out of warranty. They CANT DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT EVEN IF THEY WANTED TO HELP YOU.

The persons on the other line are just FOLLOWING WHAT THEY ARE TOLD TO DO. Ive seen A LOT of people loosing their jobs because of little things they did for the customer like NOT CHARGING THEM EVEN IF THEY ARE ALREADY OUT OF WARRANTY. HP Support are humans as well. We are bound by RULES.

If your computer is in warranty its easy to send it in for repair. ITS MUCH MUCH MORE EASIER TO SHIP A COMPUTER FOR REPAIR. WE LOVE DOING IT. Rather than arguing on the line with customers.

About what happened to you regarding the transfer, it could be an issue with the line or the rep might got upset about your call. At the end of the day, you are still speaking to a human being so try to keep your temper and explain properly about the case.

Heres what you need to try that you havent done when calling the support line.

Fist try to be nice even if your angry. Youll get what you need if your nicer on the phone. No ones gonna waste their time listening to your rants and will simply transfer you to the next innocent agent waiting for a call.

Second DO NOT ASK FOR A SUPERVISOR ALMOST INSTANTLY!

You might be placed on hold for a very long time if you do that! Instead ask for options.

Third. Dont call the suppot line during weekends. Weekends is the longest waiting time (because most of the customers are on off schedule during weekends and most of them will call the support line AT THE SAME TIME.)

In your case the best thing that you could do is secure a case number. Then explain the details of your case. You will be transferred to Out of warranty department. After the transfer provide your case number. Thats the time to ask for a supervisor and ask for escalation. Your only chance of getting it repaired is if a case manager from US takes your case and negotiate to you.

A friendly reminder,

ichi 

[Huershut]

My wife's laptop had the same problem.  From all the related information I can find about this it appears the hinge is connected to the cover with very fragile plastic.  My wife is very careful with the cover and the laptop is in excellent condition other than the hinge and possibly something with the screen on the area where the hinge is loose.  The screen seems to be darker or lighter in the bottom left corner near the hinge area. 

She bought the laptop in May 2017 so it is no longer under warranty. 

Any recommendation on how to fix this? 

It is a lot of money to spend on a quality laptop apart from weak parts like this.  I feel HP should do something to make these stronger.

[danny-r]

@Huershut

I have brought your issue to the attention of an appropriate team within HP. They will likely request information from you in order to look up your case details or product serial number. Please look for a private message from an identified HP contact. Additionally, keep in mind not to publicly post personal information (serial numbers and case details).

If you are unfamiliar with how the Forum's private message capability works, you can learn about that here.

Thank you for visiting the HP Support Forum.