R3 display problem returns two years later!

Back in 2012 my M11x R3 display suddenly started acting really funny while I was in the middle of using it. Colors were off, there was shimmering red crap where there shouldn't be any, and, well, just take a look:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkKfxLxVXXo

As you can see, display corruption is visible even during the BIOS splash screen, so it isn't a software problem. It's hard to tell but there are fine red dots flashing in the dark areas it what looks like rolling red-on-black static. I still had warranty remaining but it took me a few weeks to try troubleshooting myself before calling Dell (reseated the display cable, probed for loose connections, etc). I continued using it daily the entire time and the problem did not go away.

Dell had a problem looking up my extended warranty after a previous in-warranty replacement but eventually that was resolved and they sent the box for me to return my M11x R3 in. I backed up my SSD and reinstalled the original HDD and removed my BT module that I had added myself in preparation for sending it back, but the box got lost because delivery service delivered it to an unoccupied building. I ended up using it daily for several more weeks and the problem remained the entire time. When I found the box and was finally ready to send it in everything suddenly went back to normal. I had used it daily with the problem for over two months and suddenly there was no hint of it.

Since then I have used it for two additional years without any hint of the problem until I turned it on today. Of course, my warranty is long gone now.

Other than when I may have mentioned it in 2012, has anyone ever seen anything like this before?!

 

Well, I didn't have my tools at my new apartment yet so I took it to my brother's place to work on it. It snapped out of it so I paid some bills and surfed for an hour. Just when I thought I might be good for another 2 years, it came back.

I took it all apart and reseated everything. I test-fitted the components enough to power on before re-assembling everything and it looked great. I threw it back together so I could actually boot and it still looked great. I immediately browsed here to update you guys and in the middle of editing my other post it started happening again.

DRAT!

I really need to see if a replacement LCD panel fixes the issue. Because I know it's not the display cable, I think it's related to the RGB LED power/control cables. I haven't taken apart the LCD panel yet because I was hoping for more information before I resort to contaminating the inside, especially because I have a perfectly applied official Dell Green Onion Supply AG2 Anti-Glare screen protector installed (had to use a hole punch for the dual mics since it was made for the R1/R2).

All the white areas like the text field I am typing in look darker, maybe blueish, though the text itself has a white halo around it. Large solid-white areas like the header of this page (area to the right of the Notebook Review logo) have blotches and strange shapes. It seems that shading in many images becomes dark visible spots.

I highly doubt this is a GPU issue. It first happened when I tapped my screen and I strongly suspect something is wrong inside the display panel itself.

 

Well, I manned-up and just decided to split the display open. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be, but that's mostly because I have lots of tools and experience from fixing broken cell phones. Even so, I followed this guy's video still unavoidably broke two clip catches ("tabs"):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_FnaeglhuY

The two that broke are nearly the first to release. There are at least three between the two hinges, The one just to the right of the left hinge and the one to the right of that (left side but close to the center) broke. After putting it back together everything seems tightly buttoned except the Alienware logo is dim. It brightens when I push down, so I am sure that the broken catches are to blame. I can live with that now that my display seems to be fixed.

That's right: Display seems to be working great now. I took off the face of the display assembly (windowed bezel) while the laptop was still assembled so that I could touch and wiggle wires to isolate the problem. I knew it wouldn't be something too loose since the problem comes for months and goes for years. I didn't get any change by poking and prodding while the display was still fully installed. I saw some lumps in the foild and smoothed them out but there was no change. I took off the brackets and hinges to free the panel and when I tilt it forward, the problem goes away. I tilted it back and the problem came back. I repeated this a few times to be sure that it was caused by the angle and then I noticed that the adhesive foil on the back looked a little lumpy. I flattened it and then could not get the problem to reappear. That seemed to fix it!

FWIW, the display quality is a million times better without the windowed bezel. I used to think that only bin-sorting could account for the exact same panel looking so much better in the MacBook Air but now I see that the window has a lot to do with it. Why, Dell? WHY?! Of course, I'm comparing it to the bezel with an AG2 screen filter, but I used an M11x R1 for years without the filter and I know that this was a huge improvement!

I think I'm going to try an IPS LCD mod, especially with the dim ALIENWARE logo begging me to not leave well enough alone.

 

I'm glad you got it sorted out.