How to fix dead pixels?
 

I just noticed a dead pixel almost directly in the center of my Nokia 770's screen. Is there anything I can do to fix it or do I have to exchange the whole thing for a new one? For 400 dollars I don't want it there. Its basically a white light coming from behind the screen when the screen is black.

yea no way to fix it man, call up nokia and or take it back to comp usa depending where you bought it


usually they arnt to much of a problem but bright white in the dead center of the screen kinda sucks

Nokia specifically states that those pixels are nota flaw, so I believe you're S.O.L.

I think it's kinda immaterial what Nokia claims; if a product is defective, then they have to replace or refund. Every manufacturer will try to tell customers that this or that is not a flaw, but in the end it's not up to them to decide.

I'd play hardball; I'm thinking the last thing Nokia wants at this point is a court case on the 770.

I'd say it's a lost case, isn't it standard with a bunch of dead pixels on a screen that size? I know standard display manufacturers have a limit of 10 or so dead pixels, less than that and you cannot claim anything.

Basically means that if a single dead pixel was enough to exchange it, they would have to exchange 90% of all screens. And the 770 comes close to a fullsize, thus greatly increasing the number of pixels and the probability of having one dead!

Correct me if I'm wrong...

Sort of wrong, yes.

It depends on the retailer, but for the most part they want to keep you as a customer.

I returned 3 flat screen monitors for dead pixels once. It took some argument but in the end I asked two questions.

What would you (the clerk, then manager) accept in my position? -and-

Pull up my purchase history and do a quick projection of the next few years of purchases... Do you want that money?

I find it COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE for ANY company to try to make me settle for clearly defective product.

The dead pixels are Nokia's problem first, and the OEM's second.

I understand proper QC could raise the price of the unit, but I think that is more honest and will pay off in the end for them.

They cannot afford to gamble customer satisfaction for pennies on the dollar (euro, pound, mark).

cAPS

I returned an LCD tv a couple of weeks ago because it had one dead pixel about five rows from the left edge. It took some "convincing" (read: shouting angrily in a buzy store) but I got away with a perfect tv.

If you bought the 770 directly, make sure jou make as much online noise as possible: publish all communications from Nokia on as many (relevant) forums as you can find and never forget to point out that their product was essentially defective.

Is this *sshole behaviour? Yes. Will it get the job done? Maybe, but you can bet your sweet whatever that sitting quietly in your living room will not.

@ Cassiel: we shouldn't give a rat's derriere about manufacturers limits of dead pixels. What if a car manufacturer tomorrow claimed that if one wheel of your car didn't work, it should be considered normal?

Lastrain13,

Getting it exchanged for a new unit should be no problem (If they have it on stock, that is ;) ).
Most, if not all, manufacturers of devices which have LCD displays comply to the ISO 13406-2 standard, while this standard also considers a certain amount of hot,dead or defective subpixels as acceptable, it also factors in the location of the defective pixel. Bottom line: a non responsive pixel in the middle of a display entitles you to exchange it, one near the edges does not, (and would require some of cAPSLOCK's charm to get it exchanged ;) )

Nice to hear that it is more negotiable than I thought. Guess they want ppl to believe what I claimed! ;)

Thanks for all the help. I really hate to exchange it for another one because CompUSA most likely doesn't have another one in stock. But I really like the Nokia 770 and it will just drive me crazy because the white dot drives my eyes directly to it.

I'm going tomorrow to see what they say. Hopefully it will only take a week or two to get another 770 in if there are none in stock. If not, I'll wait but it will be a drag since it was my big chrismas gift that I really want to use.

Not withstanding my charm or lack therof... :)

It is of course reasonable and smart to start negotiation with the retailer from a position of courtesy and friendliness and retain this attitude throughout as much as possible. This is better for peace on earth in general, and the health of your own digestive system. ;)

It was only when phrases like "You are out of luck", and "There is really nothng we can do" came up im my experience that the gloves were loosened slightly.

Good luck!

cAPS

On the other hand... I read about a video that can fix dead pixels. Yep, don´t laugh. It seems to work in some cases (it really fixes stuck pixels, not dead ones, and yours seem to be a stuck pixel). Basically it switches the pixels on and off a number of times and some of them do start working. Google for it, PSP and PDA fórums should have more info as well. You might have to convert the video to a format reconizable by the N 770 though.

I have always thought that the dead pixels are something that LCD (or TFT) technology brings with it and the manufacturer cant do a lot to prevent the dead pixels (except of course test the screens properly).

So did I just understood what you said differently or is it possible to make LCD/TFT-screens where dead pixels dont appear or are extremely rare?

It's a matter of quality control and how much you are prepared to screw over your customers.

LCD screens are not unlike giant integrated circuits and like those, there is some fallout in the manufacturing process. An honest manufacturer will only keep the flawless ones, but there's always the temptation to say: "Weeellll... it's only one pixel, who's gonna notice?"

Apparently Nokia must think its customers are stark raving blind...

I'd say it's a bit more complicated than that. As you said, LCDs are much like a giant waffer IC. Since there are always flaws in the process, a significant number of LCDs are bound to come with defective pixels; in fact, AFAIK that was the prime for the high cost of LCDs until not long ago. As the manufacturing process matures, one can yield a higher percentage of perfect screens. But even now, it is not rare to come across screens with some defective pixels. If all of those were simply trhown away, the price of LCDs screens would be much higher. I can say that having a small number of defective pixels is a price to pay to have LCDs screens affordable. This is not a policy of Nokia only; almost all LCDs devices have this problem also. Sony PSP are known to have a large number of defective pixels.

Guide to dead (stuck) pixels
 

This might help:

http://compreviews.about.com/od/mult...ms=stuck+pixel