Lumia 950 - Cracked Screen

[EnemyNSA]

Ugh. Merry Christmas! In trying to take a Christmas photo I dropped the phone and it landed face down and has a bunch of cracks on the lower right side.

Doesn't seem to have damaged the LCD just the glass/digitizer.

No idea where to get this fix/replaced, does anyone know where I should look?

Thanks!

I'm on AT&T with their phone but no warranty

 

[bucfan11]

ouch...have you contacted AT&T. Maybe they can repair it.

 

[Mallguvner]

I guess I'd for sure go into MS store if you have one near you...

For sure go into "chat" and ask them what to do. Plus if you paid for it with a credit card like Amex it is usually covered against anything for 90 days. Even theft. Mine is.

MG

 

[EnemyNSA]

I asked Microsoft and all they could recommend was Palco tech.. so I asked them and they have parts for the 950 XL but NOT the 950.. oof.

Gonna check some local places and see what they say..

Thank goodness for my trusty 1520.

 

[Mallguvner]

Microsoft won't fix their own stuff? Wow.. That's not good... Surprise answer for me..

 

[paulxxwall]

Ugh. Merry Christmas! In trying to take a Christmas photo I dropped the phone and it landed face down and has a bunch of cracks on the lower right side.

Doesn't seem to have damaged the LCD just the glass/digitizer.

No idea where to get this fix/replaced, does anyone know where I should look?

Thanks!

I'm on AT&T with their phone but no warranty

1 Reason I left for iOS I have 2 Apple Stores with in 30 min from me and both are sales and service centers....

 

[EnemyNSA]

Microsoft won't fix their own stuff? Wow.. That's not good... Surprise answer for me..

Yeah, very disappointing. I ran into a similar issue with my 1520 a while back, but even then it wasn't a 'new' device so I figured there would be some issues getting it repaired.. but the damn 950 is like a month old!

I asked on Twitter as well and they said just to wait until 'some' repair shop gets in the proper parts and to keep them updated. Wow, thanks!

To be fair, not their fault I dropped the damn phone, but I didn't think it'd be so hard to get it repaired. I wish I had the insurance, but it's a phone through my work and it wasn't an option.

A local place here says $120 to fix it.. but they don't have the parts in stock and they need to order it. Oof.

 

[hellboarder]

Must have been a bad day as my wife smashed her Lumia 950 screen the same day. Snow everywhere, but it had to fall on the only bit of concrete around .

So I bought a screen off ebay which arrived a few days ago and despite it not showing the MS logo on the auction picture, it actually is a genuine Microsoft Screen. The logo is taped off on the screen protector (with black tape) so I guess it either fell off a truck or is pre-production, sample run or something like that.

Right now, the struggle is that there is absolutely Zero Adhesive available that is specifically made for the 950, so I ordered 1mm 3M tape off Amazon, which should arrive on Sunday. In the meantime I will loosely assemble the screen to test its function.

Good sources to start:

Youtube, there is a really exhaustive disassembly video for the 950 - but guess what, the screen disassembly is missing, DUH, just search for Lumia 950 disassembly, its about 17mins long

If you have ever repaired a screen on a phone you know the basic principle of how its assembled, so after you have everything (maybe not everything but the sensitive parts, I for my part have the front camera still assembled, watch the youtube video and decide for yourself how far you want to go) disassembled, you need to heat up the edges of the screen, for the adhesive to become soft and let go.

Pushing on the backside of the screen helps tremendously as you (at least I couldn't) cant get your fingernails under the screen (I have never had good luck with any tools and usually ended up damaging the plastic surrounding edge, hence I refrain from using tools to pry the screen up).

When I am closer (probably Sunday night) to re-assembly, I might post a video or some pictures, as there are some smaller parts you will have to savage from the old screen.

 

[TheChazas]

Very strange, Lumias never been this weak.
So is screen really that weak to shatter from single drop, or its styling/corners is at fault? If that's the case, so not even Tempered Glass would help.

 

[hellboarder]

I think it doesn't matter what phone, except maybe that Moto "Unshatterable", if it falls on concrete face down and hits a small raised piece of concrete or stone, its done. Its glass after all and hence its brittle, though very hard its still fragile.

 

[TheChazas]

Face down, yes, that is worst scenario, but what about corners, cause 950/950 XL has different uncovered screen edges.

 

[Paolo Ferrazza]

Microsoft won't fix their own stuff? Wow.. That's not good... Surprise answer for me..

They can repair your stuff that's why they send you to an authorized MS retailer usually. If the retailer does not have the spare part he will order it from MS itself.

 

[Paolo Ferrazza]

Face down, yes, that is worst scenario, but what about corners, cause 950/950 XL has different uncovered screen edges.

By looking close at my 950 it looks like the edge is still glossy black plastic, it looks like the glass itself but it contains the glass.

 

[hellboarder]

So I finally fixed my wife's 950. Using the 1mm 3M tape from amazon was mostly sufficient. However, on the upper part where all the holes for the camera, proximity sensor, etc are its a bit finicky. The problem is that there are gaskets for said sensors, which seem to push the screen up again (tape is not strong enough to keep it down). Result is that the screen always comes up by about 0.5mm (noticeable when looking from the side). I might re-do the job again as I am not satisfied.

