model N18Q3 Rough idea of screen replacement cost if done by Acer? - UK

mjb1975

My mum's Chromebook (model N18Q3) has developed a fault. She told me the screen started flickering when in use and is now fully black/blank. I've connected it to an external monitor via USB-C and the CB works so I guess it's just the screen that is faulty. I don't think I'm confident enough to do it myself. I've asked Acer - they want £60 to assess and quote.

Can anyone advise roughly what sort of price I could be looking at for Acer to replace the screen? I'm trying to work out whether it's not economical (which seems a shame given the device otherwise works) and there's no point spending £60 if they come back with a really high repair quote.

Thanks!

[Edited the thread to add model name to the title]

billsey

It will depend on whether the issue is the display itself or the cable that runs between the display and motherboard. That's why Acer wants to evaluate before quoting a price. I'm not sure what a "N18Q3" is, they tend to reuse those numbers for different models and don't provide us with a cross reference, but Google suggests it's likely a CB514-1H-xxxx model. Your full model number is usually on the same sticker as your serial number, it should look something like xxxxx-xxx-xxxx.

If it's a CB514-1H that would have been a Christmas 2018 or early 2019 model, so four years old. It's not too difficult to take it apart enough to check things out, except that it uses small Torx screws to hold the case together (10 of them). You pull those out and then use something like the edge of a credit card to pry the plastic cases apart. Once the bottom case is off the connector for that cable it visible near the hinge (A in this image):

Disconnect the battery first, the remove and replace that connector several times to make sure the contacts have been wiped clean. If the issue is just some corrosion that will often fix it. If that doesn't change the behavior it's likely going to be too much of a hassle to get fixed and a new one is your best bet. If you were more comfortable working on it yourself you could go so far as to replace the cable:

on the chance it's the problem. If the issue is the display itself, it won't be cost effective to fix.