My Droid screen shattered!!!

[cb2000a]

This is not a phone you can be careless with. I never leave the phone in my lap in the car (like I did with my Nokia). I am trying to be much more conscience of where I put my Droid and more careful.

 

[MonkeeSage]

A note about warranty claims

I was expecting to hear that if I wanted it fixed, I would have to pay full price... but the Verizon Tech on site looked at it, kinda smiled and shook his head, then said "We have an app for that" that Verizon will charge me US$50.00 for a replacement phone but they had to send it out from their distribution site.

wish i would have waited and took it to verizon instead of filing insurance. i'm probably getting a refurb too

I'm a warranty service agent with a different carrier (and we use Asurion for INS claims as well), and I just wanted to clarify a couple of things about how warranty/insurance works (which is pretty much the same on all carriers in the US, to my knowledge at least).

1.) Any type of liquid or physical damage (like a fractured screen), will always put the phone out of the manufacturers warranty. It is up the to carrier if they will provide replacement handsets--and under what terms and conditions they deem fit--in situations where a phone is deemed to be out of the manufacturers warranty. This can range from being based on Product Advisories from the manufacturer, advising of known incidental damage based on flaws in the design or manufacturing process, but not strictly being manufacturing defects (such as micro-fractures around the nav-button on the Palm Pre with Sprint, or the hinges cracking on the Motorola EM330 on AT&T); or it can be based on considerations such as market and-or mind share and ongoing campaigns--i.e., does it make good business sense to replace damaged handsets for $50, when it nets a positive feedback (i.e., "would you recommend Verizon to a friend") and a return customer base. In other words, I would never bank on Verizon replacing an Out Of Warranty device for $50. Not a very smart move, imo. At some point, the cost of replacing the phone is going to outweigh the cost of just letting you bite the bullet--all things considered. So if you're not insured, or don't have some type of third-party protection (e.g., with Best Buy or similar), you may be SOL if you break your phone.

Just to be very clear, here is the pertinent warranty coverage legal-ise from the DROID manual:

Defects or damage that result from: (a) improper operation, misuse or abuse, accident or neglect, such as physical damage (cracks, scratches, etc.) to the surface of the product resulting from misuse; (b) contact with liquid, water, rain, extreme humidity or heavy perspiration, sand, dirt or the like, extreme heat, or food; (c) use of the Products or Accessories for commercial purposes or subjecting the Product or Accessory to abnormal usage or conditions; or (d) other acts which are not the fault of Motorola, are excluded from coverage.

2.) Even if Verizon is replacing handsets with physically damaged screens for $50, there is no guarantee that you are getting a brand new phone versus a factory reconditioned device. In fact, given the description above (replacement did not include back/battery), it sounds like a seed stock unit. This means it may be a brand new device, it may also be an overstocked unit, it may be a phone that was returned to the point of purchase 3 days after it was activated, or it may be a phone that was used for 3 weeks before it was returned. Neither warranty service, nor Asurion, can guarantee replacement of the defective/damaged phone with a brand new device. A "like new" device is guaranteed, but not necessarily a brand new device. Basically, you're not turning in a brand new device, and there is no guarantee you'll receive a brand new device. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. People hear "refurb" and automatically think "piece of junk." Not so. I've purchased several reconditioned phones, and done a couple of warranty replacements, and have personally found reconditioned devices to be indistinguishable from brand new phones. YMMY.

 

[MonkeeSage]

And BTW, yes, I just bought a DROID a few days ago. Very cool phone so far.

 

[crspang]

Its also my understanding that if your phone is lost or stolen most insurances have coverage for that albeit with a deductible. I doubt vzw will replace a lost phone for $50.

 

[TopJo]

This Demo makes it look gorilla glass is unbreakable.


Gorilla Glass Hands On: UNBREAKABLE - Gorillaglass - Gizmodo


From what I understand the easiest way to break the glass is to hit it on the edges.

 

[MikeZ]

I'm going to defend the Body Glove here a bit.
Have it protecting my phone. I think it looks pretty cool and saved God only knows what kind of damage. One was a corner shot on concrete.
The other was a glass face down. Landed pretty flat from about 4 feet, hardwood floor.
The concrete hit took most of the rubber off the case and now it has a bold corner.
I would imagine that something would have to contact the glass directly or at least come very close, for it to break. And then i don't care what case you have, that glass has the potential to break.

I did however have to replace my phone. Somehow the touch screen went. Stopped responding to my touch. about 3-4 weeks after the fall. I have no idea if it was connected or not. soo now i have a brand new phone. Weird thing is that i didn't have to do a warranty exchange, nor did i pay verizon's replacement $50.00. They tried some things to fix it.. couldn't and rushed a new phone to me.

Back to the glass breaking for a min. It's just a bad break that the glass broke. It could and will happen anytime, anywhere and in any case.

 

[edthesped]

I noticed that too aristo. I don't think the body glove is deserving the hating it's getting here.....

I put a Body Glove case on my daughters rogue. She dropped the phone on the street while racing one of her friends. The BG case has a chunk the size of a dime removed from the case, the rubber is gone and a woven looking piece of the inner case is exposed. I removed the phone from the case to inspect it and it is pristine. I guess how well the BG protects depends on the point of impact.

My wife has a BG on her droid and I replaced my BG with the innocase. The BG is more substantial than the innocase but I like to pocket my phone so I'm keeping the innocase on it.

 

[dsully]

i got out of the car and it was in my lap (in the bodyglove) got out and it "slid off my lap" and. i was like whatever since it barley fell and picked it up and put it in my pocket. pulled it out 10min later to call my wife and holy $H** its completely shattered

Did this happen at Sugarloaf?

 

[Detonation]

I too shattered the screen of my Droid! Scratch proof? Yes. Shatter proof? NO!

