Well after dropping my SGS2 five times on hard floor from waist height, I wasn't so lucky the 6th time. Now my glass has a big crack. Luckily I think its just the glass on top as it hasn't affected the display in any way. The touchscreen is working normally and colors are fine too. It isn't very visible when in use with bright colors and from straight angle with normal distance (pics closeup and side angle).
So is this covered under warranty? If not what would be the expected cost and where can I do it?
Mine's in for repair now because of a few nasty scratches on the glass. Unfortunately, the fact that the screen is intact doesn't lower the cost of the repair. The glass is attached firmly to the screen and both are replaced at ones.. I highly doubt that it's covered by the warranty since it's caused by "abuse" and not during production.
I'm using an insurance for this, otherwise the cheapest option would be ordering the display online and doing the swap yourself. I'd contact my local Samsung support for more details on where to repair. And here's a thread on the subject: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1253969
Also.. You definitely need a non slippery case since you tend to drop it so often.
Five times that would be classed as suicide .
Damage is not covered by warranty Insurance maybe if you have any .
jje
Yep, no warranty will cover drop damage. I've dropped mine twice in less than a month, putting some big scratch on the plastic the 2nd time, before I smartened up and bought rubber case and screen protector.
The stock shell is damn slippery I'll give you that.
you're not using any case. buy a non-slip case after you get your s2 repaired
Not meaning to rub it in....but I cannot fathom how anyone can drop the phone 6 times, from waist height, within the last 3-4 months? You must hate your phone alot...
My screen cracked before and I sent it back to be repaired. Though I never dropped it. Just took it out of my pocket and noticed the damage. I never bumped into anything either. When asking to get it repaired I stated that on the notes section and said it was a defective screen. It was repaired without any charges.
daaamn man
it really sucks but you droped it 5 times man ,
[With pics] How to replace only the glass (not the whole "LCD") on a Galaxy S3!
You don't.
Although it is entirely possible, the chance of failure if done by people with absolutely no experience with mobile phone repairs is very high.
If you've broken the screen on your Samsung Galaxy S3 and have considered replacing the screen by yourself because your local mobile phone repair shops charge a hefty price for the repair, you should reconsider. You may have seen videos like the following that make it seem it is very easy to replace the glass only:
(skip to 3:00 in this one)
Maybe it seemed too easy. That's because it was too easy. Chances are those screens have already been replaced before by a third party who has access to professional equipment and skills. Possibly the screen has been broken more than once?
Even if you do successfully replace the glass only, it is guaranteed that you will get scratches, dust, fingerprints and adhesive marks on the Super AMOLED panel, no matter how much you clean it. That's because you won't be doing the repair with gloves on in a clean room free of dust. And that's not all - after a few weeks or months of use, dust will somehow find a way to get in between the glass and SAMOLED+ panel because you didn't use machine-cut adhesive that adheres your glass perfectly, leaving no gap for dust to get in. Your screen's touch sensitivity will drop as well, since it's not making adequate contact with the digitizer. And on top of that, the visibility will also drop.
Those problems don't show up on camera, and can easily be masked/hidden from the camera, too.
If this is only your first time breaking the screen on your S3, those tutorials won't work for you because your screen was manufactured as one whole piece by Samsung. The glass on your phone won't fall out by itself because the whole glass is optically laminated to the SAMOLED+ panel using a Liquid Optically Clear Adhesive, or LOCA for short. This kind of adhesive is a little bit sensitive to heat, but can't be completely removed because it is cured using UV light, not heat.
Optical lamination is a manufacturing process employed in more high end mobile devices that eliminate the air gap usually present between the display panel (usually either LCD or AMOLED) and the glass digitizer panel on top. Phones such as the Samsung Galaxy S3, S4, Note 2 and Note 3, iPhone 4/4S/5/5S/5C, HTC One X, One, Butterfly, Droid DNA, LG Nexus 4, Nexus 5, Sony Xperia Z, Z1, Z Ultra etc. have displays that are optically laminated. Optical lamination has a number of advantages:
Visibility is increased (especially under sunlight), since there aren't multiple layers reflecting ambient light creating optical interference
Screen clarity is increased, since optical lamination makes the display look like it is on top of the glass as opposed to being under it
It is impossible for debris like dirt and dust to get trapped in the air gap between the display and glass, because that gap is filled with LOCA
Higher contrast ratio, because there's less light reflecting off the parts of the screen that aren't emitting light
But the biggest disadvantage is the increased cost of repair. That's what you have to pay for all those aforementioned advantages. It also certainly doesn't help that the screens are getting thinner and thinner every year. The likelihood of breaking the screen increases every year too.
