Aura HD affected by moisture/humidity, HELP!

[meeera]

Originally Posted by mihail_bc

the screen wasnt dropped, its just from moisture

Can you explain how moisture would shatter the glass substrate?

[frostschutz]

Originally Posted by meeera

I'm off to take this shattered wine glass to the shops for a warranty replacement.

This one broke by itself. Thin glass, thick bottom, the front fell off
( didn't happen to me, found it on Amazon, happened to several customers )

I still doubt it's a problem with eReaders.

But they are just too fragile in general, it happens to too many people for too little reasons. I hope the eInk that uses plastic instead of glass on the backside will become a standard soon. Unbreakable display is a must have feature for me (even though I never broke one of my own - I also never dropped a hard disk but I still like that SSD survive such things so that's what I put in my laptop).

[mihail_bc]

to meera:

I had it in the car, next to me and was in a cover, inside the laptop bag, in a pocket.

there is no sense assuming it was hit/dropped as I had it under control all the time.

perhaps bad manufacturing if not just humidity/moisture

anyway I wrote back to kobo and told them I want to speak with someone in charge as I demand some payback in the form of a discount and/or free shipping for another one since they obviously cant or dont want to sell me another screen, as post-guarantee.

Not to mention that they dindt specify how fragile they are in the papers that came allong, plus not counting the lame kobo assistance/site support.

I live inside EU and EU consumer rights apply here also and I have a friend lawyer. So, I am thinking of going higher because I cant just let go half of my monthly salary away for some little moisture.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by frostschutz

But they are just too fragile in general, it happens to too many people for too little reasons. I hope the eInk that uses plastic instead of glass on the backside will become a standard soon. Unbreakable display is a must have feature for me (even though I never broke one of my own - I also never dropped a hard disk but I still like that SSD survive such things so that's what I put in my laptop).

Oh, I'd love an unbreakable display on mainstream ereaders too. It would reduce the need for cases, make it easier for schools to lend ereaders to young/careless students, etc. I just get a tad irritated at times at people who persist in calling broken abused ereaders "defective".

[meeera]

Originally Posted by mihail_bc

to meera:

I had it in the car, next to me and was in a cover, inside the laptop bag, in a pocket.

there is no sense assuming it was hit/dropped as I had it under control all the time.[...]
I live inside EU and EU consumer rights apply here also and I have a friend lawyer. So, I am thinking of going higher because I cant just let go half of my monthly salary away for some little moisture.

It's broken. Open the case and look at the back of the display. You will see broken glass.

[soulfuldog]

Originally Posted by mihail_bc

to meera:

I had it in the car, next to me and was in a cover, inside the laptop bag, in a pocket.

there is no sense assuming it was hit/dropped as I had it under control all the time.

perhaps bad manufacturing if not just humidity/moisture.

As meeera states, it is broken, the picture you posted definitely shows a screen with a damaged glass substrate.

The possible damage to the glass substrate could have happened at an earlier time and it's been the 'stress' of the temperature change from being left in the car overnight that has caused the crack to appear and wreck the display. And the damage doesn't have to be caused by you dropping your Aura HD, it could have been while you are carrying it inside your bag, something else in your bag could have leant on the screen and that could caused the damage.

The glass substrate is very fragile in ereaders and the reason there are so many people who complain about it when they haven't dropped their ereaders is that a twist to it or nudge on the screen from a book while inside a bag etc can damage it. The damage doesn't always show immediately and some other minor stress, even just placing it down on a table, the minor bump can then cause the substrate to crack, and then you are left with a useless ereader and an owner who thinks "but I didn't do anything to it?".

Even if you don't use a case when you are reading, if you are ever carrying your ereader with you, it really makes sense to have it in a good case to protect it. Ereaders do seem far too fragile and it'd be great if Kobo, Amazon etc worked at improving the durability of their ereaders instead of little edges in tech performance so they can release a new model every year.

[Athropos]

Originally Posted by Ripplinger

I carry my readers with me all year round, and our weather ranges from -10° to up to mid-90°s F. Occasionally lower and higher, but I usually won't go out on those days. I just keep my reader in a sturdy cover to protect the glass and either in my pocket or a very small purse. I'll also read outside in the low teens to 90°F and I've never had a problem with the weather and moving in and out of buildings, trains, cars, etc.

Same for me, and my Aura HD still works like a charm.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Athropos

Same for me, and my Aura HD still works like a charm.

I suspect the issue here is leaving your ereader in a car that is parked outside in the sunlight. Your car acts as a handy-dandy little greenhouse under those conditions. One study I saw was done in New Orleans with an outside temperature of 93F/34C (close to the highs in Bucharest this past week). Within 20 minutes both cars tested reached an inside temperature around 125F/52C with the cars stabilizing at 138F/59C and 140F/60C after 40 minutes. This is over the maximum temperature eInk quotes for their displays however I'd tend to the belief that the differential expansion/contraction of the display and support structure can and does place excessive stress on the substrate.

