Once I discovered the support window for a Toshiba Chromebook 2 (CB35-B3340) extended longer than I had originally anticipated, I was more willing to spend money to bring it back to working condition. While I was shopping for a replacement screen earlier I saw several offers for new units and a few scattered offers for secondhand units. I presume these were salvaged from retired machines and resold, which is fine by me as it came at a significant discount. $47 with taxes and shipping (*), as compared to $75 (before taxes & shipping) for a new unit.

That ~40% discount also came with a caveat: I clicked "Buy" on a unit that was rated "Grade B: Fully functional but with visible blemishes." It was a bit of a gamble, but my primary requirement is only to see enough to enter developer mode, so I decided I would tolerate visual blemishes to save a few extra dollars. There was also a bit of a gamble in shipping. from my disassembly efforts I knew this panel is very thin and fragile. This time around, I did not mind the extensive packaging of Amazon orders.

I saw no physical blemishes on the panel during installation. Once installed, I was happy to see Chrome OS boot up and run. I had to work hard to see the visual blemishes that earned this panel its Grade B rating. I had to set the screen to full black, and artificially increase contrast in a photo editor, before we can see the magenta smudges: Two light horizontal smudges, and two dots one of which look a bit smeared.

Toshiba Chromebook 2 CB35-B3340 used replacement screen defects

I'm not familiar with failure mode of LCD display modules so I have no idea what's going on here. Perhaps these were manufacturing defects? In any case, these flaws are only visible if I strain to look for them and there is no physical damage to the screen so I'm satisfied with my purchase.

Toshiba Chromebook 2 CB35-B3340 recovery screen now readable

The visual blemishes are not at all bothersome in normal usage. This level of performance was more than good enough to be used as a normal Chromebook if I wanted to use it as such. But the reason I got the screen was to access Chrome OS recovery menu to enter developer mode, so I will try that first.

(*) Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.