HTC One (M8): Camera Lens Issue

Re: HTC One (M8): Camera lens cover issue

Just got off the phone with HTC. They'll be sending me another device, with the shipping charge waived...heck, I wasn't going to give them crap!

They did confirm that the device I received was a DIFFERENT device than I had sent in...which is weird considering all of the defects it had (camera lens STILL had scratches, lens was raised out of the back of the casing, volume rocker was very loose, and the screen near the top speaker grille on the front of the device was not flush with the grille).

Anyways, they'll be sending the shipping label to me for free, I'll send this one back in, and hopefully I get a better device.

BTW, the rep. I just spoke to said that the brand new devices are on a first come, first serve basis...
 
Re: HTC One (M8): Camera lens cover issue

Hello,

I've had my HTC One M8 for 4 weeks and I too am experiencing scratches on the lens. I've had my M7 for a year and it doesn't even come close to how bad my M8 has turned out.

I would just like to say, to the people getting suckered in, as did I, to the q-tip/alcohol/toothpaste/credit card wiping, Do not attempt. All it did was make my lens even worse than before. Now the back camera takes horrid pictures and the lens looks destroyed. Thanks online people -_-

From afar it may look like it worked, or the lens is cleaned.
IMAG0016.jpg

But up close you can see the lens is scuffed and scratched all to hell, because of the attempted fix that seemed to "work" for others.
IMAG0013.jpg

IMAG0014.jpg
 
Re: HTC One (M8): Camera lens cover issue

I would just like to say, to the people getting suckered in, as did I, to the q-tip/alcohol/toothpaste/credit card wiping, Do not attempt. All it did was make my lens even worse than before. Now the back camera takes horrid pictures and the lens looks destroyed. Thanks online people -_-

I had the same exact result. It didn't help one bit. Only made it worse.
 
Re: HTC One (M8): Camera lens cover issue

Hey, I don't usually post and am more of a forum reader. But I just had to respond because I recently tried the scrubbing technique and it did wonders.

My lens was scuffed up pretty badly. Randomly I took a drop of surface cleaner and a cloth and rubbed the lens with a little elbow grease. It improved by about 40%. I decided to apply another drop and used some more elbow grease and I'm happy to say that it brought back the original lens to about 95%!

image.jpg

I wasn't experiencing a decline in picture quality though but looking at the scratches made my head spin as I baby my devices.

The spray I used is "bio life all purpose cleaner," which contains polyglucoside and ethanol. I'm guessing the chemical combination plus some elbow grease works wonders eliminating this "film."

Anyways, I'd say give it another try with a surface cleaner.
 
Re: HTC One (M8): Camera lens cover issue

Anyone tried using goo-gone?

-Sent from Tapatalk
 
Re: HTC One (M8): Camera lens cover issue

I must have lucked out.. I don't have any of the issues I'm hearing about on here..

Posted via Android Central App
 
Re: HTC One (M8): Camera lens cover issue

Anyone tried using goo-gone?

-Sent from Tapatalk

I have some, but it'll be a while yet before I can get my upgrade. Maybe a week or two. I'll consider trying the Goo Gone, but I'm sure it'll require a good cleaning after to get the GG residue off.
 
Re: HTC One (M8): Camera lens cover issue

What was wrong with that one?

They did confirm that the device I received was a DIFFERENT device than I had sent in...which is weird considering all of the defects it had (camera lens STILL had scratches, lens was raised out of the back of the casing, volume rocker was very loose, and the screen near the top speaker grille on the front of the device was not flush with the grille).

I was also contacted by the Special Projects Team at HTC, and they said that they will by watching this package closely, ensuring that the device is thoroughly looked at before it gets shipped back to me. I was also told that they would follow up with a phone call after the device is delivered to me.

Amazing that I had to email the president of HTC America in order to receive good customer service. I'm literally dumbfounded as to the treatment I've gotten.
 
Re: HTC One (M8): Camera lens cover issue

My two cents -
I got my AT&T M8 3 days after it was officially announced, so I've had it for roughly 3 months or so. It was immediately placed into an OtterBox Commuter Series case, and I have babied this thing since I got it. I routinely take the phone out of the case to wash the case and give the phone a quick wipe down to remove all the dust and dirt that can work it's way between the case and the phone. The only thing I have EVER used to wipe off the cameras on my phones is some kind of microfiber cloth designed to for use on lenses or glasses. As I said, I'm pretty careful with my phones. Almost immediately, I noticed some tiny scratches on the cover over the main camera housing. I remember thinking at the time, "Huh... that's weird. I have no clue how those could have gotten there. I hope it doesn't get any worse."
Well... since this thread currently has 15 pages and I'm writing on it, I bet you can guess what happened.

As of today, the scratches are so bad that I, like many others in this thread, have blurry photos. I plan on utilizing the method described multiple times in this thread as a "fix". Seems to solve the problem. I do, however, have a few thoughts/things I've discovered...

1) HTC has a REAL problem on their hands. This is a major design flaw, and the thousands of posts across multiple websites and forums describing this exact problem should tell them that this isn't just a couple isolated incidents caused by people who are rough on their phones.

2) The cover over the camera housing is PLASTIC. I repeat - PLASTIC. It is NOT glass. I challenge any of you who think the cover over the camera housing is glass to do this simple easy test - Hold the phone so that some light source is reflecting off of it. Now, gently push down on the center of the cover with something that won't scratch it (fingernail, pencil eraser, old Palm stylus, etc.) You will see the cover bend. Sorry, kids, but a piece of glass that small doesn't bend. The fact the HTC used plastic here is just sad.

