Galaxy S3 screen cracked by itself.... anyone else? Verizon..

[Droid101]

Let me just throw this out their from I can gather from the op he went to a sams club which is probably the very last place I would go for a phone or support. Just call Verizon and make sure you get up to tier 2 they usually are very helpful and have the authority to do almost anything.

Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk 2

 

[crownjbl]

Just to add my experience: my s3 screen cracked (under the glass, the lcd screen developed a small fracture near the top left of the screen) without having dropped/bumped the phone or anything that I can think of. It was fine in the morning and broken when I picked it up from my work desk at the end of the day. My only thought is that the Otterbox case I have is too tight, since you have to wedge the phone in there, and contributed to the screen fracture (although the visible fracture happened while the phone was sitting there by all accounts). Maybe overheating also contributed since I charge it in a case on my bed. The actual glass and the rest of the phone was never bumped or damaged in any way so I am still a little upset that the damage is considered my fault. A phone shouldn't break within a month when I baby it and treat it like every other phone I have had. Anyways, Verizon said that they couldn't do anything since it appeared to be a 'stress fracture'. I sent the phone to Samsung and they have said pretty much the same thing. Total cost to replace the LCD screen is $178 including taxes. Sucks, but it is my cheapest option for getting my smartphone back so I agreed. I will be much more careful now, maybe I will keep it out of the case altogether and charge it in open air! And I guess I will minimize carrying it around in my pocket to minimize torque on the phone body.

 

[INCREMENTAL]

Just to add my experience: my s3 screen cracked (under the glass, the lcd screen developed a small fracture near the top left of the screen) without having dropped/bumped the phone or anything that I can think of. It was fine in the morning and broken when I picked it up from my work desk at the end of the day. My only thought is that the Otterbox case I have is too tight, since you have to wedge the phone in there, and contributed to the screen fracture (although the visible fracture happened while the phone was sitting there by all accounts). Maybe overheating also contributed since I charge it in a case on my bed. The actual glass and the rest of the phone was never bumped or damaged in any way so I am still a little upset that the damage is considered my fault. A phone shouldn't break within a month when I baby it and treat it like every other phone I have had. Anyways, Verizon said that they couldn't do anything since it appeared to be a 'stress fracture'. I sent the phone to Samsung and they have said pretty much the same thing. Total cost to replace the LCD screen is $178 including taxes. Sucks, but it is my cheapest option for getting my smartphone back so I agreed. I will be much more careful now, maybe I will keep it out of the case altogether and charge it in open air! And I guess I will minimize carrying it around in my pocket to minimize torque on the phone body.

The case didn't do it, otterbox offers the most protection and my parents both have them on their GS3 with no issues. Ur n this thread cause people had/have the same issue as you and alot of people didn't even have theirs protected with anything. What u have is a faulty phone.

Sorry to hear about ur luck and ur damaged phone, it sucks. If it were mine I wouldn't hesitate to use the otterbox again, it didn't do anything to it.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Droid Forums

 

[liftedplane]

Just to add my experience: my s3 screen cracked (under the glass, the lcd screen developed a small fracture near the top left of the screen) without having dropped/bumped the phone or anything that I can think of. It was fine in the morning and broken when I picked it up from my work desk at the end of the day. My only thought is that the Otterbox case I have is too tight, since you have to wedge the phone in there, and contributed to the screen fracture (although the visible fracture happened while the phone was sitting there by all accounts). Maybe overheating also contributed since I charge it in a case on my bed. The actual glass and the rest of the phone was never bumped or damaged in any way so I am still a little upset that the damage is considered my fault. A phone shouldn't break within a month when I baby it and treat it like every other phone I have had. Anyways, Verizon said that they couldn't do anything since it appeared to be a 'stress fracture'. I sent the phone to Samsung and they have said pretty much the same thing. Total cost to replace the LCD screen is $178 including taxes. Sucks, but it is my cheapest option for getting my smartphone back so I agreed. I will be much more careful now, maybe I will keep it out of the case altogether and charge it in open air! And I guess I will minimize carrying it around in my pocket to minimize torque on the phone body.

no insurance? what's odd is it's the screen not the digitizer that cracked and they STILL blamed you? I've never once broken an actual LCD.... always been the digitizer, well my wife broke them, either way the glass is there to protect that LCD, it's really to bad you didn't fight harder.

 

[crownjbl]

no insurance? what's odd is it's the screen not the digitizer that cracked and they STILL blamed you? I've never once broken an actual LCD.... always been the digitizer, well my wife broke them, either way the glass is there to protect that LCD, it's really to bad you didn't fight harder.

No insurance unfortunately. I have never had problems with phones and always decline insurance.

I agree though. I don't see how a crack UNDER the glass of the screen is my fault when there is no other damage and I absolutely have not bumped/dropped the phone. Maybe I should have tried to fight harder; by their definition of 'any screen damage is caused by the user' they could pump out screens with minor defects that show up a month later and the owner would always be blamed.

