I9505 for Middle East (or S4 in general), quality loss or just unlucky me? - Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I live in Europe and until a few months back I have only purchased models for Europe via the local carrier, but at the start of this year I was gifted an I9505, purchased from an electronics retail store (it's a model for Middle East as I was told by Samsung when trying to get it fixed), which has turned out to be by far the worst smartphone I have ever owned so far (have owned a HTC Desire and an I9100 Galaxy S2): Twice has it suffered moderate falls, and twice has it suffered very big damage as a result:
First time it dropped from hand-held height and suffered multiple cracks on the glass protecting the LCD. Got it fixed and last night it took another minor fall and it lost all LCD image (without any visible exterior damage).
I have dropped both my previous smartphones in way worse ways with no issue. My wife dropped her S3 several times with no issues, so I wonder:
-Am I just unlucky and/or I have a bad device?
-Is S4 a way more fragile phone than it's predecessors?
-Are Middle East models lower quality than Europe models?

LordBlades said:
First time it dropped from hand-held height and suffered multiple cracks on the glass protecting the LCD. Got it fixed and last night it took another minor fall and it lost all LCD image (without any visible exterior damage).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Electronic devices don't take too well to jarring or drops. Dropping it onto carpeted floor or onto concrete and angle it hits can all affect it, as well as a myriad of other factors. You could be lucky, and just suffer a few scratch marks/scuffs, to complete cracking of screen - and it comes down to luck as to damage suffered.
Big mega-corporations have a production line for their devices, and usually one line per device. It does not make economic sense to selectively degrade the quality of their devices for certain markets. The cost to their reputation worldwide is far too great if it were true.

rling said:
Electronic devices don't take too well to jarring or drops. Dropping it onto carpeted floor or onto concrete and angle it hits can all affect it, as well as a myriad of other factors. You could be lucky, and just suffer a few scratch marks/scuffs, to complete cracking of screen - and it comes down to luck as to damage suffered.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe both me and my wife got lucky the 50-60 times we dropped our phones in the past 10 years or so of cell phone usage and then got unlucky twice in a row with the same phone....
rling said:
Big mega-corporations have a production line for their devices, and usually one line per device. It does not make economic sense to selectively degrade the quality of their devices for certain markets. The cost to their reputation worldwide is far too great if it were true.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On the other hand they do buy their components from subsidiaries or similar, most likely more than 1 company or assembly line (my S4 had a battery made in China for example while I've seen a couple others with batteries made in Korea for example) so component quality might very likely vary. Now whether Samsung would acknowledge and/or direct lower quality batches to specific market is probably the field of conspiracy theories, but I honestly doubt different batches don't vary in quality at least somewhat.

Related

Manufacturing Imperfections (Sketchy Build Quality)

