Nexus 4 back shattered within 24 hours - not dropped!

[xlDeMoNiClx]

this phone is amazing. I would never consider any other device. I have have zero problems. Do I have a case? Yes! Any phone without a case looks like crap in a year unless you totally baby it with paranoid detail. Get the phone for half price, put a case on it and enjoy the lightening speed and regular updates.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

Well there's also the features on the S3. My N10 gets me vanilla Android so Im good for that. Haha

Sent from my Nexus 10 using Android Central Forums

 

[bulletmark]

I unboxed my new Nexus 4 yesterday, set it up, and then went out with it in my pocket. Looked at it barely 20 mins later and it had this bad crack across the back. http://i.imgur.com/R2LxggV.jpg. I did not drop it, bump it, fall over, etc. Apart from the crack, the phone is pristine.

Surely that must a defect? I have had an iphone 4 (i.e. glass front and back like Nexus 4) in my pocket for over 2 years and it still looks fantastic. Had the Nexus 4 for 1 hour and that is the result. Google Play support fobbed me off to LG and LG didn't want to know about my problem. Any suggestions?

 

[nexus4auir]

I unboxed my new Nexus 4 yesterday, set it up, and then went out with it in my pocket. Looked at it barely 20 mins later and it had this bad crack across the back. http://i.imgur.com/R2LxggV.jpg. I did not drop it, bump it, fall over, etc. Apart from the crack, the phone is pristine.

Surely that must a defect? I have had an iphone 4 (i.e. glass front and back like Nexus 4) in my pocket for over 2 years and it still looks fantastic. Had the Nexus 4 for 1 hour and that is the result. Google Play support fobbed me off to LG and LG didn't want to know about my problem. Any suggestions?

Hound them until you get a replacement. I can't believe that this should happen without a considerable impact of some sort, which you say did not occur.

 

[qICEM4Np]

I dont know what to believe anymore

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Android Central Forums

 

[majiklantrn]

Reading these forums takes me back to the iPhone 5 Bend problem people are experiencing. And some users are reporting the phone will bend by itself due to the weak point near the volume down button. *sigh* ... Damn you forums!

 

[chubb]

All I can say is if your back is just cracking out of the blue, you have a flawed piece of glass. I work outside in central pennsylvania and its been below freezing outside most of time since I got this phone. After using it to the point the back glass is hot near the camera and being outside in 10-20 degree weather with 30 mph wind gusts, with no case, just the protective plastic thats on from the factory, I have zero cracks. Even setting down on concrete that's outside it has not shattered. This post had me concerned about how this phone would hold up for me, but so far not a single issue. Im sure it is possible that if the glass has a defect a rapid temp change will cause it to shatter.

 

[Rehman Chaudhry]

My brother has the same problem, can u please tell me what to do about this and did google solve this issue?

 

[Nimbose]

Check out other photos - if only my photoshop skills were that good

Maybe my wording wasn't the best... what I mean is that when I place it on the surface, something to do with the contact (and it wasn't a drop, I repeat) caused it to start cracking from one point and the crack spread across the whole piece of glass, but that took some time, like a second or two... so when I picked it up to look, I could literally see it happen and hear it too.

I reckon the glass must be under some tension by the outer case and possibly the temperature change of it going from my warm hand to the cold surface cause the case to contract and put the glass under too much pressure causing this type of "slow" crack. I'm not a physicist... but that's my guess.

This is one of the first phones of the new batch here in the UK - maybe it's a one off (and I really hope so as there will be a lot of unhappy people otherwise)

Yeesh; however unlikely it seems, I hope it's not a stock issue since mine's from the new batch, too... Only got it last week. D;

I'm really sorry that happened to you. Although common sense dictates to get a case for such an expensive device, right? I never buy things like this without having something protecting it. I know it's always nicer to hold the device as it is, but... There are always risks. 8'c

I ordered a basic and cheap sleeve for mine before the phone was even in stock so it'd be here before I got the phone. Then I ordered a proper case. Heh.

If you ever decide to get a N4 again, I'd definitely get a case ready to prevent any other accidents.

 

[lethalgorman]

I got the same hairline crack a crosses the back also. No impact or drop, 12 days after receiving my N4. Google is refusing to help, saying that it didn't happen in shipping. I believe it is a defect.. I am still trying to talk to Google. In the mean time there is no way I could recommended this delicate phone to anyone. And yes I purchased and was using the bumper. I say wait till the Galaxy S4, it was dumb of me to buy a "glass" phone.

 

[Greg C]

So, I just rested my brand new Nexus 4 on a clean, flat kitchen surface, back down, and heard this sort of crackling sound.
It continued for a few seconds, and as I picked up the phone and turned it around, I could literally see it cracking in front of my eyes!
It is a totally uniform shatter without any trauma associated with dropping (which is as expected since I didn't drop it!)

