How do I fix my m1530 Grainy Screen?

Bruce, I belive that RU671 is the part number for the bezel around the screen. Take a look farther down the component list and see if you can't spot the part listing for the actual LCD itself...

-SD

 

Yeah I edited my post.

 

Sorry to see what you discovered. I hope your screen is OK.

-SoonerDave

 

My Samsung RW985 (SEC3350) is not really bad. I have compared it to other laptops and it is actually better than the others that I have looked at.

However, I have not seen the LG XK309 panel, so of course, I want one. If I do not continue my efforts or return the machine I will feel short-changed for the rest of the time that I won this machine. Could have, would have, should have!

I just feel that Dell should have put the LG in all of the 1530's in the first place or required the 3 LCD panel manufacturers to make the same quality displays. Now, I would be affirming their decision to use a lower quality panel if I accepted a 2nd rate panel. I want them to know that it is not acceptable.

Not that my one laptop will make any difference in their business plan!

 

I will be playing Blu-ray discs and maybe home movies on my laptop and if it doesn't look good, I'm definitely telling Dell about it. I payed too much money to get a second rate product.

 

I just got off the phone with the technician and it looks like I finally will be getting my new LG XK309 LCD 1680 panel to replace the Samsung! I hope that it is all that I have worked for in the past week.

After 3 lengthy phone calls to Tech Support, 3 long chats with Tech Support, and two shipments of the wrong panels (RW985), it appears that I will be receiving the much ballyhooed LG panel.

They also shipped a new bezel, cable, and extra screws at my request to make sure that everything goes back together correctly.

I told him that I wanted to check it out after installation and if it was not better than the Samsung, then I would ask that he put the Samsung back in. He said that it would be no problem.

 

Sounds good. Any ETA on your screen and the install?

 

I live in a rural area, so it will be Friday before he gets here. We are about 2 hours out of the closest metro area.

I just really hope that it is great and life can be wonderful again!

 

Good luck. If I get a bad screen, i can only hope I get as far as you got, heh.

 

Without sounding too cynical, I have not got it yet!

The odd thing is that the tech confirmed it to be an LG XK309, but the service ticket shows:

XR857 ASSEMBLY..., CABLE..., LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY..., M1530 1

This is the cable, and the bezel part is shown, but the panel part is not shown. The tech confirmed both the Dell part number and the LG part number from the panel itself. He actually checked it for me inside the box. We are on a first name basis now!

 

I'd rather be on a first name basis then muttering something foul underneath our breath, hehe.

So does that confirm that you have an LG screen? I can't tell.

 

NO, that is that cable part number. The panel part number is not listed, but the tech told me that the panel, bezel kit, cable, and screws are in the package.

Maybe it is some kind of "back door" process that the tech support supervisor did to resolve the issue-he personally guaranteed that I would get the XK309 LG LPF300 panel.

I just hope that I am not getting it in the "back door"!

 

OK, here's my screen swap story if anyone cares to read it. Sorry it's so long... I had unfortunately waited until my 21 day return period was up. I received the 1530 around the first of January but really hadn't stared using it until a few weeks ago. I noticed that the screen looked awful (sparkly, which is probably the same as grainy, white looked purplish and the view angles were terrible) compared to my 2 year old E1505. Both are WSXGA+ (1680x1050). I did some research and came accross this thread through the Dell community forums.

Feb 13 - Called XPS tech support and got a really nice rep. Pointed him to the threads on the Dell comm forum and this one. Told him everything I had read about how hard it has been for people to get the LG XK309 instead of another Samsung and asked him if he was up for the challenge. He placed the order for the LG and put specifically "Send only part #XK309, if out of stock customer will wait" and there didn't seem to be a problem. I checked my service order a few minutes after we hung up and the LG part number was listed.

