My prime's screen cracked

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dragonithe

Senior Member
Jun 9, 2010
402
35
So something strange happened to me. I did nothing weird when I picked up my prime but of a sudden, crack.
My prime's screen broke in two over the length of the body.

AnFnU1zCEAA0zMS.jpg:large


I hope that the warranty wont be a problem, but i'm not sure how to handle it.
Should I go to asus directly or go to the shop where I bought it (mediamarkt nl)

I'm also interested if i'm the first person were the screen cracks when the prime is picked up.
 

ringomaz

Member
Apr 30, 2011
9
0
Melbourne
Another broken screen

Just posted on another thread about my TF201 screen turning up cracked when I took it out my laptop bag this morning. It was mounted in the dock at the time and hadn't been dropped or mishandled - just carried to work and taken out.

Unfortunately, the screen isn't covered by warranty and the local ASUS service provider (in Australia) quoted $400 for the repair (parts, labour, shipping). Not sure what I'm going to do (the crack is in a corner and is small enough to live with) but I must say I've lost a lot of confidence in ASUS over this purchase (even before the screen broke I was having crash/reboot problems and crummy WIFI reception).
 

di11igaf

Inactive Recognized Developer
Sep 6, 2010
1,898
739
East Coast
Is the crack only on the inside(can you feel the crack with your fingernail)?
It may be due to heat, it has happened with other devices, and if that's the case and they don't cover it its really f'd up.
 

dragonithe

Senior Member
Jun 9, 2010
402
35
I can only feel the crack on the far right side.
However heat would be a strange reason for me because I didn't touch my tablet for more than an hour so before the fatal pick up.

Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
 

namebrandon

Senior Member
Sep 8, 2010
448
33
Chicago, IL
www.sunny16.org
Don't all of these seem to be originating from the top right, or at least in the top-half of the screen? (Assuming Asus logo is top left). I wonder if it's a hardware revision issue.. Do you all have similar serial numbers?

Wow, that's really frustrating.. :(

So I guess no storing the tablet in the dock (at least not closed, anyway).
 
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geon106

Senior Member
Jan 31, 2010
84
1
Maidstone
so far my screen hasn't ever cracked. But whenever the picture keeps flickering/going fussy/shaking, i'll not put pressure on the edges to try and fix it.

I'm also going to keep paying my extended monthly cover plan too just in case!
 
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spjust

Member
Dec 8, 2010
5
1
Reno
Mine also has a crack in the upper right. It is only noticeable in the right light and even then barely, its about 2 inches long, for now. It is the only thing I have a complaint about. Everything works fine on mine except the GPS and I can live without that.
 
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dragonithe

Senior Member
Jun 9, 2010
402
35
Wow, that's really similar to mine. I just sent mine in for a warranty claim. Not sure they'll approve it, but this gives both of us more ammo for our claim. I've got post at the following link with a video on youtube as well.

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1498237&page=2

http://www.transformerforums.com/fo...er-prime-broken-glass-what-should-i-do-7.html

Here's a video:

http://youtu.be/SL03vjH-TOA

And a pic:

2012-03-03124313.jpg

Yea, pretty much same situation / same result.
At least were not alone in this.

Check out http://www.androidworld.nl/forum/asus-eee-pad-transformer-prime-tf201/30241-scherm-kapot.html

There is a guy with a spontaneous crack in the upper right corner
According to Asus there had been to much pressure on that spot.
Maybe he pinched too hard to get better wifi/ gps signal. ;)
No warranty, cost him 142,81 euros to fix.
Hope you are not the same guy. :D

From the look of it I'll probably be in the same situation...
But let's hope that with all these pictures / occurrences we/I can convince them it's not our fault but a production failure.
Picture of the crack from that link.

Don't all of these seem to be originating from the top right, or at least in the top-half of the screen? (Assuming Asus logo is top left). I wonder if it's a hardware revision issue.. Do you all have similar serial numbers?

Wow, that's really frustrating.. :(

So I guess no storing the tablet in the dock (at least not closed, anyway).

I don't know about the serial number but from the look of the thread that buster6070 posted it's more of a dock problem.
My serial is C10KAS0XXXXX
 

ringomaz

Member
Apr 30, 2011
9
0
Melbourne
Serial#: BCOKA........ here and mine cracked on the upper LEFT, near the ASUS logo.
 

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namebrandon

Senior Member
Sep 8, 2010
448
33
Chicago, IL
www.sunny16.org
Serial#: BCOKA........ here and mine cracked on the upper LEFT, near the ASUS logo.

You're not left-handed are you?

Do any of you think this might be related to where one would grab the tablet to open it up?

that's so strange.. you'd think if the crack was anywhere, it'd be where the dock holds the tablet.. I think I might stick some tiny felt pads on the dock where the top (Asus label) of the tablet comes in contact.
 

buster6070

Member
Mar 1, 2012
7
1
My serial # is BCOKAS0XXXXX
My ATP is in the mail on it's way to a service center. But I've gone ahead and emailed ASUS with a link to this thread. I emailed their "Escalation Mailbox" and simply requested they take a serious look at my tablet before dismissing it as "CID". Also letting them know that this isn't an isolated situation. I would suggest everyone with this problem do the same. It's just to easy for them to dismiss a cracked screen as damaged done by the user.
 