Here's a little photo album that I'd like to share with everyone documenting my experiences trying to remove the glass from full original Samsung screens that haven't been replaced or tampered with before. Click to enlarge.
This is a picture of the Black Samsung Galaxy S3 GT-i9300. Only the glass was broken, so I attempted to separate it from the AMOLED panel using a heat gun and some plastic pry tools. So far so good, until the AMOLED panel broke because it is optically bonded to the glass and also stuck to the frame underneath it. You can still see some LOCA on the AMOLED panel and glass.
Second is the Galaxy S4 GT-i9505. It was broken on the top half, so I started removing the glass from the bottom. Again, the LOCA wasn't very cooperative, staying quite solid throughout the removal. Eventually, the S4's AMOLED panel broke too.
It didn't look like the broken original Samsung screens wanted to be separated, so I moved on to fully intact screens.
It was a pain trying to separate this one. The adhesive was very difficult to remove, and the screen's touch digitizer circuit and polarizer started to separate from the AMOLED panel. As you can see, the glass came off intact, but the AMOLED underneath was completely destroyed.
It doesn't look like the digitizer circuit/polarizer is bonded to the AMOLED. It just gets sandwiched on top, so it is very easy to unintentionally separate it from the AMOLED instead of leaving it on and only removing the glass, especially if the glass is smashed into a thousand fragments. The glass was in one piece though, and you can see how that turned out.
This is a good representation of what the AMOLED sandwich consists of. From top to bottom:
Gorilla Glass
Touch digitizer circuit/polarizer (you can see the rest of the glass is a lot darker than the top left corner where polarizer was removed)
AMOLED panel (it looks very reflective without the polarizer on top of it)
Midframe
Some of the AMOLED panel itself came off and was still stuck to the glass!
You can see how thin and fragile the AMOLED panel is on the Samsung Galaxy S series phones. Sure, it's thin, but is it worth it? The panel has to be supported by the frame and the glass to stay intact. The panel on the S4 has a slimmed down bezel and was made thinner again, so it's a lot easier to break the AMOLED on the S4 than it is on the S3.
Ugh, don't even get me started with the iPhone 5 screen. LCDs are more robust than AMOLEDS but still...so much LOCA...so much glass...
Sure, these glass panels can be had for about $10, but is it worth all the effort to end up with a screen full of dust and fingerprints, has a warped frame and will eventually come loose and fall off, or simply just to destroy the AMOLED panel then spending extra money on a whole display assembly? Reapplying the glass leaving no gaps for dust to get in requires adhesive that is machine-cut perfectly for your frame.
Edit: Even then, you still don't have any LOCA or the necessary facilities to fill that air gap. (Thanks to @KrzychuG !)
Do you have what it takes?
Sorry for such a long post. I'm spending my time, efforts and money so you don't have to. I will occasionally add to this thread when I get more screens to experiment with.
This is a good video on how these screens can be separated and replaced with a perfect bubble-free and dust-free finish:
Most of the time its a better idea to just buy an entire replacement. I've replaced glass on nexus 7's and Galaxy Note2's a few times. it's not fun to replace glass or lamination, and it's just a whole lot easier to purchase a "parts" phone with a working display from ebay and swap out boards. Glass is one of my least favorite things to play with.
vantt1 said:
This is a good video on how these screens can be separated and replaced with a perfect bubble-free and dust-free finish:
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Click to collapse
Awesome dude! thanks alot for the tutorial, but i dont think people have industrial size vacuums in their house, lol,
Thank you so much, this is very helpful!
Can I ask how you got the information? That would be very useful to do further research about other devices
Thanks again!
I will never, ever separate the glass and the screen. I know that it will break for sure. When I replace phone glass, I replace the entire front screen assembly which includes the glass, screen, and any frame to attach it into the phone. Even if it's just the glass that's broken and the LCD still works, still replace the entire front assembly.
