Repair or Replace

Cracked Laptop Screen: Repair or Replace the Computer?

How to weigh a screen replacement against the value of the laptop you already own.

Written and reviewed by Nick.

Cracked laptop display with spreading glass damage

Illustrative stock photography — not a specific customer repair.

What decides the cost

The panel itself is the main variable. A standard laptop panel and a touchscreen or high-resolution panel are very different parts, and availability for a given model matters as much as the type.

The comparison worth making

Put the repair quote next to what an equivalent replacement laptop would cost, then factor in the machine's age and whether anything else is already failing. A three-year-old laptop that is otherwise healthy is usually worth the screen. A seven-year-old machine that is also slow and out of storage often is not.

A useful test before you decide

Plug the laptop into an external monitor. If the external picture is fine, the computer itself is working and the display is the problem — which is the repairable, predictable case.

Want it looked at properly?

Estimates are free and you hear the price before any work starts.

Cracked screen repair