Defiance 3 screen flickering

[barlew]

I have had my Defiance 3 for about 8 months now and i have run into what looks like a broken screen.

About a month ago the screen started to randomly flicker black.
I thought it could have been software incompatabillity with Windows 10 so i reinstalled the OS.
This has made no difference.
As it stands i cant nail down what is causing the problem.
I cant make the fault happen it just starts randomly.
It doesnt seem to be connected to intense usage, high temperatures or running on battery or mains power. It doesnt appear to be caused by me moving the screen or putting pressure on any part of the body.
It also doesnt start when any particular software application is started.

I am totally stumped.

Has anyone else had this issue? If so any ideas?

Cheers for the help in advance guys.

 

[Oussebon]

Have you tried it with an external monitor?

 

[barlew]

Have you tried it with an external monitor?

Thanks for your response. Sorry for the late reply.
I havent tried it with a seperate monitor as i am currently away from home and dont have access to one.

However i appear to have fixed the problem. It looks like it was being caused due to overheating.
I opened the laptop and had a look. There was a bit of dust on both cooling fans (nothing i would consider overlay dramatic or excessive). I blew the dust out of the cooling system and the problem appears to have vanished.

It would just appear that the Defiance overheats really easily. I have seen alot of people complaining of the issue.

 

[barlew]

Well i thought this was resolved but apparently i was wrong. About 3 days ago the dreaded screen flashing started again.
I am even more confused as to the fault now as it has not happend for 2 weeks solid.
I had the odd flash then it didn't happen again then it started happening more and more frequently.
I have checked the inside for dust and there is none.
I have run HWMonitor and the laptop does not appear to be overheating when this is happening.

Initially it felt like this must be a hardware fault but when it happens if i do ctrl+shift+esc and bring up task manager the phenomenon appears to stop.
Having said that if i move the screen about sometimes it stops.

I am really stuck with this one.

 

[Oussebon]

If there is a TV with an HDMI input (i.e. any TV that wasn't built by dinosaurs) you could try that instead of a 'monitor'.

If wiggling the screen around fixes it, it sounds like it could be an issue issue with the screen/cable to the screen rather than the GPU, or software/ drivers.

Trying a monitor / TV would be the quickest way to narrow down whether it's likely to be an issue with the laptop's display.

 

[barlew]

If there is a TV with an HDMI input (i.e. any TV that wasn't built by dinosaurs) you could try that instead of a 'monitor'.

If wiggling the screen around fixes it, it sounds like it could be an issue issue with the screen/cable to the screen rather than the GPU, or software/ drivers.

Trying a monitor / TV would be the quickest way to narrow down whether it's likely to be an issue with the laptop's display.

Annoyingly i have no access to a separate TV/Monitor for a month. However if i download screen recording software, record the screen output and manage to duplicate the fault, it should do the same test a different way? If i play back the movie after the fault and the fault doesn't show in the movie then it is a hardware issue. If it does show in the movie it is software?

I haven't explained that too well but am i making sense and am i correct?

 

[Oussebon]

Probably, yes. If it does show in the movie it could be software/drivers, or hardware like the GPU. The only thing it would rule out would be the screen/cable.

 

[barlew]

Probably, yes. If it does show in the movie it could be software/drivers, or hardware like the GPU. The only thing it would rule out would be the screen/cable.

Well that is a start i suppose. Thanks for all the help. I'll write an update when i have one.

 

[barlew]

So i have just managed to confirm it is a hardware issue. My screen started flashing. I hit the record button. Recorded about a minute of the fault. When i moved the screen it stopped. I played back the movie and the screen does not flash at all. What a shame. Two laptops from PC Specialist and each one developed a significant fault in under a year.

 

[Oussebon]

The screens are often a laptop's achilles' heel, in my (admittedly very limited) experience. Very unfortunate as you say.

If it was going to be a hardware fault at least it was the screen or cable for the screen, rather than the GPU, for whatever that's worth.

I'd suggest you contact PCS to log the fault with them. The parts will still be covered under warranty, though it sounds like you're a bit remote for an RMA at the current time(?).

 

[barlew]

Yeh the cooling fans went on the Vortex 3 i bought about 5 years ago. Ill send them a message and log an RMA with them but im not back in the UK untill the 23rd of June unfortuneately.

 

[barlew]

So i contacted pc specialist to make them aware of the issue but that i could not return the laptop for at least a month. To my surprise a nice bloke called Andrew said if i felt comfortable i could take the screen apart myself and re-seat the video cable.
He even provided a very basic yet helpful guide on how to do this.

I have just finished the operation and all went well. Although the cable seemed pretty seated to me in the first place. So i will keep and eye out and see what happens.

I must say though i am impressed pc specialist are happy for me to take it apart and try to sort it myself instead of going through the entire rma process.

 

[Oussebon]

Great to hear

In fairness, it's possibly easier for them too - if you try it and fix it, great. If not, you were going to RMA it anyway. And they already have an open box policy for the warranty. But yes, not all manufacturers/vendors would follow this, even if it is generally common sense...

But good that you got some genuinely helpful support. Fingers crossed for the laptop behaving...

 

[barlew]

So an update on this issue. Some months down the line here i am again. The issue has returned with a vengeance and re-seating the monitor cable no longer appears to work. I have contacted PCS and the only option left no surprise is RMA. Unfortunately the laptop is now out of warranty so i feel this will be expensive.

