A laptop hinge rarely snaps. It stiffens, and the force of opening the lid then goes into the plastic it is screwed to. The mounts crack, the lid or base splits at the corner, and if it is left the screen is next.
Catch it early
If the lid creaks, a corner lifts as you open it, or a gap has appeared near the hinge, stop forcing it. At this stage the repair is a hinge and its mounts. Later it can be a hinge, a lid, a bezel and a screen.
What the repair involves
We replace the hinge if it has seized, and rebuild or replace the part its mounts sit in: the back cover of the lid, the palm rest or the base. Where new casing parts are no longer made we use tested refurbished parts and tell you so.
2-in-1 laptops
Hinges that fold all the way round carry more load than ordinary ones, and a stiff hinge on a 2-in-1 can crack the glass of the touchscreen.