Screen deteriorating / peeling off
 

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone else has been experiencing something similar to their N900s. I've never used a screen protector, and have been generally happy. Since last month, after over 2 years of intense use of my phone, the screen is kind of "peeling off". Something is coming off, making it quite hard to read from the phone in some light conditions. The screen no longer feels smooth when swiping, but touch works fine. Should I change the screen? I have found no way to remove this.

Have a look at the attached picture, it might help understand...

Thanks!

Re: Screen deteriorating / peeling off
 

The same with my N900. All of a sudden a patch started to peel off.
At first I thought there was something sticky on the screen, so I tried to wipe it away with a cloth, but the patch became larger until I realized that the screen was peeling.

Re: Screen deteriorating / peeling off
 

Same here. Started about 9 months ago and is looking aweful by now but is still working fine.

Re: Screen deteriorating / peeling off
 

does your device overclocked? The screen does seem burned.

Re: Screen deteriorating / peeling off
 

Thanks,

Well - no, the device is not overclocked, although it runs the latest version of CSSU testing. It seems to have gotten worse while keeping it in my pocket in a very hot season..

I'm not sure it is worth changing the screen lens just for this, but it's really annoying! Any thought?

Re: Screen deteriorating / peeling off
 

The needed temperature to burn touchscreen like this is much higher , if the CPU was able to do this , then motherboard and other plastic components inside would be melted . :D

Re: Screen deteriorating / peeling off
 

N9 and N900 , the beauty and the beast

I like it!

Re: Screen deteriorating / peeling off
 

lol . well said

i'm having the same issue too..

Re: Screen deteriorating / peeling off
 

This is just one bad point of resistive screens . I would try to peel it off completely or replace touchscreen .

Re: Screen deteriorating / peeling off
 

Put a screen protector on it. I bought 10 N900 screen protectors for £1.95 off ebay, the protectors are fine, they may not be as durable as more expensive protectors, but they are so cheap I don't care. Putting them on an already scratched screen won't make the scratches go away, but will reduce the impact of them and at least give you a nice smooth surface. If you put a bit of water on the screen and screen protector when applying it will help you get rid of any air bubbles when smoothing it out.

Otherwise your only choice is to replace the touchscreen.

Re: Screen deteriorating / peeling off
 

Does anyone know a reputable seller of N900 parts?

Re: Screen deteriorating / peeling off
 

Still looks like burned for me... Maybe a chemical scald. Perspiration and bacteria can finally damage plastics, especially when they are transparent.

Re: Screen deteriorating / peeling off
 

came here to post the exact same thing!

awesome sig Dragoss91

Re: Screen deteriorating / peeling off
 

Chemicals , especially acids can deteriorate the screen too , but it's not this case here . His screen just damaged because of using it , as gorilla glass get scratches after a long period of use , even if some people on youtube can not scratch it with knives , keys , etc. :)

Re: Screen deteriorating / peeling off
 

I just would like to commemomerate about the 200th time I have seen some one suggest without justification that overclocking might cause a certain problem only to have the OP instantly respond in a believable way that he hasn't been overclocking. It's a good thing, because if this OP had been overclocking the discussion would be completely on a false trail.

Re: Screen deteriorating / peeling off
 

i run mine at 1ghz. no burning issues. it gets pretty hot when i'm doing heavy stuff out in the sun - still no burnt off screen. it's not an overclocking issue.

want to know what heat does to a touch screen? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cir-MOzVggQ

Re: Screen deteriorating / peeling off
 

My touch screen was damaged due to extensive use of stylus without screen protector.applying the screen protector can only safe for all touch screens

Re: Screen deteriorating / peeling off
 

My screen looked like this until i sent the phone back to nokia for the usb port the be repaired - while they repaired the usb port they also put a new touch screen on without me even asking.

All this was done under warranty for free.

Since i had the screen replaced, now i use those cheap screen protectors to stop the screen flaking.