Pizza_Dox said:
Awesome dude! thanks alot for the tutorial, but i dont think people have industrial size vacuums in their house, lol,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the point is that unless you have all this stuff you shouldn't be even attempting to replace the glass.
i have tried this multiple times and all i can say is for anyone at home wihtout the professional equipment your not gonna get anywhere.. this isnt like and iPhone 3G/S where you take the screen off and seperate the LCD from the digitizer with a heatgun or hairdryer, ive tried all possible ways an failed every single time, either broken AMOLED or in some cases half the AMOLED comes off with the adheasive...
just save your money and buy the digitizer with the AMOLED attached..
HankChill said:
I will never, ever separate the glass and the screen. I know that it will break for sure. When I replace phone glass, I replace the entire front screen assembly which includes the glass, screen, and any frame to attach it into the phone. Even if it's just the glass that's broken and the LCD still works, still replace the entire front assembly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but what will you do with the old screen with the broken front glass ?
andr3wchong said:
but what will you do with the old screen with the broken front glass ?
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Chuck it
I have replaced many screens, and in my experience, you're always best buying everything as readily assembled as possible. Out of 5 attempts at separating the S3 Glass from the AMOLED panel, I have managed it twice without breaking the AMOLED, and that involves also keeping the digitser intact as well, which is between the outer glass and the AMOLED.
Back when I was doing this, you were looking at £175+ for the complete assembly, so to some people, £20 at a risk was worth it if I could manage it. Now though they're cheap enough to replace the whole lot without the worry.
There is an app on Play Store called ifixit which gives pretty detailed step-by-step instructions for most DIY teardowns and fixes for phones, tablets, consoles and even some household applicances, and they have a website too. Unfortunately, it's only experience (and expense) that make you realise that just because they make it look doable, it doesn't mean everyone can do it easily. There are many, many pitfalls that you will only discover yourself when you take on these DIY repairs, to the point where I don't do them all that often anymore, just because it's too stressful and costly if it goes wrong. My first iPhone 4 (am I allowed to say that here? ) screen replacement took me 3 hours just because of how careful I was. Now I can do it in 20 minutes, just because of experience. But even then you can be plagued with problems for no apparent reason. If you don't handle stress well, my best advice is to leave it to the experts
matmaneyre said:
I have replaced many screens, and in my experience, you're always best buying everything as readily assembled as possible. Out of 5 attempts at separating the S3 Glass from the AMOLED panel, I have managed it twice without breaking the AMOLED, and that involves also keeping the digitser intact as well, which is between the outer glass and the AMOLED.
Back when I was doing this, you were looking at £175+ for the complete assembly, so to some people, £20 at a risk was worth it if I could manage it. Now though they're cheap enough to replace the whole lot without the worry.
There is an app on Play Store called ifixit which gives pretty detailed step-by-step instructions for most DIY teardowns and fixes for phones, tablets, consoles and even some household applicances, and they have a website too. Unfortunately, it's only experience (and expense) that make you realise that just because they make it look doable, it doesn't mean everyone can do it easily. There are many, many pitfalls that you will only discover yourself when you take on these DIY repairs, to the point where I don't do them all that often anymore, just because it's too stressful and costly if it goes wrong. My first iPhone 4 (am I allowed to say that here? ) screen replacement took me 3 hours just because of how careful I was. Now I can do it in 20 minutes, just because of experience. But even then you can be plagued with problems for no apparent reason. If you don't handle stress well, my best advice is to leave it to the experts
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you musty be really good out of i think 7 possible 8, i have managed to seperate once, but still i scratched the AMOLED...
ricky310711 said:
you musty be really good out of i think 7 possible 8, i have managed to seperate once, but still i scratched the AMOLED...
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It never feels like I'm very good when I see the screen go though. Just that sick feeling :/
Saying that as well, I gave the phones back to whoever they belonged to when they were done. There's nothing to say that a couple of weeks/months down the line they faced the problems of dust under the glass, touchscreen sensitivity reduced etc. They were just happy to get them back 'looking' perfect.
Never again
matmaneyre said:
It never feels like I'm very good when I see the screen go though. Just that sick feeling :/
Saying that as well, I gave the phones back to whoever they belonged to when they were done. There's nothing to say that a couple of weeks/months down the line they faced the problems of dust under the glass, touchscreen sensitivity reduced etc. They were just happy to get them back 'looking' perfect.
Never again
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Click to collapse
your right, quallity also plays a BIG part aswell, like you said never know what could happen, but better brands generally have better touch respones and just generally more smoothe, i knew someone who had just got the digitizer replaced by a phone repair shop, they couldnt use their phone in the wind thats how bad the replacement was..
