Nexus 4 screen cracks - defective - Google and LG do not take responsibility

[Scott7217]

I would say that is reasonable, although I would consider the chances of damage reduced due to the shorter drop and the carpet on the floor. I'm not sure where you are going with all this but, it just seems common sense. If you are making a point of putting some protection on the N4, I would agree. Some prefer not to, but that is the risk they take.

I find that exploring the similarities in people's viewpoints can be useful sometimes. In some cases, people actually agree on almost everything, and the one or two areas of disagreement turn out to be pretty minor.

Going back to our previous line of thinking, we have established that a 2-foot drop may result in damage to an unprotected Nexus 4, but we expect the damage to be minor, not severe. If the fall was shorter than 2 feet, I think most people would expect the damage to be even less.

So, is there a point below 2 feet where it is reasonable to expect no damage to an unprotected Nexus 4?

 

[tonymhoffman]

I find that exploring the similarities in people's viewpoints can be useful sometimes. In some cases, people actually agree on almost everything, and the one or two areas of disagreement turn out to be pretty minor.

Going back to our previous line of thinking, we have established that a 2-foot drop may result in damage to an unprotected Nexus 4, but we expect the damage to be minor, not severe. If the fall was shorter than 2 feet, I think most people would expect the damage to be even less.

So, is there a point below 2 feet where it is reasonable to expect no damage to an unprotected Nexus 4?

I dropped mine from under a foot and got to healthy dings. Sometimes destiny works for you and others against you. You ever see the bumper sticker **** happens? It really does sometimes. I just roll with it these days.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Dima Sawalha]

I just bought mine and I used it only for one day. I dropped it from one foot and the screen cracked too. What should I do. Is there a way to replace it. I bought it from google online. Should I contact them to replace the screen?

 

[JHBThree]

I just bought mine and I used it only for one day. I dropped it from one foot and the screen cracked too. What should I do. Is there a way to replace it. I bought it from google online. Should I contact them to replace the screen?

You dropped it, you're responsible for it.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[JHBThree]

I find that exploring the similarities in people's viewpoints can be useful sometimes. In some cases, people actually agree on almost everything, and the one or two areas of disagreement turn out to be pretty minor.

Going back to our previous line of thinking, we have established that a 2-foot drop may result in damage to an unprotected Nexus 4, but we expect the damage to be minor, not severe. If the fall was shorter than 2 feet, I think most people would expect the damage to be even less.

So, is there a point below 2 feet where it is reasonable to expect no damage to an unprotected Nexus 4?

I dropped mine (well, more of an accidental toss) from four feet onto a carpeted concrete slab, and it had no damage. I've dropped it off my bed at two feet, and no damage. It has slid off my desk onto a carpeted floor (house carpeting, so thicker) from a height of three feet, and no damage.

With every piece of anecdotal or personal evidence people here provide, myself and others can provide evidence of the opposite.

If the damage was due to a defect, it would be consistent. It is not. If the damage was caused by a defect, everyone that has dropped their phone would have said damage. They do not.

That they don't gives us two options:

1) Nexus 4's are spontaneously combusting, with no pattern and no consistency that could be related to a defect that only magically appears in the phones of certain users but not others that have subjected their devices to the exact same stresses.

or

2) People dropped their phones, refuse to take responsibility for dropping them, and instead choose to blame Google. This despite evidence that others have dropped their devices and don't have so much as a scratch on them.

Common sense dictates that only one of them is true.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[tippmann15]

I just bought mine and I used it only for one day. I dropped it from one foot and the screen cracked too. What should I do. Is there a way to replace it. I bought it from google online. Should I contact them to replace the screen?

It's worth a shot to call Google and beg hehe.

GS4/iPhone5

 

[Telefina]

Why are you blaming the phone? Obviously it's the concrete's fault for being too hard. You should find out who laid that concrete and sue them for not putting some tar in it.

I do have to admit, I was astonished at the amount of abuse my GS2 took, and kept on tickin'. I've dropped that poor thing so many times, onto so much concrete and steel, it's not even funny. Each and every corner is completely dented, gashed, and cracked. Yet the screen, time and time again, has come out virtually unscathed. I coveted a Nexus for months, but the damn Galaxy just wouldn't break no matter how hard I tried. And tried. Finally it started getting all buggy and freezing and crashing, possibly too many connections loose from the repeated abuse.

