Okay...I'm on my 2nd EVO.

[Fyahstarter]

So here's the story folks...and I'm not going to blow things out of proportion. After the reading about the light leakage issues with the EVO, I decided to check my own and low and behold, I did have a little leakage under the Home button. So, I got up and went to the Corporate Sprint Store at Kings Plaza which is a mall here in Brooklyn. It's actually the location where I bought my initial EVO on launch day. Right before I got there, I called just to make sure that they had some in stock. The lady who answered said that they did have just a few in stock, but that she could not 'hold' any of the phones for me. I wasn't that worried because I was already on the way to the store and it was shortly after the store opened and I knew it wouldn't be packed. Upon arrival, I spoke with the rep and explained the situation to him and actually had a google page loaded to show the documentation that this might be something that other customers come in about and told him that I wanted to exchange the phone. At first he couldn't see the leakage in the lighted room, but then after sticking it under the desk, he was able to spot it. The rep stepped away to speak to who I assumed was a manager. When he came back he told me that he couldn't exchange the phone because all the phones that they had in stock were for customers who happened to be on the waiting list. Right there, I could see where things were going. I stayed calm and rationalized the situation to him. When I called the store prior to arrival, the lady who I spoke with put me on hold to go and speak to someone to find out if they had any phones in stock. Which means that she had already confirmed that there were phones available for walk-in customers. I had arrived only 10 minutes after speaking to her on the phone, so I knew based on the traffic in store that those 'few' units hadn't sold out already. I told the rep that in addition, if in fact the phones that were in stock had already been allocated to waiting list customers, the lady that I spoke with, who turned out to be the assistant manager, would have stated that they didn't have any available for walk-in customers at the moment, to which I would have understood completely.

To sum it up, the rep knew he got owned and went and got me a new EVO. No light leakage at all...at least not yet...let's hope not ever. Score one for the good guys!

 

[Gekko]

WTF you had to put it under the desk to see it? IMO you're nuts for exchanging a good working EVO with slight light leakage for the wildcard of getting another one. too much trouble, hassle, and risk IMO but to each his own.

 

[storino03]

i sense someone who is nitpicky about a little light leakage

 

[Eazy123]

I didn't even notice the light leakage until I read this thread (I have a case covering up where it leaks), but I've got a small scratch on the screen and I can live with that so a little light leakage isn't a concern for me, and there really isn't much on my phone. Phone works great.

 

[asphaltman]

I am planning to exchange mine.. My haptic feedback (vibration when you touch the screen) is not working. Went to a corp Sprint store and talked with a friend of mine there. He thought I was nuts, but heck I want a properly working phone. He asked nicely if I could do the exchange in a week (even though they had stock on hand) I didn't mind and figured maybe new batches may be better. So I'm going in later this week to swap it out.

 

[PhantomPhreak53]

Two things. I'm surprised the new one doesn't have light leakage. Not enough time has passed for a 2nd generation phone to come out to fix that issue. Also for those complaining about him returning it, it's not a bad idea because they are thinking the light leakage and the screen separating are related incidents. I also have a case so I don't really see the light leakage.

 

[Eazy123]

I can't even get my case apart to see how bad my light leakage is, thanks to me biting my nails...but I've learned about nitpicking when I had the Pre - I'd send one (slight) oreo back, get a refurb whose screen died after a month. Sent that back, got a damaged refurb. The running around made me think I should've just kept the first one. Besides, I never heard of an HD2's screen (or any other HTC screen) coming off and that looks similar to the Evo.

If they do in fact confirm that light leakage=screen separating and it's totally detrimental to the phone's function, then yeah, I'll bring it back. Don't they have like a 1-year manufacturer warranty anyway?

Actually, I bought mine brand new off someone on Craigslist, so I probably can't bring it back anyway since I don't know where "back" is. I'll live.

 

[qst4]

I understand people wanting to get what they pay for, but how long are you really going to keep the phone, six months a year maybe, than the next new thing comes out. If its a small issue, to me, it just doesn't seem cost effective in terms of time and emotional effort to enter into this cycle of returning something that isn't really going to be used for a long period of time anyway. Especially in light of some the issues Engadget has been reporting on, if you call it reporting, you may end up with something worse, and then end up fighting the phone instead of using it. The screen pealing-take it back, minor light leakage-don't sweat it. That's just my opinion though.

 

[ArkAngel06]

Wow, there's no way you should have gotten a whole new Evo because of that.

 

[dahlberg123]

Wow, there's no way you should have gotten a whole new Evo because of that.

If you're paying hundreds of dollars for something it should be 100% not 97%. Someone should not have to put up with manufacturing defects if they don't want to, anything would be silly.

