My Screen Cracked!!!

[Blue Knight]

Alright. I am a little upset and need to vent a little.

I synch my TH-55 at work before leaving, put it in my belt pouch and came home. Pulled it out to make a note and found the screen is cracked and there is a big blob of nothing in the middle. The outside of the screen is not cracked, it is deeper in.

I bought it from Office Depot in May, so it should still be in warranty. Unfortunately, the box, receipt and everything else I need is at work! So I have to wait until morning to call Sony.

I seem to remember reading the Sony is pretty quick with warranty repairs. Can anyone confirm or refute this? Thanks!

Ok, rant end.

[DanT]

Ouch. Sorry to hear that :(

I had something like that once with my Vx. It happened when I bumped my pants pocket where I put the Vx accidentally against a valve handle in a lab. Apparently the handle poke the screen a little too hard. Your TH55 could experience similar thing in the car without your notice, e.g., the belt pouch could accidentally press against the belt buckle too hard. Hopefully Sony would accept it as warranty repair. Palm wouldn't do it for me.

[Unregisterd1918]

I'll be impressed and amazed if a cracked screen is covered by the warranty. Let us know how it goes.

[Jim Cooke]

Sony specifically excludes cracked screens from the warranty. Last I heard, it was a $138 flat charge to replace the screen.

[depret]

Good luck with getting it fixed.

[enderenya]

Sony specifically excludes cracked screens from the warranty. Last I heard, it was a $138 flat charge to replace the screen.$146.64 ... unfortunately.
I know... I had to get mine fixed. ugh. It was far cheaper than buying a new TH55/E though.
http://home.comcast.net/~deepdvd/TH55crack.jpg

[eoctanker]

I had the same problem on my T665. Cracked the internal LCD portion of the screen. The digitizer was fine as was the other layer, but the LCD was cracked which caused the liquid to leak out and make that pleasent ink blot spot. That is one reason I got the TH55 with the hard plastic cover. I have the Sena case with it and they work well together. Sony stated that this is not a warrentee issue because you cannot prove that it is a manufacturer defect issue. That is why I have a T665 paperweight at home right now and a TH55 in my hand :rolleyes:

[eoctanker]

I see that you had the plastic cover on it. How did it crack? This may be how you get Sony to fix it for free. How can the screen crack with the plastic protective cover in place keeping everything from touching the screen?????

[Blue Knight]

Thanks for all the responses. It is nice to know that I am not alone. I called Sony and need to send it off to San Diego for repair. I should know in a couple of days whether it is covered by warranty or not. I will keep you posted.

Thanks!

[BSteely]

Mine is in for repair as we speak. Sony would not warrant it. But I think the TH is a special case and prone to cracking, so beware. I wish Sony would acknowlege this and bear at least a portion of the warranty cost. Alas, no.

The problem is the little device is all screen and nothing else. That's one reason why we love it...the massive screen yet minimal size. But what stems from this combination of qualities is the frame of the TH lacks torsional strength, yet the glass in the LCD is sensitive to torsional strain.

I know for a fact mine did not receive an impact when it broke but rather was twisted, as if holding it from both sides and twisting in opposite directions. It was in a cargo pocket on a pair of shorts I was wearing. I sat down in a chair and the material of my pants became taught around my leg applying undo pressure to opposite corners of the TH. CRACK!

From now on I'll stick to shirt pockets only.

[Sony_Boy]

My screen cracked when I used my TH55 to shim a wobbly table leg in a restaurant I was dinning at.

Do you think Sony will cover the repairs too?

[FETT]

OOOUUUUCHHH!!! :(

I won't use it in my back-pocket never again.

[enderenya]

BSteely, The exact same thing (twisted in tight cargo pocket) happened to me AND mine was in a case w/ the flip cover on. Sony won't ever cover a screen crack under a warranty. I blame the plastic casing vs. my TG50's magnesium metal casing

[Blue Knight]

...
From now on I'll stick to shirt pockets only.

I have already come to that conclusion. No more belt pouch.

BTW, the person I talk to on the phone said the repair should be turned around in 7 - 10 days. How long have you been waiting? Thanks.

[rlc7254]

My screen cracked when I used my TH55 to shim a wobbly table leg in a restaurant I was dinning at.

Do you think Sony will cover the repairs too?

No, but they may pick up the check for dinner...... ;)


:D

[tgoodp]

My TH55 cracked today also - I've been a PDA user since the early days of Palm and have never had this happen. My TH55 was in a covertec case with the plastic cover still attached. I've dropped my handheld several times with no problems...I suspect it got twisted somehow. I was at my desk using it - got up and placed it in my side cargo pocket on my pants, walked to my car, pulled it out and got in my car. I opened it up and it was cracked.

The posts about sitting on your handheld or using it as a support are funny, and I'm sure it's happened. I certainly wouldn't wish this on anyone!