I don't think of a phone breaking when it drops as a "design flaw." That's what you expect glass to do. If you're the type of person who drops their phone a lot and you don't want to buy a new phone every 6 months, then get a proper case. Or, buy a dumb phone that's made for construction workers. My railroader husband's work phone is damn near bomb proof. As long as you don't intend to do anything than take and place phone calls, it's perfect for you chronic phone droppers!

I just picked up my Nexus 4 after the price drop. It's got the little nipples so I'm hoping it's in the group that were improved. It's not uncommon for manufacturers to receive a bad batch of building materials, which would explain why there are so many complaints and yet not everyone suffers those problems. Because this thread has me paranoid, I've ordered a good case, but honestly I probably won't even use it. The thing only cost $300 with tax & shipping so it's not like it broke the bank for a modern smart phone.

Further thoughts, I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't so much the quality of the phones that made them break, but just the slipperiness of the glass making it slide out of people's hands and pockets and off their tables more often than other phones. If you drop your phone 10x more often than other people, you're obviously 10x more likely to break it. I've only had the thing for 12 hours and it's already tried to slip off my lap a dozen times. I'm too used to the galaxy with its rubber back. If I do end up using the case, it will be purely to stop the thing from sliding off my lap all the time.

 

[Rule9]

Ah. Now I see why this thread got so many replies. We are naturally drawn to silliness out of morbid curiosity.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4

 

[Scott7217]

I dropped mine (well, more of an accidental toss) from four feet onto a carpeted concrete slab, and it had no damage. I've dropped it off my bed at two feet, and no damage. It has slid off my desk onto a carpeted floor (house carpeting, so thicker) from a height of three feet, and no damage.

Wow, there was no damage?! Your Nexus 4 must be pretty durable! Maybe if other people had a Nexus 4 as well-built as yours, they wouldn't be complaining.

Perhaps some batches of the Nexus 4 are weaker than others. That would help explain why some people have massive damage from minor falls and others don't.

 

[Scott7217]

I do have to admit, I was astonished at the amount of abuse my GS2 took, and kept on tickin'. I've dropped that poor thing so many times, onto so much concrete and steel, it's not even funny. Each and every corner is completely dented, gashed, and cracked. Yet the screen, time and time again, has come out virtually unscathed.

Would you say that the GS2 appears to be more durable than the Nexus 4 with respect to the screen?

 

[Rule9]

You dropped it, you're responsible for it.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

Unfortunately that does not appear to be the case in today's entitlement culture.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4

 

[JHBThree]

Wow, there was no damage?! Your Nexus 4 must be pretty durable! Maybe if other people had a Nexus 4 as well-built as yours, they wouldn't be complaining.

Perhaps some batches of the Nexus 4 are weaker than others. That would help explain why some people have massive damage from minor falls and others don't.

Nope. When people abuse their phones, they're going to break.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[HawaiianLaker]

This thing is made or glass, glass will break.... crack the front and it will be useless, they merged the glass and the digitizer to save money, how less will they sell this beast for so cheap. just have the right expectations.

 

[Kellee Jones]

I am highly pissed at this over priced phone! The back is so smooth, it slides of even flat surfaces. AND it can't take a bump. I had a ZTE android and it worked with a spider-cracked screen and moisture under it. I hate LG for this bullcrap. I can do nothing with this piece of crap.

 

[yuneeq]

I ordered the nexus 4 when it went on sale about a month ago. I gotta say that the hardware design is clearly defective. I must've gotten old stock, because my phone didn't come with the little plastic nubs that are supposed to help with the sliding. And the glass is definitely the weakest I've come into contact with.

When I noticed that my phone kept sliding off of flat surfaces, I was shocked that Google and LG were stupid to sell a phone with such a major flaw. My phone slid off of tables, my night desk, just about any surface that didn't have a leather grip attached to it. I was planning on using my phone without a case but i changed my mind. I quickly went to eBay and amazon to order a case to protect it, but lo and behold, my phone didn't last in one piece by then.

I put my phone down on my porch one day, leaning it sideways against the metal gate while it was sitting on the concrete slab. Without warning it slid off the concrete wall (yes this thing slides off of anything) and tumbled back-down onto the slab. No drop. No air time. Just a little tumble from its side to it's back. The entire back glass shattered, and continued to self shatter for the next five minutes while making a sound that closely resembled corn popping.

I have never seen such a breakable consumer device in my entire life.

