Acer Iconia (W510P) Display Issue

winter8

I have Acer Iconia laptop, it was working fine, but few months ago its display started to get cloudy by the top corners. Please see the pictures. Does anyone know how to fix this?

billsey

It looks like the display has some contaminant coming in from those top two corners. Likely the only real fix is going to be replacing the screen. The display, digitizer and glass are all one unit IIRC. It might be tough to find a replacement due to the age though, I'd check eBay as the likely best bet.

winter8

Thanks for the reply.

Do you know what kind of contamination it might be?

I can not guess, how it might be contaminated, I always used it in a dust and humidity controlled room with very good care.

billsey

The only time I've seen that in the past it was a liquid spill, though it might be possible with a transfer from a cold environment to a warm humid one...

winter8

Thanks again.

May I know what do you mean by " liquid spill " ? I never took this laptop out from that controlled envirment room.

If you think the temp. or the humidity is the issue, then, is there any way to reverse the process ?

billsey

I typically think of spilled coffee or soda when I talk about a liquid spill. The liquid can wick into the weirdest areas, even when it looks like there's no real crack to go through. In your case just the edges of the problem area looks like water or something else working it way in from the corners. In your case if it is some type of contaminant it's likely not reversible and would require replacing the display, or the tablet. I wouldn't expect the second thought, about humidity and temperature fluctuation to be your issue, because it takes a pretty big temperature swing in a short time to build up significant condensate. I'd be more likely to suspect that if it were stored in a cold car for most of the day, then brought into a warm house.

winter8

Thanks again for your valuable comments.

However, this laptop was in cleanroom, where no liquid/water/coffee can spill on it. In cleanroom, the temp. is set to 17 deg. and 10 particle per cubic cm area, so, there is no possibility of dust/temp./humidity can cause contamination.

I understand, the display can be replaced, but I like to know the cause of this.

billsey

Well, the only other thing I could think of is the backlight, but I can't imagine how a failing backlight could give those artifacts. Are there other chemicals that it could have been exposed to?

winter8

This laptop was placed far from the chemicals, same as other laptops. I can't think of chemical exposures, because I don't use any chamicals in that area.

Backlight, might be an issue, but how that can happen? After every use, I turn off my laptop and leave it on the desk. Oneday I turned on my laptop and I found left-top corner black spot. It was working fine the day before.

Do you know what kind of chemicals can do such contamination in LCDs ?

billsey

I do not know which chemicals could cause those symptoms, I'm only guessing based on the organic curves that are showing on the screen. Normally is the backlight fails it fails and you have to look closely at the screen or use a flashlight on it to see the display. If the display is cracked the problem gives straighter lines. If the GPU is failing you get garbage pixels in patterns. The only thing I can think of that could give the display artifacts you have is a contaminant  that's working it way in toward the middle from the upper corners. Anything that will affect the surface coatings could cause it, though normally it would be water or sugar...

winter8

Hi,

Thanks again for your suggestions. I used flash light to check the screen crack, but was none. The "garbage pixels in patterns", not clear about this fact.

Normally I use IPA (isopropanol) to wipe open surface, but not used on the laptop recently. I used it about a year ago when this laptop was taken out, and before put it inside the cleanroom, I wiped it with IPA cloth. However, it was very long ago. Water or sugar can't be near to this laptop.

Now, the backlight fact, can you give me any example how the dispaly might look like if the backlight fails?

billsey

If the backlight fails you typically see what looks like a black screen, until you look very close or shine a flashlight on it at an angle. Then you can see the LCD pixels are doing what they are supposed to, it's just that the light isn't shining through them. The physical backlight is actually a series of white LEDs that shine through the colored LCD to match up as the image you expect. I don't think I've ever seen a failure where some backlight LEDs are lighting and some are not, I wouldn't be surprised if the design were like the old style Christmas lights where when one fails they all go off...

winter8

Thanks for your kind reply.

I tries what you said. Now I sure it is not the backlight problem.

If it is contamination, then still I couldn't figure it out how it happened and what types of chemical or dust can penetrate in the LCD display.

Have you ever seen similar to mine (contaminated display) before ?

billsey

I have not. I saw a monitor with similar effects in one corner that turned out to be coffee. They weren't able to get it cleaned because the spill had wicked in between the layers between the glass and the LCD. It turned out in their case it was cheaper to replace the monitor than to replace just the display.

GeorgeWaters

I have the same problem, a small spot appeared one day in the bottom right corner, now is spreading all over the screen. If I move the tablet it looks like layers of spots. Same as you, I don't use chemicals or spilled some liquid on it. I can only conclude that Acer is poor quality and will never buy anything from them again.

winter8

Hi George & Billsey,

Thanks for sharing your information and advices. If it is not any sort of contamination or even backlight issue, then would it be possible the liquid crystal molecules are defective by itself or the improper voltage supply thru the liquid crystals ?

GeorgeWaters

Hi winter8,

I don't know the cause, I don't think this is related to voltage, I would say that Acer buys poor quality LCD's to its products because this is the very first time I have dealed with a problem like this and I have 25 years of experience in the field, even though it's not the first time I have had problems with Acer, I'm sorry to say: It's a cheap company.

So I would recommend you to throw it away and get a new one from a recognized brand, because If you buy a spare part to fix it, it would cost you a lot money with the risk of having the same problem in the near future.

billsey

Wow, two of them now. @GeorgeWaters yours is in quite a bit different area than the one @winter8 has. I'm starting to wonder if there is any chance there is something flexing the screen? I have seen a few of the SA12s with bulging batteries, though they just usually pop the edge open a bit. I replaced the battery in mine a year or so ago when it started to bulge, but mine went through a pretty horrific car accident and I had to replace the case to straighten the bent bits out.

winter8

George, you are right it would be expensive to replace the screen, and as I don't know how to open it, I would have to pay more to the repair shop to fix it.

Billsey, I am now thinking about your "bulging battery" issue. From the outside I don't see any bulging, but is there any possibility the battery might damaged inside and some liquid came out from it ?

billsey

No, the bulging in a lithium ion battery is caused by crystals of lithium growing at right angles to the normal matrix. They puncture the layers which allows the electrolyte to migrate and you lose the nice flat overall aspect. They aren't robust enough to puncture the outer cover though. The biggest risk with them is if they get large enough to short to an adjacent layer, which generates heat. I was thinking more of the flex to the LCD that the bulge might cause. Similar to the distortion you can see in some screens when you press on them with a finger. Needless to say your finger can't do it with your screen, because there is that piece of glass between the finger and the actual LCD.

winter8

Hi Billsey,

Thanks for clarifying it. Could you please guide me how to open this laptop?