[Sony_Boy]

I'm sorry to hear that tgoodp, enderenya and Blue Knight. I thought a little levity would help but I guess it's really nothing to make light of considering the cost of replacement. I do sympathize and I'm sorry.

I think BSteely's is right in his conclusions and the TH55 warrants extra care in handling to prevent this. But I also think a PDA should be designed and constructed to withstand a certain amount of abuse to be truely portable and useful. I'm afraid this is a design flaw and we're probably going to hear alot more of these problems in the future.

I wish you all luck in your repairs and I hope that you get your TH55's back in great shape.

[BSteely]

I have already come to that conclusion. No more belt pouch.

BTW, the person I talk to on the phone said the repair should be turned around in 7 - 10 days. How long have you been waiting? Thanks.

I have been waiting 11 days. Tomorrow will be twelve. Sony Service is not very good about communication. They don't ask for your email on the RMA form, so you just sit in the darkness of an information vacuum and wait. I hope it gets here soon.

[tgoodp]

I called Sony service/repair this morning and they're sending a box for me to ship to them for repair. Cost $136.00 and will take 6 working days. I've already found an aluminium hard case that I'm going to order. I hope that will give it more stability.

I do appreciate your levity sony_boy, and as the days pass I'm finding it easier to laugh about it!

This is obviously a design flaw, and I'd feel a lot better if Sony would acknowledge it. This really should be covered under warranty.

[acorliss]

I went through a TH55 in less than four days, with the same exact screen defect. I don't abuse my equipment, and I can assure you this is most definitely a manufacturing defect. Far too many people have been bitten by the same bug on this one model. None of the other seven models I've had (going back to the Palm III) seem to have had the frequency of occurrence.

[Blue Knight]

...I've already found an aluminium hard case that I'm going to order. I hope that will give it more stability.
I found a nice aluminium case at Global Source. I think I will order that. Anyone have a better one? (In their opinion, of course)

...I do appreciate your levity sony_boy, and as the days pass I'm finding it easier to laugh about it!
I was totally crushed when I saw the screen. All I could think about was "$400.00 down the drain." I was a little better the next day, but it still hurts to half to shell out another $140.00, plus the money to get a hard case. Oh, well.

[Blue Knight]

Just to update everyone, I just got my TH-55 back today. The screen was not covered under warrenty. (Bummer)

Sony turned it around very quickly. It got to them last Friday and they shipped it out on Tuesday.

I am happy it is fixed, but wish I did not have to pay $138.00!! Now to find a decent hard case.

Thank you all again for your kind thoughts.

[rlc7254]

Just to update everyone, I just got my TH-55 back today. The screen was not covered under warrenty. (Bummer)

Sony turned it around very quickly. It got to them last Friday and they shipped it out on Tuesday.

I am happy it is fixed, but wish I did not have to pay $138.00!! Now to find a decent hard case.

Thank you all again for your kind thoughts.

Well, at least their service department did you right, even if the warranty was no good.

:D

[Sony_Boy]

That's good news Blue Knight.

I wish you luck!

[threengs]

What is the process for getting the th-55 screen fixed by Sony? My first th-55 screen cracked several months back.

[Blue Knight]

What is the process for getting the th-55 screen fixed by Sony? My first th-55 screen cracked several months back.

You need to contact Sony Service. The number is 800-282-2848. They will open an "Event" for you and tell you where to send it.

Be aware that the screen is NOT covered under warrenty. You will have to pay $130.00 plus shipping to get it fixed.

Good luck.

[Cyker]

Does anyone know if you can buy TH55 screens from somewhere? I'd much rather DIY if I ever broke it then pay them such money!

And it'd give me the chance to see the insides, maybe do some mods (Like, say a WiFi/BT external aerial connector, battery enhancement, Ion Cannon uplink control... uh...)

:D

[Ion Control]

Palm wouldn't do it for me.
Hate to rub this in, but my wife put her Zire 71 in her organizer w/ too many pens and cracked the screen. Palm replaced it free and all it took was one 5-minute call. The moral of this story? Never underestimate the power of a woman playing "dumb". My wife's pretty sharp, but she can always pull that "like, well, I dunno *sniff sniff* *cry*" and get things done I couldn't even think of! :D

[alsa]

OK, my NX73V's screen broke in exactly the same way as on the photo here. I have to have a metal case for my TH now. Any suggestions on a good one, with cutouts? I saw one on gadgeteer.com the day.... Hm...

[DanT]

WOW, this TH55 with broken LCD (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5716888043) was sold for $145.50. Yet, this working TH55 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5717513941) was sold for $204.39. Does this make any sense? People are just nuts when it comes to bidding at ebay. :rolleyes:

[THX-1138]

If you are an Ebayer you will know why, look at each sellers feedback, the one selling the broken LCD has 100% Positive while the other guy selling a "working used" clie has 93.2% positive feedback with 399 complaints in the last 30 days alone! Yes he moves much more sales but tells you alot on how and what he sells. At least with the 100% feedback seller you know exactly what you are buying :rolleyes: