That one time a customer showed me the 'pry from the top' trick on laptops

I used to always crack open laptops from the side seam with a spudger, but I wrecked a hinge clip on a Dell Latitude 5400 last month. Customer saw me struggling and told me to start prying from the top edge near the screen hinge instead. Turns out most laptop lids have a stronger catch up there and it pops off way cleaner. I've done 8 repairs since then using that method and zero broken clips. Anyone else have a quick trick like that from a random client?

2 comments

2 Comments

jason_kelly85d ago

Wait, does that work on all Dell models or just the Latitudes?

jennifer3585d ago

Yeah that's actually not true for most of them. The whole Fn+Esc thing only works on the newer Latitudes and some of the Precision lines. Older models like the Inspiron or Vostro don't even have that shortcut built in. I tried it on my friend's Inspiron 15 and nothing happened, had to go into BIOS to swap the function keys. Just saying so nobody gets frustrated when it doesn't work on their regular Dell. Better to check your specific model number first.