Two users have reported on the forums that their Eee PC 1000H screens have cracked under low stress situations.
The first user’s screen broke after only having the 1000H for 92 hours this past October, reporting no contact with anything or droppings.
The second user added to the thread this past week, reporting a similar incident and posting a picture. Apparently, it worked fine the night before, but the next morning was already cracked when opened. The crack is not seen on the outside- there is no damage to the front of the screen or the back of the lid.
Has anyone else out there had any incidents like this, or do you think they are just incidental incidents?
{ 2 trackbacks }
{ 90 comments }
← Previous Comments
Appearently it only occurs on the 1000?
Any 901´s having this problem?
Is it possible that the screen size is to blame?
Anyhow it sounds somehow odd that screens crack by themselves.
Chris
same issue happened to me with my eee900, I left it closed and charging alle night long and when I woke up there was a ound black stain on the upper left corner of the scrren with some little cracks aroud it..
sorry for my english
Otmane
have a 901, have left my eee in standby although charging for many times for a full day, i dont think battery charging alone can do this and may have something to do with the motherboard, but mine is always set in standby after the lid shut
with that said i may avoid the 1000he now, was going to plop down for it, the problem seems more prevalent with the bigger screen, and the slightly faster processor makes me wonder if it will generate more heat to make the problem even more possible
i’ll wait and see with this one, it’s asinine to be an early adopter these days
I turned my 1000h on and the screen is blank….dunno what happen…its like it wont read anything tried to hook it up 2 a monitor still nothing
I’m having the same problem as name — sometimes, when I turn on my eee PC, the monitor won’t turn on.
The same thing happenned to us, we just opened the lid and the screen cracked. It is only 7 months old, we took it back to the well known computer store where it was purchased , they told us that the 12 month warranty only covered the internal parts. The crack is not on the outside of the screen but seems to be inside. The store have sent it off to Assus but feel that they will send it back as not covered or ask for a charge for the repair. The box says that it is tested for all sorts, twisting, pressure, stress, vibration and many other tests, what they don’t say is how many fail the tests. The laptop has not been damaged in any way and has only been used in the normal way. I work in a place that deals in computer spares and we do receive in LCD screens with faults in them, some which have the crack on the inside.
You would think that a store of their purchasing power would be able to get cover the faulty screens as part of the warranty, or get the testing graphics for the be removed, or at least tell customers that whatever the graphics say it wont be covered by the warranty.
I´m having the same problem. I got my Eee PC 1000 H on December 17th 2008. I use it a lot but I´m extremely careful while handling it, and have never dropped it or anything similar.
Last night I turned it off and everything was normal. This morning I turned it back on and there was a smallish black spot in the top left corner with a green streak about two inches long running down the screen. As it´s heated up–it´s been on about an hour now–the streak is getting shorter.
I´m going to go back to the store and ask about it, because there is no way that this is the result of improper handling. I´m worried that the problem will get worse…
Anyone know where I can buy a replacement LCD screen for my 1000HA?
ASUS asks me to send it to them for a quotation and possible repair, minimum cost is anyway 35 euros (= 10% of new price) + transportation.
(I had a similar problem with Casio camera earlier, but I found a workshop in BENELUX which shipped me the screen, no problem!).
Thank you,
Per
maybe shipped air without good in sulation, and therefore was handled when screen was at a freezing point.
or this is just BS…
Hi, have also had a problem with an Asus eeepc 904HD belonging to my 10 year old. I have to admit that there was an accident, my 3 year old tapped (and I mean tapped so lightly) the screen with a CUSHION and the screen completely cracked so that you couldn’t see a thing on it. I’ve been able to retrieve the data so know that it’s only the screen that has a problem, again there is absolutely no other damage to the notebook. I only bought this for my daughter for Christmas and this happened before 25th January so it was less than a month old. When I phoned Asus they were quite abrupt and told me that the screen is not covered on the warranty! I pointed out that in the booklets that come in the box it says amongst others they do a drop test, I find it very hard to believe. Surely there is a design fault somewhere and the screen should be covered in the year of warranty if they can see there’s no damage to the rest of the casing. I’m very disappointed as I thought this was a great first time ‘laptop’.
My wife and I have 3 1000h units, and a friend has purchased several for his automotive repair shop for the techs to use, 4 or 5 I think. At any rate, no issues with any of them except one, the one that was dropped onto the shop floor…. twice in a single week. The upper left corner of the case around the screen cracked on the second drop, but no effect on the display itself, or any other part of the case.
I open and close the two units I have often with no ill effect. So it seems to me dropping them, twice, is bad.
I’ve a totally useless asuseeepc 901 with a cracked screen. from the ‘point of origin’ a kind of spiders web of black spans out to obliterate most of the screen.
