*sigh* my phone is busted

[Bluesman2008]

I woke up this morning, took it off the charger and was looking at it in profile and noticed the screen part was absolutely bowed out toward the middle on both sides. The opening at the widest is probably about 1/32" wide. The top and bottom are sticking to their normal position and the phone works perfectly...but something is seriously wrong here. Taking it back to Best Buy tomorrow and hoping for the best. No it's never been dropped. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Wondering if they can fix it on the spot. I'd hate to exchange it for a refurb but I can't walk out without a working phone.

 

[Raydee35]

Did you take the battery out and see if it is puffed up?

Sent from my Galaxy S4 using Droid Forums

 

[aaf709]

Did you take the battery out and see if it is puffed up?

True, when I had the Bionic I had the extended battery. Near the end when I pressed the screen a "dimple" appeared in another part. It turned out to be a battery that was on its last legs. It was puffed up and was causing pressure to the screen. It also made the phone run hotter and have a shorter battery time.

 

[Bluesman2008]

That's exactly what it was...puffed up. I asked the tech what causes that. I told him I use the cordless charger and put it on the pad soon as I get home and take it off the next morning when I leave for work. He said that's what caused it. He said never to charge it more than three hours and then take it off the charger. Anyway, they put in a brand new battery and all is well again. Hard to imagine why they couldn't make the battery walls a little more substantial.

 

[bbtkd]

That's exactly what it was...puffed up. I asked the tech what causes that. I told him I use the cordless charger and put it on the pad soon as I get home and take it off the next morning when I leave for work. He said that's what caused it. He said never to charge it more than three hours and then take it off the charger. Anyway, they put in a brand new battery and all is well again. Hard to imagine why they couldn't make the battery walls a little more substantial.

How many days/weeks/months have you been using the wireless charger? Have been using mine for about a month now. I have an third party wireless "receiver" sticker that fits under the stock battery cover, and while it gets warm when charging it doesn't seem any warmer than with the stock charger. I have the Samsung charger, and an aftermarket one I'm trying. I charge mine overnight, and just leave it on until morning. Going to be inconvenient to do another time, or get up in the middle of the night to take it off. Figured either the receiver or pad had the smarts not to overcharge...

 

[Bluesman2008]

"Figured either the receiver or pad had the smarts not to overcharge..."

It might very well have that but I think the extra heat was the problem. Either way, it's not a big deal to put it on the charger when I get home and just take if off when I go to bed. Not a big deal. Problem is I don't know how far away from a battery explosion it was. It was pretty puffed up to deform the phone so much.

I think I bought it about three months ago. I've had the phone for about 5 months. The charging pad is generic but the reciever (that attaches to the phone/battery) is Samsung.

 

[bbtkd]

"Figured either the receiver or pad had the smarts not to overcharge..."

It might very well have that but I think the extra heat was the problem. Either way, it's not a big deal to put it on the charger when I get home and just take if off when I go to bed. Not a big deal. Problem is I don't know how far away from a battery explosion it was. It was pretty puffed up to deform the phone so much.

I think I bought it about three months ago. I've had the phone for about 5 months. The charging pad is generic but the reciever (that attaches to the phone/battery) is Samsung.

I'll have to start charging mine that way I suppose. Many rechargeable devices lack a delta-v chip (costs well under $1), which monitors voltage of the battery and stops charging when complete, preventing overcharging the battery. In the case of the Samsung, I suspect that the receiver or the phone has a delta-v chip and stops charging, but the pad keeps applying voltage to the receiver coil, which causes heat and cooks the battery. The receiver and pad probably are not designed to communicate, so the pad applies power when it detects the inductance of the receiver coil. The pads/receivers apparently need to be made smarter.

 

[Bluesman2008]

You may be right. I've noticed a lot of heat coming from the phone when it's on the charger. When I got home this afternoon, the charge was at about 65% and it only took about 90 minutes to get it up to full charge so it seems to charge fairly quickly.