Alright, so right off the bat I just want to say that this isn't a doom and gloom thread (I hope), but it's an issue I wanted to ask you guys about since I'm on my 2nd phone now and I've had cosmetic issues with both. I want to love my phone, I just want one that won't give me problems first! I will post pictures soon, to show you guys what I'm about to describe below.
Both phones have had minor (but very annoying) imperfections involving the casing. My first phone was the most problematic. First off, the battery cover did not sit flush. I did not realize how much of a difference this made in terms of build quality until I got my second phone. My 1rst phone would creak and click when pressure was applied to the back and it just did not seem like a very sturdy device. This was not the case with the second phone (which had a back cover that fit perfectly) as there was no creaking or clicking, it felt rock solid just like its supposed to. Also, there was a small chip and discolouration of the teflon coating on the bottom left front face of the first phone. Again, nothing major but still not something that I was not pleased about given the price of the phone.
Unrelated but my first phone also had the purple tint issue which is the main reason I returned it and bought a new one (I couldn't outright swap because I don't live in the US). My second phone came in and luckily it did not have the tint issue. All I can say is WOW, what a difference it makes having a proper screen!! The black colours actually look crisp and dark, and there is absolutely no tint at low brightness.
So the screen was good. I checked the bottom left hand to see for any issues with the teflon, and there were none. I checked the backplate and like I mentioned earlier, it was perfectly flush. So far so good BUT.. again there were some cosmetic issues! Along the left side of the phone there was a tiny chip and some of the grey finish was off. Also, on the back, the bottom teflon piece did not sit flush with the rest of the device.
Once again, these are minor yet annoying things (but who knows, maybe I just have OCD!). The big issue from the first phone was the screen and the creaking, both of which are resolved with the second device, but I'm i'm contemplating whether I should return this one as well to go for one that is "perfectly built".. I mean, if this phone was store bought I would have no hesitation. I would just go there and make them open the boxes until I found a device that had no imperfections.. But it's just a real hassle having to continually ship my old device back, purchase a new one (while waiting two weeks to get credited back my $600 for the first device), and waiting for it to arrive. I also don't want to risk getting another phone with the purple tint issue..
Sorry for the long winded post, but basically what I wanted to ask was do you guys have any manufacturing imperfections with your phones??. I'm not talking about faulty screens or weak antennas, but actually design or cosmetic flaws. Do you guys have any and have you learned to just accept them or have you returned your devices and successfully gotten the "perfect" device.
Thanks, and hopefully I can get some pics up soon. Feel free to post your own so we can compare!
I got mine for free at this year's Barcelona MWC and luckyly i've had no issues whatsoever regarding hardware or aesthetics. An I say luckyly because obviously if I haven't bought it and I don't live in the US I would most definitely not get it replaced.
jasrups said:
Sorry for the long winded post, but basically what I wanted to ask was do you guys have any manufacturing imperfections with your phones??. I'm not talking about faulty screens or weak antennas, but actually design or cosmetic flaws. Do you guys have any and have you learned to just accept them or have you returned your devices and successfully gotten the "perfect" device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So which are you really looking for? Manufacturing defects or design flaws?
Are you looking for functional defects or cosmetic only defects?
Are you look for process-gone-completely-wrong defects or are you looking for minor imperfections resultant of process variation?
It is certainly possible to have a bad screen or a bad antenna as a manufacturing defect. There is also minor variation in any manufacturing process - this is normal. The trick is to keep the variation controlled well enough that the process consistently produces acceptable quality product. Note: No manufacturing process produces perfect parts, and minor imperfections are not necessarily defects. Normally, a design flaw impacts manufacturing quality only if the design requirements are too stringent for manufacturing capability.
I know you started out saying you did not want yet another thread bagging on the N1, but without clearer objectives, you've left it wide open for just that.
Mmm I love the build quality, it's very rigid and solid.
There is one imperfection that I noticed like 3 weeks of constant use.. The bottom piece, the one with "htc" on it, is a little bit more raised on one side (in comparison to the silver band on the back) than the other side. I'm talking 0.5mm difference that you can't see, only feel when comparing.
I'm writing that off as absolutely negligible and too tiny to even think about.
DarkDvr said:
Mmm I love the build quality, it's very rigid and solid.
There is one imperfection that I noticed like 3 weeks of constant use.. The bottom piece, the one with "htc" on it, is a little bit more raised on one side (in comparison to the silver band on the back) than the other side. I'm talking 0.5mm difference that you can't see, only feel when comparing.
I'm writing that off as absolutely negligible and too tiny to even think about.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here. I thought about popping it off (it's just retained by a couple of clips) and attempting to re-seat it, but I see no problem with it. It's not like the 2nd batch of the iPhone 3G, where there was 1mm gaps between the plastic back and chrome bezel. I'm shocked no news blog picked up on that, it was fairly widespread.
ATnTdude said:
Same here. I thought about popping it off (it's just retained by a couple of clips) and attempting to re-seat it, but I see no problem with it. It's not like the 2nd batch of the iPhone 3G, where there was 1mm gaps between the plastic back and chrome bezel. I'm shocked no news blog picked up on that, it was fairly widespread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well it's the almighty apple, they don't wanna disappoint their readers that the calculator that they paid $500 for is also cheaply built.
I have a question that (um..) kinda relates to this. I'm having a hard timing saying this so bare with me. You know when technology is first released that is has alot of problems and bugs but overtime it seems that the problems die down because the companies that produce the phones (xboxs, iphones, ps3, etcs) get smarter and make things differently or better...
Well my contract with t-mobile is up in 46 days and I was planning on getting a nexus one. I don't plan on getting it engraved. My question is that do you think my phone will be made when I order it or do you believe its been sitting in a warehouse since March 26th (guess) just waiting for somebody to place a call? I've seen those cool "making of nexus one" videos on youtube and figured i'd ask you guys. Thanks to whoever answers.
yup, i have similar issues. i initially thought they actually shipped a refurb unit to me. turns out i'm not the only one. now i'm not that worried
attn1 said:
So which are you really looking for? Manufacturing defects or design flaws?
Are you looking for functional defects or cosmetic only defects?
Are you look for process-gone-completely-wrong defects or are you looking for minor imperfections resultant of process variation?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
attn1, I could have been more clear in my last statement, 'design flaw' was a vague term. I meant cosmetic only defects and minor imperfections as a result of process variation. I know that with any product that is mass produced on an assembly line you will get variation from device to device. This thread wasn't meant to bash this variation but just to compare what other people have experienced with their phones.
Like I said, my first phone was awful, it had both functional and aesthetic problems. My second phone seems to be fully functional but still has a few (albeit minor) aesthetic imperfections. I must say though, I got my Brando Gel case in today and it looks great on the phone! It covers up the unevenness on the bottom teflon piece as well as the blemish on the left side of the phone very nicely.
My nexus came with a scratch or bubble on the inside of the screens glass. They told me i'd get a refurb in exchange(even though it's about a week old), I told them i'd think about it. Think i'll be calling back and demanding a brand new device.
ihearttreo said:
My nexus came with a scratch or bubble on the inside of the screens glass. They told me i'd get a refurb in exchange(even though it's about a week old), I told them i'd think about it. Think i'll be calling back and demanding a brand new device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That kinda scares me because I'm picking up a nexus one in 46 days (contract with t-mobile will be up then) and I dont want something like that to happen to me. I'll keep my fingers crossed. I would demand a new one too
Have had no issues with mine until yesterday when the trackball stopped scrolling left. Refurb sans engraving rolling in tomorrow. All told still much better quality then my G1 or Blackberry.
Sent from my Nexus One using the XDA mobile application powered by Tapatalk
No tint nothing amiss as far as build quality that I can notice. This is the best built (visually and as far as any creakiness or such) phone I have ever owned and the first one I have had without any perceptible flaws out of the gate.
OK! So to all of you who has a Nexus One with cosmetic imperfections on the BOTTOM plastic piece on the BACK, with the labeled HTC, i may have a cure for you.
So, with me I HAD a slight imperfection on the right side, about a 1mm gap. It was annoying and I have some slight OCD (used to be worse). One day last week or so, that part of my phone became VERY hot, probably 101-105℉. While that plastic was hot, it was a little bit bendable. I used a rather large amount of force, and over about three times of doing this, the plastic is flush with the metal, and the rest of the phone.
So try that if you're super partial to your device like me. Or if you dont wanna deal with HTC, like me.
ZachTM
"refurbished" sounds bad but really its a more taken care of device isn't it? It's been tested to a further degree so its more likely to come without flaws perhaps or am I reaching?
DMaverick50 said:
"refurbished" sounds bad but really its a more taken care of device isn't it? It's been tested to a further degree so its more likely to come without flaws perhaps or am I reaching?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no. you're reaching high... its been refunded and fixed.. haha
so you are using someone else's phone who now owns probably a new device. brand new is the way to go, especially if your device is a week old...

