Dell's Premium Pixel Guarantee

Selachi · 4 May 2011 at 00:41

So the final deciding factor in my quest for a new monitor has been Dell's premium pixel guarantee. Having a new shiny monitor in the past for me has been completely ruined by a bright/dead pixel. I bought 4 LG monitors last year and three of them had bright blue pixels, it just completely ruins it for me. What I want to know, if any of you do is does the Dell guarantee apply if we buy from OCUK? Their website says:

"The Premium Panel Guarantee is available for UltraSharp, Professional and Alienware monitors sold with systems or as standalone units purchased direct from Dell, and is included with Dell's standard 3-year Limited Warranty"

Would this apply if I bought it from here? I know I'd need to deal with Dell direct, but would they even honour the warranty if I bought from OCUK, or do I need to pay Dell a visit?

cainer · 4 May 2011 at 01:01

you have nothing to worry about there, although if you hunt around theres normally some voucher codes available.. i got ~£80 off my aw2310

cmndr_andi · 4 May 2011 at 01:33

Hi there,

If you buy from a reseller like OCUK dell will honour the warranty as well as the panel guarantee - so no worries there. If you have any issues then call them up on Dell technical support number, ask to go through to the monitor department and be ready to tell them the issue you are experiencing, the monitor serial number (usually on the sticker on the back), the works order number (on the original box - make sure you save this as it is required for the warranty) and the company name of the original purchaser (if it is OCUK, then that is "Esnet Ltd.").

However, please note that the premium panel guarantee only covers bright pixels (get a single bright pixel and you get a next working day replacement). It doesn't cover dead or dark pixels - I believe with ultrasharp, alienware and professional monitor lines you need 6 or more to qualify for a replacement (since a small number of dead pixels are a fact of life with LCD manufacture)- however if you have a group of dead pixels close together then they may give you a replacement even if the total is less than 6.

cainer · 4 May 2011 at 04:16

another quick thing to point out about the premium panel guarentee is that should you have a problem you will only get a brand new screen if you contact them within 7 days of purchase, any later than that you will only get a referb from a pool of RMA'd screens

cmndr_andi · 4 May 2011 at 08:34

cainer said:
another quick thing to point out about the premium panel guarentee is that should you have a problem you will only get a brand new screen if you contact them within 7 days of purchase, any later than that you will only get a referb from a pool of RMA'd screens

I wouldn't say so - not in my experience at least. I have had four warranty replacent screens from dell and three of those times I recieved a brand new monitor (sealed box, new revision, recent manufacturing date) and each of those times was well past 7 days since purchase.

Only one of these times was due to a bright pixel and it was dealt with in the same way as my other warranty replacements- on that occasion I recieved a brand-new screen.

Selachi · 4 May 2011 at 09:02

Thanks for the advice guys. cmndr_andi, do you mind if I ask what was wrong with the other two that you had replaced under warranty?

cmndr_andi · 4 May 2011 at 11:06

Sure thing, the other times the issue was:

- line of yellow pixels running vertically down the entire height of the panel (usually disappeared after 20 minutes of being on)
- monitor died, no picture at all but backlight still comes on
-line of blue pixels running vertical down panel

That said, this is over the period of six years and three different dell monitors. I still buy dell monitors first due to their high quality and excellent warranty procedure.

Selachi · 4 May 2011 at 11:25

Have heard good things about their warranty - has to be what sways it for me, looking forward to my new U2311H (and possibly a set of three of them in the future!)

Thanks everyone

schnipps · 4 May 2011 at 17:02

Main reason i wewnt with the dell 30" over the cheaper is the warranty, it was second to none on my 2407 with dell

cainer · 4 May 2011 at 22:53

cmndr_andi said:
I wouldn't say so - not in my experience at least. I have had four warranty replacent screens from dell and three of those times I recieved a brand new monitor (sealed box, new revision, recent manufacturing date) and each of those times was well past 7 days since purchase.

Only one of these times was due to a bright pixel and it was dealt with in the same way as my other warranty replacements- on that occasion I recieved a brand-new screen.

i RMA'd my aw2310 due to a dead pixel that went bright, i pushed hard for a new screen and was told its there policy to give refurbs after 7 days and so they flat out refused,.. my refurb came in a new sealed box and was also a later revision number
it was actually the 3rd screen that they sent,.. 1st one the courier dropped it as he took it out the box

2nd one had a line of blue pixels running up the screen, all 3 were taken out of new boxes