I'm totally awestruck! Never seen anything like this before! I think Google have got a product recall on their hands.

Anyhow, called Google and they'll issue me with a refund once they get the phone back - but it's a massive inconvenience for me!

Photo of back attached

[Edit] I've posted more photos of the phone as people seem to think I'm being dishonest. This is for real - I know it's hard to believe (and I love this phone!), but it's just happened to me.
Note also that the surface in the photo is the surface I put the phone onto - it's some sort of fake wood veneer, I think!

Black marble look (if you want to put a positive spin on it.

 

[Shawn Magm]

I've seen glass crack spontaneously in my Chemistry class, but the glass had gone through a wide range of temperatures.

I have an S3 and like the N4 a lot, but there's something to be said about plastic. Yes, glass is more premium, but has its drawbacks.

 

[Lu Tahmazyan]

I got Nexus 4 as a present for my wife, and the same thing happened to her phone. After being placed on a flat surface, the back plate just started cracking just like the posted pictures. I think there is a flaw in their manufacturing, sending it back to LG for repairs :-(.

 

[jeffreypkung]

I read all this before I bought my N4 and hoped that you guys with glass cracks were all idiots.

I was wrong.

My N4 fell off my table (half a meter tall) and the front screen is now shattered and unusable. I dropped my iphone4 (no cover also) an uncountable amount of times and it still looked great. I will never buy an LG phone again... and I LOVED MY NEXUS 4. POS...

 

[Unicorn Rancher]

If the back shatters and the phone wasn't dropped, bumped, etc. then a case wouldn't help. Would it?

 

[Rizy7]

Probably due to a big temperature difference between the phone and surface you put it on.

 

[john3066]

I read all this before I bought my N4 and hoped that you guys with glass cracks were all idiots.

I was wrong.

My N4 fell off my table (half a meter tall) and the front screen is now shattered and unusable. I dropped my iphone4 (no cover also) an uncountable amount of times and it still looked great. I will never buy an LG phone again... and I LOVED MY NEXUS 4. POS...

Unlucky mate. Mine fell off a bathroom window sill as I was picking it back up,about 1mtr onto tiles and luckily was ok.
I was gratefull for my case otherwise I would have feared the worst.
Did you have any case on?
When you say "fell off my table" how exactly, and what did it fall onto?

 

[Mark The Mark]

So... guess what? I had to battle with Google for a month to get a refund. They even asked me for my tracking code - it seems they'd lost track of the phone as it was sent back to Poland!

And then... well, I thought to myself, yes, surely all these kind people on this site must be right and I was just really unlucky.

And...given that it's still, by a long way, one of the best value off-contract phones, I decided to order another one (was thinking about the Xperia Z or the HTC ONE, but they're just a lot more money, and I can't justify that!!)

So. I received the phone... took it home (very very carefully) and charge it up. I'd actually ordered some cases too, but they hadn't arrived yet, so I was extra careful, given my last experience.

Next day, my cases arrived, and I went to peel off the back plastic... and guess what? A small hairline crack on the bottom left of the back near the speaker grill.

Yup. I was speechless. Just couldn't believe it! So... called up google again (I've now filled in about 10 of their customer satisfaction surveys... oh, the irony!). This time, I was told that it was not covered under warranty, despite being less than 24 hours old, if it was not cracked when I received it, then it must be my fault and therefore not covered.

So I blew a fuse. Really very f*%&king pissed off, as I'm sure you can understand - and I basically had to lie - I had to say that it was "probably" cracked when I received it in order for them to replace it (they won't give me a refund).

SOOOO, and to give google credit, they're always very very quick to send me another one! I got it the next day. I'm now on my third phone, with the second hopefully not getting too lost on its way back to Poland or else they'll no doubt charge me for this phone too.

I've gotta say, the person/people in Google/LG that took the decision to put this cheap (and it's way way worse than iPhone 4 strength) glass on the back of the google nexus 4 should be taken outside and shot. And the company that steadfastly refuses to accept a fundamental problem with the phone they commissioned, at the expense of the loyal, careful and deeply frustrated customers that make them the success that they are, also should be taken outside and shot.

 

[Mark The Mark]

I've seen glass crack spontaneously in my Chemistry class, but the glass had gone through a wide range of temperatures.

I have an S3 and like the N4 a lot, but there's something to be said about plastic. Yes, glass is more premium, but has its drawbacks.

Glass is more premium... if, and only if, it's premium glass. And the glass on the back of the Nexus 4 is no more premium than your average coke bottle

 

[Phenom]

Does anybody have an estimate of how much LG is charging to fix the shattering back glass? My story is similar to many. Did not drop the phone. Was in my pocket all alone and the glass shattered near the rear speaker. Sucks!

 

[thisfnguy]

If you refuse to use a case you have no right to complain when it breaks. I really do feel for you people that have devices cracking and shattering but I feel 90%+ could have been avoided with a good case.