Re: Screen deteriorating / peeling off
 

Overclocking is a randomness process. Some devices can't support a perpetual high frequency without heating, that's why I first suggested it (because it was a suggestion). Now, that does stay a pretty odd screen damage, mine just has some micro scratch, though, I rarely do use stylus.

Re: Screen deteriorating / peeling off
 

one suggestions...replace touch screen digitizer...but , it may cost a little bit....

Re: Screen deteriorating / peeling off
 

Blaming it on heat is bollox. If *any* pocketable device got hot enough to damage a glass or plastic screen then you could be sure you would have a hole in your leg well before the screen could get affected.

Re: Screen deteriorating / peeling off
 

For me it started when I used the device extensively in hot environmental conditions, in the 40 to 52 °C range.

Re: Screen deteriorating / peeling off
 

same here.

Re: Screen deteriorating / peeling off
 

Please, don't speak on things you clearly have no clue on.... Overclocking does not put the CPU in a "perpetual high" state. This is not a PC from the 1990s, when overclocking meant the CPU ran at the highest frequency without rest. Overclocked N900s (and even PCs these days) spend lots of their time at lower levels, and only use top speed when doing real work. Most N900 spend lots of time at 0Mhz, the resting sleep state that they all enter when there's no activity. (You can see for yourself, by using this script on your own N900.) Again, overclocking could never cause this. If the CPU ever got hot enough to do this type of damage, it would have already fried itself and the much more heat sensitive LCD layer between it and the screen cover.

To the Op: If you're able, it may be worth removing the flaking cover skin (which has a high chance of breaking the touch screen, so be cautious) and putting a protector on it. It may be worth trying a wet-apply screen protector instead, like Skinomi, since it may mask some of the existing flake in the current cover. I put a Skinomi on mine after the first set of cheep stick-on protectors peeled off. It has a slightly different feel, but is quite nice, and has a rather interesting "self-healing" property. (Something to do with it being a polymer that reacts to oils from the skin... so says a chemist friend of mine.)

Re: Screen deteriorating / peeling off
 

I'm using screen protectors from 1st day, and never ever experienced such issues. I can't imagine, why someone wouldn't use screen protector on such device.

BTW, this all "overclocking as the cause" discussion gave me a good laugh.

/Estel

Re: Screen deteriorating / peeling off
 

The real cause is very likely to be both skin-oil from contact with fingers, and exposure to direct sunlight. Sun and oil together (along with high temperatures) can cause this type of thing quite easily. Also, other chemicals on one's fingers can do crazy things to plastic. I recall once having touched one of the covers for my N6230 with suntan lotion on my hands. The chemicals and sunlight together turned the clear plastic to a foggy milk-white, and the blue to a dark purple in a matter of a couple hours. That gave me pause about using said lotion the rest of that summer. :)

Re: Screen deteriorating / peeling off
 

This happend with my friend after he used a bad screen protector and looks like there is something stock on his screen and cant be removed so he bought a good protector and the touch feeling is good but it is still a little hard for reading

Re: Screen deteriorating / peeling off
 

It happened during the German winter. I wasn't even using the N900 much, as it's not my primary phone anymore. It just happened for no apparent reason.

Re: Screen deteriorating / peeling off
 

Suggesting hot temperature likely has little or nothing to do with the deteriorating screen?

Re: Screen deteriorating / peeling off
 

I have the same problem. How much doest it cost to replace the screen?

ps. today the vibration started to freak out. Maybe after 2.5 years N900 comes to na end...

Re: Screen deteriorating / peeling off
 

...And do not talk about your own little experiments. If (by hypothesis) this type of damage is mainly due to extreme temperatures, overclocking has no reason to be exclude in a first approach. You obviously underestimate thermical effects. It looks like a thermic damage (same induced by chemicals) and you have no better explanation/suggestion at this time.

Re: Screen deteriorating / peeling off
 

That's like saying because one can't prove how the pyramids were built, we can not rule out the idea that time-traveling space aliens were involved in their creation. One has no relation to the other.

