Is Your Screen Cracking?
An interesting information appeared on Engadget today. It seems as if the Zune screens are starting to crack.
If we look at the internal structure of the Zune, you’ll be able to find that the battery is actually located right behind the Zune screen. From a bit of science, we know that by charging the battery up, there will be a lot of heat involved and this will expand the battery. The expansion actually is said to put pressure on the 3 inch Zune screen, thus resulting in a screen crack.
It seems as if this could be the infamous first generation dillemma that many products experience. If this indeed is true, Microsoft should certainly not consider this as an outside the warranty coverage as it is a major problem which seems like it could happen on all Zunes in the hands of the customers.
But of course, being an insider tip, we aren’t too sure about the authenticity of this news. Are your screen’s cracking?
If so, please our Zune Troubleshooting and Problems Forums and inform us.
Trastan said,
http://www.iwantapinkzune.com/?p=122
Looks like it’s debunked.
Escape said,
Woah, that’s crazy. I hope this doesn’t happen to my Zune, if it does, Microsoft better replace it free-of-charge.
ioDi said,
As I’ve stated in the post, there’s a likelyhood that this may be false. Hopefully it is. 🙂
shadow said,
This is a false comment I have been charging my zune all night since chirtmas 2006 and I have had no problems I think this is just a hoax so you dont need to worry because it only expands (and when it expands it expands just a tiny tiny bit) when it gets real hot like when you charge it for 12 hrs which you shouldnt be doing, but if you do for some odd reason charge it for 12 hrs and make it over heat then it shouldnt mess up your screen.
Chris said,
Hopefully this is a false claim… 🙁
lilredsammy said,
This happened to a friend of mine. Same scenario, left on charge overnight and the next morning there was a crack on the inside screen. Just because this has not happened to YOU does not mean it’s false. If the firestone tires on one explorer blows out it does not mean they all do. Anyway, he called microsoft and they told him it was his fault for leaving it on charge so long and they would replace the screen out of warranty for $189. Again, because it does not happen to you doesn’t mean it does not happen at all.
Lisa Watkins said,
I got my husband a Zune for Christmas. It worked one day and wouldn’t play again. My husband called for repair instructions but after 2 weeks on hold over and over, he ask me to do it. It had been weeks since it had worked so I decided to charge it (before shipping it). The next day the screen was cracked. It was never dropped. When I called the Zune number, I was informed they would not fix it for me. I ask why and was told by the representative that I had over charged the battery and that is what cracked the screen. I read the instruction from their pamplet while on hold for his supervisor and it said nothing about over charging the battery. And just how do you know when it is over charged or just right? I told the supervisor I just wanted the music to work and begged them to just fix that. They told me no. For now they were not taking any Zune that had problems not cover by the warranty ie. the screen. I spent hours and called 8 different numbers given to me by various supervisors and it only wasted my time. I am stuck with a $ 250.00 worthless item that Microsoft won’t replace or repair. They wouldn’t even tell me who I could take it to for repairs. Their excuse was “if I take somewhere else for repairs, then the warranty would be no good”! No kidding Mr. Zune Supervisor.
kent said,
This problem is absolutey true!! My brother bought his a week after the Zune came on the market. One month later, the screen spontaneously cracked on the inside. He got the same run-around from M$ as the others in the post. Let me preface the following by saying that there is not a scratch on the device, the case is in perfect condition.
1) Initial call to M$ resulted in them indicating they would repair (they even sent a box to return the device in)
2) Call received, asking if he had received hie “new” Zune. He had not.
3) Package recieved, with his original unrepaired Zune, with a letter indicating that the problem was not due to a manufacture defect, that the LCD screen was not part of the warranty.
4) Called M$ again, this time they say he tampered with it (absolutely untrue, remember, NOT A SCRATCH on the device); spoke with another supervisor who said they would check into it, and never called back
5) Finally, called again and spoke with a (very helpful, sympathetic) representative that indicated that M$ is reviewing the warranty policy, because of the LCD screen problem and possibility of the battery overheating; that once a decision is made they would notify the people who have contacted them with the problem; to watch the Zune.net site for press release. Of course, how long can that take (months, years?)
So, in conclusion, he is stuck with a $250 worthless device and is at M$ mercy.
5)
cheryl said,
Kent,
exact same thing happened to my daughter. I told them they need to be tracking the serial numbers on the ones that are cracking. Maybe they will figure out what is wrong.
