Latitude E6220 IPS screen replacement

[GadgetsNut]

First disclaimer: this is for informational purposes only and may not be for the faint of heart. If you decide to do what I did and broke your laptop or the screen, it's YOUR own fault

After I saw a X220 with the IPS screen, I totally got spoiled. I like the E6220 better (sorry X220 fans ) and wanted the best of both worlds, so I took a chance and bought the IPS screen from Ebay.

Took all 5 minutes to remove the bezel on the E6220 and pop the screen in. Eager to see it work I just powered it up. To my great delight it works beautifully Shut it down to button everything up, then I realize the IPS screen is maybe 1.5mm taller There was no going back at this point. So I hacked my way to get it in Had to dissemble much of the E6220 to remove the hinge, popped off 4 cable routing guides (see the photo with the yellow circles), dremeled out the unneeded and offending bit of extra metal from the hinges and now I'm loving it!

The difference is more dramatic in actual use than the pictures show. Just looking at the screen straight on I can see the increased contrast. Colors really pop, none of that washed-out look of the stock screen. I no longer have to keep readjusting the screen's angle as I move around.

So, what's keeping you from an IPS screen on your E6220 is ~$150 for the screen, 1.5mm of extra bits of metal, about an hour of your time, and some guts to gut out your laptop. This was a pretty simple mod for me as I''m comfortable taking things apart, but if you're not COMPLETELY comfortable in ripping apart your laptop don't even think about it. If you decide to do it, you're doing it at your own risk, so if you break something it's not my fault :P

Edit: the part number for the screen is LP125WH2(SL)(B1). It is made by LG. The first screen I bought was listed as "IPS screen for Lenovo X220" on Ebay. The screen I received had a part number LP125WH2(TL)(B1), this is *NOT* an IPS screen. If you decide to do this, you must confirm with the seller that you're getting exactly LP125WH2(SL)(B1) and not a "compatible" part.

[Commander Wolf]

Sweet, glad to hear this works.

What was the actual make/model of the panel you bought? Was it an X220 panel?

[Ph0enix]

Wow... looks alot better, and a minor modification. nice work

[mZimm]

Wow I'd love to do this to mine, but I don't think I have the guts to try. Nice work.

[GadgetsNut]

Originally Posted by Commander Wolf

Sweet, glad to hear this works.

What was the actual make/model of the panel you bought? Was it an X220 panel?

The screen is made by LG. Beautiful screen, very smooth no graininess at all. The part # is LP125WH2(SL)(B1), and yes it was listed as an X220 panel. It's a direct drop in (never mind the extra ~1.5mm), the mounting holes and cable connector line up EXACTLY like the stock screen, and of course the same connector.

[Tsunade_Hime]

That's good news, such a pity Dell won't offer Lenovo's IPS option for 50 bucks.

[mZimm]

This is definitely a pretty cheap upgrade considering it looks like you could get ~$100 for the current screens, but I do worry about voiding a warranty on a laptop I just got.

[GadgetsNut]

Originally Posted by Tsunade_Hime

That's good news, such a pity Dell won't offer Lenovo's IPS option for 50 bucks.

Yeah it really is too bad. I won't pretend to know how a large company like Dell works (like the logistics involved in merely adding an additional SKU in their system), but considering I can buy the whole screen for <$150 (or closer to $120 from some sellers shipping from China), they'll probably pocket a good chunk of that $50 as an upgrade.

Originally Posted by mZimm

This is definitely a pretty cheap upgrade considering it looks like you could get ~$100 for the current screens, but I do worry about voiding a warranty on a laptop I just got.

I doubt they'll notice you've swapped the screen even if you had to send it in. Besides, in the very rare occasions that I need a repair, Dell has always just sent me the parts to DIY at my request, even on computers eligible for onsite repair. I'd rather DIY, don't trust any techs they dispatch.

[ckthepilot]

Nut, you got PMed

[SemiExpert]

Originally Posted by GadgetsNut

Yeah it really is too bad. I won't pretend to know how a large company like Dell works (like the logistics involved in merely adding an additional SKU in their system), but considering I can buy the whole screen for <$150 (or closer to $120 from some sellers shipping from China), they'll probably pocket a good chunk of that $50 as an upgrade.

It's pretty clear that Dell doesn't try to compete directly with the X220. The E6220 is darned near twice the price of the X220. A Dell employee tried to explain the pricing disparity between the E6220 and X220 on this forum, but it still comes down to a huge gap. I'd argue that the Dell's magnesium case is probably more expensive than Lenovo's crack prone plastic, but the economies of scale probably favor Lenovo as well. We have to remember that the 12" Latitude E-series is such a marginal product that Dell skipped the generation between the E4200 and E6220.

I also wonder how the 12" Dell Latitudes are built up at the factory. Historically, Dell apparently stockpiled the E4200 as a complete barebone with the screen already attached, while larger models were stockpiled as barebones units without the screen attached. This might have something to do with the lack of screen options.

Anyway, the easy answer for most buyers is to simply but a X220 with the $50 IPS option to begin with rather than the far more expensive E6220.

I'm glad you've managed to accomplish a successful screen transplant, and maybe this exercise will motivate someone at Dell to make the E6220 line more competitive.

Originally Posted by GadgetsNut

I doubt they'll notice you've swapped the screen even if you had to send it in. Besides, in the very rare occasions that I need a repair, Dell has always just sent me the parts to DIY at my request, even on computers eligible for onsite repair. I'd rather DIY, don't trust any techs they dispatch.

Dell gave me the involuntary DIY treatment after a depot repair. Ever get a system back from the depot with a second mystery box? I did. That was an involuntary DIY, but I also had a voluntary DIY to fix physical damage done at the same depot repair. Two botched depot repairs followed by two DIY repairs.