My bad luck with the Nokia Lumia 920 screen...

firedancer1189

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I have had the 920 since it's release and up until now I couldn't have been happier with a phone. When the phone came out (like everyone else) I debated on getting a case for it or not. People put up polls on here asking the question "case or no case?" Most people said unless you work in a very harsh environment don't bother with a case. Users and critics raved about it's gorilla glass 2, it's poly-carbonate "tough" uni-body design.

I decided to let it ride and not get a case, such a shame to cover up such a beautiful looking phone anyway right? I have a desk job and consider myself an extremely cautious and careful person when it comes to anything I own. Today that all changed.

I had been on the phone in my car and set it down on my passenger seat. When I arrived home I went around to my passenger side to open the door and unload some groceries. Well my 920 must have shifted in travel and as I opened the door it fell out and onto the pavement. It was the first time the phone had ever been dropped. Of course it landed face down because if I didn't have bad luck I simply wouldn't have any at all. I was horrified and was actually too scared to pick it up at first. But then I remembered all the reviews about how tough this phone is. I picked it up figuring at the worst I would have a scuff mark or two. I literally couldn't believe what I saw. It has a crack down the entire front pane of glass from the top left corner to the bottom right corner. Big enough that the glass is barely holding on. The corners of the phone have huge chips taken out of it. It looks like the phone was dropped off the the 8th floor of a parking ramp.

Do I expect the phone to take a bullet? No I do not. But I drive a lowered Nissan 370z. The phone probably fell a distance of 18 inches tops. I just have a tough time believing that this phone can show soooooo much damage from it's first and only fall.


I guess I need advice. I am on at&t and currently don't have any sort of insurance on my phone. Some may say that is careless but I have owned phones since the first Motorola bag phones were launched. I have never lost or damaged any of my phones so really just have never felt the need for it. Do I call up at&t, get insurance, and then call back a few weeks later to make a claim? I have heard all sorts of prices for deductibles so wondering if anyone knows for sure. And lastly, do they fix the phone or replace it?

Thanks for any advice and condolences in advance. (sniffles)
 

weisman87

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First off, you can't start saying a phone is the "most fragile ever" because the glass broke on concrete...concrete is hard. Gorilla Glass, while very hard and scratch-resistent, is NOT invincible. Also the harder something is, i.e. Gorilla Glass, the more brittle it is. This is pretty common knowledge for Gorilla Glass: impact it on the corners/edges, don't expect it to be invincible. The same goes for tempered glass, hit it head on and it can take a lot, but hit it on the edge and it is pretty damn weak. Also remember that the polycarbonate body of the 920 is plastic, which will lose to concrete pretty much any time. You can't expect a plastic phone to come out unscathed from falling on concrete or to just buff the scratches off. From the sound of it (huge chips taken out of the corners) the phone landed directly on a corner and bounced a little bit, which is definitely going to beat it up.

I replaced my first 920 because I did the EXACT same thing you did...fell off a car seat when I opened the door. It was scuffed up on the corners and had scratches on the glass. It didn't shatter the screen but I was very annoyed with it. I like to keep my stuff in good shape, so I made an insurance claim on it. AT&T's insurance (through Asurion) costs $150 for a replacement that will most likely be a refurbished unit, not brand new. You could get insurance on it now and make a claim later but that'd also be insurance fraud. I honestly can't see a 370z driver hard-pressed for cash (call me a stereotypical ******* if you want) so if you can't stand the phone damage, buy a new one from AT&T or Ebay or something. Or buy a replacement case and screen and put it back together yourself if you think you can do it.

Edit: Laura above is right, you can get insurance up to 30 days after purchasing a phone on AT&T.
 

firedancer1189

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I appreciate your views and honesty. I am just disappointed as I have had phones in the past suffer much worse falls and barely show any damage. Must have just been the the way it landed...like I said, my luck is awful.

I will probably just take the whole thing apart and replace the parts on it. I have done it with my crappy work issued iPhone already so the 920 shouldn't be too tough. Even though it's driving me nuts I am not going to buy one flat out. I was able to afford that 370z by not blowing money on things like this.
 

spaulagain

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The 920s are pretty damn tough. Certainly touch than the iPhone and most of Samsung cheap *** ****.

You had bad luck, that's it. Nothing unusually fragile about it.
 

anon(5335877)

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Polycarbonate is actually a soft plastic. That's what makes it tough and durable--because it's "soft" it can absorb energy and impact without fracturing or shattering like glass would. I've dropped a couple Lumia's before on a corner, and of course it showed some damage. The corner looked like it got dented in slightly.
 

