82% of laptop problems are hardware-related, finds study

The forced work-from-home and e-learning phenomena induced by the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an uptake in the use of laptops and also the troubles related to it. The top laptop problems that engulfed India were revealed in a new white paper released by Onsitego, a leading brand in after-sales services of devices and appliances.

According to the white paper, more than 82% of laptop distresses are hardware-related compared to just 18% of software related. The white paper was prepared after studying over 8,000 laptop cases nationally.

Within hardware, while display and keyboard related problems were expected to be the topmost, surprisingly Wi-Fi connectivity emerged as the highest that stood at 27% of all laptop service requests. 18% accounted for keyboard and the trackpad related issues followed by display at 15% and battery and charging related glitches at 8%.

All other hindrances, such as audio, Bluetooth, exhaust fans, hard disk, overheating, physical damage, power button and webcam accounted for around just 2% of laptops serviced. In a few cases, where the root cause of the issue can’t be identified, those are mostly related to a faulty motherboard.

In the software category, the primary concerns are around resource-hungry applications that accounted almost half (50%) of all laptop service requests. This is followed by whopping 41% reporting their laptop getting hung in the middle of their usage due to inefficient background apps, malware or viruses and lastly the issues faced due to Windows updates stood at a minimal 4%.

Kunal Mahipal, CEO, Onsitego, explained, “The demand for laptops has gone up exponentially with the pandemic. Now in addition to smartphones, laptops too have penetrated deep into Indian households. The over-usage of laptops and not being aware of how to correctly maintain them has led to a spike in the number of laptop problems reported by consumers. This white paper gives us interesting insights into some of the most common laptop problems that consumers face today.”

The white paper further reveals another interesting insight that the more expensive the laptop, the higher its repair costs. For example, getting a Rs 40,000 laptop repaired or serviced can cost anywhere between 15% to 45% of the laptop’s price, depending on the issue. But getting a laptop priced above Rs 50,000 can cost anywhere between 40% and 90% of the laptop’s price. For another example, getting an Apple’s MacBook and Microsoft’s Surface laptops repaired cost an average of Rs 20,000 or higher. On the other hand, laptops from brands like Asus, Dell, HP and Lenovo cost an average of less than Rs 10,000 for repairs.

The report also finds that typically, customers spending more than Rs 50,000 tend to opt for laptops from Apple, and if opting for laptops below Rs 50,000, they prefer laptops sold by Acer, Asus, Dell, HP and Lenovo.