Feb 14 - I check my service order again and the part is changed to the Samsung! Dispatch obviously changed it when they pulled it to ship even though there were specific notes! My onsite tech calls and says I have your screen but I think they sent the wrong part number (according to the notes). I told him the story and he offered to call and try to get the LG ordered again. I also told him that I didn't want another bad Samsung so just send it back.

Feb 14 - He calls and spends 30 mins on the phone trying to get the screen for me with no luck. Plus he said the CSR was very rude to him and finally told him there's nothing I can do the customer has to call us back.

Feb 15 - I call the number the CS rep gave him and it was CS not tech support. They told me they can't oder replacement parts! I complain that I paid an extra $100 for this screen and I want my money back. She says I'll receive a $100 credit back to my card and transfers me back to tech support to order another screen. I got a really rude a****** this time that basically told me there was NO way I was getting a LG screen so I might as well give up on the idea. When I mentioned the first tech I talked to had tried to order it for me he says "Oh yea, this whole thing got him in trouble". I told him I thought that was sad that he would get in trouble for trying to make the customer happy and get the issue resolved. He then told me he wasn't going to order me any new screen just because I didn't like how it looked! At this point I just said thank you and hung up.

Feb 16 - I call tech support again give the guy my case number and explain how frustrated I am by all this. He looks at the notes and and says he'll see what he can do and puts me on hold. He comes back and says he talked to his supervisor and no one is getting LG screens anymore. If I want a screen replacement it will be another Samsung, period. He says "I've had a lot of people calling in to complain about the Samsung screen because all these forums are creating a sort of hysteria about them". I said maybe there is a real issue with the Samsung screens and that's why people are wanting them replaced with non Samsungs. It fell on deaf ears... I told him to order another Samsung and I would see if it was better.

At this point I had already decided I was getting a LG no matter what. So, I ordered a brand new XK309 exact part number LP154WE2 (TL) (B2) for $225 + overnight shipping. I called my onsite tech and updated him on the situation and told him I was ordering my own replacement screen. I asked him if he would mind installing it instead of the Samsung Dell would be dispatching to him. He said no problem. Bottom line is I got the LG I wanted for $125 (after the $100 credit Dell gave me) and Dell paid the tech to install it!

Feb 19 -After seeing both screens I agree with the other posters here. There is NO comparison. My onsite tech was amazed by the difference too. The LG has no graininess or weird sparkly colors and the viewing angles are great. I don't have to sit like a statue and not move my head anymore. On web pages the whites are white and text is crystal clear. I'm very happy with my 1530 now but I don't understand why Dell can't be more flexible with people that aren't happy. I would have gladly paid extra to Dell to get the LG in the first place.

 

Yes, it is. I have one, but it's not installed yet due to other issues with my computer. But XK309 is the part number, if they tell you otherwise they're liars.

 

i am on the phone with tech suport right now. he kept telling me how he doesn't have part numbers specifically.

we've been trying to get a hold of a supervisor this whole time...and while we were waiting i told him the LG part number, now hes looking into it but he said hes trying.

XK309 is the part he found, its part of a "kit" of LCDs, whatever that means. he asked me if im sure thats the part number to order, so i guess im sure after reading a bunch of threads saying xk309, correct?

 

Part number XK309 was on the sticker on the back of the new screen I ordered.

 

ok, he got back to be after being on hold...

he says they can not replace the screen with the LG, they are only have samsung. we are still waiting for the supervisor.

btw, this guy is working out of his house, does this effect anything?

 

i am on hold again, he keeps puting me on hold.

he can't get a hold of a supervisor. whats the deal? he said hes required to get a supervisor when asked, and he can't get a hold of one.

 

So I've contacted spare parts and have put on order (not exchange/replacement but real $$ order) the XK309. So about having to repeat myself like 4 times in total to the ESL rep, I now have my order number and received my order summary.. but what concerns me is the part itself:

Quantity Item Number Description
1 XK309 Liquid Crystal Display,15.4WSXVideo Elec. Stds. Assoc,True Life,Lg Philips Lcd​

I have the Samsuck SEC3350 WSXGA+ TrueLife.. so I'm just wondering is if I'm getting screwed by what the description saying it's the WSX is if.. a) them just having a character limit in the line, b) I'm really getting screwed and getting a lower resolution, or c) I'm paranoid. I know it's C, but also hoping it's A and everything will be ok.