 

[MikeBinOK]

I have a small amount of light leakage, again I have to look in poor lighting to see it. I have mixed feelings about the exchange idea--I also want my EVO to be "perfect", but I have a one-year warranty in case something bad happens in that time, and after a year, I should be eligible for another subsidized phone, so as soon as a brighter, shinier toy comes along after a year, I will be trading up. Since I feel pretty well-covered, I'm going to skip building a history with Sprint of being a "difficult" customer, and instead bide my time.

 

[Robbie317]

I mean what are we considering "Light Leakage"? in a 100% dark room there is light leakage from the USB and Micro HDMI ports on the bottom of the phone.... Above the "Home, Menu, Back and Search" icons you can see what might be considered light leakage if you turn the display on and hold the phone and look at it from the top down at an angle yeah you can see 4 distinct lights.... I can't see those lights "Leaking" while holding the device and looking straight at it but again at the right angle and basically looking down on the phone from the ear piece down I see "Leakage" and again in a totally dark room if I hold the phone and look directly at the ports on the bottom of the phone you can see some light "LEAKING" through.....

I don't have an issue with the glass coming apart from the phone and so far the phone is pretty much flawless (At least no known flaws that I can find in 10+ days of use) reading this thread and giving my phone a good once over I can't find a reason to return it....

 

[rem_kujawa]

Same boat for me, the light leakage doesn't bother me but if dust or the screen starts to separate off to Sprint I go. And there's nothing wrong with a guy who want a out of the box device, its the people who don't give a crap that let's poor products into the market. Or we can just give them pre's because everyone knows that's a top notch product.

 

[Robbie317]

I mean what are we considering "Light Leakage"? in a 100% dark room there is light leakage from the USB and Micro HDMI ports on the bottom of the phone.... Above the "Home, Menu, Back and Search" icons you can see what might be considered light leakage if you turn the display on and hold the phone and look at it from the top down at an angle yeah you can see 4 distinct lights.... I can't see those lights "Leaking" while holding the device and looking straight at it but again at the right angle and basically looking down on the phone from the ear piece down I see "Leakage" and again in a totally dark room if I hold the phone and look directly at the ports on the bottom of the phone you can see some light "LEAKING" through.....

I don't have an issue with the glass coming apart from the phone and so far the phone is pretty much flawless (At least no known flaws that I can find in 10+ days of use) reading this thread and giving my phone a good once over I can't find a reason to return it....

And I never would have noticed or even though to mess around with light leakage until I read this forum.. Maybe I should stop reading these things.

 

[Eazy123]

If you're paying hundreds of dollars for something it should be 100% not 97%. Someone should not have to put up with manufacturing defects if they don't want to, anything would be silly.

Nothing's perfect in this world. I will bet you that if you analyzed any product you've ever bought enough, you'll find that it's not 100%.

If everything was perfect, there'd be no need for warranties.

 

[Fyahstarter]

Listen...life has taught me a few lessons. While you have the opportunity to get something taken care of @ point of sale...USE THE OPPORTUNITY. Isn't it funny that once the 30 days expires there seems to be HUGE grey area? I'll take the nitpicky claim, but it's my right to be nitpicky. Should I have been nitpicky about the dust under the screen and buttons peeling on my Hero or my Pre just basically cracking and falling apart when NEVER being dropped? I think I've proven my point? Think you get where I'm coming from. I LOVE MY EVO!

 

[dahlberg123]

Nothing's perfect in this world. I will bet you that if you analyzed any product you've ever bought enough, you'll find that it's not 100%.

If everything was perfect, there'd be no need for warranties.

You're right, nothing is perfect. Sometimes you have to accept flaws but I certainly wouldn't accept defects in the features or functions that made me want to purchase that item (beautiful screen, fast processor, etc). I mean, I would buy a brand new Porsche that had a giant rust spot on the hood, maybe you would and that's good for the dealer and manufactuer.

 

[avacomputers]

I have very slight leakage. It's not bad enough for me to return the device and I'm nuts about my stuff.

I look at it as a feature the iPhone does not have.

 

[rodeiguez102]

what is up with all these comments.. If some of you are fine with keeping a $500 product with a minor defect (when you can get another that has no defects), then fine keep it. But to tell this guy he didn't have sufficient reason or was being nitpicky for getting a replacement, is just absurd. Everyone benefits from a happy customer. This will only make HTC improve their build quality in the future. Obviously nothing in this world is literally perfect, but to me, my evo does seem perfect, and that's what matters.

 

[californiajay]

If I hold my phone in such a way that I am practically looking down at it from the top edge, and do this in a darkened room, I can see some light coming up from where the buttons are on the bottom. Is this the famous light leakage we are talking about?

If so, to exchange the phone, or get upset over it seems insane to me. I HOPE there is some light leakage that others are experiencing that I am not and what I am seeing is NOT the problem.

On the other hand, has anyone exchanged it for a totally different phone due to its size? Now THIS I can see!