Screen problem

[mcraeh]

Hey everyone,

I have had my Z Force for over a year and a half now. In the last few months (right after warranty expired I guess), I have started having the screen go out and only display a "rainbow" static. The issue is exactly as described here:

Solved: Rainbow static on screen - Lenovo Community

In that thread, the consensus seemed to be that it is a hardware issue, and the only solution is replacement. Since mine is out of warranty, I guess I'm out of luck, since I never buy insurance. My question is, has anyone here ever seen this? The phone is literally unusable when the screen is like that. And I can tell when it is going to start doing it because the screen will "blink". Restarting sometimes clears it up, but I have also cleared it up by dropping it on the floor (carpet of course and not from a great distance) on purpose. It seems to jog something and then it's fine again.

What I'm worried about is getting into a situation where the phone is totally unusable, and can't be backed up, and then I have to scramble to get another one. So, that is a long way of asking my second question, what are the best options for replacement? Another Z Force? Z Play? I guess I want to stick with one that will use the mods I got for this one.

Thanks!

 

[Sajo]

I personally haven't seen this on my Z Force, and have been following the same Moto Forum thread. I would ten to agree that it's some sort of hardware defect that affects some phones. Doesn't seem to be too widespread. I would recommend getting a replacement as soon as possible before you end up in a situation where you can't back up your data or factory reset the current phone.

Which replacement phone is a tough answer, a lot depends on your budget. My daughter killed her Z Play a few weeks ago (they don't like to go underwater for a while) and I found a mint Z Play Droid on Swappa for $200 as a replacement for her. So now she can still use her Battery and Speaker Mods.

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[mcraeh]

I personally haven't seen this on my Z Force, and have been following the same Moto Forum thread. I would ten to agree that it's some sort of hardware defect that affects some phones. Doesn't seem to be too widespread. I would recommend getting a replacement as soon as possible before you end up in a situation where you can't back up your data or factory reset the current phone.

Which replacement phone is a tough answer, a lot depends on your budget. My daughter killed her Z Play a few weeks ago (they don't like to go underwater for a while) and I found a mint Z Play Droid on Swappa for $200 as a replacement for her. So now she can still use her Battery and Speaker Mods.

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Thanks! I got the Z Force mainly for the battery, which is still great. I actually have no complaints at all with the phone. I'll have to look into the difference between the Z and the Play I guess, and see what I can find. I'd hate to pay full price for a Z2 Force, but I am not sure what I'd be giving up if I went with one of the others. And I'd sure hate for this to happen again right out of warranty.

So next question, how's the luck with one of the third party insurers? Or can you just get an extended factory warranty? I've never bothered with that, but if it doesn't cost 1/3 the price of a very expensive phone, I might not roll the dice again and go without.

 

[mcraeh]

One more question, and maybe I should be asking this in the Z2 threads, but I figure y'all probably know

I have looked and can't really see any major differences between the Z Force and Z2 Force. I also hate to spend that much on a Z2 and have this happen again since I haven't even had this phone for 2 years. However, since I like the phone so much, I suppose I might just try to find maybe a used one (although, I NEVER have luck with used or refurbished things, I think I'm cursed somehow). I was also considering the Z2 Play, but I can't decide if the shatterproof screen is worth the extra money, given the battery size of the Play is comparable (or seems to be).

So, the battery life is really important (and I have a wireless charging battery mod which does come in handy quite a bit). Also somewhat durable since even though I am as careful as I can be, dogs and kids sometimes cause me to fumble and drop the phone occasionally. For the money, is the Z2 worth 300 more than the Play? Any opinions?

 

[Sajo]

Here is what I believe:

The Z Play (original) gets better battery life than the Z Force. But does not have Shattershield and does have a lesser processor. I have not noticed any speed or performance difference between the Play and Force though, so the processor doesn't seem like an issue to me. The Z Play does cost less, typically.

The Z Force does have Shattershield, if that is important to you (or anyone).

The Z2 Force also has Shattershield and a newer processor. So the battery is smaller but gets excellent battery life, better than the original Z Force. It is also thinner than the original Z Force.

Some folks say the Z2 Shattershield Gen 3 is much softer and scratches much easier.

All in all it's not worth $300 more than a Z Force....to me. It's a great phone don't get me wrong, but not worth the extra $300.

If I had to buy a replacement phone right now, I would personally go with a Z Force or Z Play. That's just my opinion though. I plan on picking up the Z3 when it's released later this year, so I wouldn't spend a tone of money now for a replacement phone.



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[mcraeh]

Thanks for the input Sajo! So my husband found a somewhat brand new Moto Z2 someone was selling for 325 and picked it up for me. (As an aside, I really can't believe someone would buy an expensive phone like that, decide they would rather have a Samsung, and then just sell it for half the price rather than returning to the store for a 10% restocking fee, but that's just me). I did want to ask though, the warranty on this new phone is good through January 2019. I can buy one year of extended warranty from Moto for 70 dollars, or a full 2 year plan from Square Trade for 130. What is the better deal? I have never bought insurance or extended warranties before, but I really don't want to find myself in this situation again, especially when I'm just going off the story told to us by someone who sold his 2 month old phone to us.

 

[Sajo]

Congrats on the new phone. I don't normally buy warranties, just buy replacement phones on Swappa if I need to. But, the Moto deal is probably better. Their service is pretty fast and they even offer to ship you a replacement phone first, for a fee, and you don't have to wait for a repair. I have used their Advance Exchange a few times and have a replacement phone on my doorstep within 72 hours for $25, with a prepaid box to send the broken one back. Or, you just send them the broken one first and they send you a replacement....no fee involved, but it does take much longer. I would personally go with the Moto warranty because I have used their warranty service and they treated me good. The last time I used a third party warranty (Asurion I believe) was in 2011 and they charged me $100 for a replacement...on top of my monthly insurance fee. I haven't paid for insurance since.

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[mcraeh]

Congrats on the new phone. I don't normally buy warranties, just buy replacement phones on Swappa if I need to. But, the Moto deal is probably better. Their service is pretty fast and they even offer to ship you a replacement phone first, for a fee, and you don't have to wait for a repair. I have used their Advance Exchange a few times and have a replacement phone on my doorstep within 72 hours for $25, with a prepaid box to send the broken one back. Or, you just send them the broken one first and they send you a replacement....no fee involved, but it does take much longer. I would personally go with the Moto warranty because I have used their warranty service and they treated me good. The last time I used a third party warranty (Asurion I believe) was in 2011 and they charged me $100 for a replacement...on top of my monthly insurance fee. I haven't paid for insurance since.

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I agree. Moto would have sold me an out of warranty replacement for 150, plus the 25 for advance shipment. I just figured I'd get a refurbished version of what I already had with no warranty so we splurged and got the newer one. Thanks for the input!

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[me just sayin]

imo, insurance is a waste. by the time you pay the deductible and the monthly fees, you basically paid for a phone.

 

[Sajo]

I agree. Moto would have sold me an out of warranty replacement for 150, plus the 25 for advance shipment. I just figured I'd get a refurbished version of what I already had with no warranty so we splurged and got the newer one. Thanks for the input!

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$70 for a Moto extended warranty is not too bad for an extra year of piece-of-mind. If you can afford the $$ now. At least you would know that you have that as a backup option if needed; sounds like you are already familiar with their warranty / RMA process. Just my 2 cents worth.

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