 

rubberduckygirl

what department did you connect with, doyou have a number??? they bounced me around so many times, i asked every department what they were...my phone finally died after 2 hours.

the story of my life..i am dealing with someone that hit my car that has no @#$# money to pay me, and a school that erases my passwords.

WHY CAN'T ANYONE HELP ME? i am going insane i dont even care any more, screw it ....

 

This is what my service order showed *before* dispatch changed it.

XK309 LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY..., 15.4WSXGA+, VIDEO ELEC. STDS. ASSOC...., TLF, LGP 1

Maybe it's a little different because you ordered it through spare parts. I'm sure it would have a different part number if it was a different resolution.

 

my tech "Leo". Yes we are on a first name basis now. Said the part came in late and told me he was already home and wouldnt be there till tomorrow. I said no problem. So I am crossings my fingers that it is truly gonna be a LG.

What will be funny is when the screen breaks everyone will be up scrwewed because the samsung will be still listed on the service tag and thats what it will get replaced with.

 

No, you're "total satisfaction" period remains the same, it doesn't start over from receipt of the replacement system. To avoid this, you should return your system for a refund and reorder if you don't get total satisfaction within 21 days of your system shipping. You can order a whole new system if you want to start the process all over again. Seriously, if you don't get the LG screen within 21 days, you chances of getting one after are very slim. People are commonly told that LCD replacement for this purpose is not part of the warranty, but they are much more motivated when you're within the return period.

That's harsh. I know how it feels, I was told something similar: "I'm ending this call now" and then he hung up.

Yes, XK309 is the part number for the WSXGA LG from Dell.

 

I'm sure that's the right one. It's got XK309 right on it. There's not going to be multiple resolutions for part $ XK309.

 

Can you tell me where you've ordered the screen? I think I am going to do so as well.. thx!

 

If you Google "Dell XK309" you'll see several aftermarket LCD vendors, but the price varies widely. Be careful. I couldn't even find this part (XK309) on the Dell site, myself.

It looks like Dell has galvanized itself into ensuring lots of customers are stuck with unsatisfactory screens. Very frustrating issue.

-SoonerDave

 

I bought it on ebay from seller: laptopservicecenter

I PM'd another person on this thread that said they'd found it for $225 and this is who they purchased one from. I found the exact part # which is LP154WE2 (TL) (B2) from this thread also. I think it was poster allshookup or sonicwind that posted a picture of the part number from the LG he received from Dell. When I received the screen the sticker on it said XK309 as well as the above listed part #.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=170185234742

 

Here's a working link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170185234742

I don't blame you guys for doing this, I thought about doing this myself. But what kind of message is it sending to Dell, and how will it affect other customers? You payed full price for a notebook that is touted as high quality.

 

Thanks for fixing my link... I agree with you, we shouldn't have to resort to buying our own good screen. Obviously, I spent numerous frustrating hours on the phone trying to go through Dell and they just don't care! I think Dell should fix the situation but in the meantime I didn't want to just "live" with a bad screen. The tech that installed the LG for me mentioned that he knows the Samsungs are an issue. Mine was the fourth screen replacement he's done on a 1530. But, mine is the only one that got a LG replacement because I bought it myself. He couldn't believe the quality difference. He can't say anything to Dell though... I'm sure he would get in trouble for doing what he did for me.

 

Does anyone know if we could file a class action lawsuit against Dell for their shoddy screens?

 

Sorry, one more thing. Doing your own screen replacement is not sending ANY message to Dell because anybody who takes this route isn't going to call Dell and tell them about it because it would probably void your warranty.