3) HTC put some kind of weird coating on said plastic. I don't know if it is anti-glare, polarizing, or what... but THAT is what is getting scratched. Based on reading many posts and my own fiddling, if you can get the coating off, the problem is "fixed". For how to fix it, refer to the many posts on here that detail what works.

4) I will NOT be sending my phone back to HTC for a repair or replacement. Why? So I can be phoneless for weeks and they can put a new cover on my phone that has the exact same issues and I will be right back where I am in another 3 months? Sorry, no thanks. Until HTC makes some kind of official admission of their MAJOR mistake and offers to fix all of these phones with a re-engineered cover made of glass, this problem will just keep happening over and over. I will also not be bothering AT&T with any of this. It's not their fault in any way.

5) I noticed that there are very few scratches on my smaller secondary camera cover, which might seem odd. This is easily explained. I have a habit of giving my camera a quick wipe with my lens cloth before I use it, as I have convinced myself that fingerprints will yield blurry shots. In the OtterBox case, this is easy to do to the main camera, not so much to the secondary camera. So, I only wipe the main camera. 3 months of this has resulted in scratches all over the main, very few on the secondary. However, I am noticing some small scratches on the secondary cover now. Wonder how long it is until that one is unusable???

Sorry for the long post, but I, like others, did a google search for "htc m8 camera scratch" and I was stunned at how many people are having this issue. I felt compelled to let people know what I have experienced. If I repeated other posts, I apologize. There's 15 pages of this just on this forum alone, and I couldn't read every one. Hope some of this helps. And I sincerely hope HTC does the right thing sooner rather than later and admits their mistake and promises to make things right with their customers. They better not be like Apple was when they had the major antenna issue and pretended like it wasn't there. Apple can get away with treating their customers like crap, HTC cannot. They need to address this now.
 
Re: HTC One (M8): Camera lens cover issue

What was the last two digits of the phone they sent you and what is your original? They sent me the wrong one too.

I was also contacted by the Special Projects Team at HTC, and they said that they will by watching this package closely, ensuring that the device is thoroughly looked at before it gets shipped back to me. I was also told that they would follow up with a phone call after the device is delivered to me.

Amazing that I had to email the president of HTC America in order to receive good customer service. I'm literally dumbfounded as to the treatment I've gotten.
 
Re: HTC One (M8): Camera lens cover issue

Hi guys,

I also, like many of you, take veryyy good care of my phones! I have never ever had an issue like this with any of my phones, but i am beginning to see scratches on the camera lens which I have no idea how it got there!

So... is there really anything I can do?? and I did read the other posts, but does HTC replace the phone because of an issue like so?
 
Re: HTC One (M8): Camera lens cover issue

What was the last two digits of the phone they sent you and what is your original? They sent me the wrong one too.

I am not sure...but the HTC customer representative I talked with (to replace the replacement) told me that it was a completely different device...
 
Re: HTC One (M8): Camera lens cover issue

I cleaned the back lens as it was getting scratched. And it worked. And then i noticed my front getting foggy pics and upon closer look it is same as back. Weird since it is hard to scratch the front as it is so small. Maybe after some time it just fades

Posted via Android Central App
 
Re: HTC One (M8): Camera lens cover issue

Please people, do not use toothpaste or any similar abrasive on the lens. Depending on the toothpaste you could either have good results or ones that are detrimental.

The easiest fix is a cotton swab and isopropyl or rubbing alcohol.

Continue to wipe the lens vigorously, and you will begin to haze the lens by smearing the coating. Continue to use new cotton swabs and more ipa. Use circular motions, cross motions or whatever but continue to forcibly clean the lens.

Soon it will be good as new, scratch free! No finger nail, credit card required. Just cotton swabs, ipa and 15 minutes of your time.

Posted via Android Central App
 
Re: HTC One (M8): Camera lens cover issue

Please people, do not use toothpaste or any similar abrasive on the lens. Depending on the toothpaste you could either have good results or ones that are detrimental.

The easiest fix is a cotton swab and isopropyl or rubbing alcohol.

Continue to wipe the lens vigorously, and you will begin to haze the lens by smearing the coating. Continue to use new cotton swabs and more ipa. Use circular motions, cross motions or whatever but continue to forcibly clean the lens.

Soon it will be good as new, scratch free! No finger nail, credit card required. Just cotton swabs, ipa and 15 minutes of your time.

Posted via Android Central App

Hi, tried this with cotton buds and isopropyl alcohol. Didnt clear the scratches. Help?

Posted via Android Central App
 
Re: HTC One (M8): Camera lens cover issue

Hi, tried this with cotton buds and isopropyl alcohol. Didnt clear the scratches. Help?

Posted via Android Central App

It should work.
Use the Q-tips found in first aid kits...they are less fluffly and stiffer.

It just takes time, patience and vigor. Keep at it and it will clear up. At first, I too thought it wasn;t working, but eventually the force of the Q-tip and the IPA will prevail.
 
Re: HTC One (M8): Camera lens cover issue

It should work.
Use the Q-tips found in first aid kits...they are less fluffly and stiffer.

It just takes time, patience and vigor. Keep at it and it will clear up. At first, I too thought it wasn;t working, but eventually the force of the Q-tip and the IPA will prevail.

Okay thanks for this! Now my lens has more scratches and a bit hazy now. Im scared.

Posted via Android Central App
 

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