What Was Happening
A customer from Battersea SW11 brought in a Dell XPS 13 9315 that had been dropped from a kitchen worktop. The drop had cracked the display — a spider-web fracture starting from the lower-right corner and spreading across about a third of the panel. The machine was powering on and running normally but the display was producing distorted output in the cracked area.
The customer had also noticed the lid was sitting very slightly off-centre — the right edge was marginally lower than the left when the lid was closed — and the right side of the hinge had more resistance than the left when opening.
Our Diagnosis
We connected an external monitor via the XPS 13’s Thunderbolt port and confirmed a clean, full-resolution image — the GPU and video signal path were healthy, and the fault was isolated to the display assembly.
Physical inspection of the hinge confirmed the right hinge bracket had taken a bend in the fall. The bracket was not broken, but the deformation was enough to produce uneven tension between the two hinges. This was responsible for the slight lid misalignment the customer had noticed and, if left, would apply ongoing stress to the lid frame as the machine was opened and closed — eventually cracking the lid chassis at the hinge mounting point.
The XPS 13 uses an InfinityEdge display — a near-borderless panel design where the display assembly and the lid frame are very tightly integrated. On this generation, attempting to replace only the inner panel without replacing the full assembly introduces a high risk of damaging the lid frame, as the two components share tolerances that make separation without purpose-designed tooling impractical.
The correct repair path was replacement of the full display assembly plus the right hinge bracket.
How We Fixed It
We sourced a compatible display assembly for the XPS 13 9315 and a replacement right hinge bracket. The display assembly replacement involved removing the lid structure, detaching the display cable, and fitting the replacement assembly with all cable connections reseated. The bent right hinge bracket was removed and the replacement bracket fitted and torqued correctly.
Post-fit checks: the lid was opened and closed through its full range to confirm even hinge tension on both sides. The display cable was confirmed routed correctly — an incorrectly routed cable on the XPS 13 can cause intermittent display signal loss after a few weeks of lid opening and closing. The lid alignment was checked against the chassis in the closed position.
Display quality checks: full brightness range, colour uniformity across the panel, and a test of the webcam (integrated into the display assembly on this model).
The Result
The Dell XPS 13 was returned to the Battersea customer the following day with a clear display and smooth, even hinge action. The lid sat correctly in the closed position. Webcam and microphone (both within the display assembly) were functioning. The machine was indistinguishable from its pre-drop condition.
Hinge Damage and Why It Matters
The hinge is the component that most commonly takes secondary damage in a drop that primarily damages the screen. When a laptop falls and the corner of the lid hits the floor, the hinge absorbs part of the rotational force of the impact. A strong enough impact bends the hinge bracket, and a severe impact can crack it completely.
Hinge damage that is not repaired progresses. Uneven hinge tension causes the lid frame to flex differently on each side every time the machine is opened and closed. Over weeks and months, this differential flex fatigues the lid chassis material at the hinge mounting points, eventually cracking the chassis itself — which is a significantly more involved repair than replacing a hinge bracket.
The brief check we do on the hinge whenever a screen replacement follows a drop is not an upsell — it is a check that prevents a more expensive repair six months later.
Prevention Tips
- Transport the laptop in a padded sleeve or case; the XPS 13 is a particularly thin and light machine where the display assembly has limited structural depth to absorb impacts
- Keep the machine away from the edges of kitchen worktops, where a small knock can send it off the edge before you can catch it
- If the lid is slightly misaligned or the hinge feels uneven after a drop, have it assessed before the display is replaced — repairing both together is always less expensive than two separate repairs
Local Help in Battersea SW11
We carry out laptop screen and hinge repairs at our Putney workshop for customers across Battersea SW11. We’re about 12–15 minutes away, with free collection from SW11.
Related Services
- Screen Replacement — display replacement for all laptop makes and models
- Screen Replacement in Battersea — local service covering SW11
More Case Studies
- MacBook Pro Retina screen replacement in Wimbledon — impact-related screen replacement on an Apple laptop
- MacBook Pro screen replacement in Hammersmith — another fall-related screen case
- HP Pavilion X360 screen repair after a drop — drop damage on a convertible laptop