I can tell you that the temperature needed to damage plastic at this level would also damage any LCD display on the market. The CPU has a thin top plate, a plastic frame, a keyboard, a metal shell back, sliders, another later of plastic, the LCD, and about 1mm of air between it and this outer plastic layer. Any "thermical effects" the CPU could generate that would even reach the outer layer of the device would by necessity damage at least some of those components before the heat got intense enough to cause this type of damage.

You've already been proven wrong about "perpetual high" frequency use, So tell me: If you don't even understand what overclocking does, or how it works, why are you so convinced that it could cause this?

It is far more likely to be the result of exposure to skin oils and/or UV/sunlight, both of which are known to break down plastic in this exact way. This is called crazing, and it's primary cause are UV exposure and access to oils and salt. Many salt-water fish enthusiasts (who bough acrylic vs glass tanks) and drivers of convertible cars have know of these issues for decades.

And I did mention that in the post you reference, so yes, I have a much better explanation of what this probably is, with photographic evidence (link above) to back it up. Where's your proof that this is a "thermical effects"?

So please, stop spreading FUD about overclocking when you are clearly clueless about how not only how it works, but if/how it's capable of damaging devices.

Re: Screen deteriorating / peeling off
 

Heat can be accumulated and can operate slowly on plastics. Heat has many origins. Materials have different resistances and reactions to the heating, heat can be transferred by conduction...

I could say you "****ing ******" (yes I could but these words are censured -_-') learn the difference between supposition and certitude, I have never been affirmative. :|
And you (we) don't know what they were doing with their device therefore, you can not state what sort of queerness they were doing, including abnormal overclocking, or other odd customizations.

"skin oils and/or UV/sunlight..." yep, I see, here, we do not use the same definition of the physics description of the heat. ^^ But indeed, we are talking about a pretty close phenomenon. Except for the peeling, it can't be only explained by UV exposure, the crazing affect the deep structure and is homogen on polymeric objects plus, it requires years of exposure, the photography shows some superficial/massive/accelerated and located damages. But skin oils and more generally dirty fingers are good candidates.

I have never spread fear, uncertainty or doubt about overclocking, and I perfectly now how it works and what are the possibles side effects. Don't be so enthusiast with that, if overclocking does revoke the warranty, that is for some reasons. That is not because your device easily support this one, that it will work for all.


PS: Slur was a sort of humor :cool:

Re: Screen deteriorating / peeling off
 

The white spot problem on N900 screens - is this related to heat and how to avoid this?

Re: Screen deteriorating / peeling off
 

Keep too much UV/sunlight, external heat (approx. 40-50°C and above) and sweat away from the screen.

Re: Screen deteriorating / peeling off
 

It is and it's almost impossible to avoid:)

Re: Screen deteriorating / peeling off
 

Using a screen protector should help.

Re: Screen deteriorating / peeling off
 

Well, after 2 years of heavy abuse, my screen started to peel off (hot, hot summer - and I'm pretty sure I sweated all over it right before it started... + no screen protector). Everything still works fine though.

Question: Which parts do I need to replace?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DIGITIZER-TO...#ht_1600wt_984

Is this the part I need?

Why no screen protector? Well, cause I absolutely HATE them, and the N900 doesn't really need one. In two years of heavy use (I've taken it from sea level to over 5,500 metres, from jungle to desert, and I've dropped it at least fifteen times - hell, it's even been run over by a city bus!) I only managed to get 1 scratch on the screen, and it was due to my stupidity (drunk, tried to wedge it between two rocks, and well... it didn't fit). Luckily, the scratch was under the front camera so it never really bothered me. I admire people who use screen protectors (and I realize they DO protect), but I just can't stand them.

Re: Screen deteriorating / peeling off
 

After almost two years of ownership, I now have this same issue... and I got it while replacing my screen protector... luckily it's just on the earpiece/light sensor area.

Re: Screen deteriorating / peeling off
 

I have one N900 with extreme deteriorating of the glass - will replacing the digitizer be sufficient? I thought about a cheap clone and immediately use a screen protector : http://www.ebay.com/itm/Replacement-...4AAOSwGvhUDDBx be