HP ZBook 17 G6 - Service Door stuck

[volodymyr]

Hi,

Like many owners of HP Zbook 17 G6 I had an issue to open service door on my HP Zbook 17 G6 in order to make SSD/RAM upgrade.

I found several topics on this website with the same problem, but no one mentioned a detailed way to solve the issue. So going to an HP service during a COVID pandemic does not sound like a good idea. After trying a few things I would like to share my experience on how I solved the problem.

Official method (fails)

Official method recommended by HP is documented here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFsfuT0v5hg and it consists from the following steps:

0. Close the lid and turn the laptop upside down

1. Slide the service door latch to the right

2. Check for secure screws

3. Open the door by (gently?) pulling it down

This method does not work on my brand new Zbook 17 G6. The latch is in open position but the service door panel just stuck and one cannot pull it down. What's worse, when pressing on the panel my hands need to hold something to maintain the tension, and that thing I am holding on the back is the screen that is flexing a bit, so I immediately stopped to prevent any damage.

My method (works)

Disclaimer: use it on your own risk. This worked for me, if you are not sure it will work for you, contact HP support.

My method involves the use of suction cap. I used the one from gopro that I have https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0731/3495/products/images_2FERKpphtSSkTToecEXcDP_2F7bwaBJ8OuGw1ub9... but I think any suction cup would work as long as it is big enough.

0. Close the lid and turn the laptop upside down and put it any elevated surface (sofa/bed)

1. Slide the service door latch to the right

2. Check for secure screws

3. Put suction cap on the left side of the panel and pull it slowly down (you need to do it very slowly)

4. While the laptop is on the sofa/bed sit on the floor and use your knees to lock the bottom body of the laptop in place, so that while you pull the panel using the suction cap towards you, the knees are blocking the laptop preventing it from sliding

5. The panel will move a bit on the left and the service latch will slide from "right" position to the "middle" position

6. Remove suction cap from left side of the panel and attach it to the right side of the panel

7. Pull the right side via suction cap to the bottom, the panel should now open

I hope someone finds this useful.

P.S. After opening the door I put it back. Then tried to open it again - and it is very hard to do with bear hands, so I used the same approach using suction cap. I think the laptop has some kind of a design fault and the tension is too high, so it is impossible to remove with bare hands unless you are Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Thank you,

With best regards,

Volodymyr