Dave Blake

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I am very sorry your Phone broke. I have had the L800, L900, and I am now rocking the L920. I don't usually keep a phone for long they get passed down to my children and my wife. Only the L800 is destroyed by a screen smack caused when my wife fell with it in her back pocket. Yess she landed but first with the phone in her back pocket. It we hilarious but that's another story. My son carries the L900 for a year now he is 17. That device looks like **** warmed over. Has dings on every corner. I have seen him toss it on the ground during a basketball game, drop it on the concrete when getting out of his car, and he tosses it on the counter every night when he gets home from work. In my experience the Lumia line of devices are the toughest devices I have ever owned.
 

LordXaero

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It's small little accidents like this that make me glad I have an Otterbox on my phone. Sure, the 920 is a beautiful piece of hardware, but let's be honest, are we really putting our phones on a pedestal throughout the day, or are we wanting to ensure that we get to keep using such a nice device? If I really wanted to show someone what my phone looked like, I can either a, take off the case, or b, just pull up an image of what the phone looks like.

Sorry to hear your phone broke man. Hope you get back in the game.

P.S. Love the look of the 370's. The compact design of that car nails it for me.
 

firedancer1189

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Alright....so maybe the title was a bit drastic. I know the phone is tough and I know that no phone is indestructible. I guess I just needed to blow off some steam to fellow 920 owners. I just couldn't believe the luck, my first ever drop and for how short it was that it could do that much damage. I love the phone and don't mean to slam it. As I stated earlier I also have a work issued iPhone 5 that I despise. I thought the more I used it the more I would like it but I just can't stand the thing compared to my 920.

I am gonna order a new screen/digitizer for about $76 bucks. Watched a 30 minute video on disassembling the phone and replacing the screen, and while it looks like it might be easier to remove my own spleen, I should be able to do it. After all I am in the tech biz and constantly tearing things much more expensive,

Thanks for giving me a shoulder to cry on!
 
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elyodeel

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That is horrible luck! I did the same thing you did... Except I drive a lifted wrangler. So from the seat it fell about four feet and the only damage it had is a small indentation in the top right corner. It did fall on asphalt though, which is much softer than concrete. When I picked it up (it was lying face down) I thought for sure it would be destroyed, I'm now a believer in the Lumia durability... That being said I hope I never drop it again.
 

maxiemuse

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Ive had the 920 for about 3 months and only just got a case. Admittedly i am the clumsiest person when it comes to phones/laptops/small electrical appliances and have dropped it more times than i could count. Only thing on it is a small flattening of the top right corner and a hair scratch near the Home key. My iPhone took one drop with the cover off when i was running and the entire front screen shattered. I could go on but in summary the 920 is a robust piece of equipment imho.
 

naeem151287

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I have to agree the Lumia 920 isn't as well built as the 900. I dropped my 900 a million times and twice down a flight of stairs onto the marble floor and still managed to sell it as "like NEW" (seriously, no scratches or dents or anything). I dropped my 920 once from my bed and it broke the volume control switch. So yeah, it might not be the most fragile phone ever but it certainly isn't as well built as the 900.
 

SnailUK

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A friend had very similar with a galaxy s3 which also has gorilla glass 2.

Gg2 is scratch resistant and hardened, but its still glass, and hit it wrong it will always crack..
Sent from my RM-821_eu_euro1_342 using Board Express
 

Nakazul

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To OP.
1. Great taste in cars you have.
2. The quality of l920 is horrible. I haven't even dropped my phone...that have a case, and I have a sizable dent by the power button.
I as you have all my phones in mint condition. The thing we don't have in common is I don't drive a 370, but im a Nissan fan and my summer car is a Nissan S14a Sportline.
 

uselessrobot

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A lowered 370Z doesn't reduce your ride height by a foot or two. A tasteful and useful lowering is 1"; excessive, cosmetic driven drops are maybe 3". Your phone is still potentially falling 2+ feet to the concrete.

That said, I generally agree that this phone is prone to breaking when dropped. It's weight is a contributing factor, as is the fact that most internals are sandwiched in place and not screwed down. That means the potential for more flex which in turns means increased odds of screen breakage. I'm pretty sure that's killed my first Lumia.

Gorilla Glass has better impact resistance than regular glass, but the force of impacts far exceeds it's tolerances. That many phones don't break comes own to sheer luck with how the phone lands. This is pretty much the with most phones nowadays as companies are trying to be more expressive and distinctive with their designs. We're no longer in an era of rugged phones with giant protective bezels.

Someone should make a flip smartphone.
 

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