Yoga X1 3rd Gen screen detaching

Hi, calling on all experts here!

I own a 3rd gen Yoga X1, and the glass is detaching from the the unit. It started peeling away at the top-right corner, and gradually over time, it’s peeling more and more. What’s happening is that when you open the laptop, the frame bends a little but the glass does not. And now, over a third of the screen has detached from the unit, and it’s getting worryingly close to the camera! Surprisingly, the glass hasn’t cracked and the touchscreen is still working. However, I feel I need to glue it down before it detaches too much and breaks. I don’t know whether anyone has seen this before.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what glue to use? I’m a bit worried that I might completely destroy it in the process. Also, I can’t pry the glass open too much to deposit the glue, as I’ll probably crack the glass in the process, so I’ll just have to put it at the top corner where I can pry it open a few mm.

Thanks!

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Is there enough room in the corner to try to use a small piece of double-sided tape to hold it in place? Kind of slide it in with a scissoring movement and then press and trim.

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Talk about “using it until it breaks”! Respect. :slight_smile: What Dale suggests is probably the safest. I was thinking getting some low viscosity curable glue in the gap and letting capillary forces doing the rest, but you’re pretty much guaranteed to end up with air bubbles.

Similar to Dale’s suggestion, you could get a screen protector that’s a bit too large, and tape down the portions that stick over the edges. It’s not going to be pretty though.

If you’re still happy with the performance, maybe get a used replacement for a few hundred dollars, and transplant your SSD? (after making a backup of your drive’s bitlocker key).

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Many thanks for the suggestions. I didn’t think of the double-sided sticky tape approach - that’s a good idea, though managing to slide it in without it sticking before it’s where you want it to be will certainly be quite a challenge! I’ll send a picture so you can see how it looks. The separation has only happened on the black frame (which is quite large on the Yoga G3), so the screen looks perfectly fine where there’s content displayed.

It would be shame to let it go. I only bought it 5 years ago, and it cost an arm and a leg when I did, so I was hoping I would get at least a few more years use out of it. I also have a XPS 15 thats over 9 years old, and other than having to replace the keyboard, that’s been working fine. I try to keep my laptops for as long as possible!

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OMG - we have another @Bronsky in our midst! I’d still try the tape approach if at all possible before squeezing any kind of glue in there. In fact, @JoeS’ screen protector solution is better than getting out the glue gun…

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Here it is in all its glory - screen off and screen on. I’ve never seen a screen detach in this way before. As you can see, when it separates, it leaves a pattern between the frame and the glass that is reflective, almost metallic looking! I may try the tape approach this weekend - I need to do something to stop it spreading. The problem is I’m not sure how well it will stick if things are flaking off between the glass and frame.

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Google screen delamination - that’s what looks like is happening:

https://www.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comments/nk0h4s/any_thoughts_on_the_best_way_to_fix_this_air/

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Wow that is quite a large area. What happens if you gently press on it? Does that shortly hide it till it bulges outwards again? I think I would personally try placing a glass screen protector on it to keep it at place and protect it.

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Yes, it does look like delamination, though not in the screen itself but just where it is fixed to the frame. When I bend the frame back a little, there seems to be a very thin layer, almost like a film, part of which is stuck to the glass and part of which is stuck to the frame (which is torn in many places because of the separation). The fact that it’s not stuck to both surfaces causes the reflective effect. Unfortunately squeeing the glass against the frame does not hide the effect. I assume the film is only invisible when it’s firmly stuck between the frame and glass.

Searching online, most people seem to have the situation where the screen itself is damaged rather than the part that is stuck to the frame. I think glue would have the best impact, but I’m worried that the glue would spread from the frame to the screen itself, damaging the screen.

I am not an expert on this so maybe someone else here can chip in but maybe the lamination layer is just a top layer in this case that can be removed if careful by a repair shop or such (without damaging the touchscreen). Then afterwards you could optionally add a Matt screen protector to reduce glare.

Yes, when you search on the internet for screen delamination, that’s often what you see. But that’s definitely not what’s happening on my machine. The separation is happening between the glass and the frame (as shown in the picture), and the film that is between the glass and frame that is tearing is due to the separation that is under the glass. The surface of the glass is fine. Perhaps calling it screen delamination may be confusing.

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Ah okay, does it visually bother you or prevent you from doing work on it? If no that I would just slap a screen protector on it just to be sure and call it a day, that might also slow down the delamination process (ao it is caused by oils / liquids).
To me it seems like if you want it thoroughly repaired, you need to replace the screen which is usually expensive and not always worth it for older laptops. Though you could ask it at a repairshop to be sure.

OK. Many thanks for the advice, but unfortunately what you’re describing is not the problem I have on my machine. Let’s not call it delamination - the screen is not delaminating - the glass is just peeling away from the frame. Sorry for the confusion!

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