Want this phone but am scared about the cracks

I currently have a galaxy S2, I have a case on it pretty much 24/7. I want the Z3 compact as it is the best phone for people who want small phones. I love being able to do everything and reach all parts of my S2 with my hand, I cant do the same with these large 5inch + phones.
Anyway I am hearing reports of cracking on the back,front or even both sides of the phone. Am really scared, because I don't want to just splash out £350 and it breaks after a week. People have been getting cracks while having cases on it even, some people say it cracks while it is in the pocket just randomly.
Basically I really want this phone but I am worried about how easy it is to crack.
I've dropped mine from waist height twice now and had it fall in the crevices of my car seats. No screen protector, phone is still mint.
Sent from my D5803
HellzHere said:
I currently have a galaxy S2, I have a case on it pretty much 24/7. I want the Z3 compact as it is the best phone for people who want small phones. I love being able to do everything and reach all parts of my S2 with my hand, I cant do the same with these large 5inch + phones.
Anyway I am hearing reports of cracking on the back,front or even both sides of the phone. Am really scared, because I don't want to just splash out £350 and it breaks after a week. People have been getting cracks while having cases on it even, some people say it cracks while it is in the pocket just randomly.
Basically I really want this phone but I am worried about how easy it is to crack.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjDE8z-_bHU&noredirect=1
http://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-s3/193035-galaxy-s3-cracked-screen-defective-not-dropped.html
http://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-s-ii/132590-galaxy-s2-cracked-screen-normal.html
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1257090
http://bobmckay.com/life/case-samsung-galaxy-s4-screen-crack
http://support.t-mobile.com/thread/38170?tstart=0
Never buy another smartphone then since they all "have screens break for no reason".
Statistically the chance that yours will crack spontaneously is still very very small. These communities are really very misleading in trying to get a global image of how common a problem is. As I mentioned in another topic, if you were to walk into a hosptal, and make your conclusion about the human species purely based on what you saw in the hospital, you would conclude humans are very sick and crippled species. But once you leave the hospital, you see only healthy people everywhere you look.
My suggestion (also what I am planning on doing)... Wait until after November 3rd, for everyone to get their American Z3 Compact. check this forum a week after to see if the topics about the screen sporadically cracking jump substantially in activity.
If not, I will order by 11.10.14.
HellzHere said:
I currently have a galaxy S2, I have a case on it pretty much 24/7. I want the Z3 compact as it is the best phone for people who want small phones. I love being able to do everything and reach all parts of my S2 with my hand, I cant do the same with these large 5inch + phones.
Anyway I am hearing reports of cracking on the back,front or even both sides of the phone. Am really scared, because I don't want to just splash out £350 and it breaks after a week. People have been getting cracks while having cases on it even, some people say it cracks while it is in the pocket just randomly.
Basically I really want this phone but I am worried about how easy it is to crack.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not true and do not believe everything you hear and read about this subject. The handling of these machines have to be prudent. If you drop a laptop on the floor for sure nonitor breaks.right.
dropped mine once
been a month approx. no crack nothing. im pretty careful tho..most of the time.
also, no case.
Just a suggestion, can everyone with such issues (or worry, like here) post in one of the dozen threads that already exist on that topic?
Guess that would help to keep the forum somewhat cleaner, thus more readable...
Our forum is a bit "undermoderated"
I'd say the chance of getting a spontaneous crack is about 1:1000 or even less. That would assume 0.1% of phones have the issue. That a far less chance than you going to prison this year (1:200) so I'd say don't worry about it.
HellzHere said:
I currently have a galaxy S2, I have a case on it pretty much 24/7. I want the Z3 compact as it is the best phone for people who want small phones. I love being able to do everything and reach all parts of my S2 with my hand, I cant do the same with these large 5inch + phones.
Anyway I am hearing reports of cracking on the back,front or even both sides of the phone. Am really scared, because I don't want to just splash out £350 and it breaks after a week. People have been getting cracks while having cases on it even, some people say it cracks while it is in the pocket just randomly.
Basically I really want this phone but I am worried about how easy it is to crack.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@HellzHere
Hi Hellz
Sorry but I've got a z3 compact and simply can't recommend it. That's a lot to like about it on paper but after mine experienced a modest fall onto carpet, which resulted in the back of the case cracking, I don't want others to suffer the upset that I have. The design is flawed IMO. The choice of materials are inappropriate for typical everyday usage.
Most of the high end xperias seem to use glass front and back . To me, this is insane. It creates a nice aesthetic but is significantly at the cost of practicality. The z3 compact doesn't use dragontail or gorilla glass... or at least Sony do not specify the materials used on their website beyond "tempered glass".
My previous phone was an HTC desire (yes the original one) and this has been dropped on occasion, onto pavements, etc, and one occasion in a carpark (for no other reason than it slipped out of my hand during use). I did not use a case with it and the worst that happened was a crack across one corner of the screen.
There is no way that the z3 compact could tolerate similar drops or falls. I do not consider myself to be careless with stuff but this new phone is a pain in the butt. For example, It WILL slip off surfaces, due to the low friction / high gloss nature of the handset.
If you are determined to get one, you MUST get a case for it.
I waited two years before a handset came on the market with the specifications that I was looking for. I am utterly gutted that mine is now broken, after only having it for a fortnight and it only being subjected to a very modest level of external stress. I did not even drop the phone - it slipped off a surface.
