LCD panel upgrade replacement repair how too

Trukntigger
Trukntigger Member Posts: 256 Mr. Fixit WiFi Icon
edited August 2023 in 2018 Archives

All the panel questions with so many different models I figured time for a guide for your panel woes. No fear the clouds will part and the answers will be found. Too start I must mention disclaimers-1. Acer may void your waranty if you work on your laptop yourself, not saying they will but they can. 2. You must be able to use some common sense and read carefully. It is your laptop, you see the info, no one here can so check your work twice.  3. Tools- a small flat screw driver and a small philips head driver is normally all that is needed.

 

First you need to know what model display panel you have. If it is broken so bad you can not see anything find a external monitor to use.  Download this tool- https://www.hwinfo.com/download.php  Middle row blue box bottom of page is 64bit version. It is free and you will need it.  http://www.7-zip.org/download.html may be handy for this and other compressed files. Windows has a unzipper but this is the better choice, more options. Widnows 64 bit would be the norm.

 

Extract the hwinfo tool. Run the exe file inside. Up pops a box with a lot of what seems confusing detail but this gem of a tool gives you what you need badly, your panel model number. Close the outer box-

hwinfo1.jpg

at the lower blue X at bottom right.  The window behind has what you need, click on display on list left and on right side the info appears like so.

hwinfo2.jpg

In my case it shows AU Optronics B156HAN01.2  Your will be different.  This model number is what you need for next step- the look up. In browser open http://www.panelook.com/  You will note at top center of this web page is the place to enter your panel's model number.

panelook1.jpg

entering the number and press search gets you this

panelook2.jpg

Note the compare button. Click that and it will save that for the search compare we need to do.  (note box upper right in photo) and next click on that panel link itself to see details.

panelook3.jpg

In the details we see important information to make our match or upgrade. Key items- Signal Interface= eDP (2lanes) 30 pin. The lanes are not important, the higher the resolution of a panel, more lanes it will have. This one is 1080 fhd thus 2 lanes. The 768 hd panels have 1 lane as example. You can upgrade to 1080  from 768 with the newer systems without issue in most cases seeing even the Intel I3 supports that graphic power. Input Voltage 3.3- noted. This panel is AHVA (ips) not a TN. The giveway is the view angles 85/85/85/85. TN type panels are cheaper and have poor view angles. It is antiglare and has a good brightness of 300 and contrast of 700. (Can see why I upgraded to this one) Clicking the Specs tab gives us the rest of the story we need to make the right choice.

panelook4.jpg

panelook5.jpg

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Long page- sorry.  Okay now take note of other key items to make sure the panel fits our needs. Dimensions and depth and face mounting holes in the mechanical features section. In connector interface note power draw and the little photo of the connectors location (shows lower right).  This is all we need to find a replacement. Too upgrade you need to pay attention to type of panel you have and what you want as in TN going to IPS or 768hd to 1080fhd, or glossy to non glossy. Brightness and contrast- higher better. As a side note IPS and higher resolutions and more color brightness will use more power. TN type. lower brightness, contrast, resolution use less. Will be same voltage but wattage higher, battery life will drop not drasticly but can be noticable depending on your use.

 

Next- How to select your replacement or upgrade- there is a difference depending on your path.

Answers

  • Trukntigger
    Trukntigger Member Posts: 256 Mr. Fixit WiFi Icon

    In the prior post you may have noticed near the top of specs tab a link to click saying "18 compatible model".  If you just want to replace your current display this will take you to a list of panels that are pretty much plug and play. Basically same identical to what you have with maybe some minor spec differences. PIck what you have now or one of those, look for it online at say Amazon, Ebay what have you. If you wish to upgrade your viewing pleasure a bit more searching is involved.

    Example- 5E-575g panel that came with my laptop from Acer

    panelook8.jpg

    panelook9.jpg

    panelook10.jpg

     

    1080fhd, TN panel.  Note the woeful viewing angles, low brightness and contrast.  Shame on Acer in my opinion for using such a low grade cheap panel none the less it did work.  The info here is key tho, we see the dimensions- height/width/thickness power needs and use, interface 30pin eDP 2 lane, mounting info. So we are upgrading. Armed now with this info hit up the panelook website home page and click on "size" near top center on page. Next scroll down to 15.6" (this panels size) and check the box and to far right click "list".  It shows in this case 773 panels, we better narrow that down. Just above the long list are sorting options and the word refine. Across one of those choices says TN/VA/IPS. In this case I know I want IPS so selecting that narrows down the list too 112. Still too big, so again across from refine we see touch.  In that pull down I select no touch (this laptop has no support for it) and narrows down list too 41. Much better but still high. Above that refine word on left one says resolution. Staying with 1080fhd so lets select 1080.  Now we getting somewhere, 23 panels. Lets narrow this more by choosing the brightness column, shall click it 2x times so our list of 23 is now rated from brightness display at top to dim at bottom.  Looking at now we can work with say the top 5.  Put each on compare and then click the compare tool on far right. 