And the previous poster is probably right, I doubt it was the Otterbox case but I'm just reaching for a reason that this may have happened. It probably is just a bad phone though and I hope I have no problems with the new one.

I was going to live with the crack, but of course my whole screen soon after started turning blue and becoming unusable (especially after every tech in the Verizon store kept applying pressure to the glass above the screen crack to look at it!).

If anyone else has this issue, know that Samsung will charge you $178 total to fix it.

 

[greggatshack]

I've been browsing this thread because I've also experienced a mysterious break in my screen.
I took a photograph on the phone while I was inside and there was no sign of damage. I showed people the picture and then proceeded outside to line up for a group photo. Went to take another picture and noticed the cracks over the screen. The people that had previously viewed the photo I took were surprised and shocked that my screen was broken for no apparent reason.

I had been experiencing another problem with my phone over the previous 3 weeks, namely that WiFi had stopped working. I had tried a hard reset and still no joy. Was about to take it into shop for a warranty examination when the screen cracked. Anyway, I took it in and explained to the shop that the phone had 2 problems, the FIRST being the WiFi not working, the second being the mysterious screen crack. They charged me $52 up front and sent it off to Samsung. I've heard back that Samsung believe that the screen was broken by me and won't fix it under warranty. When I asked about the WiFi they said they weren't aware of that problem but they expect that the warranty would be void because I had broken the screen. I jumped up and down and asked them to look into the WiFi problem first and see if they could fix it or whether it needed a replacement phone. They are yet to get back to me.

The main reason I posted here was to let the forum know that there is at least one other S3 that has had a mysterious crack.

Cheers
Gregg

 

[FoxKat]

I've been browsing this thread because I've also experienced a mysterious break in my screen. View attachment 58471
I took a photograph on the phone while I was inside and there was no sign of damage. I showed people the picture and then proceeded outside to line up for a group photo. Went to take another picture and noticed the cracks over the screen. The people that had previously viewed the photo I took were surprised and shocked that my screen was broken for no apparent reason.

I had been experiencing another problem with my phone over the previous 3 weeks, namely that WiFi had stopped working. I had tried a hard reset and still no joy. Was about to take it into shop for a warranty examination when the screen cracked. Anyway, I took it in and explained to the shop that the phone had 2 problems, the FIRST being the WiFi not working, the second being the mysterious screen crack. They charged me $52 up front and sent it off to Samsung. I've heard back that Samsung believe that the screen was broken by me and won't fix it under warranty. When I asked about the WiFi they said they weren't aware of that problem but they expect that the warranty would be void because I had broken the screen. I jumped up and down and asked them to look into the WiFi problem first and see if they could fix it or whether it needed a replacement phone. They are yet to get back to me.

The main reason I posted here was to let the forum know that there is at least one other S3 that has had a mysterious crack.

Cheers
Gregg

Looking at that picture under zoom, it appears that the greatest percentage of those cracks are crisscross cracks through the middle of the screen from top to bottom. They could have been caused by undue pressure at the (correction) [home button] (notice how several cracks terminate in that opening [around the button] but don't continue above it), they could be due to pressure applied to the glass front due to sitting on or bending over with the phone in pocket, or could be due to an expanding battery. I am not going to make assumptions or try to say what I believe the cracks to be due to specifically, but they DON'T appear to be radiating from a point along an edge where the indication would be a drop. The fact that they are not really concentrated in any one area and mostly run from top to bottom says pressure rather than impact.

Usually cracks from a drop along an edge are obvious, with the greatest concentration of crisscross (or circular) cracking right at the point of impact, and then radiating outward into less concentrated cracking as they get farther away from that impact point (see first image below). Same holds true for highly concentrated impact breaks, such as dropping something on the screen or dropping the screen face-down onto a small rock or other uneven hard surface (see second and third images below). These patterns are often called "spider-webbing" since they often look very much like a spider's web (example 2 below is the best representation of this).





My inclination is the cracks are due to excessive pressure, either from in front of or behind the glass and along the center of the phone, making the point of origin at or near the center of the screen. These cracks are consistent with either direct downward pressure or expanding battery causing direct upward pressure. In either case, the reason the cracks seem to then "take off" at the [home button] opening may be due to the fact that it's a weak spot in the entire glass surface.

 

[greggatshack]

Looking at that picture under zoom, it appears that the greatest percentage of those cracks are crisscross cracks through the middle of the screen from top to bottom. They could have been caused by undue pressure at the opening of the earpiece (notice how several cracks terminate in that opening but don't continue above it), they could be due to pressure applied to the glass front due to sitting on or bending over with the phone in pocket, or could be due to an expanding battery. I am not going to make assumptions or try to say what I believe the cracks to be due to specifically, but they DON'T appear to be radiating from a point along an edge where the indication would be a drop. The fact that they are not really concentrated in any one area and mostly run from top to bottom says pressure rather than impact.

Usually cracks from a drop along an edge are obvious, with the greatest concentration of crisscross (or circular) cracking right at the point of impact, and then radiating outward into less concentrated cracking as they get farther away from that impact point (see first image below). Same holds true for highly concentrated impact breaks, such as dropping something on the screen or dropping the screen face-down onto a small rock or other uneven hard surface (see second and third images below). These patterns are often called "spider-webbing" since they often look very much like a spider's web (example 2 below is the best representation of this).

