Hinge Again

[Crackscreen]

KNOWN HINGE PROBLEMS. 

I am writing to you trying to fix my laptop. This is also a support experience. My HP envy 17.3 laptop that I purchased from you online on 07/08 /23 broke a hinge and cracked the display, knowing that my warranty expired some months before this I thought I would fix it myself. I took it apart and found the plastic mounts on the top cover had broken on both sides. I found a top cover online and thought I could still use the screen that had a small crack on the edge but still worked fine. I put it all back together and thought I had fixed it for about $50.

I was wrong, after some time the small crack took off across the screen like a chip in a car windshield on a hot day and being a touch screen, it had a mind of its own and clicked all different places across the screen.  At this point I decided to find a new display and went to the HP parts website and for some reason it was unorderable.  By this time, I had read about the hinge problems with this computer online, which ironically doesn't come up when you search HP laptop problems. I didn't know how the hinges work before I took the laptop apart and I thought they were a little bit tight because the laptop was new and would loosen up after some use. I now know this was never going to happen. 

I decided to call the support line tell them what happened and ask if I could buy a new display from HP. The man I spoke with said no I couldn't, but I could mail it to them, and they would fix it for $550.  I said i couldn't do that and just wanted to buy the screen and he said i would need to talk to a supervisor for that. I said okay lets do that. Supervisor gets on the line and I tell him that I don't want to put that much more money in this laptop and I was already having a problem with the keyboard dropping and that is a known problem as well. So, I guess he thought he was cute when he told me i could send him the computer to fix for $550 or he could sell me a display for $650 which is ridiculous.

Support labelled my my case a screen problem even though i told them the hinge caused it.

After thinking about it a while now this is what I think is going on. Some people believe this is a design flaw, but I don't.  I think mine is a hinge adjustment problem. Please know it's hard for me to believe this is true but because the fix is so easy It has to be by design. Your engineers know how much torque adjustment the hinge needs for whatever size screen its installed on and they also know what torque adjustment will last an average of a year or two or three or whatever they want before it breaks the plastic. I know this because I adjusted my hinges when I replaced the top cover on my own laptop and I know they will now last forever unless they are abused.  If I know this they know this. I believe you all know this and that is why the supervisor was so smug and thought it was cute telling me $650 for the unorderable screen.  It's obvious HP knows about this and doesn't care. The HP support website has page after page of hinge complaints and thousand of people reading them.  If HP didn't want this to be a problem, it would not be a problem.  HP should be standing behind the product and fixing it.  From my side it looks like HP sets a certain percent of product to do this, and I got one of the bad ones.  I hope I'm wrong, but I feel like you stole my money and want to steal more of my money by making it unreasonable to get parts to fix the problem. If HP really can't figure out how to make this problem go away they can contact me because it would be easy to do with little cost.  I won't hold my breath.

I have been happy with HP products over the years and it's disappointing to see this company move this way and from the things being said on the internet it looks like it's hurt the company's good name already. This should not happen to so many after only eighteen months of normal use.   HP should make exceptions to warranties in these known hinge issues.

If there is anyone that can help me with this problem and restore my faith in this company I would greatly appreciate it if you would contact me. Telling me to contact Best Buy isn't going to help me.

Thanks