Asus/repairs/support/uk say I must’ve closed the unit with a pen or something between the base & screen…..eh??
The upshot is, despite being less than 100 days old and perhaps used for less than half that, their legal position is they’re not responsible.
They actually advised me to sling it because for them to repair it would cost more than £180.00. YES ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY POUNDS.
I’ve a feeling I won’t be doing ant business wit this company again, although I may find myself explaining to a JP why I was trying ti insert a 900 into an orifice of the managing director’s where it clearly would’nt fit without making his eyes water quite a lot.
Hi Steve…
That 180 pounds are almost identical to the amount in our case… They said that it’s our fault, so we must pay…
I cannot say anything useful or pretty about ASUS. It is clearly a manufacturer’s defect, and they keep blaming us for those sponatnious crackings…
I’ve just now realised, that you have a 901 Steve… Considering this, and the 180 pounds for repair, it almos seems like they’ve wanted you to buy the damn thing TWICE…
I was thoroughly impressed by the reviews/specs of the 1000HE and was almost completely ready to buy one.. until I read this article and the comments. Wow, this cracking screen problem sounds disturbingly common. I know from The Consumerist website that ASUS’s tech support has become a complete joke. There’s no way I’m buying an EEE PC unless this defect is addressed properly. That’s one lost sale, Asus!
Have any of you considering submitting your story to The Consumerist? They help to publicize the issue, which in turn helps smack the offending company’s backside and possibly leads to results. Enough bad PR will cause lost sales and ASUS will have to do something about it.
Here are a couple of Consumerist articles that may be of interest –
EEEPC Return A Recursive Hellhole (sadly not related to screen cracking)
http://consumerist.com/5042012/eeepc-return-a-recursive-hellhole
10 Secrets To Getting Better Tech Support From Asus (tips aren’t that useful, but you do get inside information on why their support is so terrible)
http://consumerist.com/5026046/10-secrets-to-getting-better-tech-support-from-asus
I hope it will not hapening usually, becouse im planed to boy an Asus eee for my work. sorry for my english
Yes, you must be very careful about letting your laptop touch animal droppings of any kind, but the eeepc in particular is very sensitive to animal scat.
The reason is the lcd and anti-glare filter are highly susceptible to chemical reaction when exposed to hydrogen sulfide, which is found in high quantities in rodent and bird feces. When droppings touch the lcd, the screen can crack immediately.
Some people have even suggested an umbrella screen mod to protect the eee from the droppings of overhead birds, although none have yet attempted it. Besides, such a mod would not protect the eee from contact with the droppings of ground animals such as deer or large predatory cats.
I think we all need a grammar lesson here:
“Two users have reported on the forums that their Eee PC 1000H screens have cracked under low stress situations.” — This makes sense.
“The first user’s screen broke after only having the 1000H for 92 hours this past October, reporting no contact with anything or droppings.” — This doesn’t make sense. “Droppings” means “animal poo.” “after only having…” is still referring to the screen. Therefore, the “screen” is in possession of a 1000H, not the user. “only having … for 92 hours” means the 1000H is the only thing that the screen possessed during the 92 hours before the screen broke. It does not mean that the screen wasn’t around or that the screen didn’t possess other things before that 92 hours. “reporting no contact” — Guess what? Here again, it is the *screen* which reported no contact with anything, not the user. “no contact with anything or droppings” — Here if no “contact” of any kind was reported by the screen, it is safe to assume the screen reported no contact whatsoever with animal droppings; to add “or droppings” is completely redundant.
“The second user added to the thread this past week, reporting a similar incident and posting a picture. Apparently, it worked fine the night before, but the next morning was already cracked when opened.” Here, “it worked …” is referring to the picture, not a computer screen. “The crack is not seen on the outside- there is no damage to the front of the screen or the back of the lid.” — This is a little better.
“Has anyone else out there had any incidents like this, or do you think they are just incidental incidents?” Inicidentally, I had an incident of foresight, in which my insight was that an incident could indeed be an antecedent, although whether this incident was an insidental insident, or perhaps a coincidental coincidence, I have no confidence of conscience that I am insightfully cognizant of such incidental insight.
I have left my Eee PC doing an all-nighter (once, charging and turned off while I slept for nine hours, and on many occasions, plugged in and turned on, abusing our low bandwidth on torrents).
No screen cracks. Nothing.
Not that I recommend that you abuse you 1000H the same way I do…
By the way, It’s usually at least 30 degrees Celsius where I live, which should have aggravated the consequences of my brutal treatment of the Eee.
