How to Fix a Broken TV Screen (or Cracked)

Probably the worst thing that can happen to a TV is to have a broken or cracked screen.

Did a child kicked it while playing football in the house? Did you break the screen during transportation (moving)? or did you break it with a PS4 controller or wearing your virtual reality headset? (running).

You wonder if it is possible to repair a TV after a knock on the screen and the appearance of cracks.

Whether the TV is flat, curved, or CRT, unfortunately, you won’t be able to fix a broken or cracked TV screen. Manufacturers very rarely sell the screen panel part alone as a spare part. A screen is the most expensive part of a TV and generally it is cheaper to buy a new TV than to replace this part.

In many cases, a local appliance repair service will not take your TV for repair. They know it’s not worth the cost and will tell you at the first diagnosis.

If you care about your TV and absolutely want to replace the screen, look for a similar model for sale second-hand, but in practice, the replacement work will take a lot of time and skill. The advice is rather to forget about your broken TV and buy a new one (even a better one).

With a bit of luck, if your TV wasn’t too new, you can buy a bigger, more modern TV for less money (because TV prices have been falling for years).

Is It Worth Fixing a broken TV screen?

While it is possible fixing a broken TV with a bit knowledge and few dollars, (eg TV that won’t turn on or show black screen but sound on), fixing a broken TV screen is not worth it for at least 3 reasons:

• the new screen cost and shipping delay (only if available)
• the cost of repair ($40 to $150)
• the time it takes to get it fixed (you stay few weeks without TV)

Why TV screens are expensive

Reason 1: the cost of the screen itself

As you already know, China is the factory of the world and almost all TVs are made there.

What you may not know is that the brands (LG, Samsung, Sony, etc.) outsource and buy their screens from the same suppliers.

The reason is simple, the process of manufacturing a television screen requires specific skills and is therefore expensive.

For example for an LCD screen, the screens consist of two thin sheets of glass. On one of the sheets are affixed transistor cells deposited on a layer of indium tin oxide (ITO), an alloy of metals with the result of being able to see through.

A layer of silicon is then integrated with millions of transistors to allow the display to activate the millions of pixels and colors independently of each other. It is a technological feat as it is miniaturized. A 4K TV has 8.3 million pixels.

This is the main reason why your TV screen is more expensive than the electronic power part or the frame. The screens were expensive to develop and expensive to produce.

In addition, screens with broken pixels are discarded from quality control and therefore destroyed.

Reason 2: transportation cost

Screens are manufactured and shipped from China.

Unless you live in China, the price of your screen covers the cost of transportation to your store. The shipping cost is high because a TV is bulky, wide, heavy and fragile.

This is one of the reasons why single screens cannot be found for sale, because transporting a single screen costs as much as transporting a new TV.

The plastic frame and the electronic circuit are not very expensive and represent about 20% of the price of a television while 80% of the price of a TV is for the screen panel alone.

Does a warranty cover a Broken TV Screen

It depends…

If upon unpacking, you notice that the screen is physically broken, there is a good chance that the seller will take it back from you without discussion. Obviously, this must be observed on first unpacking, therefore quickly after the date of purchase or delivery of your TV.

If at the first ignition you observe defects on the screen such as white, green or colored line, streaks, broken pixels or others, there is a chance that the warranty will cover it (but this is not always the case).

However, if you observe a problem with your TV screens very quickly after your purchase and within the first days, therefore it should be covered by the manufacturer’s warranty.

Note that a breakdown occurring following normal use of a TV is covered by warranty as long as there is no footprint of external impact and as long as the TV has not been opened by you.

What is NOT Covered by a Broken TV Screen Warranty

Usually you will find in the manufacturer’s manual all the details of warranty coverage and what is not covered. Here is what is generally excluded from the warranty:

• physical damage after purchase
• breakdowns after 2 years of purchase
• misuse (even during the warranty period)
• wrong supply voltage
• electrical surges / lightning
• problems getting local channels (the problem is not the TV but your locality)
• opening and interior repair attempts
• previous repairs from a profesional not approved by the manufacturer

Excluded from warranty but potentially covered by your home insurance in case of a claim! (flood, lightning, natural disaster…) Insurance companies have their own policies. You can check your contract or contact them.

So unless the screen is already broken at the time of purchase, if you break your screen later, you won’t have to do anything except buy a new TV.

