Your Note 2 Is Not Defective. [Solutions To Common Quality Issues Found On Note 2]

I'm sure many of us have gone through countless returns, replacements, and refunds, with Samsung's range of Galaxy smartphones, believing that our phones were defective as a result of absurd manufacturing anomalies and quality control problems. Though, we are not Samsung factory workers, it appears Samsung has given us some labor. Obviously spending $700+ on a phone is not little. However, according to Samsung, everything I am about to disclose is normal. To alleviate the hassle of dealing with a company that has a pretty poor track-record when it comes to quality control; I would strongly advise not to return your Note 2 to the service center or store for the following reasons,

I have listed common problems some of us have come across; along with are some Do-It-Yourself Tips and Tricks to resolve these minute problems.

Squeaky back cover?
- Ensure all sides of the back cover have clipped in properly; there should be no gaps, the fitting should be seamless
- If that doesn't resolve the squeaking, replace the back cover with a new one (cheap plastic tends to expand)
- Try not to remove and install the back cover over and over again, as that will eventually weaken the plastic clippings on the back cover

Light leaking on sides of home button?
- The home button has plagued Samsung for the past couple of years. But don't worry, your home button is not defective.
- The button is not uniformly seated properly, that explains. As a matter of fact, your home button should be flushed, not elevated above the display. To check if your button has light leakage, go into a dark room, angle your phone while the capacitive lights are on, and verify light leakage in the home button area.
- Solution: Place a piece of tape over the whole button, ensure that the tape is placed beyond the edges and sides of the home button. The tape will help keep the button seated properly and flushed, equally on both sides. Now as long as you massage and use the home button a few times a day, and remove the tape after a couple of weeks, the light will no longer protrude through the sides of the home button.

Black specks / Bezel Chrome Finish production errors?
- A lot of you may not be noticing this; only if you orient your phone at a particular angle, you may notice the chrome paint color inconsistency on the bezel (the chrome paint job was not done properly), black specks will show to some degree; now if it bothers you so much, put a case on. There is nothing you can do about it; all Note 2's have this quality control problem one way or the other.
- You don't have to worry if the metallic painting is not done properly behind the phone, as the back cover will conceal it.

Loose Volume Rocker control buttons / Power button?
- As long as you feel the button feedback and hear the button press on both volume and power keys, but feel that the buttons are loose, use a case, or massaging the buttons for a little while will help.

AMOLED Display Issues?
- Refer to the following thread, http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2108073

I will update this thread if I can think any more things to look out for when buying a Note 2. If you have any suggestions share them in this thread. Hopefully, someday, this thread can have a sticky.

Hope this helps, enjoy your phone!

This thread applies to International Note 2 and U.S. Carrier Variants.

Re: Think You You Have A Defective Note 2 Because of This? Think Again! ['Tips & Tric

Everything you've listed is a reason to return the phone.
When paying this kind of money no matter what the imperfection is , it is unacceptable.
Would you keep a car with these imperfections. NO. why? Because is more expensive?
It does not matter. This phone for me is like buying an Aston Martin and accept it with manufacturing flaws. NEVER.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda premium

No device is perfect; unfortunately, Samsung's quality control is sub-par to Apple's; Plastic, that's all. There is no reason for you to return your phone for the above reasons, especially because you might get something worse in return.

What you are describing with the glass, is something you to show us by posting a picture.

Titanium Grey color Note 2's noticeably have a minuscule gap between the bezel and glass on top.

Just like the Galaxy S3, the Ceramic White Note 2's are notable for the bleeding light around the LED indicators and touch-capacitive buttons.

There is nothing you can do about the above. If that makes you uncomfortable, I suggest buying a different phone model from a different company like LG and Apple.

Do post pictures to show us what you are seeing.

Cheers

Titanium Grey color Note 2's noticeably have a minuscule gap between the bezel and glass on top.

Just like the Galaxy S3, the Ceramic White Note 2's are notable for the bleeding light around the LED indicators and touch-capacitive buttons.

------------------------------------------------------
Any additional solutions will be posted here.

Titanium Grey color Note 2's noticeably have a minuscule gap between the bezel and glass on top.

Just like the Galaxy S3, the Ceramic White Note 2's are notable for the bleeding light around the LED indicators and touch-capacitive buttons.

---

Many have spotted small gaps between the bezel and the glass of the display. I have cross-checked with over '12' Note 2 pieces across several stores, and they all have this gap in various areas, (i.e. top of the unit, bottom of the unit, and near the power / volume controls).

Secondly, although I could not find this on my T-Mobile Note 2 (I even used a magnifying glass to confirm), some of you may have noticed that the bezel is NOT 100% molded. If you inspect closely, you will notice a joint at which it appears your bezel is cracked, but is not. You might find this disappointing, but according to Samsung standards, the joint appearance is completely normal. Some joints (meeting of both sides of the bezel) will be very prominent, and some will not (in the case of mine).

Unfortunately, Samsung does not have consistent quality control with their devices, and you will definitely spot manufacturing variations, but don't be alarmed.

You should really consider these variations as consistent according to Samsung's quality control.
---

Visiting the squeaking back cover again, this sometimes also occurs when the end-user forcefully removed the back-cover by chance. Treat your Note 2 with care.

However, some back-covers are indeed cheaply Made by Samsung, and the clippings are not always made consistently; therefore, you will see different results from unit to unit.

---

An XDA user had asked me if the Grey Note 2's are most affected,

I've seen over a dozen Note 2's and 'Grey appears is most affected." However, it is difficult to confirm because very few stores have the White Note 2 on display in my area. One store did have '2' White Note 2's for demonstration pieces, and I felt they were manufactured through better quality standards than the Grey Note 2.

However, the White Note 2's do indeed have the gap on top of the unit (very noticeable), and I felt like the White units heat up quite fast compared to Grey. The home button on the White Note 2 is not that recessed (feels quite elevated) compared to the Grey Note 2. The light on the capacitive buttons on the White Note 2 bleed very noticeable compared to the Grey.

Hey! One question! Just recieved my note 2 the other day - and I've found some sort of strange thing happening on the top right of the glass of the screen. It seems like there is this really tiny gap between the screen and the body.
Its almost as the screen is just the tad bit tiny on the upper right side! Is this something I should send my phone in for?