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Laptop - GPD P2 Max hinge making scary noises..

basementApe

basementApe

Member
I got this laptop delivered less than two months ago and was pretty happy with it until yesterday. All of a sudden the hinge started making this clicking noise when I move the lid, like a piece of plastic broke off inside or something.

You can hear it in this video here.

I have plenty of time left on my repair warranty, but I’m stuck in hardcore lockdown right now. I'd have to wait until things cool down around here before I can even go outside again, and then I'd have to ship it halfway across the world back to Banggood. Who knows how many months I'd have to wait to get this thing fixed?

I'm kinda tempted to just open it up myself and have a look.

So what do you think it might be? Does it sound serious?
 
devKathy

devKathy

Member
I have *some* very limited experience fixing laptops (more experience building PCs), so take everything I'm about to write with a grain of salt. I did my best googling though, and I will say I'm pretty decent at that.😄

This topic on quora tells us a common cause of laptop hinges making that sound - not enough grease, too much compression between the washers, where the two metal brackets join. It is serious and can eventually damage the laptop severely: https://www.quora.com/How-can-I-fix-a-laptop-hinge-that-makes-a-cracking-sound-when-the-laptop-is-opened-closed#:~:text=up sticking together.-,As you open/close the lid, the cracking sound you,mating surfaces before re-assembly.

I would also be very inclined to attempt to open up the hinge covers and fix it. Have you done anything like this before? You should only really proceed if you don't trust the company or don't want to wait months. And finally you need to trust your own ability. If you have an old broken laptop you might wanna practice on that one first.

Hopefully someone with more experience fixing laptops comes along to this topic. If not, I will stick around and help out as best I can! Maybe provide up close pics and we can try to find those hinge covers. 📷

If you can't get enough help on the GMC, there are forums (maybe Tom's hardware or equivalent) that are very active and talk about this sort of thing regularly.
 
basementApe

basementApe

Member
Hey, thanks for offering to help! I've opened up a couple of laptops before to clean out dust and stuff. I would be comfortable opening this one up too except if it turns out not to be an easy fix then I'm out of a warranty. These laptops are made by a small company so it might get really expensive if I need to send it in anyway and then have to pay for the repair myself.
You should only really proceed if you don't trust the company or don't want to wait months.
Click to expand...
Yup. Check on both of those. Well, I trust them I guess. I just don't trust them to do it in anything close to a timely manner. And I'm in a situation right now where I may or may not move to a different country in the next few months. 😬

I attached some pics. Can't really see much tho, it's all inside the case.
 

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devKathy

devKathy

Member
Alright, I have a few hunches now but I don't want to get you overly pumped up to the point where you void your warranty and regret it later. Take a few hours to mull over whether you'd really want to do this! I'll try to be online. :)
 
basementApe

basementApe

Member
Okay got my morning coffee and am good to go. I'll void the warranty, whatever it takes. What did you have in mind?
 
devKathy

devKathy

Member
Well, the form factor looks to be MacBook inspired. Perhaps they're using the same kind of hinges. I can't really tell dimensions from where I sit, but it looks kind of like the 2012 or the 2015 model. You may be able to look up problems that people have previously had with those hinges. If they're using the same supply chain to build their computers (not impossible, Apple products are everywhere, and so are 1st and 3rd party replacement parts) - then you might also be able to order replacements if anything breaks.

Let's take a look at those hinges to see if I'm right. You may also have to order grease if you don't have any (chicken fat or similar is not a good idea). :p

If I'm not right, we can see how these particular hinges work and go from there... 🤓
 
basementApe

basementApe

Member
I don't have any grease around right now and need to look around a bit for a screwdriver that's small enough. In the meantime I did manage to dig up these images of the model's insides. The hinge on the right-hand side when the laptop is turned upside down (by the guy's right thumb) seems to be the one having a problem. If I open and close the lid by applying force mostly on the other side I get less clicking and snapping.
 

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basementApe

basementApe

Member
It looks like the casing is all metal, except for the cylinder cover which is plastic. In other words, I don't think anything is broken in there. So a bit of grease might just do the trick.

Unfortunately we're under a 24/7 curfew here which is probably gonna last at least a week so I won't be able to get any grease until then.

Gonna have to hold off until then I think. Thanks for the help so far tho, I'm a bit more relaxed about all this now :)
 
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