DR800 Can I fix dead (inverted) pixels?

[Albyr]

I've had my DR800S for about three weeks and I'm really liking it. Mad props to TGS for helping me out with the decision.

However, I've noticed two tiny rows of what I would normally call "dead pixels". About five millimetres long, broken up, not continuous, and only really visible if you're looking for them (I had to look at them through a magnifying glass to get a good look). I would post a picture but I'm not convinced it would come out!

They're not really "dead" as such though; they seem to be inverted - black when they should be white and white when they should be black.

Has anyone else experienced this? It sounds a lot like this thread:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7064
but that was from 2006.

Is there a solution? Should I risk trying to return it, considering iRex's financial difficulties? Would they even accept it as a problem, or is it like buying a monitor - a certain number of dead pixels is to be expected? It's only really noticeable if I'm looking for it, but now that I know it's there I'm always looking for it! It's just taking the sheen off what is otherwise a fantastic device!

I'm charging the battery, as it has been nearly dead, in the hope that might fix it, and I'm also going to install the new firmware - I saw RC2 posted on the i to i blog today.

[Shaggy]

Try the battery first. There were some posts from them on their forum a while ago that said if the battery gets really low then it can cause some weird things with the display that look like temporary dead pixels or "line out" errors. They said that you can fully recharge and the problem might go away. Sounded like some voltage problems from a low battery might effect the display hardware.

However, it could also be a hardware fault in the display. There are sometimes "line out" issues with eInk, but it's usually an entire row that goes out together. Generally, they also stay black, not invert back and forth. Most of the time, this would be covered under warranty (not sure what happens to warranty claims with them in bankruptcy though).

I have never seen anyone say that iRex told them a certain number of "line out" errors was normal. From reports on here, even a single line would get a warranty replacement of the screen.

Hopefully, charging the battery will resolve it.

[Albyr]

It looks like charging the battery hasn't made any difference. Any other suggestions? How long does it take for iRex to turnaround a device sent back to them? Is it worth doing or not?

[Shaggy]

Originally Posted by Albyr

It looks like charging the battery hasn't made any difference. Any other suggestions? How long does it take for iRex to turnaround a device sent back to them? Is it worth doing or not?

The only thing you could really do at this point is decide whether or not to open a ticket with their tech support. If it's hardware, then it's not something you'll be able to fix yourself.

Regarding turn around... etc. Who knows with them in bankruptcy right now. On the other hand, if you do want to get this repaired, it's better to do it now because if the company does go under, you'll be out of luck. It's a difficult decision, I'm not sure what I would do if it were me.