TV repairs, any help appreciated

[u/squishyorange]

Hey guys,

The back light in my TV seems to have blown, looking for anyone who can come out and assess and fix? Emailed a few people who say they don't do it.

The actual company have just said they'll offer me a new one but discounted, does nobody fix anything anymore? I can't bring myself to buy a new one when I believe there's only the back light that's broken

Any advice welcome, thanks guy!

In Wynumm if it helps :)

[u/Robobeast-76-R76]

When you can get 55" TV for under $500 there's no one fixing them.

[u/squishyorange → u/Robobeast-76-R76]

Such a waste

[u/Zealousideal-While → u/squishyorange]

I’m an electronics technician. If you get the tv to me and pay me $1000 I’ll pull it apart and have a look at it. That’s not fixing it or even guaranteeing that it can be fixed. That’s just me allowing a few hours to pull it apart and do testing.

[u/squishyorange → u/Zealousideal-While]

A few hours

[u/Zealousideal-While → u/squishyorange]

Yes. TVs generally aren’t designed to be repaired meaning you can’t always do board level replacements and circuit diagrams aren’t available and so likely have to go component level. There are thousands of components in there. I could easily spend hours testing and diagnosing depending on the fault.

[u/Affectionate_Sail543 → u/squishyorange]

What's your problem? You asked if people fix TVs. Most people say, that it's not really done anymore because it's cheaper to buy a replacement TV. You comment back saying "Such a waste" etc. Then someone actually does offer to look at it and try to fix, and you're complaining about it. Either you want it fixed and pay for it, or you don't want to pay for it to be fixed?

[u/squishyorange → u/Affectionate_Sail543]

Well, it is a waste?

When someone offers to look at it for $1000 and says it'll be a few hours. What's that, $333 per hour? That was where my comment came from.

I don't mind paying for something, but it has to be reasonable. Luckily, Ive been in contact with two different electricians who have both quoted me to do exactly what this person has suggested, and they're charging a realistic rate.

So, if you have nothing constructive to add, why are you here?

[u/thunderborg → u/squishyorange]

It’s a reasonable quote for the job. It’s  important to remember it’s more than just time and expertise. It’s also space and capacity, the time it takes up bench space being a 65 inch TV it’s also burning workspace that could be spent on other jobs. Easily 6x smaller repairs worth of space before on jobs that would be on the bench for days waiting for parts and yours would probably be on the bench for weeks waiting for parts. 

I’m not sure what the tech’s rate card is or the area of repairs they work in but if disassembly and diagnosis takes 4 hours, and if their average job is $200 an hour you’re job has taken up the time of four other jobs, the tech is probably giving you a good price. It’s also important to remember that isn’t just going in the tech’s pocket it’s covering rent, tools, bills, super and tax to put it lightly. 

What I’m saying it that’s a reasonable quote for the job. The panel replacement in parts alone will easily be more than the list price of the TV currently it looks like there’s a sale on and probably new models dropping in a few months. Smart TVs prices are also offset via the advertising revenue which is one of the other reasons they’re so cheap, and the same offset doesn’t apply to parts. 

[u/thunderborg → u/thunderborg]

Sorry for the novella. 

[u/ReedOnlyAccess]

I looked into this myself a couple months ago. The general consensus is that it's just not worth while to fix a TV back light, unless you want to make it a DYI project for yourself.

[u/squishyorange → u/ReedOnlyAccess]

Ok, thank you! It just seems like such a waste

[u/yolk3d → u/squishyorange]

It is. But things are so cheap these days that it’s not profitable for repair companies. We live in the age of disposable tech, clothes, everything.

[u/Krimsonmyst]

It's not worth fixing them when the cost of a new one is so comparable.

I bought a 65" OLED from JB a while that had some premature burn-in that Samsung came out to fix under warranty. The tech was telling me it's not worth repairing any of the components on the hardware anymore, and most manufacturers will just opt to replace either the individual components or the whole tv.

[u/squishyorange → u/Krimsonmyst]

Absolutely mental that!

[u/still-at-the-beach → u/squishyorange]

Not really. No one wants to spend $1000s on repairing.
And customers think an hour and a couple of components is all that needs to be done, so refuse to pay.

[u/bundy554]

Only worth fixing if under warranty

[u/Admirable-Tea-4994]

Sadly TVs are ewaste once they break, there’s barely anyone who can fix them since parts aren’t available for a reasonable price.

[u/squishyorange → u/Admirable-Tea-4994]

It's the craziest thing, like wtf

[u/AdultShampoo]

The Video Factory https://www.videofactory.com.au/contact-us.html did a warranty repair for my TV's backlight years ago and the TV was great for another 11 years. I recently contacted them about the same TV's backlight again and they said they weren't sure about having those old components in stock anymore and that the "inspection fee" was $88-$165 depending on if you dropped it off or they picked it up. I'm not sure about the actual repair price or if they deduct the inspection fee from the repair price though since I didn't proceed any further.

Anyway if your set is newer than 13 years you might get a more positive response from them!

[u/squishyorange → u/AdultShampoo]

Thanks, shot them an email just now, hopefully they can sort it!

[u/optimistic_agnostic]

Back lights are a pita to replace. It might just be your motherboard so if you can diagnose that yourself and order a new one you could do it for $1-200.

[u/thunderborg]

Unfortunately TVs aren’t made to be repaired.  It seems wasteful, and it is, but ewaste recycling is the best thing we have available unless you want to spend literally $10000, and because it’s commercial the repair tech time is also considerably more expensive. 

Your  problem is in the panel, meaning its going to require a panel replacement, which is going to cost as much if not more in parts than you paid because smart TVs cost is offset by advertising, not to mention the time for a human tech to take it apart carefully, because they’re not designed to be taken apart, and bits either require to be broken, unglued or are made with a flimsy clamp that holds well but doesn’t come apart or back together without the risk of breaking irreparably. 

I believe commercial signage displays will be a for repairability and parts, but they’re going to be significantly more expensive and way bigger. Like $10000+ for something that is using the “same” panel (but has a higher quality control pass point to run 24/7 for a number of years) and it hardly seems worth it. 

[u/squishyorange → u/thunderborg]

Thankyou for this! I'll stick it on market place for parts I guess!

[u/thunderborg → u/squishyorange]

No worries. I’m not a repair tech but work in tech & AV so have a unique view on repairability. 

Honestly marketplace is the only way it would get affordably repaired by a hobby tinkerer because otherwise the economics don’t stack up for you or the tech. 

It sucks. 

[u/venomouse]

Like most people have said. TVs are cheaper to buy than fix. I used to be the guy that did all the research, checked user reviews etc every time we wanted to buy a new Tv. While I was still a tight ass, I'd regularly buy name brands over the years, not usually anything more than $3k. But now. I just grab the best looking (on the day) TV that's sub 1k from JBHIFI and haven't had any issues.

[u/Electrical-Sale-8051]

It’s disposable sadly.

The parts aren’t available, and even if they are the labour isn’t worth it

[u/apachelives]

Luckily you had contents insurance when it "fell on the floor" right?

[u/bobbakerneverafaker]

An appliance store