How to get a refund for a broken TV

If you have broken someone’s TV or someone else has accidentally broken your TV (for example a child while playing), you can ask to use that person’s home or civil liability insurance, especially if your TV is still relatively new.

It won’t fix your TV, but at least you can get some money back to buy another one. I once had the case to pay off a set of burnt football clothes by accidentally throwing a firework at a young boy. (I was young too).

Can you watch a broken tv

Your TV screen is broken and you wonder if you can still watch it without any problem.

If you have ever had or seen a broken smartphone, you know that the device can continue to work properly in many cases. It is just not that confortable.

However, in some cases this may not be recommended. For example, it is not recommended for CRT screens or plasma screens (screens that are not flat in general).

While it’s possible to watch a broken LCD TV screen, it’s not confortable or recommended and the best solution is to buy a new TV like a Smart TV.

What to do with a broken TV

To get rid of a broken TV, you have 2 solutions:

• sell the broken TV
• Get it of the broken TV

sell a broken tv

Maybe someone with a broken TV  wants a spare part of the internal electronic or motherboard, LED strips or an accessory, but overall you won’t become rich by selling a broken TV because few people are interested.

A Professional can open it and take the part that interests him. (I had the case when selling a rabbit cage. The buyer was only interested in the plastic bin. he had the same cage but needed a only one part)

So not sure you’ll find a buyer, but if you do, it’s still better than nothing.

Here are some great places to sell your broken TV:

• Craiglist
• Facebook
• eBay

If no one wants to buy your broken TV, you can try listing it on those marketplaces and set a price to zero. Tons of people usually respond when they can get something for free, even if it’s damaged.

Get rid of a broken TV

If you can’t sell it or give it away, throw away the broken TV.

Here’s how to get rid of a broken TV the right way:

• The nearest recycling center: The recycling centers accept electronic devices including TVs. It is certainly the easiest and fastest method
• The regular collection of heterogeneous waste: Once or twice a year, cities have special collection days at home. You will find the upcoming pickup dates online. They generally accept TVs but check because this is not always the case.
• Stores: If you buy a new TV, you can bring back your old TV and they will take it back. If you have it delivered to you, some brands take care of taking back your old TV for free. It’s convenient, you don’t have to do anything.

Don’t drop the TV on the street hoping the garbage collectors will take it because they don’t. and do not get rid of it in a wild dump or in nature because not only is it illegal and you will get fined, but your non-recycled TV will potentially contaminate the nature and the groundwater.

How to protect a TV screen against breakage

Better than trying to fix a broken TV screen is avoiding breakage.

Here are some tips to protect your TV screen from breaking:

• Hanging your TV on the wall: A wall mount costs less than furnitures and is trendy. In addition, the screen is more stable because it is hung instead of being placed on a piece of furniture. It is also generally placed higher and helps to avoid blows and shocks from children or during house cleaning.
• Keep the empty box for when you move: If you regularly move, the original box is practical to put it back in and transport it without damaging it. If you no longer have the protection box, wrap the TV in a blanket and add tape.
• Buy a TV screen protector: You can buy a screen film that covers your TV and protects it from small impacts, dust and small scratches from fingernails, children’s toys or animal paws.
• Keep away from video games: We’ve all seen videos of people accidentally breaking their TV with a video game controller. So, avoid playing too close to the TV and don’t forget to attach the cord of the controller to your wrist, it exists for this reason.
• Opting for breakage or damage insurance: If you or someone in the family is clumsy and regularly break things in your home, it may be worth buying a TV breakage insurance. You usually will buy this insurance at the the same time of purchase.

None of these preventative steps are perfect, but if you do all five, the risk of your TV breaking in the future will be greatly reduced.

Wrapping it up

Unfortunately, unless you have a very high-end, multi-thousand-dollar TV, you won’t be able to fix a broken TV screen. That’s because the screen is the most expensive part of a TV.

TV screens are expensive because they are complicated to manufacture, costly and bulky to transport.

Most repair centers won’t bother trying to fix a broken screen. It is better to buy a newer, bigger and more modern TV for the same price or less.

Unless it is broken at the time of purchase or unpacking, if you break your screen, you cannot do anything about it even if it is still under warranty.

You can resell it for parts or get rid of it for recycling in different ways.

Finally, you can prevent it from breaking by hanging it from the wall or moving it carefully.

In the end, if you broke your TV screen, the best you have to do is buy a new one.