iLiad Vertical and Horizontal Strips on My Iliad

[dadovor]

On November 19th, 2008, my Iliad developed vertical and horizontal stripes on the screen which prevents me from reading portions of documents and also accessing vital functions on the right lower corner of the screen. I purchased the Iliad sometime in May 2008 roughly 8months ago and have not really used it much. I sent an email with attached pictures of the screen to the Irex technical support for their review and advice and got a rather prompt but disappointing response from Irex Customer Support (Tom van Rijswijk). From the attached picture, Tom concluded that my Iliad had developed a crack in the mother glass and thus responded with the following comments:

“the display appears to be broken. There is a crack in the motherglass that starts at the bottom of the display and goes upward in a slight curve to the right. This type of accidental damage is not covered by our warranty and is caused by mechanical pressure being applied to the display. Replacement of the display module requires the purchase of 275 service credits in our webshop: https://www.irexshop.com/. After we have received your order, we will sent a return box to collect your iLiad and have it repaired.”

275 repair credits at $1.40 per credit comes to $385 for this repair which I am 100% certain is not the due to any mechanical damage. In my reply to Tom I questioned how Irex could have concluded that the display/mother glass was broken without physically examining the Iliad? I got another prompt response:

“the display still looks smooth from the topside, because the glassplate is covered by several plastic layers: the E-ink layer, a conductive sheet, a protective sheet and a layer of PET plastic. From our experience we can determine that the damage is actually a broken motherglass plate. The attached picture shows the cracks in red and a yellow arrow, that indicates the most likely point of impact, where the cracks originate from.

kind regards, Tom van Rijswijk”

I have been pretty happy with the Iliad until I had this problem with the device and experienced the frustration of not been able to talk to any tech support team and have to do this via email. Also Irex will not even take my Iliad until the payment of $385 is made. From reading previous posts on this and other blogs I am tempted to believe that this problem with “striations” developing on the Iliad screen is pretty routine and may be a result of faulty design. Initially I thought the device was still covered under manufacture’s warranty only to be told by Tom this was not the case with my particular situation. I am 100% certain that there was no physical impact to the device since I do not share my Iliad and always protect it in a padded bag (see attached picture). In addition I keep my Iliad and laptop in different compartments in a well padded laptop bag.


On reading comments related to my Iliad problem on this site, one particular comment posted on November 11-27-2007 by RWood provides the following insight to a similar complaint posted by user: Jackbrown.


Below is a posting by RWood:

“Since e-ink uses the same type of matrix under the e-ink that LCD screens use and the single line not working is a common problem with LCD screens, it seems that it is not damage caused by the user. What happens is that one of the row capacitors or transistors stops working and keeps the entire row at a constant color.
To my way of thinking it is a manufacturing defect.”


I still have my Iliad and I don’t plan on paying $385 at this time to have it repaired. Maybe when the economy turns around then I will be able to afford that kind of repairs. On a more serious note, I was very impressed with the features of the Iliad and felt it was worth the price, however I am very disappointed that after paying $700 for this device it has not lived up to my expectations. All said I think it is a cool device and if I were Irex I will pay more attention to all the shortcomings reported here and on other similar blogs and factor that into making newer and more versatile models.


Doe

[ericshliao]

I feel sorry for your broken iLiad. I know it's painful to spend a lot of money to repair it.

As to the post of RWood, I concur that a single line not working may be caused by a defective capacitors or transistors. In your case, however, as seen in the pic, the defective points forms a curve (marked by red line). I think it's not likely that only those capacitors under the red line are dead. So, I would infer that the defective points depicted by the red line is some crack in the panel.

[-Thomas-]

I agree with eric that a single line is actually a technical problem and a bunch of horizontal and vertical lines is a broken screen in 98% of the cases.

The iLiad is very sensitive when it comes to "bending" (i.e. diagonal bending), even more sensitive compared to direct pressure on the screen. Maybe your broken screen results from something like that?

Originally Posted by dadovor

From reading previous posts on this and other blogs I am tempted to believe that this problem with “striations” developing on the Iliad screen is pretty routine and may be a result of faulty design.

It's not a design flaw from iRex' side but a commonality for all substrate based e-Ink screens. IMO those screens are just not a 100% mature product yet. But that's what we pay the "early adopters fee" for...

That's not of help to you, but I think that Tom's response was appropriate in this case. Hope you will overcome your disappointment about the device.

[vbranson]

I just want to add to this discussion that there appears to be an ongoing defect with the iLiad. I don't now all of the possible ways this defect manifests in the various devices. I purchased my first (and last!) iLiad in 2008. After a few months, vertical lines began forming on the screen and gradually increased in number. I was pretty pleased when iRex sent a return box to me abroad and covered the repair of the device. Unfortunately the process took about 5 months. After 3 months with my "repaired" device, the lines began forming again. Again, they have been multiplying as time goes by. iRex has refused my request to send a new device as I do not wish to be without the device for 5 months out of every year. Instead they maintain that the defect is "extremely rare" and can be easily fixed (again) with a replacement display. After months of being without replacement displays, iRex is now experiencing "logistical" difficulties in sending return boxes. One was promised to arrive in April, but I am still waiting. Pretty disappointing customer service for a device that I can barely use and cost me $700.

[lisgielen]

Too bad, my iliad has gotten the same kind of cracks. If Irex is out as a company, is there any way we can buy a new screen and replace it ourselves? I did this for my sons nintendo DS touchscreen, and it worked fine. Or is this too difficult for normal human beings?

[Shaggy]

Originally Posted by lisgielen

Too bad, my iliad has gotten the same kind of cracks. If Irex is out as a company, is there any way we can buy a new screen and replace it ourselves? I did this for my sons nintendo DS touchscreen, and it worked fine. Or is this too difficult for normal human beings?

Obtaining a screen would be nearly impossible. There isn't a market for replacement screens like there is for some other types of more common devices (Nintendo, etc). The eInk screens they used were a unique design for the iLiad, no other device uses the same screens. The only way I can think of would be to find a second hand iLiad for sale that had an undamaged screen.

Even then, I would imagine the process required to swap out the screen is beyond the average consumer. I've never tried it though, so am not 100% sure what would be involved.

[npceodp]

My iliad has two line-outs on the screen. One wider than the other. I find out that when I hold the reader with my hand near the edges of one the line, the line will be fading out. I think it is the heat drive the line out.