I never thought something so sturdy could come from China. I’m partly Chinese, btw, living in a country south of China, so I kinda know not to expect much on the quality department…
But hey, I love everything about the Eee right now. From performance to its sturdiness… Hats off to ASUS for this brilliant piece of engineering. Earns China a LOT of credit everytime I drop it to find out that it still works. I know enough not to smash it on the wall with the lid open, though. Which I kinda did on my old 701. =D
Hey, to those who can’t get ASUS to fix the screens there are some alternatives, a few sellers on the net sell touch screens that fit everything from 7” to the 10” i have. I haven’t bought any yet, but i plan to next month. They come without service and you have to fit them yourself. However it seems like a nice alternative if you’re going to replace the screen yourself anyway… i’m not sure if i can write any company names so i wont – i don’t want to make this look like an advertisement
I experienced the exact same problem with my Eee 901 and I absolutely did not drop, bump or damage the unit in any way. I watched a movie on it at night – it sat on the desk. it hibernated. later on restarted it and the entire screen appeared to be cracked but there was no external damage. I sent unit to ASUS and they refuse to replace it under warranty although the unit is only about 5 months old and has been used very little. They want $110 for new screen and shipping. I may just dump it – no guarantees it won’t happen again! For those of you that don’t believe it can “crack by itself” – you will when it happens to you.
My 1000H has survived some bashing about, but I think it was already damaged or a bad batch.
I woke up this morning and I have the same problem, my 1000HA’s screen has a crazy crack starting at the top left and skewing across the top of the screen. There is a nickel sized dead zone where the File button should be on my browser. I was watching march madness on demand last night with a fully capable screen, and i put it on the table when i went to bed. No one touched it (my dog cant reach it there), and when I woke up this morning.. cracks.
What are the chances of asus actually doing something about this? Im pretty sure im out of the 30 day warranty.. but a laptop should last longer than four or five months… shouldnt it
Hi Kenn!
Could you upload a picture of your laptop? We’ll be on court next week regarding this issue, and it would be really useful for us to present as many similar cases as we could.
We’re desperate to prove, that ASUS has issues, and we weren’t the ones who damaged the screen…
I don’t have one but I’m looking on ebay. I’m having second thoughts in spite of all the hype Ive been reading in the mags.
30 day warranty is a joke , If it doesn’t do what it should you take it back to the shop
and only deal with them. The law says an item should have a reasonable lifespan, which in this case is a lot more than 30 days no matter what asus says. Ring up one of the free legal services and get some advice.
I just had the same problem with a half dollar size spot and a couple tears
Same here with my 900.
Two days ago I’ve ordered a replacement screen on ebay, 70€ international shipping included from UK to France.
I don’t know about quality, I’ll wait and see, even if I dont’t like glossy screens.
Hi!
I’ve had exactly the same problem with my laptop, bought august 08. It hasn’t been used at all, we’re talking maximum 10 hours total. Still theres a huge spot in the bottom of the screen, no external damage. I’ve been on the phone all day with the retailer, Asus in Norway, and I even wrote to the supervisor of the company that repairs Asus laptops here in Norway. I provided this link to him hoping that it would convince someone that this isn’t my fault! Asus actually wanted 90€ just to examin the damn thing! I told’em to shove it (not exactly that, but you catch my drift). I’ll mail my pictures to Dante for further reference in court.
I’m also considering taking this to the consumer counsil in Norway, cause I will not waste 300£ on a useless computer.
Let us know how things work out in court!
dante i could email you some pictures if you like, you can send me your email, mine is kenn4000@gmail.com
I was going to go and order a 1000he today but got delayed and did’nt make it. I am glad
that I decided to read eee user forums. Like Steve commented on 26 february he won’t be
buying one now, and neither will I, so that is another lost sale to Asus. It may be helpful if
other now non-buyers were to post here then perhaps Asus may sit up and take note of the loss of custom. I really wanted the 1000he but the longer I wait the more likely that new netbooks from other manufacturers will emerge. One I am waiting to see is the new Samsung NC10 special. with it’s bigger touch pad etc. Perhaps that may be my choice if Asus does not resolve this problem quickly. If they do the 1000he will probably still be my first choice. Good luck to you Dante please let us all know how you fare.
i am in Sydney Australia. I have an eee pc 900 with broken screen. i am happy to buy a cheap screen to repair it or to sell the pc (battery, charger, bag, pc…) very cheap. please reply to my email if you are in sydney australia and we cantrade…. email:abdolt@yahoo.com
Hmm…was going to go ahead and buy at least 2 more of these 1000he for friends & family, but this has stopped me cold. I will await further news on repairs and replacements. I will have a query in to Square Trade, having bought an extended warranty with accident coverage, to get word on their position if the cracking phenomenon should appear in the one we already did buy. Someone should put the word out on the ‘deals’ sites, like slickdeals and fatwallet, to give people pause during the craze over this popular he. Shame on Asus if they don’t come up with a recall/repair policy.
I have a 1000H. I handled it with kid gloves and there is not a scratch on it. I opened it one moring and screen looks like the one in picture at the top of this site. I sent it in for warranty today.