    panelook15.jpg

    This a mid screen pic of that compare list.  You can see features side by side. The far left was the panel Acer had in it. Far right is panel I choose to use. Look carefully at those dimensions. Note how some just will not fit. Also look as some of the details like glossy vs antiglare finish.  It's your replacement, choose well. Once you feel you have the replacement chosen then head to places like Amazon or Ebay and such to buy it.  Found mine on Amazon thru vendor called east coast lcd's.  Whatever you choose but especially when upgrading get that seller to confirm the exact model you order is being sent. The specs can vary greatly in performance so get what you are paying for. Most run from 35-85 USD. This wraps up picking the display.

     

    Next- LCD removal and replacement.

  • Trukntigger
    Trukntigger Member Posts: 256 Mr. Fixit WiFi Icon

    This will be short and sweet. Smiley Happy  The panels for the most part (not all but MOST) are easy to replace. If yours uses the 30pin eDP interface you can be rather confidant in this being easy. Can not speak for some of the other interfaces yet. Wife had a Dell 15inch insperion that required major disassemble work to get panel off due to ribbon connectors on mother board but these 30pin eDP connectors are on the panel itself making the job very easy. How it goes is this, using a small flat screw driver you will be working the roughly 1/2" trim around the viewing side edge off. Start near top center and gently pry it open. They use plastic snap clips to hold it on. Just work it loose from top and down each side to bottom near keyboard. Once the top and 2 sides are loose the bottom pretty much will just let go and you can set it aside. After that trim is off you will see 4 philips head screws hold the display to the plastic backside.  Remove those and set aside but do not pull the display off yet.  Now lean the top edge toward your keyboard and look behind it. You can see down near bottom the 30 pin connector which is secured with some tape. On mine it was on lower right side. The tape must be loosened and removed then the 30 pin connector. Do be careful here. Repeat. Careful. Once that connector is unplugged you can remove the old LCD and set aside. New panel now goes in, basically we reverse everything. Plug in connector, add tape (clear scotch tape will do) and add a few screws. DO NOT finish the job.  Do a power up check and make sure it is working first. If no picture power back down (hold power button for several secs) and recheck your connector. If picture good power down and then finish putting in screws and then trim, bottom edge and work up sides to top center. Retest and enjoy.  Hope this write up helps you with your display replacement upgrade questions.

  • Subham
    Subham Member Posts: 1 New User
    What does the Acer aspire A515-51G-50JE have.? A IPS or a TN panel 
  • Subham said:
    What does the Acer aspire A515-51G-50JE have.? A IPS or a TN panel 
    Hi,
    You may get one of these screens, it's hard to tell the actual screen will be in your laptop as it depends on the region where you buy your laptop and the availability of a particular screen.
    IPS:
    LM156LF1L03
    B156HAN06.1
    NV156FHM-N42
    TN:
    B156HTN03.8
    N156HGA-EAB
    NT156FHM-N41
  • bakemeat
    bakemeat Member Posts: 1 New User
    edited June 2018
    Hello! I know this is an old thread, but is it possible to have the pictures re-uploaded? I recently picked up a refurbished Acer Aspire E 15 and the screen is godawful (for graphic design, at least) and you, Trukntigger, are the only person I've seen that's said "yeah these displays are terrible," but followed that up with a solution that wasn't "guess you should have bought a different laptop." Thank you so much for that.

    I'm going to try to do this regardless because I love everything about this laptop aside from the screen, but I (and others) would benefit greatly if we could get the pictures back so that the instructions are much more clear. 
  • Trukntigger
    Trukntigger Member Posts: 256 Mr. Fixit WiFi Icon
    When I touch links the pictures load and that’s on a newish iPad so not cached or anything. Just open them in another tab to reference as needed. The overall process is easy just do not rush it. If your using a lot of force and muscle your doing something wrong. Hardest part is getting the right display for your needs. The panel look site is very complete but the merchants we purchase from are not so much so double check if in doubt. Key is 30pin eDP type and location of that connector and its power rating. My view it was worth the trouble. Kept old display as backup for damage or failure.