Then there is the issue of self-cracking. This is reasonably well documented and doesn't just apply to the z3 and z3 compact. Sony would have us believe that this only occurs in a small number of cases. I don't think it's common-place but it's happened to enough people for Sony to quietly repair stuff for free, under certain circumstances. Admittedly, Sony only really started doing this after two high profile UK consumer rights organisations / programmes got involved in the matter (watchdog and Which). The impression I get (from anecdotal evidence) is Sony does it grudgingly.
All I'll say is have a look at this xda-dev survey thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/z3-compact/general/sony-xperia-z3-z3-compact-glass-survey-t2900149
What I found interesting is that out of the 439 surveys, 26% reported back of case cracks, compared to 18% of the front screen.
However, of that 26%, over two thirds reported NO impact cracking i.e. there seems to be vastly more people who've experienced self-cracking than drop or fall damage.
Reviews also comment on the phone heating up A LOT during some forms of usage i.e. a possible reason for self-cracking.
Finally, from my personal experience, the camera sounds good on paper but underperforms. Some images look great yet I got pixellation on 20mb images in high light level conditions. I wasn't impressed. I also struggled to get the flash to illuminate a short distance, low light situation properly as well. More annoyingly, my friend had a galaxy S4 and her flash was virtually blindingly bright in the same situation. Then there's the issue about losing camera performance if you decide to root (apparently some of the low light level camera algorithms are DRM protected and the DRM keys get wiped when you root).
I just wouldn't go for a sony handset again - the phone design simply can't handle real-world stresses.
Just to be fair though, the screen's pretty good (in terms of brightness - you really can use it at minimal levels inside, which I'm sure helps massively with battery drain - I'm not commenting on resolution / PPI). I've found the battery performance to be simply great (probably the best feature for me). However, I'm realistic about usage (i.e. I don't have GPS, wireless and data on unless I need it, I typically pop phone into airplane mode overnight, etc - for me the biggest drains on batteries come from the display and the cellular radio). I got 4 days out of it, with approximately 40 mins worth of charging (because of wired syncing with my desktop). Admittedly for the last 30% of battery I put it onto stamina mode. Note this wasn't high level usage, just phonecalls, texts, some browsing, twitter, some facebook / youtube... but definitely not constant, screen-active usage.
The CPU's pretty strong too. Transitions between homescreens is super slick. I've not had slow down at any point. I haven't tried playing games with it though, beyond low-graphically taxing apps. Not too much bloatware and you can disable certainly some of it. Charging is good on it. I've got copilot as my satnav on it and a 1A car charger still produced a net positive charge rate (even though the sony charger is 1.5A). Charging from empty to full, with phone switched off is around 2.5 hours.
I hope this helps you a bit.
Cheers,
Gary
gazzawazza said:
@HellzHere
Hi Hellz
Sorry but I've got a z3 compact and simply can't recommend it. That's a lot to like about it on paper but after mine experienced a modest fall onto carpet, which resulted in the back of the case cracking, I don't want others to suffer the upset that I have. The design is flawed IMO. The choice of materials are inappropriate for typical everyday usage.
Most of the high end xperias seem to use glass front and back . To me, this is insane. It creates a nice aesthetic but is significantly at the cost of practicality. The z3 compact doesn't use dragontail or gorilla glass... or at least Sony do not specify the materials used on their website beyond "tempered glass".
My previous phone was an HTC desire (yes the original one) and this has been dropped on occasion, onto pavements, etc, and one occasion in a carpark (for no other reason than it slipped out of my hand during use). I did not use a case with it and the worst that happened was a crack across one corner of the screen.
There is no way that the z3 compact could tolerate similar drops or falls. I do not consider myself to be careless with stuff but this new phone is a pain in the butt. For example, It WILL slip off surfaces, due to the low friction / high gloss nature of the handset.
If you are determined to get one, you MUST get a case for it.
I waited two years before a handset came on the market with the specifications that I was looking for. I am utterly gutted that mine is now broken, after only having it for a fortnight and it only being subjected to a very modest level of external stress. I did not even drop the phone - it slipped off a surface.
Then there is the issue of self-cracking. This is reasonably well documented and doesn't just apply to the z3 and z3 compact. Sony would have us believe that this only occurs in a small number of cases. I don't think it's common-place but it's happened to enough people for Sony to quietly repair stuff for free, under certain circumstances. Admittedly, Sony only really started doing this after two high profile UK consumer rights organisations / programmes got involved in the matter (watchdog and Which). The impression I get (from anecdotal evidence) is Sony does it grudgingly.
All I'll say is have a look at this xda-dev survey thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/z3-compact/general/sony-xperia-z3-z3-compact-glass-survey-t2900149
What I found interesting is that out of the 439 surveys, 26% reported back of case cracks, compared to 18% of the front screen.
However, of that 26%, over two thirds reported NO impact cracking i.e. there seems to be vastly more people who've experienced self-cracking than drop or fall damage.
Reviews also comment on the phone heating up A LOT during some forms of usage i.e. a possible reason for self-cracking.
Finally, from my personal experience, the camera sounds good on paper but underperforms. Some images look great yet I got pixellation on 20mb images in high light level conditions. I wasn't impressed. I also struggled to get the flash to illuminate a short distance, low light situation properly as well. More annoyingly, my friend had a galaxy S4 and her flash was virtually blindingly bright in the same situation. Then there's the issue about losing camera performance if you decide to root (apparently some of the low light level camera algorithms are DRM protected and the DRM keys get wiped when you root).
I just wouldn't go for a sony handset again - the phone design simply can't handle real-world stresses.
