Bad Pixel
September 11, 2012 8:48 AM Subscribe
Intermittent bright spot on one-month-old new Dell Inspiron 15R laptop. How do I fix this?
My laptop is around a month or so old, and I've never travelled with it or dropped it or misused it in any way. Today, I noticed a bright spot on the screen. I thought it might have been a stain of some kind, but cleaning the screen did not help. The spot is most noticeable against light grey backgrounds, where it appears as bright white. Against darker backgrounds, say dark green, it is very faint, and against a black background, fainter still. Closing the laptop lid and opening it a few times makes the spot go away, but it returns after a few minutes. I tried shutting down the computer for a few minutes and restarting it, but again, the spot has returned.
Any ideas as to what might be causing this? How do I fix this? Is there any control panel setting/software I can use? I don't think it is a dead pixel, as I've tried using software to locate it and it doesn't classify it as one.
I'm using Windows 7, if that matters.
Thanks for your help!
My laptop is around a month or so old, and I've never travelled with it or dropped it or misused it in any way. Today, I noticed a bright spot on the screen. I thought it might have been a stain of some kind, but cleaning the screen did not help. The spot is most noticeable against light grey backgrounds, where it appears as bright white. Against darker backgrounds, say dark green, it is very faint, and against a black background, fainter still. Closing the laptop lid and opening it a few times makes the spot go away, but it returns after a few minutes. I tried shutting down the computer for a few minutes and restarting it, but again, the spot has returned.
Any ideas as to what might be causing this? How do I fix this? Is there any control panel setting/software I can use? I don't think it is a dead pixel, as I've tried using software to locate it and it doesn't classify it as one.
I'm using Windows 7, if that matters.
Thanks for your help!
Sounds like a hardware/connector defect. Since it's under warranty, call Dell.
posted by wongcorgi at 9:12 AM on September 11, 2012
posted by wongcorgi at 9:12 AM on September 11, 2012
Response by poster: I called Dell support. I was told that it is a dead pixel and up to 1-3 dead pixels is an accepted number. They can only replace or fix the screen if there are 3 or more dead pixels.
Is there any way I can fix this issue on my own? The one dead pixel is near the centre of the screen and very annoying.
posted by murtagh at 9:58 AM on September 11, 2012
Is there any way I can fix this issue on my own? The one dead pixel is near the centre of the screen and very annoying.
posted by murtagh at 9:58 AM on September 11, 2012
Response by poster: Oddly enough, the dead pixel is not visible at all on a completely black screen (background colour).
posted by murtagh at 10:19 AM on September 11, 2012
posted by murtagh at 10:19 AM on September 11, 2012
Is your spot only the size of a single pixel, or is it several pixels (or more)? If it is a dead pixel, then it is not something you can fix, but is a defect within the LCD itself.
posted by blurker at 10:33 AM on September 11, 2012
posted by blurker at 10:33 AM on September 11, 2012
If its a stuck/dead pixel, you can try massaging it. YMMV.
posted by wongcorgi at 12:15 PM on September 11, 2012
posted by wongcorgi at 12:15 PM on September 11, 2012
You might want to call Dell back and press them for your options as it is in a spot that is very inconvenient for you. If you can't convince them to give you a warranty replacement, you might be able to negotiate a discounted refurbished replacement for being a good customer. I haven't dealt with Dell in ages however, so they may not be as nice about this sort of thing as they were back in the day....but it's worth a try!
posted by samsara at 12:54 PM on September 11, 2012
posted by samsara at 12:54 PM on September 11, 2012
How big of a spot are we talking? If the spot is dime sized thats more than one pixel and as such should be repaired.
posted by Rubbstone at 5:47 PM on September 11, 2012
posted by Rubbstone at 5:47 PM on September 11, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by MrMoonPie at 8:51 AM on September 11, 2012