[apastuszak]

My wife picked up her Glowlight 3 from her end table last night, and the screen was broken. Has a crosshair in it about a half inch wide run vertically and horizontally that's just dead white. And there's a line across the bottom of the screen showing the "swipe right to unlock" image that won't refresh.

The first thought was impact damage to the screen, but it was just sitting there in the same position it was in when she put it down in the morning, with the cover closed. And the screen doesn't have a scratch or scuff on it anywhere.

Since she's only had the unit since August, I called BN warranty service. I wouldn't have bothered if she had dropped it or there was any sign it had suffered some damage, such as an object was lying on the floor next it that may have fallen on it and bounced away.

I explain the situation to the woman with the heavy accent on the phone and they agreed to send me a new unit. In the middle of taking my credit card number to secure the "ship new unit first" service, the woman tells me if a technician determines that the unit is functioning properly and the only issue is the screen, then they will charge me full price for a new unit. The Barnes and Noble nook warranty does not cover the screen under any circumstances.

Well, I kind of FLIPPED OUT at that point. I told her to check the account and see the 6 different nooks listed on the account and asked her if I might buy 6 new Kobos and use the Kobo store for all my purchases going forward?

She then tells me they can offer me a refurbished nook for $89 if it turns out to be the screen.

Which led me to go through another tirade with her.

Then she offered to grant me a "one time exception" to have the unit replaced under warranty.

I get that e-Ink screens are fragile. But to have a warranty that doesn't cover them at all seems kind of insane.

I also own a Kindle, and once had a similar issue, with me using it in the morning, then grabbing it in the evening and the screen having vertical lines going down the screen. Amazon tech support didn't even hesitate. They swapped it out with a new one under warranty without batting an eye.

Can e-Ink screens just "break" with no impact to them? I've had monitors get funky lines on the screen and get dead pixels that I have had to get rid of. But I know little to nothing if e-Ink displays can just "go bad" over time.