Just to be fair though, the screen's pretty good (in terms of brightness - you really can use it at minimal levels inside, which I'm sure helps massively with battery drain - I'm not commenting on resolution / PPI). I've found the battery performance to be simply great (probably the best feature for me). However, I'm realistic about usage (i.e. I don't have GPS, wireless and data on unless I need it, I typically pop phone into airplane mode overnight, etc - for me the biggest drains on batteries come from the display and the cellular radio). I got 4 days out of it, with approximately 40 mins worth of charging (because of wired syncing with my desktop). Admittedly for the last 30% of battery I put it onto stamina mode. Note this wasn't high level usage, just phonecalls, texts, some browsing, twitter, some facebook / youtube... but definitely not constant, screen-active usage.
The CPU's pretty strong too. Transitions between homescreens is super slick. I've not had slow down at any point. I haven't tried playing games with it though, beyond low-graphically taxing apps. Not too much bloatware and you can disable certainly some of it. Charging is good on it. I've got copilot as my satnav on it and a 1A car charger still produced a net positive charge rate (even though the sony charger is 1.5A). Charging from empty to full, with phone switched off is around 2.5 hours.
I hope this helps you a bit.
Cheers,
Gary
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When drawing conclusions from that survey, you should not ignore that fact that people are far more likely to post about their dissatisfaction than about their satisfaction, meaning that people who are having issues with their device are far more widely respresented on the internet than people who are not having any issues. So if, in that survey, only 17 % of participants had their front glass crack, and 27% had their back glass crack, then the real-world percentages are likely FAR lower than those in the survey and it's all because people with faulty devices are FAR more likely to find the survey than people with devices that don't have any faults.
I've had this phone for a month now and still nothing has cracked. The phone hasn't overheated either. It does feel warm at times, maybe even more than most other phones but that is because glass conducts heat to your skin much faster than plastic does.
I doubt that the design is bad; a faulty batch of glass is a much more likely explanation.
degraaff said:
When drawing conclusions from that survey, you should not ignore that fact that people are far more likely to post about their dissatisfaction than about their satisfaction, meaning that people who are having issues with their device are far more widely respresented on the internet than people who are not having any issues. So if, in that survey, only 17 % of participants had their front glass crack, and 27% had their back glass crack, then the real-world percentages are likely FAR lower than those in the survey and it's all because people with faulty devices are FAR more likely to find the survey than people with devices that don't have any faults.
I've had this phone for a month now and still nothing has cracked. The phone hasn't overheated either. It does feel warm at times, maybe even more than most other phones but that is because glass conducts heat to your skin much faster than plastic does.
I doubt that the design is bad; a faulty batch of glass is a much more likely explanation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the response @degraaff
Regarding the survey - I get your point but the survey responses did surprise me with the number of users NOT reporting problems. I felt that made the survey far more realistic that, say, typical forum posts, where complaints and problems are more likely to be documented than positive experiences .
My personal experience regarding heat is that the phone has been pretty cool for the vast majority of the time but did experience some noticeable localised heat last night, for no apparent reason - phone had powered up but I had no additional elements active (i.e. wireless, GPS, data, etc, weren't active). I'd expect a relationship between component activity and heat generated. Also, it was noticeable because I'd not noticed it previously.
Regarding the design, I'm sorry but using thin glass on something that is likely to experience impact damage is bad or at very least highly unrealistic design. There's no need to use glass on the rear of a phone, certainly not for visual requirements (i.e. it's not a display). It's an aesthetics and presumably weight decision. I guess it would help radio performance (although I don't know where the antenna is). I believe metal typically attenuates radio signals, so glass would be a good alternative. I guess it comes down to how much priority one gives to the durability of a phone though.
I rang Sony about an hour ago and they gave me a ballpark figure of £40 for repairing the back. This was based on the rep's experience with the cost of replacing a Z2 rear panel. Still a very costly lesson and I think Sony or resellers need to warn customers about the benefits of case protection, given the materials used in construction. I know I'll get flak for saying this (ridiculously unrealistic) but I'd like to think that a retailer (or Sony, if they had the balls to do this) saying "for god's sake, get a protective case for this phone as it's literally made of glass" would lead to more customers respecting them. After all, Sony chose to use glass in the main panel construction. They could even charge a wee bit more and just bundle a case in with the phone. That would potentially cover them and give end-users a choice about protecting their phone from first use.
Cheers,
Gary
gazzawazza said:
It's an aesthetics and presumably weight decision. I guess it would help radio performance (although I don't know where the antenna is). I believe metal typically attenuates radio signals, so glass would be a good alternative. I guess it comes down to how much priority one gives to the durability of a phone though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sony puts an Apple-esqe priority on industrial design, so one shouldn't be surprised to see them trading ruggedness for aesthetics. Without moving the antennas to the phone body (which is encumbered by several patents), you need a non-metallic back for good RF performance. In addition to looks/feel, glass is vastly superior to plastic for it's thermal properties. It conducts heat 5 - 10 times better than most structural plastics. In a design as compact as the Z3C that is actually a significant technical advantage. That also means that users will notice short duration heat spikes (typically due to the radios having to drive RF power way up to cut through temporary interference) much more than with a plastic housed phone.
