Thin vertical line of blue pixels :(

Uh-oh...

I bought my Samsung R780 (JS1BUK) on the 7th September. A week or 10 days in, I notice a 1-pixel-thick line running vertically from top to bottom of the screen, about 9/10 of the way towards the right side. It flickers and eventually fades after about 2 minutes. This happened once a session for a couple days.

Then... the line vanished, just when I'd told myself I'd send it in for repairs. All was good for about a week after that... but today I turned on the machine and saw the dreaded line again, looking just the same!

I saw it during the Samsung startup screen so I doubt it's a GPU issue. I've connected the lappy to an external display and no problem there either. Now my issue is... do I send it in? Will it go away forever?

In about 10 days I have to go to Japan for 8 months or so. Will this kind of problem kill my screen, or will it just be annoying? I could wait until I return to the UK in July to get it serviced, or I can hope that Samsung will do a quick but good job in less than a week...

Also, what is the likelihood that I'll need to back up my data?

Your replies are much appreciated.

 

Also, is there any likelihood that this problem will just... go away on its own?

I know it sounds a bit idiotic but sometimes these things sort themselves out... right?

 

I suspect that it is a connection problem, possibly at one end of the cable which connects the screen to the mainboard.

I suggest that you contact Samsung support. While I don't think the problem will damage anything, it may get worse with time or it may fix itself until the warranty is expired and then reappear.

Since you have only had the computer a couple of weeks it is possible that support could arranged for you to get a replacement instead of waiting to have yours repaired.

John

 

thanks for the advice. thankfully the warranty is about 3 years (I got extended warranty). I guess if they can repair/replace it in time, that might be the best option. I'm surprised no-one else has had this fairly common problem with the R-series... you hear about it a lot on Dell, Toshiba and Apple notebooks (so google suggests...)

 

Just in case anyone else experiences the same problem, here's an update:

Samsung are very happy to pick up the machine. Their repair centers aren't too conveniently located so it takes 2 business days just to pick up and drop off the machines. I have been quoted a total of 5 business days for the process.

Unfortunately that's too long for me as I have to jet off to Japan :S but for everyone not hampered by annoying travel situations, I think that's pretty good. Samsung have kept the details of the fault on their system and will repair it as soon as I get back to the UK. Nawww, how nice.

saveonlaptops, the retailer, were happy to take the machine back but they need proof of the fault first and-- sod's law-- the line refuses to appear! They were very helpful, though, and I fully recommend using them.

This is a long and boring story, but I just wanted to put it out there for anyone else who has this problem. It is a horrible feeling when your laptop is defective. But I love the R780 and its awesome red design.

I sure am glad I got extended warranty, considering my first fault was in the first month of ownership. How... helpful.

 

Faults usually fall into two categories: (i) Those that are there when new or soon after and arise from component or assembly defects; and those resulting from the longer term wear and tear. In general, however, the manufacturers have figured out how to stop the plastic parts cracking after a couple of years.

John