EDIT: response**
thank you, says my sii p
you saved a sii today, i'm using my phone without screen protection so it gets scratches after long times and i said to myself that's ok, i will replace the gorilla glass. that would be open the phone replace it then close it and i will have a new sii p again but sounds it's not that easy.
Very interesting thread.
I must be lucky,as on several occasions with most phones I have owned (HTC Desire hd, HTC One X, HTC One,Nexus 5, Samsung Note 3) I have accidentally dropped my phone. I've never had a case on and have on some occasions been unlucky to have the phone land on the screen, it has happened indoors and outdoors, on concrete and tarmac, despite this I haven't ever broken the glass.
andr3wchong said:
but what will you do with the old screen with the broken front glass ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HankChill said:
Chuck it
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I wouldn't follow the advice to "Chuck it". We purchase these cracked glass assemblies as long as the touch screen and LCD still work fine. We can pay up to $100 PER screen, depending on the model. PM us for prices for bulk orders.
I very recently bought myself an used Galaxy S3 and to my great disappointment the glass has no scratches because it has been replaced. Now I got ****ty touchscreen response and already dust is gathering between the digitizer and the glass. I might try to sell it off and buy myself another one, this time checking very carefully that everything is in perfect working condition!
So much for thinking I had found a bargain for this fantastic phone (which, despite the problems, is a nice upgrade from my Galaxy Ace!)
MobileEMT said:
I wouldn't follow the advice to "Chuck it". We purchase these cracked glass assemblies as long as the touch screen and LCD still work fine. We can pay up to $100 PER screen, depending on the model. PM us for prices for bulk orders.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? I have a crapload
ricky310711 said:
Really? I have a crapload
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Click to collapse
Good to hear! We'll PM you. Feel free to contact us if you would like to sell or refurbish them.
Hey guys,
I have a Z3C. Love the phone obviously. It's awesome. I had my phone on the top of my desk, it fell to my keyboard tray maybe 6 inches lower and the screen shattered. I've read on the web that similar durability issues plague the Z3C. I'm wondering if your experiences with the Z3 have been similar. Can the Z3 withstand minimal abuse like what killed my Z3C, or it is similarly susceptible? Thanks
I've dropped my Z3 about 5 times already including on tile and asphalt and its not even scratched... Probably has to do with the plastic / rubber corners, does the compact design have that?
I've dropped my Z3 over five times and the glass is in perfect condition. I had tempered glass on for two of the attempts it fell and only the nilken tempered glass shattered. The nylon corner bumps work pretty well in ensuring that the Z3 is durable and shatter resistant. Although I did get scared at first (hence why I bought the tempered glass), my worries were completely unfounded and my Z3 is still in perfect condition (aside for small marks on the nylon corners).
I would say that if you drop the phone flat on the ground with the glass hitting the ground first, you will probably suffer. If you are planning to replace it, get a case to feel more secure. Otherwise, if you want to keep the aesthetics of the phone, get a tempered glass and you can feel at ease.
I've dropped mine numerous times and it survived. Keeping it in my back pocket broke the glass...
Sent from my D6616 using Tapatalk
As my luck has it, the first three days of my Z3 in my ownership saw it fall at least 5 times, two of them from a desk's height and on the floor tiles. It only sufferd minimal nicks on the bronze finish, nothing else. Can't wait for the tempered glass and the TPU case I ordered alongside the phone to arrive...
It's crazy... most of my friends have galaxy phones and they've had so many cracked screens issue. In 4 smartphones I've owned, starting with LG G2x, and Z, Z1S, and now Z3, my phones have never cracked. I also use no case.
Guess i'm lucky?
Mine has come through a couple of drops unscathed, dropped from hip height on marble with no case, only standard screen protector
Sent from my D6653 using XDA Free mobile app
No cracks but I got a pretty big scratch on the screen within my first week and I never ever put it in a pocket or in a bag with other items. Since then I got one of the nillkin glass screen protectors. Not a scratch on it and I'm far less careful with it now. Why couldn't Sony just use the glass Nillkin uses?
