[VPC-Z1] Screen goes "SNAP!"

Howdy folks, long time no talk.

I was flying to Germany on business back in January where I managed to break my HD LCD panel. It cracked right down the middle.

I have accidental breakage coverage on my warranty, but I decided to replace the screen on my own.

The full-HD screen part number is LT131EE11000 and I found it for $436 over at AliExpress.

The screen came in last week and works like a charm. Shipment took about 2 weeks.

While the replacement procedure isn't easy, it is completely doable. I snapped some pics of the lid's guts a while ago.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/473598-sony-z11-lcd-disassembled-pics.html

Folks with the 1600x900 should be able to upgrade their machines with this part number as well.

Hope this thread helps somebody down the line.

 

Yikes, that's been one of my greatest fears. What did you (or someone else) do it to make it break? Is it something like a horrible accident or something that could happen anytime?

 

Why on earth did you pay 400$ if you could get your screen replaced for free?

 

So on the last month of his warranty, he can drop his 4.5k Z and hope sony wont have any Z replacement parts and just credit him back 4.5k or offer him a "equivalent" laptop then

 

You're talking about the guy who bought one of the first available VPC-Z11s and returned it, swallowing the 15% restocking fee, just to run benchmarks. I'm guessing if zoinks could part with his laptop for a month, he would have sent it in. Though I wouldn't put it by him to think that the enjoyment of replacing his screen (and/or peace of mind of doing it himself) was worth the $400+.

Bottom line, as far as I'm concerned he's contributed a lot to this community, so he can pretty much do what he wants

-Peter

 

Probably I would do the same thing (I already replaced my Z's LCD) but I would not pay for it when having a accidental breakage warranty. When I have issues with my computer, I go to my local Sony Competence Center, let them order the parts just if it was a normal bring in case and replace the part by myself (in order to avoid scratches and stuff).
This worked several times. Of course you need to argue a bit but honestly, they claimed that you can't just replace the lcd screen in a Z because its thin display assembly implies that the bezel was glued so there is no way to open it without seriously damaging the bezel. I had to prove it to them later that their arguments were absolutely BS. Thanks to Zoinks' pictures!