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Two Damaged HP ZBooks in a Row

· 3 min read
Bogdan Varlamov
Bogdan Varlamov
Technologist

Two HP ZBook units arrived damaged from shipping in a row: the first had a cracked screen, and its replacement had a screw missing from the cover. Two for two isn't the batting average anyone wants from a laptop. I ordered the ZBook with 128GB of RAM to run local AI inference experiments, and to replace an old laptop that was dying.

Why a ZBook​

My previous laptop was on its way out, and I wanted a replacement that could also handle local LLM inference experiments. The ZBook line goes up to 128GB of unified memory, enough to load large models without a discrete GPU carrying the whole load.

The first unit: a broken screen​

The first ZBook arrived with a broken screen.

HP ZBook laptop with a cracked and shattered display screen, damage sustained during shipping

The replacement: a missing screw​

I opened a case with HP and arranged a replacement. Shipping the broken unit back and receiving the replacement took weeks of back and forth. During that time, HP's website showed inventory running low on the 128GB configuration, and I was worried that if the repair process damaged the laptop further, a refund would be my only option since a replacement in that configuration might no longer be in stock.

At this point I was starting to wonder if HP's QA department was also on backorder.

The second unit had a screw missing from the cover. Between the laptop and its owner, at least one of us has a screw loose, and for once it wasn't me.

Close-up of the HP ZBook's bottom cover showing an empty screw hole where a screw is missing

HP's resolution options​

HP offered two options for the second unit:

  • Accept a partial refund and keep the laptop, optionally shipping it back to HP for repair
  • Get a full refund and return the laptop

A partial refund for a missing screw is HP's way of saying "close enough."

Why I kept it​

I decided to keep the laptop with the partial refund rather than send it back again. I had already set up my laptop environment on this unit, and the support tech I spoke with said a repair might involve wiping the drive, which would mean setting everything up again from scratch. Setting up a laptop environment once is normal. Doing it twice because of a missing screw is not how I wanted to spend my week. Two units in a row had already arrived damaged, and I didn't want to risk a third round of shipping damage on top of that.

The packaging problem​

Both units arrived damaged from shipping, and both shipped in the same style of box. I suspect that box isn't enough protection for a laptop this size to survive shipping.

Shipping box used for the HP ZBook laptop, showing thin cardboard with minimal internal padding