69cm = Shattered and Leaked LCD
 

Thought that it might interest you in some way:

So unlucky... yesterday my n900 got accidentally knocked down from my desk, that was a 69cm fall. The LCD got shattered and a drop-like leakage appeared. Well, the "screen protector" did not help at all ;]

Here are the images of the web-like shatter on the screen and drop-like leakage (black spot, visible on white display):

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d1...k/IMGP0275.jpg
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d1...IMGP0278-1.jpg

I have noticed the leakage spread a bit with time... Should I replace the LCD screen asap before the leakage makes the screen unusable at all? The phone functions normally, touch screen is intact (works normally), only the screen itself got broke and the metal part of the case got bend a bit.

The n900 keyboard was open when it hit the carpet floor, so that may have actually increased the damage taken from the impact, which resulted in the broken display.

How expensive is a new LCD screen for n900 with the service fee? I would rather take it to Nokia Care point than try to fix it myself... But I have no idea on how much time it would actually take to fix it.
Any tips?

Cheers,
Ralph

Re: 69cm = Shattered and Leaked LCD
 

Oh man! If it was me I would change the LCD asap.. but since here in the USA the Nokia Care points sucks I would do it myself.. But if there's a good Nokia Care point near you I would definately take it to them to fix it.. and I am guessing it would cost around 100$ USD at least? not sure..

I also would like to say that this is the most painful pictures I've ever seen! Stay strong man.. stay strong.. :p

Re: 69cm = Shattered and Leaked LCD
 

At least you can uninstall Braek now... Sorry!

Yep that is true pain, hope it gets well soon.

Re: 69cm = Shattered and Leaked LCD
 

I feel your pain main, looking at the pictures makes me hurt inside :(
I don't know where you live but I would definitely take it to a Nokia store and see what they could do there..

I live in the Netherlands and we don't have any Nokia Care points at all, sure hope this doesn't happen to me..

As bandora said, say strong man.. stay strong ;)

Re: 69cm = Shattered and Leaked LCD
 

Man, Sorry to see those pictures. I know its a different phone but my brother done the same to his N97. The Nokia Care centre in the UK charged £40 to replace the screen and took them 2 hours.

Fingers crossed for you.

Re: 69cm = Shattered and Leaked LCD
 

That looks quite upsetting - hope you can get it fixed soon. I'd be interested to know the price of getting it done, especially in the UK.

I partly am interested as mine got yanked off my desk by an idiot at work today, which is of an equivalent height, perhaps a bit higher. It landed screen-down, but thankfully sustained no lasting damage.

Mitigating factors could be that the floor is carpeted and the keyboard wasn't open. It was attached to some headphones that were being yanked off my head at the same time.

I'm mentioning this mainly to reassure other readers (and potential buyers) that dropping the phone won't necessarily do it any harm. As an aside, I have a friend that smashed their iPhone by dropping it off a bedside table onto a carpet, which wasn't very far at all.

I've dropped this N900 (accidentally!) off a few things now and it seems quite durable.

Re: 69cm = Shattered and Leaked LCD
 

I've had my N900 knocked around my Jeep quite a bit. Has sustained a few hard hits, but it's really all about how it lands.

Unfortunate happenings here :(

Re: 69cm = Shattered and Leaked LCD
 

Uhm.. dude.. I don't know what you're saying... but we DO HAVE Nokia care points here in the Netherlands!!!!!!!

:)

Re: 69cm = Shattered and Leaked LCD
 

that stinks.

Mine fell off the mantel this morning, from 5' (150 cms ?) onto ceramic tile. The alarm vibration pushed it off I guess.

I heard the noise and came in to see the bits everywhere. Just the battery, stylus and back cover. Phone doesn't have a scratch.

I'd like to hear what it costs to fix and if you do it yourself.

