HP Spectre Folio Leather Case Splitting Open

[GBalend]

I've had my Spectre Folio Convertible laptop for 5 months now, and the leather seams are starting to break open and the leather is splitting. This is primarily happening on the two corners of the keyboard side that are closest to me (where my wrists usually rest), and another seam along the edge above the monitor/tablet side has recently come loose and split open as well. Is there a way this can be repaired? (I don't know if there's a special glue or something else that can be used?)

[EddyK · Accepted solution]

Hello @GBalend,

Welp... Glue or such may be a quick fix but I'd advise just contacting HP since you're in-warranty. One thing I'll say is that they may claim it as accidental damage but try stressing that it was under normal usage.

Contact HP Worldwide here.

Phone HP Worldwide here.

Check warranty status here.

Find an HP Authorized Service Center near you here.

Best regards,

Eddy

[jonas092]

I have the same problem during the warranty period.  It is likely a factory / design problem.  Could we have some suggestions from HP of how to take care of it at home? DIY

[GBalend]

I was still under warranty so they send me a box to ship the laptop back to them for repair. They had to replace the entire leather cover to fix it. 

[rja_cal84]

My daughter's Spectre Folio, still well within warranty, has a very small split.  She contacted HP, they supplied her with a return box.  She shipped it to them for repair.  They shipped it back to her saying it was more than normal wear and would not be covered.  The split is very small, less than 1" long and was not caused by any kind of abuse or accident.

I'm urging her to contact HP again and escalate the issue.  She's a grad student at Michigan State and takes very good care of her equipment.

Any recommendations here will be appreciated.

Thanks

[simmoja3]

I’ve got the same exact issue—in multiple places! Tried a little glue the first time, hoping it was just a one time thing on one corner, but it’s splitting apart in multiple places now to the point where it simply needs to be repaired. Will be interesting to see how HP handles it as I’m clearly not alone. Have treated it well—I don’t baby my laptops, but nor do I throw them around or beat up on them. I’d say my usage definitely falls well within “normal wear and tear”, and I think the cause is repeatedly storing the laptop in a laptop bag where the weight of the unit is pressed down on the leather seam (vs it sitting on a desk all day). Since I’d imagine many people stick their laptops in a laptop bag every day, I expect this will become a very prevalent problem for this mode pretty quickly. I bought mine literally the day it was released, so it’s taken about 9 months for it to get to the point where it’s annoying enough for me to make an issue of it. 

[simmoja3]

One comment back to the OP—glue won’t be effective (at least not superglue!). The problem, at least for me, is that the constant weight of the laptop on the seam cracks the glue and makes it lose integrity after a few weeks. 

[paulnptld]

Well, it's starting to happen to mine as well. Splitting along the front, just to the right of the trackpad.

To describe my Folio as well cared for would be an understatement.

Leather can shrink a bit with time, and I also wonder if heat could be an issue. The Folio gets pretty warm (and also seems to slow the CPU when it does).

HP - Starting to look like we have a design defect on our hands.

[chaimw]

I got the same issue agter 2 months of use, sent it in... they sent back a brand new laptop... after 4 months SAME ISSUE... jusg learned not to trust any new product in its first version... good luck