The reports of rear glass breakage do appear to be statistically significant, even after you factor in the self-selecting aspect of the survey. But this seems more like an issue with material or production quality, or perhaps insufficient design margin for CTE (coefficient of thermal expansion) mismatches. My Nexus 4 with a glass back has survived two years of use and a half dozen drops with nothing more than the standard Google bumper for protection. So glass can be used effectively. It will be interesting to see if later production Z3Cs (Sony US is expected to start shipping phones next week) fare better than early production.
kopsis said:
Sony puts an Apple-esqe priority on industrial design, so one shouldn't be surprised to see them trading ruggedness for aesthetics. Without moving the antennas to the phone body (which is encumbered by several patents), you need a non-metallic back for good RF performance. In addition to looks/feel, glass is vastly superior to plastic for it's thermal properties. It conducts heat 5 - 10 times better than most structural plastics. In a design as compact as the Z3C that is actually a significant technical advantage. That also means that users will notice short duration heat spikes (typically due to the radios having to drive RF power way up to cut through temporary interference) much more than with a plastic housed phone.
The reports of rear glass breakage do appear to be statistically significant, even after you factor in the self-selecting aspect of the survey. But this seems more like an issue with material or production quality, or perhaps insufficient design margin for CTE (coefficient of thermal expansion) mismatches. My Nexus 4 with a glass back has survived two years of use and a half dozen drops with nothing more than the standard Google bumper for protection. So glass can be used effectively. It will be interesting to see if later production Z3Cs (Sony US is expected to start shipping phones next week) fare better than early production.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey @kopsis
thanks for the input mate.
Just for assistance to others, my manufacture was 14w37 (might have mentioned that earlier) but just for reference.
Not sure that early production comment makes me feel better #labrat :crying: Obviously understand what you mean though.
Have to say z3 compact does feel good in the hand. Really like the way Sony have somehow made the edges (not sides) grippy without being sharp. Pretty easy to hold phone and I reckon the size is just right for one-handed use, although I do have to re-grip with hand to reach farthest corner (top left, as I'm right handed) of screen.
Out of curiosity, when you say bumper, is that just side protection or back too?
Cheers,
Gary
gazzawazza said:
the survey responses did surprise me with the number of users NOT reporting problems. I felt that made the survey far more realistic
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a flawed argumentum a contrario.
gazzawazza said:
Out of curiosity, when you say bumper, is that just side protection or back too?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The original N4 bumper was sides only, though the lip extended a millimeter or two beyond the glass in front and back so the glass wouldn't make contact in a low drop to a smooth flat surface. https://play.google.com/store/devices/details/Nexus_4_Bumper_Black?id=nexus_4_bumper_black&hl=en
It does beg the question, if you're going to sell a phone with glass on both sides, why not have something like this available at launch for the cautious buyers? Even the design purists at Apple made a bumper available upon release of their first front/back glass design (iPhone 4). It doesn't even have to be a great design (leave the aftermarket room to innovate) as long as it gives buyer's a usable option while waiting for something better. Hey, Sony -- PM me if you'd like me to come lead your mobile products division
Iruwen said:
That's a flawed argumentum a contrario.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
is this really relevant?
I simply felt that rather than having a survey chock full of negativity, the fact that we had a strong majority of responses which DIDN'T cite problems was indicative that perhaps the survey was more rounded than one might have anticipated.
I would accept on reflection that we don't know whether the distribution of answers is a true reflection of total owners' experiences. Obviously a bigger sample would make the stats more credible.
---------- Post added at 11:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:42 PM ----------
kopsis said:
The original N4 bumper was sides only, though the lip extended a millimeter or two beyond the glass in front and back so the glass wouldn't make contact in a low drop to a smooth flat surface. https://play.google.com/store/devices/details/Nexus_4_Bumper_Black?id=nexus_4_bumper_black&hl=en
It does beg the question, if you're going to sell a phone with glass on both sides, why not have something like this available at launch for the cautious buyers? Even the design purists at Apple made a bumper available upon release of their first front/back glass design (iPhone 4). It doesn't even have to be a great design (leave the aftermarket room to innovate) as long as it gives buyer's a usable option while waiting for something better. Hey, Sony -- PM me if you'd like me to come lead your mobile products division
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
agreed. Btw Mr VP Sony Mobile division, perhaps encourage your designers to NOT use glass too Ty very much
HellzHere said:
I currently have a galaxy S2, I have a case on it pretty much 24/7. I want the Z3 compact as it is the best phone for people who want small phones. I love being able to do everything and reach all parts of my S2 with my hand, I cant do the same with these large 5inch + phones.
Anyway I am hearing reports of cracking on the back,front or even both sides of the phone. Am really scared, because I don't want to just splash out £350 and it breaks after a week. People have been getting cracks while having cases on it even, some people say it cracks while it is in the pocket just randomly.
Basically I really want this phone but I am worried about how easy it is to crack.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We have same question... and still investigate from many Forum Post... I hope I got better answer to pick this phone or not...
worry not dear friends, apparently the guys at another thread has managed to get the people at evolutive labs to make the rhino shield crash guard bumper for the xperia z3 compact!
evolutive labs did one for iphone previously and it got so many backers/pledgers for it....hopefully we can do the same for this one..so come and join in the fun peeps! they need to get 1400 pre-orders before they can start production of this wonderful thing
(sorry you have to edit the link as i could not post url)
Rhino Shield Crash Guard Bumper for iPhone: https www kickstarter.com/projects/1081571316/rhinosheild-crash-guard-slim-impact-bumper-for-iph
PRE-ORDER HERE:
Rhino Shield Crash Guard Bumper for Z3 Compact: http www evolutivelabs.com/pages/crashguard-sony-z3-compact