The only way to send a message to Dell is by calling and complaining about your screen and getting them to give you some money back on your system. Maybe after enough people do this Dell will realize there's a problem.

 

I am not a lawyer but it is highly unlikely given that Dell is offering you a full refund if you don't like the screen.

 

I was successful using XPS Premium Tech Support three days ago in getting someone to order a specific part number (XK309). I called yesterday to a different department and had them check the replacement order (it was delayed a few days due to inclimate weather) and he verified that it was XK309. You just have to keep trying with different people, I've been through 5-6 before I found this rep who would actually order me the right part number. Don't give up and don't panic!

 

all the reps ive been speaking with have been advised not to order that part under any circumstances as a replacement for the samsuck in the 1530. i call everyday to the xps 'premium' support looking to get the replacement and failed horribly everytime. maybe the rep you were talking to has some balls and isnt afraid of getting yelled at.

 

That's the exact same thing I heard over and over. Except from the first really nice helpful rep I got (and he supposedly got in trouble for doing it) and my order got changed back to a Samsung by dispatch.

 

Here are those pictures of the XK309 LG!

 

Here is how i got my LG screen

Chat with XPS support. They will tell you they cannot do it. Either convince them to "try" and say if I get a samsung atleast it was worth a shot. OR lie and just say it has a dead pixel. And ge them to order a samsung replacement.

Then when th part shows up tell the tech the whole story and tell him you want part XK309. He will then call his special hotline and can order the part specifically by that number.

The next day the tech shows up with sure enough a LG screen.

I was convinced it would have a dead pixel or would be a samsung but sure enough it was a LG screen

Here is where the problems started. When he installed the screen he dropped a screw driver and put 2 nicks in the screen. He called AGAIN for a replacement and hopefully is more careful installing it tomorrow


And finally for the screen review.........

I installed the LATEST from 2/12/08 nvida drivers. I played around with the digital vibrance and gamma settings. The samsung screen LOOKED alot better but the poor viewing angle and the backlight bleed was still present.

The LG screen is the BMW to the civic samsung screen. Better viewing angles, NO BLEED (maybe on a scale of 1-100 it would be a 95 and the samsung was an 80), and the colors were much brighter. It was almost unbelievable how much nicer the screen really looked.

In conclusion you can still get an LG if you get the on site tech to order it, and the samsung isn't bad by all means. (DO NOT RETURN THE M1530 JUST BECAUSE IT HAS A SAMSUNG MONITOR). But the LG certainly looks nicer. I said to myself if a samsung shows up ill give up and just keep it. I looked at every single system from every company and you cannot beat the m1530 for the price and features.

 

Your mileage may vary. I tried this and the tech said that the parts people said they had non available(which was a lie). I later recieved a screen proving that the part was available in my area but it took speaking with many many CSRs and upper level managers before the hammer came down on someone and they approved my request(probably becuase I bought 3 laptops and was being treated like ****)

 

By the time this was all over I was on a first name basis with my onsite tech and had his cell phone number. I told him the whole story and he even tried to get the LG for me (spent at least 30 mins on the phone with Dell) and they were just as rude and unwilling to order the LG for him. So that doesn't always work...

allshookup - Thank you for posting those pics earlier in this thread. That's the only way I knew the exact P/N to order the LG through a third party.

 

Here's my effort by e-mail. Chat didn't do me any good but then they escalated my case on e-mails.



Keep insisting it does work, good luck

 

Just got my screen replaced (for the second time) and now everything is perfect. Screen is stunning at 1680x1050 btw.

 

got the LG?