 

[xk47]

I just bought a google nexus 4 this past month and have had all the google phones prior to it. It dropped one time from a foot off the ground and the screen is cracked and will not respond to touch at all. Both google and LG are passing the buck to the other and will not back up their product. this is very disappointing and i'm thinking of going back to apple. i can't believe they would make such a fragile product that cannot withstand even one common drop. after researching their are numerous other nexus 4 cracks from even less impacts. they must recall these phones and fix them. this is the most horrible product and customer service out there and I will spread the word, continue to join groups put this out there. Google and LG must take responsibility for their defective product.

Does anyone have advice on what we can do at this point?

a) Statistically, not all Nexus 4's will have the bad luck of breaking at that height. Mine has fallen from my hands several times and didn't get a blemish. So don't give the Nexus 4 a bad reputation just because you got a bad experience, every user does this.
b) Most manufacturer's warranty/coverage are well established in their "Limited (1) year Manufactuer's Warranty", which FYI, does not cover accidental damage, water damage, or any damage due to mishandling.
c) Dropping it IS mishandling.

Sorry but bottom line is, you can't blame them, they are in their whole right to refuse liability. To prevent this in the future, buy accidental damage protection (extended coverage) with your Phone Carrier, or someone like GeekSquad or TradeSquare. Too expensive? Check if you can write use this expense as a deduction (depends on your work status, income, and if you're paid as a 1099 or W-2, get a CPA for reputable information).

 

[Romeo Moblico]

What?! I am notorious for constantly dropping my night tech gadgets and have a cabinet full of dangling wires to prove it. But that's the price I pay for not paying attention when I open my car door or slip the latest micro-super-computer out of my even tinier designer jean pockets. For me, the price of looking super trendy and hip is that on occasion I have to sport the jacked up phone and pretend I don't care about my beloved "capitalist" technology. To make matters worse, sometimes I'm forced to deliberately toss my already decrepit $700 phone so people don't ask why its held together by duct tape. The only time that I pass the buck is when the keen observer makes note of the irony of my lack of concern for the Nexus 3.75 teetering on the table's edge (.25 deduction for the missing corner piece) and obvious techno-addiction. That's the only time when I may lay claim at some design flaw or manufacturing mishap that led to the events that produced my Frankenphone. But no matter how much of a hypocrite I seem to be as I gasp to fill my lungs in my uber-tight denim, do I actually believe someone else is responsible for causing the damage. After all, I bought the thing for whatever reason and the fact that its thinner than my hairline didn't bother me when I was boasting about it to my envious coworkers. No matter what kind of super composite the thing is made of, chances are that it can and will break under the right conditions. Drops from any height qualify as one of these core conditions. Now I don't know why you were carrying around your phone in your socks or the pellet gun holster you strap to your ankle. But what I do know that if by some unforseen circumstance the device dislodges and is forced to do battle with cement; chances are that it will come out on the losing end. If I was in your situation I'd try to look at the positive... You don't have to spend $50 on that bedazzled kit you saw on HSN just to set it apart from the 22 million other s out there! Your Nexus 4 is unique; a rebel among phones! It is, like you I presume, a recluse; without regard. Kind of like Rambo; ready to kick ars and take names! Wait, is it take names then kick ars? Anyway, you are different and you have the phone with the missing buttons to prove it!

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Romeo Moblico]

Yes this must feel awful. But you dropped it. Get over it.

Things you can do :

Buy a ballistic case.

Get handset insurance.

Stop dropping your phone.

Don't waste your time threatening grass roots revolt against the manufacturer because you dropped your phone.

// Tapatalk HD for Android - Nexus 7 //

I vote for ballistic case; preferably made of Kevlar & heat tested up to 2800 degrees in case you slip and it falls into a vat of molten lava. Just my opinion.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[CoMoNexus]

Mine just face-planted onto a ceramic tile floor from waist height. Even though it was naked, there are no cracks.

 

[Amanda Mclellan]

I had Samsung phones for years, loved the, but when mine died in sept, Fido gave me a "free" phone, the nexus 4. First week i had it, droped about 1 foot, screen shattered, sent away for a replacement. Monday, i dropped it a couple of feet, screen shattered, thought i had the worst luck, sent away for a replacement. Got my new phone yesterday, not even 24hrs later, i dropped it, even though i was trying to be very careful with it. SCREEN SHATTERED. What is wrong with these phones, my Samsung could be dropped 20 times and not crack. i don't know what to do, but 3 phones, come on.