My inclination is the cracks are due to excessive pressure, either from in front of or behind the glass and along the center of the phone, making the point of origin at or near the center of the screen. These cracks are consistent with either direct downward pressure or expanding battery causing direct upward pressure. In either case, the reason the cracks seem to then "take off" at the earpiece opening may be due to the fact that it's a weak spot in the entire glass surface.

Thanks for that feedback. The phone had been in my pocket all weekend while I was participating in our pistol shooting National champs. It was fine at the end of the day when I was taking photos at the prizegiving. The cracks appeared at some time during my walk to the outside of the building. There was no possibility of external pressure occurring during this time. Is it possible that pressure at some earlier time could have caused some unnoticeable damage that somehow became noticeable gradually?
That picture may have been misleading here is another picture showing the top of the screen more clearly...

 

[liftedplane]

Thanks for that feedback. The phone had been in my pocket all weekend while I was participating in our pistol shooting National champs. It was fine at the end of the day when I was taking photos at the prizegiving. The cracks appeared at some time during my walk to the outside of the building. There was no possibility of external pressure occurring during this time. Is it possible that pressure at some earlier time could have caused some unnoticeable damage that somehow became noticeable gradually?
That picture may have been misleading here is another picture showing the top of the screen more clearly...
View attachment 58484

Starting at the home button and radiating out. You need to fight to have them fix it, use FoxKat's example and explain it... don't give up keep harassing them and make sure you get the name of every person you talk to, go up the chain... it's easier in person because you can make yourself such a pain in the ass that they just want you gone. Just keep asking for the supervisor and person in charge on the phone, keep going up and if any refuse to escalate get their name and file a complaint.

Just make yourself a huge distraction and pain. Good luck

Sent from my frozenly delicious razr maxx.

 

[FoxKat]

Thanks liftedplane, you helped me to seeit was the home button opening, not the earpiece opening. This does lend more credibility to the damage possibly having been caused by pressure at/around the button. That's not to say it was extreme pressure, our even excessive pressure. The glass could have been stressed at that opening already.

I still say the failure can't be blamed on you, the failure looks atypical of damage due to abuse. I agree with liftedplane, fight and don't give up so readily. Warranties are backed internally by loss-stop insurance, so they are trying to reduce the negative impact to their rates.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[greggatshack]

Thanks FoxKat and liftedplane, I'll get back onto them and see where we go. I'll let you know how it goes.

Cheers
Gregg

 

[desertknit]

My $0.02 worth... (I had been considering an S3, not anymore.)
IMHO
Samsung and VZW seem to be ignoring the problem, maybe because most of the reports of the issue are on the forums, where most people don't go unless they have a problem And know that the forums exist. Maybe if some people with the problem posted the issue and their experiences with the companies on a more public venue, (like at a tech site or news site where the phone is being discussed or advertised) where more of the general public would see it, it might goad Samsung and VZW to do right by their customers and replace these phones gratis. As it is, they are not doing anything because people are still buying the S3. And as long as people keep buying the phones, why who cares if some people are getting shafted. If they were getting bad press about the issue to where people started shying away from the phones, well then... (shrug)

Sent from my DROID2 using Tapatalk 2

 

[greggatshack]

My $0.02 worth... (I had been considering an S3, not anymore.)
IMHO
Samsung and VZW seem to be ignoring the problem, maybe because most of the reports of the issue are on the forums, where most people don't go unless they have a problem And know that the forums exist. Maybe if some people with the problem posted the issue and their experiences with the companies on a more public venue, (like at a tech site or news site where the phone is being discussed or advertised) where more of the general public would see it, it might goad Samsung and VZW to do right by their customers and replace these phones gratis. As it is, they are not doing anything because people are still buying the S3. And as long as people keep buying the phones, why who cares if some people are getting shafted. If they were getting bad press about the issue to where people started shying away from the phones, well then... (shrug)

Sent from my DROID2 using Tapatalk 2

I have put a copy of my story on their FB page. Don't know how much exposure I'm going to get from that but I have been considering just putting up a webpage off my own domain and promoting it as much as I can. What we need is something to go viral... I've also just now put a link to this thread on their FB page. I'll just keep the campaign going until I get some satisfaction.

 

[liftedplane]

I have put a copy of my story on their FB page. Don't know how much exposure I'm going to get from that but I have been considering just putting up a webpage off my own domain and promoting it as much as I can. What we need is something to go viral... I've also just now put a link to this thread on their FB page. I'll just keep the campaign going until I get some satisfaction.

Link it here I'll share and post in their fan page as well. Might as well. And get as many as we can get here into it.

Sent from my frozenly delicious razr maxx.

 

[Snapbux]

OMG I'd be furious, I'd call Verizon though and let them know what happened. It hasn't happened to me but that doesn't mean it can't happen to someone else and they might know about it!