According to reports out of South Korea yesterday, LG has had to set up an extensive repair program to fix an over-heating issue that affects no less than three generations of its highly regarded OLED TVs.
As reported initially by the YonHap News Agency, LG Electronics is offering free repairs to owners of 18 different OLED TV models released in South Korea between February 2016 and September 2019. The estimated 60,000 affected models even include premium models such as the 2019 W9 ‘Wallpaper’ series and the 2018 G8s.
It appears that there are no similar issues with LG’s 2020 models, though, and LG claims to have already carried out the necessary fix to around 22,000 affected sets.
The repair involves replacing power boards that have the potential to suffer what LG refers to as ‘current overflow’ as they degrade over time. It’s not clear what the impact of such ‘current overflows’ might be - though LG told ZDNet that to date only “very few models” have actually fallen prey to the overheating issue.
The LG OLED77C9 is one of the TVs that's subject to the power board repair scheme LG is currently ... [+]
Photo: The LG OLED77C9 (LG Electronics)However, the fact that LG has decided to get ahead of the problem rather than just reacting to specific failures if and when they happen makes you think its consequences have at least the potential to be quite dramatic. This seems to be backed up by a statement LG made to ZDNet stating that it’s decided to swap the faulty components for reasons of “customer safety”.
That said, it’s important to stress that LG has established the repair program voluntarily, as a preventative measure; it hasn’t been forced to do so under pressure by any Government or trade body.
The full list of models affected by the power board replacement scheme are as follows: The OLED65E6, OLED65G6, and OLED77G6 from 2016; the OLED65B7, OLED65C7, OLED65E7, OLED65G7, OLED65W7, OLED77G7, and OLED77W7 from 2017; the OLED65G8, OLED65W8, OLED77C8, and OLED77W8 from 2018; and the OLED65W9, OLED77B9, OLED77C9, and OLED77W9 from 2019.
It’s interesting to note from this list that the issue doesn’t seem to impact any 55-inch models, and doesn’t seem to impact any E Series models released since 2018.
The million dollar question for many people reading this article, of course, is whether the OLED TV problems LG is addressing in South Korea have the potential to affect the same LG OLED models in other parts of the world.
LG categorically told the YonHap News Agency that “TVs sold overseas are not subject to the repairs”. In response to a follow up question put to it by The Verge, though, LG was less categorical, saying that it was “investigating other markets” for the issue.
I’m no expert on the minutiae of OLED TV manufacture, and there are certainly localization issues that make it entirely possible that different territories get their own specifically manufactured models. But even so, it seems hardly beyond the realms of possibility that the same problematic component could find its way onto the power boards of models shipped outside South Korea?
On the other hand, of course, if that was the case it would seem strange for LG not to be reacting everywhere in the same precautionary way that it’s reacted in South Korea.
I’ve asked LG to confirm when it can that the problem is indeed limited to South Korea - and if it is, to explain how this is the case. If/when I hear anything back, I’ll update this story accordingly.
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If you found this story interesting, you might also like these:
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The Link LonkJuly 21, 2020 at 10:14PM
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60,000 LG OLED TVs Found To Need Critical Overheating Repair - Forbes
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