Ruth said,
This just happened to my son’s Zune this morning. The customer (no service) representative, gave us a case number and pretty much said sorry you are out of luck. There is no warranty for the screen implouding as I see it. My son’s Zune was loved and carefully kept in a protective cover. He wouldn’t even allow me to touch it for fear of fingerprints. What a waste of $250.00. There should be something we can do. I plan to contact the executives at Microsoft. It’s a shame, because the Zune was my son’s main Christmas gift.
Sharon said,
This is absolutely true. I gave my daughter (20) a Zune for Christmas. She treated her Zune like a baby…always in a cover, not a scratch on it ….never dropped. She removed it from the chareger two days ago….CRACKED screen. She called Zune and was told that it was a problem with the battery but that the screen was not under the warranty. She was then told to find someone to repair it and that she would have to pay out of pocket for the repair! I’m really disappoingted in Microsoft’s response to this problem and hope there will be an effort to make this right…before it becomes a PR nightmare.
barbara said,
my screen cracked and zune will not repair it
Tracy said,
We have the same here….Crakced screen with no abuse to the zune….I called in and was not offered any advice other than to wait untill they had repair centers set up to deal with the issue.
Jared said,
I took great care of my Zune. I had it in my pocket and had it in a case. I took it out and then put it back in. The next time I took it out the screen was cracked. There is no damage done to the exterior.
Jake said,
This happened to my zune, and zune is no longer a warranted product, even if you bought a warranty. Micorsoft is screwing people big time here.
Kami said,
This happened to my son”s zune,too. I am so disappointed with Microsoft
Eric said,
Yup – my Zune’s screen just cracked on my today. I was listening to my Zune today during work and it worked fine – I turned my Zune off about an hour before I went home. I came home and I plugged it in for about five minutes and then I came to find my Zune had a crack on the interior of the screen. I then called Best Buy where I bought it from and they said that I can’t have it replaced, or that I would need to call Microsoft (although I might be able to buy a warranty program Best Buy offers in which they’ll replace it entirely), and then I called Microsoft. They just said their warranty doesn’t cover my problem – and they’re “terribly sorry” (well the representative sounded sorry but MS sure isn’t!
I’m going to Best Buy later tonight to hopefully get it replaced. If not, then I’m screwed over…
Is Your Screen Cracking? - Defend PC said,
[…] Original post by Wired Zune | #1 Microsoft Zune website for everything related to Zune! […]
Monica said,
My son’s Zune screen cracked on May 22, 2007. We took it back to Circuit City. The store manager accused us of breaking the screen. They refuse to take it back. Microsoft customer support refuses to do anything also. They just directed us to call Zune support. Zune support says they don’t cover a cracked screen. The customer support person I spoke with on May 24, J.D., told me that they sell millions of these and if only a couple hundred break, they are doing well. No one will take this to even evaluate what happened. Please tell everyone you know not to buy this product until Microsoft, Zune and local retailers will accept responsibility and service this defective product.
Melissa said,
The cracked screens ARE a real problem and NOT a hoak. I bought my boyfriend a Zune for X-mas and just about 2 weeks ago he went to turn it on and had a huge crack going right across the screen. The player would not turn on and he cannot listen to any music. He called customer service and was informed that the screens are not covered under warranty and there was nothing they could do. The representative then told him that he should make a complaint on the website and maybe if enough people complain, they will start to do something. What kind of customer service is this? I bought him a Zune thinking that Microsoft was a good enough company that there wouldn’t be these kinds of problems and IF there was, they would do something about it. So basically right now I’ve put $250 down the drain. I WOULD NOT recommend a zune player to anyone else.
NN said,
I got my Zune about 3 and 1/2 months ago. I handled it with the utmost care; it was in perfect condition, always in its cover, and never dropped. I loved the user interface and personalization of the Zune. But just today i was watching a video on it then i turned it off. about 15 minutes later i turned it on to play music and the inner screen (not the front glass screen) was cracked. right above the directional keys was what looked like a black splotch (dead pixels?) and white lines extending to near both top corners. the rest of the screen is black, though i can still play music through blind navigation. Searching around today online i found a website with many people who have had the same problem as me (http://crunchgear.com/2007/01/31/zune-battery-possibly-cracking-displays/) Apple admitted to screen cracking issues in the iPod Nano and addressed the problem. (http://news.com.com/Apple+acknowledges+flaw+in+iPod+Nano/2100-1041_3-5884601.html)
NN said,
One thing that would help people like us who have encountered this problem would be for someone to open a website or a certain place to post up pictures of their cracked zune.