I wonder if I can pay Sony to replace my screen down the line for a fee. Then I wouldn't worry so much.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou..._51nTw5q_mTI85ZtA&sig2=x_c947kpk-ERsY-I533rVg
I dropped mine from a chair onto a patio which is like concrete and apparently hit the corner of the phone. It cracked the corner of the back glass about an inch radially. I used some glass glue and covered it up. Its fine now still waterproof.
Sony's lame, the back should have been carbon fiber for shock proofing and the edges should have ridges for grip. When I first got it it was so slippery it was ridiculous.
Funny enough, 5 minutes after I cracked the back somebody gave me a really nice leather case for it.
Sent from my D6603 using XDA Free mobile app
I love the slippery cool glass slick feel. I would not settle for anything else. Since my iPhone 4s, the Nexus 4 and now this, I realise i'm addicted to these materials. I have dropped mine but always on carpet, no damage thank God. My brother dropped his uncountable times and onto wood floor and tile etc with no cracked glass, just metal rim damaged and scuffed.
I haven't dropped mine and do not have a case nor any screen protection. I don't excessively wipe the phone down but do wipe it when the fingerprints begin to bug me. I phone mostly wipes itself when inserting/removing from my pocket.
I've had the device or about 1.5-2 months and baby it.
The screen has zero micro scratches or any other permanent marks, but the rear panel has micro scratches from simply being placed on a hard, smooth, CLEAN surface like a table. I don't slide the phone across surfaces and put down/pick up the phone very carefully so it doesn't slide/scrape across any surface.
So while the screen appears to be fairly scratch resistant, my experience is that the back becomes easily scratched even when taking the utmost care.
My phone is black which shows these scratches more easily than a lighter color would.
I've had mine for a few months and dropped it several times, but my luck ran out today. Cold, slushy parking lot + road salt was apparently the last straw...
Have you heard of glass protection and cases? I've dropped my Z1 many times and no issues, applying the same protection to Z3.
I've dropped mine a few times now, but luckily no cracks.
dkreviews said:
Have you heard of glass protection and cases? I've dropped my Z1 many times and no issues, applying the same protection to Z3.
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Click to collapse
I had a Terrapin case and a Rhino Shield screen protector on it, but while the screen protector only had a couple.. what feel like small puncture holes? , the screen itself was completely shattered.
My rear Glas cracked today for amusingly no reason.
We'd just been out to walk the dog, as we came back an put our phones on the table, we heard a cracking sound but couldn't picture where it came from. As I went over to pick up my phone we saw all the cracks all across the rear.
How could this happen, I doubt through the difference in temperature, although it really was cold outside today.
It's a really expensive device and I am really upset about this right now. How can the glas, even if it is just the rear, crack out of appearingly no reason???
Probably from the temperature difference? Live in Minnesota but have not suffered from it so far though I have heard many instances like yours. Another XDA member got a free replacement, try talking to Sony.
I actually guess it really is from.the temperature difference.
Already spoken to my retailer about this, they're picking the device up tomorrow for a free repair or replacement.
Also confirmed that there a a lot of devices with such a problem. I thought they had enough experience by now with glas fronts and backs.
It really is upsetting
Well that's good, no worries. In fact BBC's Watchdog program did an investigation for the Z1 or Z2 for the same problem after many people complained to them. Sony agreed the issue exists and said they will do free replacements as long as it's only "a single fine crack" at the time. I think they are not so picky now.
Unfortunately my G5 Plus had a little accident this weekend and now the front glass is cracked. As far as I can tell the phone is still fully functional and screen touch responsiveness seems good despite the cracks.
I see replacement LCD screen plus digitizer units available on ebay and other sources online, I was wondering if anyone had any good recommendations and any replacement tips after having gone through the process themselves. Thanks.
I would suggest do it from an authorised service centre even if you have to pay twice the price. I've had experience where I tried to search a replacement for cheap (which it was) and was disappointed with the quality, the screen wasn't as sturdy as the original one and cracked within a week. So it makes sense of your phone is new and. Want to make it work for atleast a year more.
Apply some pieces of single side tape on the crack screen, to prevent shatter glass injury, and heat up the new screen for a while after you finish the replacement, that could help to make the screen adhere to the frame tightly. I will recommend witrigs, they sell original screen and also adhesive and tools.
Good luck.
These are very hard for the average person to do themselves. Everything is glued together, and just a hair dryer or heat gun doesn't do it, without great care. I'm 50/50 on droid turbos, and after searching on line, these are slightly harder to do than that series.