Wow. Square Trade is actually *scamming*. I bought a warranty package for a New 3YR + Accident Coverage, and now that I have brought this Asus screen issue to their attention through general inquiry, suddenly my Square Trade account reads Refurb 1YR and no Accident Coverage. The rep “Jay” claims I must have entered something other than “New” when I entered the info for the quote that I bought, and also is claiming that although even the confirmation email to me clearly states a 3 year plan with ADH, and even though “nobody has the ability to go in and alter records”, that what I actually bought was a 1 year refurb warranty. LOL! They can all go out of business I don’t care. Where can I post my Square Trade .pdf and the screenprints I took when I was messing with a coupon code? I don’t believe this world. I know, I know, by now I should know, yet I find myself speechless and dumbfounded.
Normally I would give a respondent a chance to respond before publicizing, but I’ve had about enough of this crap from the ‘business world’.
No, we won’t be buying any more HEs, and we will never buy another Square Trade warranty again, now knowing that they are able and willing to purposefully alter records.
The HE we have is still intact (4 weeks old).
I will post back if Square Trade cleans up their act.
Sheesh.
H again,
reading this posts I get the impression that the eeepc 1000 screens
are failing by the dozens on a dialy basis, that’s sheer impossible.
Common guys what are u really doing with ur little machines???/
Am Ijust one of the few lucky ones that do not have a cracked screen?
Not that I want one but somehow I am used that murphy’s law strikes me
in my life almost daily and now I’m being sparedwith my 901??????????
Nevertheless I feel sorry for all that had this issue.
I was going to buy an Eee PC 1000HE but decided not to after reading this thread
Ok, as the story unfolds my personal Square Trade ‘mysteriously downgraded warranty’ issue WAS a clerical mixup and NOT the result of bad faith. Whew. (PS Thanks, OP, for moderating my other message and I almost take back almost everything I almost said)
Square Trade’s policy was stated to me that they would also consider a cracked LCD to be external damage caused by mishandling, and it would fall under the Accidental Handling’ coverage (ADH) if you purchased that additional ($20) option, which would require a further $50 deductible towards a repair. The other warranty option, they said, would be to pursue repair/replacement directly from the manufacturer while coverage lasts.
I do recommend holding off on purchases of eee’s until a manufacturing defect is either uncovered and documented, or ruled out. I personally have never heard of a laptop LCD cracking before in my life till now.
i just bought my 1000 h last night bad little mamba jahamba but anyway while i was in the store i personally saw these machines getting abused by countless customers opening and closing the lid picking it up to look what ports it had stuff like that so i find it very hard to believe that the owner didn’t contribute to the incident but if it was only 92 hrs ols isn’t it covered by the warranty mine came with a 1yr manufactures warranty if my shit dose that best believe im getting my money back or a new pc not a refurbished but i can also see how they are a little more delicate than most notebooks so extra precautions are probably a good idea
I don’t know why some people are this ignorant. Why can’t you just accept the fact, that we did not crack our screens? These cases have happened, right in front of your eyes…
By the way!
We were at court the other week, and the case was fast tracked! The consumer’s rights committee commended ASUS to pay back our 260$ we paid for the repair and the shipping… They were all agreed that ASUS didn’t handle our case appropriately… Even ASUS’s own defender thought our claim was rightful…
Just had the screen on my 701 crack under low stress. It had been sitting in full sunshine for several hours whilst I was doing something else. I picked the thing up and as the screen came to life I saw a major crack on the screen and a large black spot. I noticed that the plastic on the lid of my 701, and the screen itself had become considerably more flexible than when cold. I usually pick up the Eee by the top right hand corner with my thumb on the corner of the screen. It could have cracked before I picked it up or as I picked it up. Difficult to say but definitely low stress and up until now picking it up in this way has not caused screen failure.
Incidently this eee has done 2500km in a rear pannier on a bike tour round Norway with no problems and has spent much of the last year being rattled in a bag attached to a Brompton folding bike for half an hour every day. So vibration or rough handling does not seem to play a part in this failure. IMO whilst the Eeepc 701 casing is generally strong enough and the computer shockproof, the lid does not provide sufficient protection for the screen. I think that if say one of the hinges tightens up and you lift up the lid from the opposite corner you could easily stress the screen enough to cause a break, especially if the EeePC is hot (been left on all night or sat in the sun for a few hours).
As far as I am concerned this problem on the 701 is due to an insufficiently stiff lid. A designer should expect people to pick such a small laptop up by the lid and should design the casing with this in mind. Whilst not necessarily the recommended way to pick up a laptop, people are going to do this. Another lesson learned, and I’ve ordered a new screen from Ebay at an acceptable price.
Regards
Stan
← Previous Comments
Comments on this entry are closed.