Anyone returned a 2005FPW?

Question

I just received this monitor and it has absolutely horrible backlight problems. To anyone who's returned this, did you have to pay to ship it back to them? I've heard of people having to exchange this monitor 3 or 4 times and that can get expensive. Also, can anyone point me in the right direction to what I have to do to return this? I can't use the 'damaged' form on this site because the box wasn't damaged. The support section told me to email technical support but you have to have a service tag, which I don't seem to have. I spent about 30 minutes on the phone with their horrible tech support before giving up in frustration. Where do I have to go to start the return process?! Thanks so much for any help!

DELL-Jesse L · Answer

spooksmcgee,

Thank you for using the Dell Community Forum.

If you have the order number or customer number from when you purchased the monitor you can call 1-800-624-9896 for tech support and 1-800-624-9897 for customer care.

drew-and-not-u · Answer

I and many other people have had to return the 2005fpw because of backlighting problems. It stinks but they pay the return shipping since it's their fault. Don't worry though, once you get a good one it makes it all worth while. They really should do something about this problem though, it's insane how frequent this problem is...

drew-and-not-u · Answer

Yeah, I didn't know what to make of it when I first saw it. I was hoping it wasn't normal. Then I read everything here and returned it. I really wanted to just upgrade to the 2405fpw but like you said it's hard to justify another $400-$500 just to get one without problems (as well as a few extra inches :smileywink: ). If it wasn't such a great monitor and an awesome deal I would return it permanently on the principle that a company shouldn't sell products with such a poor yield of non-defective units. But you just can't beat it =\ Message Edited by drew-and-not-u on 07-14-2005 01:23 PM

spooksmcgee · Answer

The wierd thing is I probably would have never realized it's a problem and returned it unless I had read about this monitor beforehand. But now that I know what to look for, I can definitely tell it's a big problem. I have a huge diamond shape on the front of the monitor. I considered ordering the 2405 because I've heard it doesn't have this problem, but I don't need a monitor that big and finally realized it's crazy to spend an extra $500 JUST to get a monitor that works.

I just don't understand why they can't initiate some quality control and test the monitor before sending it out. It's a $700 item, all they have to do is plug it into a test computer and look at it for 5 seconds while it boots up.

SR45 · Answer

@spooksmcgee wrote:
The wierd thing is I probably would have never realized it's a problem and returned it unless I had read about this monitor beforehand. But now that I know what to look for, I can definitely tell it's a big problem. I have a huge diamond shape on the front of the monitor. I considered ordering the 2405 because I've heard it doesn't have this problem, but I don't need a monitor that big and finally realized it's crazy to spend an extra $500 JUST to get a monitor that works.

I just don't understand why they can't initiate some quality control and test the monitor before sending it out. It's a $700 item, all they have to do is plug it into a test computer and look at it for 5 seconds while it boots up.

Dell is having a sale on that monitor. Its now just over $500.00, not $700....Maybe you can just send it back, and order a new one, for the lower cost, and eat the shipping cost...Just a thought

polydron · Answer

does your 2005FPW actually change the brightness using the brightness control on the monitor (not the Display control panel)?

i wanted to return mine because it doesn't change the brightness but after dealing with two replacements from dell that have the exact same problem, my return period expired, and dell now refuses the return.

so if you are going to use the monitor in a relatively dark room, and you can't stand the brightness, you should return it while you can.

2005FPW, REV A01, Mexico, May 2005.

spooksmcgee · Answer

Do you only have 21 days to make all returns? Ie, if I get my replacement monitor next week and it is also bad, does the 21 days start over again from when I receive that one, or from when I received the first monitor?

And no, I can't really adjust the brightness at all. I think I have it set to 30 right now.

SR45 · Answer

21 days start on the original invoice date of the first monitor, and if you return the first one for another, the 21 days does not start over, but you can return it for good, and buy at another time if need be.

polydron · Answer

thanks spooksmcgee for the info! looks like the brightness control on some (if not all) 2005FPW's has a design flaw. it's too bad dell doesn't admit that it is a problem and try to fix it.

spooksmcgee · Answer

21 days from the first order only?! Well that's ridiculous. If they keep sending you broken monitors they should continue to replace them until they send you one that works. If the next monitor I get is messed up I'm just returning it and buying from someone else.

drew-and-not-u · Answer

They will replace it for three years, but you can only return it for a refund for 21 days. Also, you can adjust the brightness (usually seperate from the gamma) in your videocard options. It works pretty well. Also, I didn't pay anywhere close to $700 for mine, I was just saying it was a $700 item because that's the normal price. I got mine for about $450 :smileywink:

polydron · Answer

yes, you can adjust the brightness from the Display control panel as a workaround since the brightness control on the monitor (2005FPW REV01) doesn't really change the brightness.

changing the brightness from the video card is not really the same as adjusting the brightness on the monitor.

you don't call your cable company to adjust the brightness when the TV show you are watching is too bright. you simply adjust the brightness on your TV.

the problem is that the brightness control on the monitor (2005FPW REV01) doesn't really change the brightness while it is supposed to. otherwise, why does it even have the brightness control on the monitor in the first place?

Message Edited by polydron on 07-19-2005 02:31 AM

drew-and-not-u · Answer

@polydron wrote:

anyways, that's not the point. the point is that you are supposed to be able to adjust the brightness on the monitor without going deep inside the Display control panel. and the brightness control ON THE MONITOR can only change the brightness slightly, it's almost unnoticeable, and the screen is still too bright. that's the problem.

that's true, it really is a bummer, and the monitor is super bright, it made my eyes hurt if i didn't tone down the brightness. Hopefully Dell will release a 2006FPW or 2005FPT or whatever they want to call the next revision and solve all these problems.

polydron · Answer

i don't know how DVI-D sends the signal to the monitor but i suspect that the dynamic range will decrease if you dim the brightness on the video card.

anyways, that's not the point. the point is that you are supposed to be able to adjust the brightness on the monitor without going deep inside the Display control panel. and the brightness control ON THE MONITOR can only change the brightness slightly, it's almost unnoticeable, and the screen is still too bright. that's the problem.

i just received the third 2005FPW replacement (REV01. Mexico. April 2005), and it has exactly the same problem. it's still too bright.

drew-and-not-u · Answer

Actually it's pretty close. If you were just adjusting the gamma to adjust brightness it would be completely different. When you adjust the brightness setting in the video control panel it dims the signal, which in turn dims the screen, which is pretty much the same thing the brightness control on the monitor does. Either way, there will be a uniform drop in brightness across the entire screen and color frequency range.

Monitors

Was this post helpful?