My S21U's back is cracked... ☹️ (In a case!)

[gray2018]

So I was swapping cases out this weekend and happened to notice that my S21 Ultra has a very small crack on the back. I don't know how this happened, as I always keep a case on my phone, and I've been using the same brand of case, Poetic, for years without issue.

Is this a cause for concern, and will the crack get bigger? Now the biggest downside for me is the fact that I basically won't be able to ever trade my device in, or I will get considerably less for it. This is also the first time I've ever had a crack in a phone at all.

 

[belodion]

Glass sometimes self-cracks, possibly due to internal stresses or temperature changes.

 

[joeldf]

So I was swapping cases out this weekend and happened to notice that my S21 Ultra has a very small crack on the back. I don't know how this happened, as I always keep a case on my phone, and I've been using the same brand of case, Poetic, for years without issue.

Is this a cause for concern, and will the crack get bigger? Now the biggest downside for me is the fact that I basically won't be able to ever trade my device in, or I will get considerably less for it. This is also the first time I've ever had a crack in a phone at all.

For trade-ins, it depends on who your carrier is or who you buy from. AT&T will offer trade-ins for new phones using the old one in "any year, any condition". That's how I got the new S24+ using my previous S20 FE with a shattered front screen (but it still worked).

My wife had an iPhone 4 in a case the whole time she used it. But when she upgraded to another one, she kept the old one - figuring on selling it ourselves. When I took it out of the case, the back glass had shattered at some point with little chunks of glass spilling out all over. It could have just happened, or it could have been like that for months.

I actually can't remember what we did with it after that. But glass is still glass and it can happen that the right shock can crack it.

 

[gray2018]

I don't buy phones from my carrier. I always buy them third party and unlocked.

 

[joeldf]

I don't buy phones from my carrier. I always buy them third party and unlocked.

Oh, I know I'm an outlier because I prefer to stick with my carrier.

 

[SyCoREAPER]

"Glass is Glass and Glass breaks"

Unfortunately it's very likely to get worse. You have two options:

1) Replace the back glass with a high quality replacement and hope they don't notice when you trade it.

2) I don't think Samsung cares about the rear only the front.

 

[BergerKing]

"Glass is Glass and Glass breaks"

Unfortunately it's very likely to get worse. You have two options:

1) Replace the back glass with a high quality replacement and hope they don't notice when you trade it.

2) I don't think Samsung cares about the rear only the front.

Actually, they do. I had a scratch on the lens cover of my Note 20, and it allegedly arrived "cracked." I took a significant hit for that.

 

[jlost]

Is the battery expanding? On my S8, I woke up one day to find out the back was cracked and the battery had expanded.

 

[gray2018]

No. Not at all. And it's just a small crack, barely noticeable. In fact, in order to see it, you need to shine a light on it to tell, or else it would just look like a scratch.

And yeah, Samsung definitely cares whether your device is cracked or not. My guess would be if I sent it in by some chance for trade in, it would get rejected.