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So I cracked the digitizer on my HP envy 13.3" and it no longer responds to touch... traumatic but windows 10 is still just as usable/unusable without touch for me (the touch functionality is not worth the cost being asked for the replacement digitizer to me) so now I'm left with the dead weight of an extra layer of glass along with a visually annoying crack along the bottom.
If I were to remove the digitizer would the exposed LCD panel be any more fragile than your run of the mil laptop display or is there usually some extra protective layer in place sans digitizer? (the screen in question is a 1080p 13.3" IPS)
EDIT
Just following up to confirm for anyone else that is curious in the future.
After removing the old broken digitizer glass in question (HP Envy 13.3" X2 2014 model) the screen appears to be just as robust as any other laptop screen I have encountered - as an added bonus it has a mat finish - possibly plastic which is easier on the eye for me.
I could be wrong. But IF the two components are separate, I haven't seen anything other than standard LCD screens behind a digitizer. However, sometimes they are all one unit and can be hard to separate. No telling what you'll get then. – Appleoddity – 2017-10-05T00:49:24.807
apparently for this module the two are stuck together with adhesive around the bezel requiring a heat gun and some GENTLE prying to separate. – norlesh – 2017-10-05T00:57:23.487
Yep. Sounds about right. That's where the trouble comes from and if you slip or aren't careful enough you just damaged the screen also. – Appleoddity – 2017-10-05T00:58:19.880
same risk factor as if I were to go ahead and replace the digitizer I suppose ... well actually a bit less since I haven't outlayed the price of the replacement - I'm just worried about exposing the LCD only to find some ultra fragile layer that will crack the first time I pick up the computer with my thumb on the screen. – norlesh – 2017-10-05T01:08:21.313
No. I don't believe that is the case. The screen behind the digitizer should be about the same as any LCD screen. But again, I can't be sure of that. Just what I've seen. It just won't look pretty, that's all. – Appleoddity – 2017-10-05T01:10:05.770
Thanks for the second opinion - I guess I'll give it a go... I can dress the bezel up with some black tape or something - it'll look prettier than the cracked glass. – norlesh – 2017-10-05T01:13:35.500
Good luck. The hotter you can get the glass around the edges without melting the plastic the easier it will come off. Get a corner up then gently pry while you slowly heat around the edges with a heat gun and it will start to release easier. Being it is already cracked it's going to crack more. What you don't want are all the tiny little shards you'll end up with if you get too forceful. Those can be a real pain. – Appleoddity – 2017-10-05T01:16:10.430