B-Mod

Senior Member
Apr 10, 2011
368
29
My wifes cracked this weekend in the upper left corner, it is ALWAYS docked and almost always on the dinning room table, she uses it as a laptop replacement. There is not a scratch on it! I sent a PM to Gary, I heard nothing back yet. If this is gorilla glass, then they have problems! My wifes cracked in the black area of the glass only, it is hard to even see it, but it is cracked. Hers had really bad light bleed but she did not care, I never would have lived with it since day one. Asus better find a fix for this one, or just recall them all, these problems keep growing.....
 

wstahlm80

Senior Member
Dec 21, 2011
84
15
MetroSTL
This is not a thread I wanted to see...

I have a BCKOSA serial number....I hope that I don't become an active member of this thread....
 

buxtahuda

Senior Member
Feb 4, 2011
1,379
162
Cleveland, MS
This makes me so freaking nervous that one day I'll have a cracked screen.

And how could warranty not cover this? I'd ***** my way into it being covered, if there's no evidence of the user dropping or mishandling it then it defaults to being considered defective doesn't it?

Yours is the only case I've heard of that the Prime wasn't docked. Seems to me like the frame is letting the screen flex too much, but how you'd keep it from doing so I have no idea.
 

namebrandon

Senior Member
Sep 8, 2010
448
33
Chicago, IL
www.sunny16.org
My wifes cracked this weekend in the upper left corner, it is ALWAYS docked and almost always on the dinning room table, she uses it as a laptop replacement. There is not a scratch on it! I sent a PM to Gary, I heard nothing back yet. If this is gorilla glass, then they have problems! My wifes cracked in the black area of the glass only, it is hard to even see it, but it is cracked. Hers had really bad light bleed but she did not care, I never would have lived with it since day one. Asus better find a fix for this one, or just recall them all, these problems keep growing.....


Was it always shut when not in use? That seems to be a common thread, that the "covert crack" always happened after the unit was closed shut..
 
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B-Mod

Senior Member
Apr 10, 2011
368
29
Was it always shut when not in use? That seems to be a common thread, that the "covert crack" always happened after the unit was closed shut..

Yes it is all ways shut when not used. I always shut mine also, but I don' t use mine as much as she uses her's all the time. No damage to case or to inner area of dock. I just don't know, it must be a stress issue. Is gorilla glass this fragile?
 

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  • 6
    Hello all,
    Im new to the prime just came this weekend so have been exploring the forums and this worrys me a lot.

    I work at a pharmaceutical company manking injectable products in glass vials and have had a lot of analytical training on glass damage, fractures etc so i thought id give you my professional opinion on whats happening here. Please keep in mind that this is opinion still as i havent actually examined any damaged unit under a microscope to confirm this.

    from what i can see from the design of the tablet the problem is the hinge stiffness coupled with the thinner design of the TF201. To open the tablet mose users will place a thumb / finger under the top of the screen, hold down the keyboard section and pull open. This will usually be done on a flat surface.

    The issue is that in doing this you are placing stress on 3 main points on the front of the glass screen:
    -roughly the centre (this depends on the structure of components under the glass)
    -bottom right corner
    -bottom left corner

    The highest level of stress will be at the centre of the tablet where in effect you have the dock hinge pulling the bottom one way and you pulling the top the other, its basically the same s you picking it up and bending it, it will crack from the middle.

    What is likely happening is that this is causing stress microfractures within the glass ion structure lattice (potassium replaced sodium if anyone is interested) which you cant see. As the device heats and cools eventually this can lead to a sudden erruption crack across the weakened microfracture area.
    As there is a much thinner metal back on this device it offers less support against this problem.

    I hope this helps people understand what i can see seems to be happening. But once again this is my opinion, most of my glass analysis work is on moulded and tubular glass not sheet glass. I offer this for information, please do not use it as an offical report or expert analysis in any argument with Asus. I havent reviewed any defective units and i could be wrong, its hard from a photo without all the evidence in front of me. I will retract this if it is used legally with Asus.

    ok disclamer moaning out the way, i guess a fix for this would be to loosen the dock hinge,but then you would have a floppy TFP :(
    3
    I can see this happening when closing but the theory doesn't make sense why some crack at the center and some on the top corners. This theory would point to cracks happening by the hinge however

    Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk

    Glass manufacture is kind of complex, especially Gorilla glass which undergoes a process of ion replacement to basically remove sodium ions and replace with potassium within the lattice structure. Working with glass, especially in a mould can leave areas of slightly different thickness. Let me give you an example from my work, slightly hard to see, but in the images below which are magnified 200x there is a small inclusion or weakness area in the glass which following a small impact has then caused cracks to propogate outwards, all due to this weakness.
    Image 1 is zoomed out a bit showing cracks, image 2 is further magnification where you can see the glass inclusion or weakness.
    69212357.jpg


    41126626.jpg

    For security reasons i cannot give any whole pictures of the vial or product name etc. Sure you understand..

