Dell XPS 13 9370 - Display backlight not working

Question

Hello there!

I own a Dell XPS 13 9370, which was always treated well. Bought it approximately four years ago and only changed the battery a year ago.
A few weeks ago, the display started glitching out in some occasions and showed horizontal black bars one time (fixed after a reboot). Now since a few days, the display backlight stopped working completely and I can only see the screen content with a flashlight. If I connect the device to an external display via USB-C, everythings working fine.

Has anyone here an idea, which part could be defective? My guess would be that it's either the display or the motherboard.

ejn63 · Answer

What shows when you run a screen test (hold the D key through powerup)?  Does the backlight work, and are the test images clear?

Delltlev · Answer

The backlight stays off. I can barely see the different test images during the test with a flashlight.

ejn63 · Answer

The other symptoms point toward the display being the issue, though not definitively. It could still be a fault with the high voltage supply to the backlight LEDs. It's time to either turn the system over to a reputable shop that can test the output voltage at the system board, or start replacing parts -- unfortunately, both the screen and the mainboard may wind up needing to be replaced, and on a system that's about 4-5 years old, that may not be cost effective.

You may be better off replacing rather than repairing the system.

ejn63 · Answer

You'd need to call Dell for an estimate, but given that the system model dates from 2018, and is therefore about four years old, expect to be told they do not have repair parts.

Delltlev · Answer

That's what I thought - the costs of the repair could be extremely high, depending on the defective parts. Is Dell offering repair services directly? I'm from Germany btw.

XPS

Dell XPS 13 9370 - Display backlight not working

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