Broken Hinge

[mauroz]

Not sure if my issue has been brought to the attention of HP. I recieved my HP - ENVY m7-j020dx on December 2013. I was very careful with it and never dropped it. About a year after, the corner near the right hinge began to come loose everytime I open and close the laptop and it is getting worse. The hinge itself looks like it is starting to break also. What are my options? I cannot afford to pay over $300 as a student.

[MPH99]

I have a ENVY 17 inch with the same problem, it's out of warranty so HP won't do anything for less than $200 U.S.

Anyone have any ideas? We need a class action lawsuit.   This is clearly a design flaw.  

[MPH99]

I have a ENVY 17 inch with the same problem, it's out of warranty so HP won't do anything for less than $200 U.S.

Anyone have any ideas? We need a class action lawsuit.   This is clearly a design flaw.  

[danny-r]

@MPH99

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.

[ZiggyPiggy]

Re: Broken hinge

‎10-29-2016 07:50 PM

I have had a similar experience only last week.  

Type in "hinge' in the search field on the HP forum and you will see thousands of posts about HINGE PROBLEMS with HP laptops. They are all over the place on this forum as well as other websites.

My initial post was placed as a reply....it is posted under the subject heading:

Re: 17" HP Envy Coming apart at the left near screen hinge

You can see photos in the replies to my original post....

Here is a copy of my complaint letter to HP Australia, waiting for a postive response from HP Australia...

Product: HP ENVY 17-j110tx Leap Motion TS SE Notebook PC (ENERGY STAR)

Wed 19th Oct 2016

Dear Sir/Madam,

I purchased this high end laptop in January2015 (order date 02.01.2015) order number SCPO533789 for $2299.00 and it has been used primarily by my daughter for her NSW Higher School Certificate Studies. On Monday 17th October 2016 my daughter informed me that there was something wrong with her laptop. She had not dropped it, or mistreated it in any fashion, but she did notice that the left hand side of the base was starting to separate and that the fan had stopped working.

I inspected the problem and found small bits of black plastic falling out from the top left hand side of the base. The separation was quite evident.

Since the 12 month statutory warranty had expired, I went online and found many, many reports on issues with HP laptop hinges.

Therefore, I investigated the actual problem on my daughter's laptop further and completely dismantled the laptop.

I found that the main problem lies firmly with the black plastic which holds the brass inserts that are then used to screw the hinges onto the base.

The secondary issue which contributed to the top left corner of the base separating is the torque setting for the hinges.  This was evidently way too tight for the structural components in the base.

This laptop has always been very tight in opening and closing.

After researching this issue further and reading online forums which included the 20 pages of people with the same issue on the HP forum, I concluded that this is a major design/quality issue. I had the option of purchasing a new base upper for around $350 and affecting a repair and most likely seeing the same issue in another 20 months or less. I found lots of examples of people having experienced similar issues with HP laptop hinges.

I didn’t want to deny access to my daughter as she is now at the end of year 11 and will really need to use the laptop for her studies in year 12. So I decided to try and get the laptop working again, structurally speaking.

I managed to repair the broken hinge by using 2 part epoxy to build up the broken plastic parts of the base and then position the brass inserts in the right location for the hinge. I noticed that the brass inserts on the right side hinge had some cracks therefore I have re-enforced the right hand side hinge with 2 part epoxy.

I found it necessary to remove both hinges completely and loosen the nut by approximately ¼ to 1/2 turn in order to reduce the tension on the hinge and provide some strain relief on the newly repaired sections of the base.

After the repairs, I showed my daughter her laptop and she was happy and thankful that I managed to get it working again. The laptop now opens with what I would consider a normal amount of effort, but only time will tell how long this temporary fix will last.

I am extremely disappointed with the build quality of this product and would be hesitant in purchasing another HP product. I purchased my ASUS G74 back in 2011 and it is still going strong (structurally speaking). The fact that there are many examples of other people having similar issues with HP laptop hinges indicates that there is a real quality issue.

I tried to contact the HP smart Friend Service on 1800 144 998 which is meant to be 24/7 remote tech support as detailed on my purchase invoice, only to be informed that the number was disconnected. Hence I signed up to the HP online forum to possibly get a response from someone in HP Australia about a possible recall/replacement/refund option and also to inform other consumers.

I have asked my daughter to be extremely careful with her laptop and she will now use it as a desktop only device in order to make it last past her HSC exams next year. (ie leave it on her study desk and not open and close it). This is not what I had hoped for when I made the initial purchase. 

I have taken pictures and video of the fault and the repair process. I have included five of these photos with this letter.

The first photo shows the broken bits of plastic from the left hinge some of which were caught in the fan. The second photo shows the product serial numbers. The third photo shows the underside of the main body with the left hinge in the open position. The fourth photo clearly shows the points of failure on the left hinge attachment points. The fifth photo shows stress cracks on the right hinge attachment point. I am willing to provide further photos and video including the temporary repair on request.

As stated in the HP Australia Customer Support Charter:

Your rights under the Australian Consumer Law

Our goods come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law. You are entitled to a replacement or a refund for a major failure and compensation for any other reasonably foreseeable loss or damage. You are also entitled to have the goods repaired or replaced if the goods fail to be of acceptable quality and the failure does not amount to a major failure.

I only wish to get fair compensation/resolution for what is primarily a design/build and quality issue. I plan on filing a complaint with Fair Trading Australia if this is not achieved through direct contact with HP Australia.

(FYI: I have tertiary qualification in electrical engineering and computer technologies both hardware and software and have worked in the telecommunications field for the past 21 years).

Yours Sincerely,

xxx xxxxxxxxxx

[Omar-E]

@ZiggyPiggy

  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.

[rcook1]

Same problem here with my m7-jo20dx. Got it in October 2013. Using it for a desktop hardly ever move it from my desk. Hinge is broke and bottom case is popping off. There is also a bunch of plastic inside. This was my first laptop and I am pretty disappointed. Do all laptops only last a few years. How do I go about getting this fixed. I thought for $1000 bucks it would last. Of course I bought the extended warranty from Best Buy and it expired three weeks ago. Not sure they would have fixed it anyway. Where can I get this fixed?

[Omar-E]

@rcook1

  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.

[MPH99]

Got a call and HP is going to fix it, I sent it in today.  Hopefully they won't remove my software because the most expensive stuff I don't have access too anymore.  Since it's a hardware issue and not software, I don't think there is any reason for them to do anything with my system.  I just hope they fix the hinge and the other side doesn't break.  I'm glad they are fixing it and I hope they have a better quality hinge or better way to attach it than it was originally.  HP really needs to do the right thing and recall them and fix them all correctly without it being a big hassle for their customers.

[Oriade]

I have HP Pavilion dm4-1300ea with one hinge separated from the screen holder and the second hinge wobbling and threatening to be off the screen holder. The bottom casing holder of the hinges seems to be cracking if care is not taking urgently. However, the Laptop is working perfectly. How can you help?

This hinges issue seems to be a common occurrence with HP Laptops and yet with little or no action from HP to rectify this long customers’ dissatisfactions. I pray HP would do something soon.

But for now, how can i get this fixde?