 

Yup I am good friends with my dell tech "Leo" and have his cell number. He lives in the town I work and oddly enough I know way too much personal information about him. He likes to talk and tell me everything

if it wasnt for Leo I would not have gotten it. If you can get a good tech her can certainly get the screen for you. Inthe course of 3 days he has spent over an hour on the phone to get me my sweet LG screen. YMMV because most techs wont do this I was just lucky and got a good one. Either way I could not be more happy with my shiny new M1530

 

I just talked to Venkat in Tech Support and after about a total of 10 minutes on hold (broken up into a few minutes here and there), he said an LG screen is being shipped to me. I must say, though, that my talk with him also started out as a futile effort. He immediately stated that the LG would exhibit the same grain effect. He did NOT tell me I couldn't order a replacement. After telling him it is NOT a common feature of LCDs, he backed down, pretty quick actually.

The long and short of it is that he did end up ordering me an LG replacement screen, specifically Part # XK309. After talking with him (which was a pleasure), I talked to a supervisor and he made it sound like this is becoming awfully common with the M1530. Or at least more frequent to actually get Dell's serious attention. Either way, let's hope I really do get a XK309 replacement!

---
Lawrence Winstead
IT Manager
DuraTech Industries
Dell XPS M1530, T7700, 3GB, 8600M-256MB, 200GB-7200RPM

 

lwinstead - I hope you actually get it. Post back and let everyone know. Check your service call/dispatch number. Mine said XK309 until it was actually shipped and then it was changed to a Samsung.

Good Luck!

 

Is there any way to request the screen be shipped to you instead of shipping the laptop back to dell? Reading the posts, it seems like you either have in home service or you send the thing back, but some of you guys are getting shipments? I got a CPT screen and it doesn't have grain, but suffers from backlight bleeding on both sides and the bottom. The 3 year Acer it's supposed to replace has a more consistent screen. I only have the base warranty.

I'd want to just keep trying until I can get an LG panel sent to me and do the replacement myself. Is that doable? Or must I send the notebook in for base warranty?

 

I've had the M1530 laptop 4 days from the dell outlet. I've currently got an AU optronics 1440x900 screen in it which is evenly lit, no dead pixels but is grainy compared to my Vostro and my HP laptops.

I've just managed to get them to order a new replacment screen for me, the guy did say that it was a LG Phillips WXGA+ part number

P/N:C930C
SERVICE KIT..., LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY..., 15.4WXGA+, TLF, M1530

screen that's on order. Engineer coming to install on Monday. Could you let me know how I can identify if it is a LG either from the part number ordered or when the screen arrives on Mon, I can have a look at what markings it has on (but don't know what I'm looking for.. if it's not a LG I'm not gonna let him fit it.

Any help really appreciated.

 

Aw, crappola! I checked my service call online this morning, and it shows the generic part number Y274C. I decided to reply to the service call e-mail and I told them I was specifically told that I would be sent Dell Part # XK309. Well this afternoon I just received a call from the supervisor I talked to last night. Guess what? He said that Dell is currently out of stock on that part # with no idea as to when they'll have it available again. Ugh.

I basically said that's bunk and that this and other forums tell other stories. Nevertheless, I DID cancel the service call, because I don't want an inferior (or equal) screen replacing this Samsung (SEC3350), plus the chance of accidental damage during the install.

I didn't go further just yet. The supervisor is going to try again next week. I'll give them until next Thursday and then I'll have to make the final decision on whether to purchase the XK309 separately and do the swap myself, OR just return the laptop.

What say you, peanut gallery?

 

Sorry to hear they did the last minute screen switch on you! At least the supervisor I talked to when the same thing happened to me had b*lls to just say you are not getting the LG period. I was already past my 21 day return period so he didn't have to be nice anymore.

I guess you have three options:

1. Return the system and/or order a new one with the 1440x900 res (most likey you'd get a LG).

2. Complain that since you can't get the screen you were promised you want some money credited back for the system (they'll usually offer around $200 if you're within the 21 day return period).

3. Do what I did, purchase the LG yourself and have Dell send another replacement screen (after you get the LG) and have your onsite tech install the new LG on Dells dime.

 

someone is a happy camper today

i can tell you my m1530 is a keeper now