I bought it on release day from Best Buy, and I turned down the extended warranty and didn't sign up for the insurance from Verizon. I took the phone to my local Verizon store, when the girl behind the counter asked how she could help, I simply handed it to her. She typed a bit into the monitor and said "We can send you a replacement phone for $50." It'll be delivered tomorrow.

When I broke the screen on my old Samsung Alias, I got the same response, $50 for a refurb replacement. No insurance, but still under 1 year warranty. Rep said something about how as long as the rest of the phone is working, they use the body's for refurbs and just put new screens in. I don't know if that applies for the Droid, but sounds like it if you got a replacement for $50 only.

 

[dsully]

I dropped and cracked my Droid screen on Jan 25. Based on some of the comments in this thread I took my phone to two different VZ stores and asked for the $50 warranty replacement. The MGR and service attendant at one store told me they'd never heard of such a service on smart phones and the service rep at the second store told me that this service had been discontinued on account of it being abused.

My only option now is to pay full price or use my wife's upgrade to get a subsidized deal.

My screen is totally cracked and the spider webbing has not stopped; however the phone works flawlessly. After using this for a month I have come to the conclusion that I prefer the virtual keypad and could do without the flip out keypad. That said, I may wait until NexusOne is available on Verizon and upgrade then.

I am curious if anyone has used, demos the Nexusone and wonder how its performance compares to Droid, which I am totally hooked on!

 

[ndhill1976]

Maybe you accidently turned on the "screen crack" app.

 

[woahdang1987]

Droid screen is SOOO not "indestructible!" Mine fell off of my desk last night onto a linoleum floor and is now cracked. This is so totally upsetting, I love my Driod, I am afraid of refurbished replacements. Before this, I had an HTC6800 and I had it replaced once under insurance and the replacement was a POS. These glass screens are gorgeous and work so much better than resister ones, but boy are they fragile.

 

[dsully]

Update_screen being repaired $75

I tried, unsuccessfully, at three different Verizon Stores, to get an instore Verizon tech to submit my phone for $50 warranty replacement. None would do it and the last one told me Verizon/Motorola have cracked down(pun intended) on this practice cause it was being abused. I suspect it was eating into their insurance revenues as well. The only option I was offered at the store was to pay full RETAIL($579) for a new one.

Well my forum friend, I have found a solution. I called Motorola's Android Series help desk, and was able to send in my phone to have the cracked screen repaired. The MAX cost of this repair is $75 plus shipping and shipping insurance.

NOTE: the rest of my phone functions perfectly including the LCDs under the screen, so this $75 fix will likely only apply to those of you with the same scenario.

The number to call is 1-800-734-5870. How you conduct this call is important because as I found the process is not as intuitive as you might think. You will be asked a series of questions by the rep and at the end they will likely say you are going to receive an email with instructions on how to connect your phone(USB to your computer) to the Motorola Troubleshooting Tool (which you have to download) and go through a Repair Ticket Submission Process.

Do not let the REP send you through this merry go round. IT DOES NOT WORK, at least not for a cracked SCREEN ISSUE. 1st, the software doesn't install properly so you wind up in a endless circle of web forms and downloads. Learn from my experience. Insist that the REP issue you an RMA# and give your shipping instructions and address while on the call. RMA=Return Mechandize Authorization and it associates your work order with you.

DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT let them off the phone until you have the RMA# for you repair and Shipping address (likely in MCALLEN, TEXAS?).

I sent mine out yesterday and will post an update once I receive it back (8-10) days. Thank goodness I kept my previous phone and was able to activate it for the next 10 days.

 

[iPirate]

I tried, unsuccessfully, at three different Verizon Stores, to get an instore Verizon tech to submit my phone for $50 warranty replacement. None would do it and the last one told me Verizon/Motorola have cracked down(pun intended) on this practice cause it was being abused. I suspect it was eating into their insurance revenues as well. The only option I was offered at the store was to pay full RETAIL($579) for a new one.

Well my forum friend, I have found a solution. I called Motorola's Android Series help desk, and was able to send in my phone to have the cracked screen repaired. The MAX cost of this repair is $75 plus shipping and shipping insurance.

NOTE: the rest of my phone functions perfectly including the LCDs under the screen, so this $75 fix will likely only apply to those of you with the same scenario.

The number to call is 1-800-734-5870. How you conduct this call is important because as I found the process is not as intuitive as you might think. You will be asked a series of questions by the rep and at the end they will likely say you are going to receive an email with instructions on how to connect your phone(USB to your computer) to the Motorola Troubleshooting Tool (which you have to download) and go through a Repair Ticket Submission Process.

Do not let the REP send you through this merry go round. IT DOES NOT WORK, at least not for a cracked SCREEN ISSUE. 1st, the software doesn't install properly so you wind up in a endless circle of web forms and downloads. Learn from my experience. Insist that the REP issue you an RMA# and give your shipping instructions and address while on the call. RMA=Return Mechandize Authorization and it associates your work order with you.

DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT let them off the phone until you have the RMA# for you repair and Shipping address (likely in MCALLEN, TEXAS?).

I sent mine out yesterday and will post an update once I receive it back (8-10) days. Thank goodness I kept my previous phone and was able to activate it for the next 10 days.

$75 isn't bad, i'm tempted to go naked with my droid

 

[Se7enLC]

About a month or so ago, I was walking down a hallway with tile floors. I had my droid in the breast (napoleon) pocket of my jacket. I guess I must have bent down to pick something up while walking, but before I knew what happened, the droid jumped out of my pocket, landed screen-side-down on the tile, and got KICKED by my foot in motion.

Had the Body Glove case, not a scratch on the phone.

No case is going to be completely protective, especially on a slider phone. I think the body glove has saved my phone more than a few times already, though.