Vertical lines on HP Spectre x360 laptop display

[afraydknot]

Extremely frustrated. I purchased this laptop in April 2020. About a month ago, small vertical lines began appearing on the left side of my touchscreen. Now they've spread to the right side. Took it in to have it looked at, and the people at MicroCenter say it's a cable failure and that you can't buy the cable by itself: you have to buy the entire $440.00 screen and cable assembly from HP and replace the whole thing.

What gives? Are the cables not available for separate purchase? And why would a cable for a year-old computer -- one that has been sitting open on a desk for a year, not being opened and closed repeatedly -- be having these problems to begin with? 

Advice? Anything other than "pay 440.00 + labor to have something fixed that shouldn't have failed to begin with"?

EDIT: It's also flickering now, too.

[Echo_Lake]

@afraydknot

Thank you for posting on the HP Support Community.
 

Don't worry as I'll be glad to help, 
This sounds like hardware related issue with the display assembly and in order to fix this issue,  your computer needs to be serviced.  As we have limited support boundaries in the support community as of now. 

I would request you to reach out to our Support and our Support Engineers should be able to check the available service options in order to diagnose the computer physically.  HP Support can be reached by clicking on the following link:  www.hp.com/contacthp/​​​​​​​
 

Please feel free to contact us here anytime you need any further assistance. Please click “Accept as Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.

[afraydknot]

@Echo_Lake 

I don't need to have the computer diagnosed.

As I said in my initial post, I took it back to MicroCenter -- an authorized HP service center and the place I bought the computer. They said that it was a display cable failure, and that they entire display assembly would have to be replaced because HP doesn't sell the cable separate from the assembly. The display assembly is 440.00. With labor, the total cost would be about 590.00. 

Not only is it disappointing that a year-old computer would fail after doing nothing more strenuous than sitting on a desk for a year, but that part charge is excessive and unnecessary. The display cables failing and producing the blue lines is a well-known issue with the 2-in-one/touchscreen HPs; it's mentioned several times both on this community forum and on the greater internet (such as the many Reddit threads about the issue). The rest of the display doesn't need to be replaced - just the cable.

Given the fact that it's a well-known problem, it seems like HP would offer the cable independently of the assembly. I want to know if the cable is available and how I can obtain one independent of the assembly.

[afraydknot]

Called the support center and verified that, no: consumers cannot buy the display cable independently of the $440.00 display assembly. 

Given the fact that the display cable is a known point of failure for the 2-in-1 convertibles and the touchscreens, and that HP gives purchasers no means of replacing that cable at a reasonable cost, I have to assume that this is a really crummy way for HP to attempt to wring more money out of consumers. 

Seriously, it's shameful for a company to produce a product they know will fail (in this case, in a year's time), then not to even offer a reasonably-priced remedy for that failure.

[Echo_Lake]

@afraydknot

Thank you for remaining patient.

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 Community's private message capability works, you can learn about that here.

Thank you for visiting the HP Support Community.

[afraydknot]

OK. I look forward to speaking with someone who might actually be able to help me, since the case I opened about the same issue appears to have been closed without explanation why, as per an email I received on 18 April.

[afraydknot]

For anyone following this thread who would like to know the outcome: 

Stephen from HP customer support contacted me to offer me a "discounted" $300.00 repair. I'm not paying 300 dollars to repair something that never should have failed to begin with, on a product that the company won't stand by. I'm also not  going to pay that much money for a repair that I'm guessing HP won't warranty/guarantee beyond 90 days. Display cable failure is a known issue; I just wish I'd known about it before I bought an inferior product. Shame on me for that, I guess.

I'll know better next time. As I told Stephen: all this does is reinforce my decision never to buy another HP computer. I'll put that 300 dollars toward a Dell or a Surface Pro, instead -- which is what I should have done to begin with. I'll also recommend that my family, friends and co-workers do the same.