After doing some research, I've come to the belief that leaving an ereader or most other electronic devices in a parked car in the sunlight is about as thoughtless as leaving a child or dog in the car under the same conditions.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by mihail_bc

so if i must carry it in the winter how to manage temp diffs?

Personally, I keep my ereader in it's sleepcover in a jacket pocket or in my laptop case. I avoid leaving it in my car unattended for any length of time though winter might be safer but again, avoid sudden temperature stress. Don't leave it in your car overnight in near freezing temperature. Don't leave it in your car on a nice sunny day.

Ever drop an ice cube into a glass of cold water and hear the cracking sounds?

One question, since you mention winter, is when did this happen?

[Sonist]

Originally Posted by meeera

...

But go ahead, look at the shatter marks on that screen, and tell me that it magically broke itself? Your constant truculence on this issue is really pretty exasperating.
....

I'd guess that it's more exasperating to have three out of four purchased Aura HDs end up with screens issues, one after being left on a chair in the sun.

It's notable that out of thirteen Aura H2O reviews on the Canadian Best Buy site, two are about malfunctioning screens (and Kobo's refusal to honor the warranty). Peruse some other reviews of similar products and you'll notice that the Aura is in a class by itself.

I have looked at my Kobos closely and they are poorly made, when compared to the Kindle DXG and the Voyage I currently have next to them. As I recall, my Sony and iRex readers were also well-made.

I understand that your Kobo works, but so does one of mine, over a year after purchase. It doesn't mean that it's a quality product (well, maybe if you compared it to the really cheaper Chinese readers). It's like pointing out to the 105 year old who smokes and arguing that cigarettes are just fine for your health....

Leaving a modern reader in the sun should not result in screen damage. Not if the reader is well-made, from a reputable company. I have done it Kindles, Sonys and iRex and never had any issues. Neither have I seen so many posts about similar problems relating to another mainstream reader. So, pardon my frustration with Kobo.

[koboy]

Originally Posted by mihail_bc

to meera:

I had it in the car, next to me and was in a cover, inside the laptop bag, in a pocket.

there is no sense assuming it was hit/dropped as I had it under control all the time.

perhaps bad manufacturing if not just humidity/moisture

anyway I wrote back to kobo and told them I want to speak with someone in charge as I demand some payback in the form of a discount and/or free shipping for another one since they obviously cant or dont want to sell me another screen, as post-guarantee.

Not to mention that they dindt specify how fragile they are in the papers that came allong, plus not counting the lame kobo assistance/site support.

I live inside EU and EU consumer rights apply here also and I have a friend lawyer. So, I am thinking of going higher because I cant just let go half of my monthly salary away for some little moisture.

hi, i hope your lawyer friend can either get you a replacement or a full refund, i original bought a aura HD myself but i found it too bulky so i replaced it with the aura 6" , and after reading other people having the same problem as you on this forum i'm so glad that i did.

good luck koboy.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by mihail_bc

the screen wasnt dropped, its just from moisture

anyway the bad thing is that Kobo

1- has a very buggy site that makes almost imposible to contact them (bad scripts, no good telephone numbers)

and

2- they dont want to sell screens for cases like this

so I am left only with one solution: throw it away

now, I call this disrespect for client!


I have managed to talk to them finally but they just said sorry for the inconvenience!

Since you wish to throw it away, then you should do exactly that, in my opinion - and in your opinion.

[TimW]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Since you wish to throw it away, then you should do exactly that, in my opinion - and in your opinion.

Throwing it away at an e-waste recycler would be even better.

[frostschutz]

You could keep it, as a spare battery, spare SD card, for your next Kobo.

If you were so inclined you could use it as a devboard (like a raspberry pi), who cares that the screen doesn't work, it still has wifi and stuff, a fully functional Linux platform

Selling it on Ebay might bring a few $$$, see it as a small discount for your next device, who knows.

I could use a broken Kobo Glo/Aura for testing purposes, got a Touch from Ebay, but for some reason the newer Kobos (Glo, etc.) get "high" bids even for completely broken devices. Not sure what people do with them (well, the above, but how many people would want one for that instead of buying an actual raspi?)

If you are very very very lucky you could also find a replacement screen on Ebay. If someone has a bricked reader and for some reason decides to sell rather than un-brick it. Some people might not know about un-bricking... if they can't Google...

It's a dangerous/expensive experiment though, sometimes screens look fine even though they are really broken in reality. This one here is definitely broken ( http://www.ebay.de/itm/Kobo-eReader-...-/231651575343 ). Also some sellers are careless, the defective Kobo I bought from Ebay was shipped in a simple unpadded envelope even though I paid for proper shipping. It's already defective, right, what could possibly damage it any further? *facepalm*

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by mihail_bc

2- they dont want to sell screens for cases like this

I did say that nobody sells replacement screens for their Readers. That includes Amazon as well. So don't complain about Kobo not selling replacement screens. It just isn't done.