Re: 69cm = Shattered and Leaked LCD
 

Sorry, confused it with actual nokia stores ;)
We got care points, but no actual nokia shops.. just some "approved" retailers =)

Re: 69cm = Shattered and Leaked LCD
 

Wow that sucks! I'm surprised it broke after such a short fall. If you do want to do it yourself, LCD replacements are pretty easy as PDA repairs go.

Re: 69cm = Shattered and Leaked LCD
 

I would be reluctant to do it myself as I repaired my own PSP and have had nothing but problems with dust ingress since. Its simply impossible due to static to replace the screen in my house without a ton of dust stuck to it, your mileage may vary depending on if you have carpets and/or pets in the house, I have both. That said, if they do it in-store, you still have a certain risk there too as generally LCDs (and probably assembling of the phones themselves) are intended to be replaced in a clean room then sealed so that dust cannot get between the screen and the touch screen (or screen cover in the case of the PSP). Although I have doubts if even the repair centres stick to those guidelines as the few times I had things like my laptop repaired, it came back dirty.

It all depends on price I guess. It might cost you double to get it done professionally instead of doing it yourself, but its worth it. Now if its going to cost 3 times or more, then its probably worth risking it yourself. It does appear the N900 screen is easy to replace due to it being separate from the main unit thanks to the keyboard slider.

There is another risk to doing it yourself though, be careful where buy the screen. A friend of mine bought a replacement screen for his N95 but when it arrived, it didn't work. As it had been shipped from Hong Kong it wasn't worth paying return shipping so he basically wasted his money and his N95 never got repaired as he wasn't willing to risk it again. Had he just paid to get it repaired in the UK, it would have cost more but at least it would be working.

Re: 69cm = Shattered and Leaked LCD
 

Thanks for your replies guys. I ll check where and for how much I can replace the screen as soon as I have some time to do that. For now, here is a picture of how the leakage spread on the screen 3 days after the unfortunate 'crash':
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d1...k/2ndday-1.jpg
And, for comparison, how it looked like just after the 'crash' :
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d1...IMGP0278-1.jpg
Time is running...

Cheers,
Ralph

Re: 69cm = Shattered and Leaked LCD
 

Would be nice if you tell us how much you payed for repair when it's done. We could create a community documentation of approximated repair prices for different cases.

I wish you good luck to have it repaired soon and cheaply! I fear the day this will happen to me. :o

Re: 69cm = Shattered and Leaked LCD
 

wow, it must land on something to make this bad damage.

Re: 69cm = Shattered and Leaked LCD
 

Unfortunately it is getting worse ... Now I have noticed that the display is no longer able to display the deepest black (its now more like washed out deep blue, or whatever). Additionally, there are visible horizontal lines (bright, little darker, bright, little darker and so on... )
I wouldn't be surprised if the display itself will die completely sooner or later, or am I mistaken?

Cheers,
Ralph

Re: 69cm = Shattered and Leaked LCD
 

I've had a Zune 30 with a broken display for about 2-3 years now (Never got around to fixing it because 1: I got a N800 to replace it, and 2: a new LCD costs over $50USD).

Just gave the battery a little juice, it seems some of the liquid's seeped out of the cracks, but not very far. So it hasn't "died" completely yet.

Re: 69cm = Shattered and Leaked LCD
 

eep!
i once broke the screen on my phone (not a nokia)
whilst waiting to get it replaced i had to rename all my contacts as "xxxxxxxxxx name"
cos the entire left hand side of the screen was borkened.

contact nokia anyway, its worth finding out if repair is possible

Re: 69cm = Shattered and Leaked LCD
 

Sorry to hear your bad news. I had my N900 spill off of my lap onto the street as I was getting out of my car last weekend. I was a bit stunned at first as I didn't realize what had just happened...until my wife exclaimed "Uh oh!" Fortunately, it kind of skidded across the road rather than hitting it solid, and it was/is in a hard case (bought here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=250582533199) which sustained about a 3mm crack.

