The Lumia 1020 is built like a tank, but I already have a dent

[wamsille]

This morning I took my 1020 out of its case to clean it and pop it back in before leaving for work. I fumbled the phone and dropped it, resulting in a confrontation with the ironing board. There was an evident DING! followed by a thud as the phone hit the carpet. I picked up the phone and at first I thought it escaped with no damage. Then I saw the dent.

If the case was on it, there likely would not have been any damage. Unfortunately it's a matter of how picky I am about my devices. I don't mind hairline scratches and minor scuffs on a phone, so long as I put them there. Since I did put this mark there, I am at peace with it. But...this phone is on AT&T Next. I don't want to get screwed in another 11 months when it is time to upgrade to another Windows Phone and a store rep says the phone isn't in good enough condition.

Is there housing replacements avaialble for the 1020? I know that there were some released for the 920 but I wasn't sure about the 1020 yet. I'll have to get the black matte housing of course, but since the dent is close to the screen (minor but noticable) I didn't know if I would be doing more harm than good by replacing the housing. An insurance claim is possible, yes, but $125 seems steep. If it assures an upgrade in 11 months I'm game.

 

[wamsille]

OK, I found this:

Nokia Lumia 1020 Rear Housing

Now my question is this - would I be better off with insurance? $40 + shipping and performing this myself seems risky.
• The installation of the Lumia 1020 [replacement housing] should be done by a qualified person. ETS is not responsible for any damage caused during installation.

 

[thaddyusmaximus]

This morning I took my 1020 out of its case to clean it and pop it back in before leaving for work. I fumbled the phone and dropped it, resulting in a confrontation with the ironing board. There was an evident DING! followed by a thud as the phone hit the carpet. I picked up the phone and at first I thought it escaped with no damage. Then I saw the dent.

If the case was on it, there likely would not have been any damage. Unfortunately it's a matter of how picky I am about my devices. I don't mind hairline scratches and minor scuffs on a phone, so long as I put them there. Since I did put this mark there, I am at peace with it. But...this phone is on AT&T Next. I don't want to get screwed in another 11 months when it is time to upgrade to another Windows Phone and a store rep says the phone isn't in good enough condition.

Is there housing replacements avaialble for the 1020? I know that there were some released for the 920 but I wasn't sure about the 1020 yet. I'll have to get the black matte housing of course, but since the dent is close to the screen (minor but noticable) I didn't know if I would be doing more harm than good by replacing the housing. An insurance claim is possible, yes, but $125 seems steep. If it assures an upgrade in 11 months I'm game.

I had a 920 that had a lot of minor scratches on the back from a wallet case that I got from amazon. I took the phone back to AT&T device center and they replaced it with a refurbished one that looked brand new. I complained about weak signal and battery issues. So I wouldn't worry about small dents or scratches. Just no cracks or major plastics missing.

 

[wamsille]

As fun as that sounds, the DSC closest to me is about an hour's drive away. I also don't want to knowingly defraud AT&T when my only issue is a small indentation on the phone housing. I wish it wasn't in the location it is in, but that's life.

My personal experience with the DSC is that they have no clue what they are doing. This would, in effect, work to my advantage but at the same time it makes me worry about potential issues with the replacement. I went to the location this past Saturday to replace my wife's HTC One and I was amazed to find out the phone needed an update installed (which after it was done borked the phone - replacement arriving today) and it works no better than the HTC One it replaces.

I posted a local CL ad and someone responded that for $50 they would replace the cover, but I would have to provide said part. $90 + shipping and taxes isn't much of a savings from $125. In the end I might as well do the insurance replacement. I just wanted to avoid it.

 

[thaddyusmaximus]

My phone did actually have weak signal and battery issues. I thought the replacement would help but has the same issue as the original. Most likely a WP8 bug. It happens once or twice a week.

 

[gsquared]

Don't sweat it man. You will learn to live with it. My L920 has a ding on the lower right corner. I don't even notice it now.