Solved! UX305CA display will not turn on after sleep/hibernate

[pancakehustler]

The laptop:
2016 ASUS UX305CA with an Intel Core m3-6Y30 CPU (0.9 GHz, 1512 Mhz), 8GB RAM, with recent battery replacement and SSD upgrade.


The issue:
The screen stays black after waking from sleep or hibernate despite the power indicator being on, and the other buttons (e.g. Airplane mode) still functioning. If I connect it to an external monitor the computer is actually running as normal (though, the original micro HDMI port does not function, and I have to use a USB to HDMI adapter). The issue happens whether or not I am plugged into power.

This has continued over the last few years and is not getting better or worse, and seems to happen randomly.: it will occur every time the laptop wakes on some days, and then not again for a week or more. I don't have any other display issues (no flickering etc)


What I've tried:
The only way to fix it temporarily is to hold the power button for 45-60s and then release, forcing a reboot. This does not work every time though and sometimes I have to do this a number of times in a row to fix it.

I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling display drivers multiple times, most recently when I reinstalled everything after installing a new larger SSD. Despite this there was absolutely no change!


The question:

I've seen other similar posts suggesting a primary display or GPU issue., which it may well be. My question is

1. Any ideas?
2. Is there a log I can access which might indicate where the failure is so I can diagnose exactly what is going on?

Thanks very much!

 

[AlHuneke]

It may be the case that the display is bad. Shine a light on the display at an angle and see if you can see a very faint display. If so, this indicates the backlight is bad. Also try gentling tap on the display and setting the lid at different angles. There may be an intermittent connection. Most vendors supply a diagnostic for their laptops. If you can find one for the Asus, you can try to run it when the problem shows up and see what it says about the display.

 

[pancakehustler]

It may be the case that the display is bad. Shine a light on the display at an angle and see if you can see a very faint display. If so, this indicates the backlight is bad. Also try gentling tap on the display and setting the lid at different angles. There may be an intermittent connection. Most vendors supply a diagnostic for their laptops. If you can find one for the Asus, you can try to run it when the problem shows up and see what it says about the display.

Thanks for the ideas - I'll give those a try!