Re: 69cm = Shattered and Leaked LCD
 

Yeah a hard case saved my Treo 650 a couple of months ago. Cats knocked it off a counter and onto a tiled floor :eek: I ordered one for the N900 long ago but it's going to be a while before it arrives, I might as well be shipping to Mars :rolleyes:

Re: 69cm = Shattered and Leaked LCD
 

Well, Ive been to my local phone service station (not Nokia Care though) recently (they sell n900s and other Nokia's high-end devices). They told me that there are no third-party screens for n900 and the only way now to fix it is directly in Nokia (Nokia Care I suppose). I should either wait until some screens that fit the n900 appear on the market or fix it at Nokia.

It leads to the conclusion that a DIY screen replacement process is impossible as for today due to lack of suitable screens for n900 to purchase.

It is getting worse and worse.... State of LCD leakage for 20.03.10:
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d1...0leakstate.jpg

Re: 69cm = Shattered and Leaked LCD
 

Hey everyone, I have just found this thread and I had to create an acount in this excellent forum.!
I bought my N900 in january 4th, it was really well planned and I was travelling in Miami. In january 5th, I was very happy with the new "toy" and when I tryed to put it inside my jeans pocket and unfortunately I let it fall. Instantly I saw a black spot. The problem is that I was returning to Brazil in the january 10th (I live in Brazil) and I was sure that I couldn't fix it inside the US =/.
Here in Brazil we don't have the N900 and we are probably not going to have. I contacted Nokia assistance here and they said - obviously - that they don't have the display but they could fix it to me at the cost of about $30 if I find the LCD.
From january 10th until now, this link http://www.mobile-phone-lcd.com/n900...deu-p-331.html has almost became my homepage as the replacement part is out of stock.
Here is a pic that I have just taken:
http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/7113/dsc0816c.jpg
Here is a pic that a took january 13th
http://s3.amazonaws.com/twitpic/phot...XXDwzNpCqWU%3D
as you can see it didn't advanced a lot but it's frustating having a mobile phone(?) like N900 not really working.
Sorry if I made any errors, English is not my mother language. Please feel free to correct me if you want.
If you have any suggestion of a site that is selling this LCD please contact me I really want to have my N900 completely usefull again
RafaLL92, good luck to us!
thanks everybody.
cheers,
Lucas Kok

Re: 69cm = Shattered and Leaked LCD
 

Hi Lucas!
Sorry to hear that a similar thing happened to you, that is sad... You are right, it is frustrating.

Good news though! On the webpage you have provided, (http://www.mobile-phone-lcd.com/n900...deu-p-331.html) the LCD for n900 become available since yesterday! It said that 50 were in stock then. Today there are 48. Im thinking of buying it with shipment to Poland, which according to the info on mobile-phone-lcd.com is possible. I would not be surprised if you have already placed the order ;) If you get to know anything worth knowing, just let us know here in this thread.

Here, as to show you the condition of my broken LCD, here is the picture for 25.03.10:
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d1...dleakage-1.jpg
The wide black line near the top is actually the leakage. It covers my entire status bar (the clock, battery level, wifi status etc. However, I can see what is 'under' any leaked area when Im in a direct sunlight or below any source of light. Strange, but annoying though.

Cheers,
Ralph

Re: 69cm = Shattered and Leaked LCD
 

ouch .. seeing that makes me want to armor my n900 with steel ..

Re: 69cm = Shattered and Leaked LCD
 

Hey Ralph!,
I saw the update yesterday also! They had already sent an e-mail to me saying that they have the display on stock again.
I'm a little bit afraid of buying it from internet. They only shipment way is with "Standard Registered Airmail" to Brazil and our customs are an huge mess! It can take more than a month to arrive at my home.
At Least Nokia anounced this week that they will bring the N900 in about 60 days! :D Which means that brazilians will have replacement parts!
Just an information: Sometimes when I twist the N900 my "crack" seems to have became worst. I think it's not a nice signal. Now, my huge black spot has just became white for example.