    Ok so lets relate this back to the transformer screen. I've done a very basic paint diagram of whats happening. basically there are stresses going in different directions which each time you do it will cause the lattice structure of the glass to break a little i.e. a microfracture. these build up if you keep doing it to eventually give out and crack. its like bending a piece of metal back and forth, same idea.
    84632121.jpg

    So here you can see the main points of oposing stress and where they come together. See if your tablet bends slightly when opening it in slow motion.

    As for the corners. as the tablet is held in place at the bottom by the doc the areas of most stress are usually at the edges of holding (not always) and so again area likely to crack.
    72866678.jpg


    Once again i dont have a tablet yet, this is my informed opinion on whats happening...

    hope this makes a bit more sense.

    ---------- Post added at 11:58 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:55 AM ----------

    @Hawke84 Thank you very much for your informative post,

    was kind what I was thinking but in a more caveman fashion.

    Just to update I emailed and messaged some people in Asus and have now had a phone call from service director in the UK. They are going to collect the unit tomorrow ,hopefully, and get the unit under review.

    its all starting to make sense as i never really used the device away from the keyboard, as that was one of the main reasons i purchased it, using as a note take during lectures.

    id be interested to know their output on it. I've emailed Gary as im considering sending my prime straight back without even opening it if this is basically a design fault they are not going to cover. Ive found i can get insurance for £50 a year so might take that out as another option..
    3
    Thanks! Can you share a photo of that..?

    So you put them near the hinge? I was thinking in order to keep the tablet level, you'd need to put them on the track-pad side.. furthest from the hinge..

    maybe it'll make more sense when I get my unit in, since I've never seen the tablet / dock in person.

    It looks like (from the link) those are 2.1mm thick, which match up with the 1/4" diameter rubber feet in my order (6.4mm diameter x 2.1mm thick)

    Stock keyboard dock has 3 black rubber things to keep the keyboard and tablet from touching. 1 is below the touchpad, one is to the right of the end/ right arrow key and the other is to the left of the ctrl key, there are 0 spacers on the back by the hinge. When the tablet is closed to the dock if you put pressure by the hinge you can see the slightest of flex because there isnt anything to prevent that side from being compressed and causes stress on both the tablet and the hinge. By putting the 2 half circles, one on each side of the hinge, it takes up whatever space there was and now there isnt any flex.

    I HIGHLY RECOMMEND PEOPLE DO THIS, WORKS PERFECT!

    PS I will try and get a pic up shortly.

    IMG_20120306_115720.jpg
    2
    Oh yeah, definite issue, as just about every single Prime that stays docked will be prone if left "vanilla" by the owner.

    I've always closed/open mine just by putting a bit of pressure on the lower half of the Prime and pulling my keyboard down or just letting gravity pull the screen back, I've always been skeptical of exactly how sturdy and durable the docking mechanism and general build of the tablet are.

    It's beyond sad to see this actually happening though. And that ASUS is trying to put it on their users' backs when it's their tablet and their dock designs, though a "revolutionary" thought and movement, which hold all the guilt; it's particularly depressing to think that at any time the screen could develop a crack and that the manufacturer's warranty isn't going to do its part.

    I surely hope we see some replacement screens being sold at reasonable prices online at some point, otherwise this is just a ticking time bomb of even more dissatisfaction.

    Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using XDA Premium HD via my tethered HTC Vision

    I sent in a tip to Engadget letting they know of the issue with a link to this forum.

    I hope others will do the same with other tech sites and get the word out, this isn't right, no one should have to pay for a repair that is just from general use.
    2
    I've ordered some self-adhesive clear rubber feet to stick onto the dock where the top of the screen "lands".. I didn't know what the clearance is, so I just ordered 4 (should only need 2 or 3, but I mess things up very easily..) of each of the sizes below. we'll see which fits the best.. that's width x height

    12.7mm X 1.5mm
    12.7mm X 3.5mm
    6.4mm X 2.1mm
    9.5mm X 3.2mm

    Here's a link to where I ordered from.. total after shipping was $5.10 and they do appear to ship internationally if those outside the US are interested and can't find local sources.

    http://www.westfloridacomponents.com/RubberFeet.html
    (scroll to the bottom for clear)

    I went to staples and bought Scratch guard brand crystal clear surface protectors 3/4", they come 20 in a pack. At first I put one whole one on each side of the hinge, but I found it wouldn't fully close, the reason being they went to far down. So I cut one in half, flat side to the back of the dock, rounded side towards the keyboard, these are perfect now, the right thickness and the Prime fully closes to the dock like normal. The are nice because they are clear, stick very well and are the right thickness if applied correctly.