Interestingly a good friend of mine bought an Optimus laptop from PC specialist the same week i bought my defiance and funny old thing his laptop this week has just started displaying exactly the same fault.

Its a shame really the two high end laptops i have bought from these guys have both developed serious faults.

 

[Oussebon]

Have you tested with an external monitor this time?

If it's just the screen/cable the cost might not be too bad, certainly better than if you get problems on an external display as well which might suggest an issue with the GPU.

Our Optimus from 2012 had an issue with a green line down the screen, though that had the grace to show itself within 1 year and get covered under the warranty for free including shipping. There was a delay of a few weeks before we could send it in as they only had matte screens and we wanted a like-for-like glossy replacement. Laptop screens do seem to be vulnerable to issues, and I wouldn't say it was just PCS unfortunately. And it's not just Clevo, though perhaps their chassis at that time were above averagely prone to it? I couldn't say.

 

[barlew]

I have, I am unable to replicate the fault using an external monitor.

Considering I have now had 2 laptop's from PCSpecialist which both failed plus my best mate now has exactly the same fault as me with a laptop bought the same week as mine would suggest one of two things. Either I am the most unlucky bloke on the planet or there is a problem with the build quality of the kit being sold.

Whether the repair is going to be expensive due to a failed GPU or less expensive due to a faulty connection at this point is arguing over semantics. A £1000+ laptop should not fail in this way. When two laptops bought the same week fail in exactly the same way you start to question where the problem lies.

Its a shame really, as I stated before the PCSpecialist staff now seem to be absolutely class, unfortunately the products sold just don't hold up.

 

[ubuysa]

So an update on this issue. Some months down the line here i am again. The issue has returned with a vengeance and re-seating the monitor cable no longer appears to work. I have contacted PCS and the only option left no surprise is RMA. Unfortunately the laptop is now out of warranty so i feel this will be expensive.

Interestingly a good friend of mine bought an Optimus laptop from PC specialist the same week i bought my defiance and funny old thing his laptop this week has just started displaying exactly the same fault.

Its a shame really the two high end laptops i have bought from these guys have both developed serious faults.

I would question this, you reported the fault to PCS whilst it was still under warranty and their 'fix' didn't work. I would politely but firmly suggest that this RMA is a warranty repair because you reported it in the warranty window.

It is generally important that laptop screens are opened only at the centre. Many people open them from a corner and that does place undue strain on the screen - especially in modern thin and plastic laptops.

 

[barlew]

I would question this, you reported the fault to PCS whilst it was still under warranty and their 'fix' didn't work. I would politely but firmly suggest that this RMA is a warranty repair because you reported it in the warranty window.

It is generally important that laptop screens are opened only at the centre. Many people open them from a corner and that does place undue strain on the screen - especially in modern thin and plastic laptops.

I'll have another conversation with them see what they say, thanks for the suggestion.

Being a 3rd line IT professional I'm pretty confident that the way I open and close the screen are not the reason for the failure of mine or my mates laptop.

 

[Oussebon]

Whether the repair is going to be expensive due to a failed GPU or less expensive due to a faulty connection at this point is arguing over semantics.

Respectfully it's not arguing over semantics, it's the difference between a repair costing £100 and £600 (give or take). £500 isn't semantics to my wallet, but perhaps my wallet is too thin. And I wasn't arguing.

I take your point that this seems like a lot of issues and I would share your point of view if it happened to me. That said, if it was truly the case that not one single £1000+ system should fail in this way, they'd all come with 5 year warranties as standard which manufacturers would be happy to supply if components were magically immune to failure as it would cost them nothing...

Unless you're suggesting PCS's QC tests involve stress testing the systems with mallets, I'd probably point the finger at Clevo for the chassis, or whoever PCS were sourcing screens and cables from. I'm not white-knighting for PCS, I just don't see how they could have avoided this unless they knew they were picking low-quality components. Since they seem pretty keen on return customers and word-of-mouth recommendations, that seems unlikely unless they're stupid.

A lot of companies keep track of component failure rates over long periods and so I'd definitely report all this to PCS in case it, and reports from other clients, cause them to review decisions about which components and suppliers they use. And also agreed with ubuysa that there may be a case for saying it's the same fault that wasn't properly fixed the first time. It could be a different fault e.g. first time it was just loose, now it's broken, but worth arguing the toss.

 

[barlew]

Respectfully it's not arguing over semantics, it's the difference between a repair costing £100 and £600 (give or take). £500 isn't semantics to my wallet, but perhaps my wallet is too thin. And I wasn't arguing.

I take your point that this seems like a lot of issues and I would share your point of view if it happened to me. That said, if it was truly the case that not one single £1000+ system should fail in this way, they'd all come with 5 year warranties as standard...

Unless you're suggesting PCS's QC tests involve stress testing the systems with mallets, I'd probably point the finger at Clevo for the chassis, or whoever PCS were sourcing screens and cables from.

A lot of companies keep track of component failure rates over long periods and so I'd definitely report all this to PCS in case it, and reports from other clients, cause them to review decisions about which components and suppliers they use. And also agreed with ubuysa that there may be a case for saying it's the same fault that wasn't properly fixed the first time. It could be a different fault e.g. first time it was just loose, now it's broken, but worth arguing the toss.

Sorry the cost was not what i was referring to as semantics it was what was causing the fault.

Any way i have emailed to find out whether or not the fault is still covered under my warranty.
Ill post the response when I get one.

As stated before the guys working for them now seem to be switched on and nice guys so we will see.