Keep us informed, Ralph.
cheers,
Lucas Kok

Re: 69cm = Shattered and Leaked LCD
 

This reminds me of a somewhat funny story, when I had my N80, I babied that thng. I made sure it had a screen protector 100% of the time. I never went without one. well, days turned to months turned to years, and 4 years later the case had it's small dings here and there, but the screen was flawless.


one day I was rototilling the backyard (it's similar to a lawnmower for those of you who dont know) and I felt the handle tap my leg. when I finished rototilling, I puilled out my phone and I had a huge star crack. the LCD leaked everywhere inside. made for a nice 'fireworks' screen. so many colors. the plastic screen on top was still flawless, but the glass screen behind it was gone.

anyways, it was then that I realized that all those years of caring for and worrying about the front pretty much went to waste. I started to wonder why I cared so mch about the front, I mean it's not like there wasn't spare front panels for it online.

anyways my next phone was the N900, and I realize now that I don't need a protector. the screen was made for what it does, because if it wasn't, it would come with a screen protector itself. Also, in a few months (if not already available) there is going to be replacement front panels, so I could just buy a fresh one if mine gets so bad.


I'm not knocking peple who have screen protectors, I'm just sharing my epiphany when my previous phone met a similar fate.

Re: 69cm = Shattered and Leaked LCD
 

i would like to throw this out there. what damages have you done to your precious n900 already?

Re: 69cm = Shattered and Leaked LCD
 

Only a hard case will protect against cracks. The screen protector is simply there to prevent scratches, especially those hairline scratches caused by a speck of dust caught under the stylus, or those larger scratches caused by keys or coins in your pocket.

I've never seen an N80 up close, but from reviews it has a single layer, glass LCD. The N900 has a two layer, plastic touch screen on top with a glass LCD underneath. It is much easier to scratch the top plastic layer, and it's just as easy to crack the bottom glass layer. :p On top of that, replacing either one will be much more difficult and expensive. So not investing in a $10 screen protector is a bit silly in my opinion.

And I may be an odd case, but I can live with a scratched screen protector, nicked housing corners, shiny keypad but a scratched screen would just drive me nuts.

Re: 69cm = Shattered and Leaked LCD
 

harsh dude! but damn funny!


man thats the most painful image i've seen since

http://germancarscene.com/wp-content...g1-4-03-07.jpg

Re: 69cm = Shattered and Leaked LCD
 

So has anyone DIY-replaced the LCD screen on their N900? Mine is currently broken, so I'm considering doing exactly this.

Heh, that Veyron crash was really close to where I used to live in the UK.

Re: 69cm = Shattered and Leaked LCD
 

Well, the problem is not the fact that the DIY-replacement could be somewhat hard, but the fact that N900 replacement screens are not available yet (or very hard to get).

I have recently been to my local Nokia Care station to ask about the replacment of the broken lcd. They have said that such screens are not available yet, but they are supposed to be quite soon. They will let me know as soon as the lcd replacment becomes "in stock".

I just hope it happens quickly, my lcd is getting more and more covered in black leakage.

And as far as lcd cost is concerned, I was told it would be around 400 PLN, which is a bit over 100euro (+the replacement fee I suppose).

Cheers,
Ralph

Re: 69cm = Shattered and Leaked LCD
 

Today my shattered and leaked LCD screen of 1month on my N900 got finally replaced :D

I asked my local Nokia Care centre to give ma call as soon as N900 LCD displays are in stock. They phoned me yesterday so I paid them a visit today to hand them my phone.
They replaced the screen in just 40 minutes :)
However the replacement cost 400PLN which is around 100Euro (around 140 dollars). That is pretty expensive I guess, but well, I finally got it fixed. The leakage covered around half of the screen space as for today. Unfortunately, as they said, they took the broken LCD for utilization, so I am unable to take some closer photos of the damage. Thanks for all the help guys!

Cheers,
Ralph