U will NEVER SETTLE with this piece of crap

after disappointing from Panasonic non branded phone my self thought to buy something branded and well customer service handset
but I had taken one chance once again with this peace of crap OPO and now feel really bad want to remove one plus logo from my signature
main reason to buy this that it has great support of Xda developers and its really feels me really proud to be part of this community where I got lots of software improvement over my OPO which makes this phone extremely good in case of software improvement
but one time by my self done a big mistake that I corrupted my efs partition that time I went to service Center 300 km away from my home which cost me 1500 as travelling and residential charges
but this time they serviced well without any cost and served in 1 day
that time I feel blessed thought after this there will no more frustration
but yesterday i was working all day and my OPO was in pocket
when I came to home surfed my OPO for 2 hr and some calling after that when I put my OPO beside in bed and I am busy in my work as per my habit I took my OPO and tried to unlock but screen not worked(thought it was started ghost touches as many users reported)
I rebooted it back and dine the same thing but no luck
then I look closer to it's screen there is small crack on screens uppermost part
but how this happened previously my self used galaxy s advance ,Nokia c6 which has gorilla glass and never happened like this
not even this my micromax android one was thrown by my baby many times but it has scratches on back but not a single problem with screen
my **** Panasonic eluga u has many software problems but not a single screen problem as I dropped many times
so I am aware of many users problem regarding screen crack
do I am precisely handling it like baby but what the price of crap this is
I called customer service they told me now it has physical damaged then it does not have any warranty
u have to pay 7000 rs for screen replacement ( here I got some blessing that on net I searched and most of peoples paid 12000 for this)
This phone cost me 22000 7000 1500(travelling to service)=30500
in this price some one will get high end phone of branded company
but what the output of 1 1
>extremely low quality of hardware ( so they managed to drop its price)
screen cracking
https://forums.oneplus.net/threads/...cracked.208950/?_e_pi_=7,PAGE_ID10,2992517759
burning of USB point
blast of OPO
https://www.reddit.com/r/oneplus/co...ted_last_night/?_e_pi_=7,PAGE_ID10,2969382357
no charging
https://forums.oneplus.net/threads/...t-issue.311913/?_e_pi_=7,PAGE_ID10,3811756863
>several software issues faced by many other users and this phone is survived only because of xda
yellow tint
ghost touches
sudden death
https://forums.oneplus.net/threads/...lus-one.192975/?_e_pi_=7,PAGE_ID10,2452099009
some one will think I don't handled this phone properly
but real fact is that I am known of all issues regarding this phone and handling it very carefully but dropped previously from very low height ( where my third class micromax and panasonic phone dropped lots of time from high hight and working wrll till now) 1or 2 times but it survived with lots of scratches on plastic frame of gorilla glass.
conclusion:
there slogan is real NEVER SETTLE after purchasing this phone u will never settle forever and u will have to add more mony time to time means 1plus 1 and u gain 0
there strategy of marketing is like this
sell defective pices at low price
use low quality hardware material( scratch resistance gortila glass what a joke which cracks automatically) so more damage more money
this is Chinese company and its a real China toy with fake promises of never settle and satisfaction
so Indian users my request from heart not to buy this and go to branded products having good customerservice so though problem will raise u will not regreat
1. Efs backup you should have done (saw your previous thread on that issue)
2. Gorilla glass like any glass is not meant to stop cracks. I don't care what they say or advertised Its glass come on now.
Sorry for your luck but if your letting your baby throw devices around then this was bound to happen
So you unlocked your own bootloader and flashed stuff without taking backups before beginning. OnePlus kindly repaired this for you from the sound of it, which was nice considering it was your fault for not taking backups.
Then you dropped your phone and cracked the screen, rightly they won't repair it for you without you paying. Sounds sensible to me.
Any phone dropped can and will break, sometimes people are lucky with how they fall sometimes not. All phones break if dropped from a small height if they land just wrong. Doesn't matter what the glass is it breaks.
As for all the other "issues" that you have managed to find, if you search for any phone you will find a similar list of issues around and about for them, sometimes things go wrong.
If your phone had all of those issues that you have listed then they would have repaired it for you.
Can't say that I (and the majority of others) have ever had any of those issues.
indesisiv said:
So you unlocked your own bootloader and flashed stuff without taking backups before beginning. OnePlus kindly repaired this for you from the sound of it, which was nice considering it was your fault for not taking backups.
Then you dropped your phone and cracked the screen, rightly they won't repair it for you without you paying. Sounds sensible to me.
Any phone dropped can and will break, sometimes people are lucky with how they fall sometimes not. All phones break if dropped from a small height if they land just wrong. Doesn't matter what the glass is it breaks.
As for all the other "issues" that you have managed to find, if you search for any phone you will find a similar list of issues around and about for them, sometimes things go wrong.
If your phone had all of those issues that you have listed then they would have repaired it for you.
Can't say that I (and the majority of others) have ever had any of those issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
all I want to say that this phone has very bad quality of hardware that I don't understand how its glass got broken I even not fall it down( previously when I dropped that happened 1 month before this)
I just kept all day in my pocket
at night near about 8pm I used it that time it seems okno problem at all but suddenly when I took it in hand and it seems not working and screen got broken( its not thrown by my baby )
903tex said:
1. Efs backup you should have done (saw your previous thread on that issue)
2. Gorilla glass like any glass is not meant to stop cracks. I don't care what they say or advertised Its glass come on now.
Sorry for your luck but if your letting your baby throw devices around then this was bound to happen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its not thrown by my baby and I doesn't dropped by myself any more( 2 time I dropped it down was 1 month ago and there was no single problem)
every one feels irritation when their handsets got in problems when they does nothing wrong with it( previous efs problem was mine and I apolize for it but this was not mine)
I don't see how you cracked your screen without drop or when it was in your pocket you bump up against something hard or bending a certain way etc......
But either way sorry for your bad luck
Since we already have a thread for reviews linked below, this thread is closed.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2685348