Tracy said,
Same issue, everything was fine, then turned it on and the screen was cracked from the inside…can not see to make selections….basically out $250….we got the same answer from MS…sorry not our problem! MS have never cared about their customers and never will….and as far us some people thinking this is a hoax, I just hope this does not happen to you….I am not sure what else to do…complain and report the problem to Better Business and other agencies, and keep complaining to MS. GOOD LUCK to all who have this problem!
Jesus Rosario said,
That’s all true I let my Zune Charging and then found the Screen Craked, I could’t expalin what happen until l’ve seem all this comments. I called and l had the same answer. Now l’m stock with a 250.00 dollars worhtless divice.
matt said,
this is so true it happened to my halo 3 zune now i have to get a new one good thing i got a warranty
matt said,
i just read all your of your comments and read that warranty doesnt work that was a very special gift i received this is horrible
matt said,
people i found out that if you buy a zune you and it cracks theres one way to get a new one for free pay for a warranty at your local gamestop or ebgames and it cost 40$ but it beats it breakin an bein out of 250$ and i to am a victim of this horrid spawened thing called microsoft to so im sorry to people who are suffering like me i thankeyou for hearing me out
marini said,
I’m surprised there are no new posts on this. I found other sites that are loaded with irate Zune customers who experienced spotaneous screen cracking. Now we can add my daughter to the list. Hers cracked after only 6 weeks of ownership, having been meticulously cared for and certainly not dropped or crushed. Microsoft IS REFUSING to discuss the issue. Their kneejerk response it that if your screen is cracked it is YOUR fault!! Eat the $200. I never understood the whole anti-Microsoft thing… until now.
Jose said,
I bought my Zune two months ago and until now it was fine. Two days ago I woke up and put my Zune to charge because I forgot last night and the screen was cracked. When I looked closer I saw that the glass cover was fine but the LCD screen was cracked. Zune customer support wouldn’t fix it and they told me to search online for stores that do repairs. To my surprise I found that I’m not the only one stuck with a useless $250.00 piece of equipment.
matt said,
same thing i was on a plane listening to it fine (was a long flight to Honolulu from Florida)
the music stopped playing so i took it out of my pocket to charge it on my laptop and when i plugged it in my lcd screen lit up cracked. I had a pleasant* conversation with the zune phone line where he told me that i should take it to a repair shop and see if they can fix it and that ms was releasing a NEW zune and that i should buy that…
matt said,
and to who ever said buy a warranty ya i have the bestbuy 2 year warranty and they told me to call ms so ya :(.
steve said,
Same old story, mine cracked after charging, tried to use my extended warranty- no dice, called MS also SOL. funny how a big company can get away with a crappy product.
Zune Rulz said,
The report is false, here are some reasons that it is.
To shed a little light on the subject The battery is thinner than the hard drive.
The battery would have to undergo massive expansion to wedge itself between the rear housing and LCD screen. In fact the battery does not even touch the screen, it rests on the PCB. Another point to consider is that heating of Li-Ion batteries occurs during rapid discharge only (such as a short circuit), not during the charging phase. Finally, the Zune layout is based on the Toshiba Gigabeat which has no record of thermal expansion problems. If screens are indeed cracking the source of the damage is not likely from charging the battery. Until further information is available (such as a photo or a source) we call BS on the rumor.
David said,
Where do you want the photo of my zune with its cracked lcd sent to? No marks whatsoever anywhere on it. I charged it over night and went to get the next morning and the screen was cracked.
Tiffany Moore said,
i bought a zune a month ago. i charged it over night and it did heat up a little bit. but one day i unplugged it and the screan was black with the backlight on and a crack. there are no scratches on it or anything wrong with the outside. i am so mad and microsoft wont do anything about it!
jack said,
Cracked screen here to, no drops no hits, just cracked. A microsoft employee laughed and told me tough Sh=t, I asked to speak to a supervisor and they hung up the phone on me. . they wont fix it period. this is only 2 weeks old
jack said,
just got off the phone with the supervisor ( after having to call back) the supervisor told me to sue microsoft. WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT? I’m not joking
matt said,
Same problem. Was listening to it at work in would turn itself off every 15 minutes or so. Turned it back on, battery had a 3/4 charge on it. 15 min later it would shut off again. Next day, I noticed a fat crack on the screen. Case in perfect condition and never dropped it. Can anyone explain this to me….
G Dog said,
damn, I got mine today, im taking it back today, f that noise