Tools needed:
- Mini torx screwdriver
- scraper (for adhesive rest)
- pryer (or strong fingernails)
- Blowdryer (or heat gun, but I prefer the dryer as the heat gun can do damage)

parts needed new:
- Screen/Digitizer Assembly (~$110 on ebay right now, original MS, despite lacking the logo in picture it has it when delivered)
- 1mm mobile phone tape (amazon ~$6)

parts to be re-used from old screen:

- 2 round foam gaskets (for camera and proximity (I assume))
- Windows Hello Red-Light Refractor (almost missed that)
- Microphone protector (looks like small piece of tape, 3x3mm)
- Earphone protector (~10x3mm)
- Rubber gasket (microphone and 2 sensors (no idea what they do)

To answer the question about the corners, I think they are designed to take one impact, however, the corner (plastic rim) that shattered on my wife's 950 does not show any damage, the opposite corner does though (no damage there). I guess it hit a small stone on the corner which shattered the glass. If the phone would have hit a plain wooden floor or tiles, it probably would have been ok.

 

[David Steadson]

Very strange, Lumias never been this weak.
So is screen really that weak to shatter from single drop, or its styling/corners is at fault? If that's the case, so not even Tempered Glass would help.

bah, I cracked my 920 screen 5 or 6 times!

Just done the 950 we've only had a week you'd think I'd learn.

I have a 535 also, dropped it, thrown it, kicked it god knows how many times, never cracked. There's something to be said for cheaper screens

 

[falcon304]

I asked Microsoft and all they could recommend was Palco tech.. so I asked them and they have parts for the 950 XL but NOT the 950.. oof.

Gonna check some local places and see what they say..

Thank goodness for my trusty 1520.

Wat. Palco has both the 950 and the 950 XL listed on the Lumia page.

https://www.palcotech.com/repair.as... Nokia&Device=Microsoft Lumia&linkId=20516501

 

[Szczepan Majcher]

So I finally fixed my wife's 950. Using the 1mm 3M tape from amazon was mostly sufficient. However, on the upper part where all the holes for the camera, proximity sensor, etc are its a bit finicky. The problem is that there are gaskets for said sensors, which seem to push the screen up again (tape is not strong enough to keep it down). Result is that the screen always comes up by about 0.5mm (noticeable when looking from the side). I might re-do the job again as I am not satisfied.

Tools needed:
- Mini torx screwdriver
- scraper (for adhesive rest)
- pryer (or strong fingernails)
- Blowdryer (or heat gun, but I prefer the dryer as the heat gun can do damage)

parts needed new:
- Screen/Digitizer Assembly (~$110 on ebay right now, original MS, despite lacking the logo in picture it has it when delivered)
- 1mm mobile phone tape (amazon ~$6)

parts to be re-used from old screen:

- 2 round foam gaskets (for camera and proximity (I assume))
- Windows Hello Red-Light Refractor (almost missed that)
- Microphone protector (looks like small piece of tape, 3x3mm)
- Earphone protector (~10x3mm)
- Rubber gasket (microphone and 2 sensors (no idea what they do)

To answer the question about the corners, I think they are designed to take one impact, however, the corner (plastic rim) that shattered on my wife's 950 does not show any damage, the opposite corner does though (no damage there). I guess it hit a small stone on the corner which shattered the glass. If the phone would have hit a plain wooden floor or tiles, it probably would have been ok.

Hey,

I've just ordered a screen on ebay. Cracked my 950 after just 2 months.

I considered having my screen replaced by Palco Tech, but It's way much cheaper, and faster to do it by myself. I am a little worried though I won't be able to do it properly.. I disassembled my Lumia 925 many times, but 950 probably will be more demanding.

Do you have any other/more tips? What about disassembling the screen? There are some videos on disassembling the phone, there's nothing when it comes to the very screen...

 

[EnemyNSA]

Very strange, Lumias never been this weak.
So is screen really that weak to shatter from single drop, or its styling/corners is at fault? If that's the case, so not even Tempered Glass would help.

Mine hit right on the edge, where the glass is raised above the plastic case. Shattersville.

Wat. Palco has both the 950 and the 950 XL listed on the Lumia page.

https://www.palcotech.com/repair.as... Nokia&Device=Microsoft Lumia&linkId=20516501

Yeah, they do now. They didn't back in December.

I ended up ordering a "like new" 1520 from eBay and have been using that ever since. It was cheaper than fixing the broken phone through Palcotech. Still have the broken 950..

 

[YingTK]

bah, I cracked my 920 screen 5 or 6 times!

Just done the 950 we've only had a week you'd think I'd learn.

I have a 535 also, dropped it, thrown it, kicked it god knows how many times, never cracked. There's something to be said for cheaper screens

I was actually quite surprised about how strong my 920 was. My wife accidentally knocked my phone off my hand while we were on an escalator in LAX, my 920 flew and tumbled all the way from 2nd floor to the first then landed face down HARD. hard enough that people around turned and wonder what fell. Other than a few nicks on the corner, the phone looked absolutely fine. lol

 

[xzb6np]

Just broke the screen on my 950 , How did you make out on replacing yours? Any tips?