Marshmallow causing screen artifacts?(the screen flickers on g900f) (!)

The screen started to behave in a weird way after installing CM13, it just flickers at low brightness, I thought it was a cm related issue so i flashed a stock marshmallow rom, but it didn't help=( could it be the marshmallow thing? or is the display dying? I'm also thinking it might be a battery issue... Can't check it right now.
I'll flash a lollipop rom to see if marshmallow is the culprit here.
Thread closed. It's pixel burn. Turns out amoled does not live too long. Very disappointed, my next choice is certainly not gonna be amoled
I think that I am going to heavily disappointing you.
Just received my new (used phone purchase) an S5 G900F, this worked all ready for two years in Switzerland, and today, technically this is in fantastic condition.
The first owner it seems that he did had good training at using and coexist with portable electronic devices.
Many others, them using their S5 as this to be a hammer, or exposing it to the elements (under the hot sun), or having it this dancing alone in a car compartment at any road bump, them they do looking for trouble.
Additionally any one sacrificed IP67, so him to use cheap cases and cover from eBay, he is also looking for trouble.
Before you even thought to defend your self by using text, just post four pictures of your phone exterior condition, so other to judge your skills at coexisting with portable devices.
neverbeenfrustrated said:
...Turns out amoled does not live too long....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not heard of this. I am also sure this is news to the millions of amoled owners. Any published study or online ref that amoled not lasting vs other screen types? Are there thousands of other amoled owners who have started threads here or in other forums with similar conclusions? This would surely be a well known issue if that were the case.
I did not start the thread to start a holy war between amoled lovers and haters, I myself have only used amoled smartphones my whole life. Later this day I'll post some photos so you can see in which condition my phone currently is. Speaking honestly I must admit that I have let it fall carelessly around 10 times for the period of 1.5 years, but the height from which the phone fell was always too little, it fell from my bed on to the floor about a few inches... Although it was once exposed to tap water by my careless reading of Samsungs manual, cuz I thought it was waterproof when in fact the only water that it can take was lil drops of rain.. I'm fully satisfied with the phone, it has served me greatly. But I am still disappointed
I am Blogger working for four years by following the sector of test and measurement equipment for electrical parameters.
In this planet most first implementations of OLED display over a multimeter, this caused even to me mixed feelings after performing some benchmarks / product review testing.
I was forced to seek even an opinion from a CEO him working in this industry.
Burn in of OLED's is a known problem
I had 3 used Galaxy S5 in 3 months, all of them were facing the same problem : Flickering screen on low brightness ( not caused by me I bought them like that )
I can tell that the device itself is so fragile and you must not ever drop it or you'll pay for your careless.
taoufiqlak said:
I had 3 used Galaxy S5 in 3 months, all of them were facing the same problem : Flickering screen on low brightness ( not caused by me I bought them like that )
I can tell that the device itself is so fragile and you must not ever drop it or you'll pay for your careless.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i bought mine used 8 months ago, phone is over 2 years old, i dropped it hard multiple times, i do have a cheapo plastic bumper case for it, no problems, yet. fragile, idk.
my daughter bought it new 1 year ago, she got the flickering, got a new screen under warranty, luck of the draw
I have a S5 with flickering Brightness in Low Brightness, Too.
I dont use in High Luminosity conditions like Sun, Outdoor, Etc
And is normal to me.
Same problem here. Often green flickering too. And have to press power button many times to wake phone from standby.
Internet is full of this problem, even YouTube is full of that.
I will never buy a Samsung smartphone again.

S8 drop test

https://youtu.be/AkoZM83X_i4
May your phone stay in one piece, everyone.
Drop tests from the S8+ onwards will now need to be conducted onto carpet as they are so brittle/fragile haha
notefreak said:
https://youtu.be/AkoZM83X_i4
May your phone stay in one piece, everyone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sadly I've been one of the clumsy, unlucky owners that already shattered his screen after a very short fall
Because of this I started researching, and saw that video this morning.
Warning to all S8(+) owners: the more I investigate, the more I suspect this particular phone is designed to be very, very fragile. I wouldn't even discard some design flaws (again, regardless of my clumsiness).
And I have some degree of authority to that claim, having owned every single Galaxy phone ever released, and dropping most of them

Categories

Resources