Squeaky Aura HD?

[Alphabase]

Ok, I've had my Aura HD since early Nov and it's great. But not too long after I got it I noticed it started to squeak where I gripped it on the right side of the unit. Not too long after this, the left side started squeaking. It only happens when I hold it with one hand and hold the frame with thumb and fingers.

It's annoying and I wish the build quality of the case was better. Does anyone else have this issue? If so, have you found any fix? There just seems to be some "give" in the case that causes this.

[Ken Maltby]

The clips that hold the bezel on the case are easily bent or broken, those of us who have opened and closed the case a number of times have encountered the situation you describe. In my case it is not bad enough that I would consider a permanent fix. This is a problem more for the AuraHD than any of the others.

Luck;
Ken

Something like this, in small doses, might do the trick.

[jackastor]

Originally Posted by Ken Maltby

The clips that hold the bezel on the case are easily bent or broken, those of us who have opened and closed the case a number of times have encountered the situation you describe. In my case it is not bad enough that I would consider a permanent fix. This is a problem more for the AuraHD than any of the others.

Luck;
Ken

Something like this, in small doses, might do the trick.

Actually a very small bead of silicone sealant along the corners will alleaviate the issue and still allow you to access your device if you so choose too to swap out memory cards etc. The added benefit would be you wont have to destroy your device to get at anything if the need arises.

regards

Jack

[cerem0ny]

Originally Posted by jackastor

Actually a very small bead of silicone sealant along the corners will alleaviate the issue and still allow you to access your device if you so choose too to swap out memory cards etc. The added benefit would be you wont have to destroy your device to get at anything if the need arises.

regards

Jack

Hi there Jack (or anyone who might know)

I just bought my Kobo Aura HD and it's squeaky - I've never taken it apart at all! However the squeakiness happens when I apply pressure to the bottom part of the bezel. I'm very determined to fix this!

When you say I should add a small amount of silicone sealant, should I add it just to the outside of the device? Or should I take it apart and then add it?

Very worried about breaking it!

Thanks for any help :-)

[TechniSol]

While I don't have an Aura, of any flavor, if you don't want to open the case your only choices would be to try the silicone on the outside or not at all... If there is a gap between the halves of the case that you can fill with a little clear silicone it might act as a filler\buffer and keep the two pieces of plastic from rubbing on each other. Might be a bit messy. Perhaps less is more.

[Ken Maltby]

The problem is that the design of the AuraHD enclosure has the Bezel, and a layer of IR transmissive black plastic attached to it, as a critical part for the IR touchscreen's operation. The IR plastic must be held in tight to the surface of the screen. I don't see how applying it to the outside of the case could be effective. Silicone sealer has considerable bonding capability, and can be slit apart without breaking the bezel or the rest of the case. So, it would be a good choice for "gluing" the bezel to the case. You would open the case ( and do any upgrades while you have it open ) then apply the sealer as a bead all around the edge of the case. Reattaching the bezel and putting some weight on the device while it sets, should work.

I am adding an adapter to connect the internal uSD to a uSD socket, to create the same kind of slot as the external uSD. When the adapter cable gets here I'll do up a post like I did for the temporary "Quick" one I did already. With one of these in place the only reason to open the case again might be to replace the battery.

Luck;
Ken

[ebrahimpak]

Originally Posted by Ken Maltby

The problem is that the design of the AuraHD enclosure has the Bezel, and a layer of IR transmissive black plastic attached to it, as a critical part for the IR touchscreen's operation. The IR plastic must be held in tight to the surface of the screen. I don't see how applying it to the outside of the case could be effective. Silicone sealer has considerable bonding capability, and can be slit apart without breaking the bezel or the rest of the case. So, it would be a good choice for "gluing" the bezel to the case. You would open the case ( and do any upgrades while you have it open ) then apply the sealer as a bead all around the edge of the case. Reattaching the bezel and putting some weight on the device while it sets, should work.

I am adding an adapter to connect the internal uSD to a uSD socket, to create the same slot as the external uSD. When the adapter cable gets here I'll do up a post like I did for the temporary "Quick" one I did already. With one of these in place the only reason to open the case again might be to replace the battery.

Luck;
Ken

It's great that this forum got an all-around expert like you. Thanks for your advce. Is this squeaking thing -apart from bothering- has any other adverse effects on the device. I mean, maybe one can live with it, trying to ignore the squeaks, what else matters?

[Ken Maltby]

Originally Posted by ebrahimpak

Thanks for your advce. Is this squeaking thing -apart from bothering- has any other adverse effects on the device. I mean, maybe one can live with it, trying to ignore the squeaks, what else matters?

If it gets loose enough, the IR path can be distorted enough so that some positions on the screen will not be detected, unless the loose part of the bezel is held down.

I should find the time to create my own enclosure without a bezel, one that opens from the back.

Luck;
Ken

[ebrahimpak]

Originally Posted by Ken Maltby

If it gets loose enough, the IR path can be distorted enough so that some positions on the screen will not be detected, unless the loose part of the bezel is held down.

I should find the time to create my own enclosure without a bezel, one that opens from the back.

Luck;
Ken

Ok, but I'm not sure how to fix this, since the silicon glue brands mentioned in the forum aren't available in my country (maybe they are, but I'm not aware of them). BTW it would be a great to have a video of this reinforcing process.

[filmo]

Squeaking sounds you hear is plastic rubbing together as case flexes indicating case is not rigid. This can be bad as case flexing can break glass screen when carried to exstreme. Kobo mini uses 6 screws in addition to plastic clips making it a little more rigid and the silicone rubber would also help. Regardless screen glass is thin and easily broken.

He is referring to Silicone Rubber RTV Sealant. Comes out of tube about like tooth paste and cures to rubbery like substance. Listed Wikipedia links as they often available in many languages. (RTV means Room Temperature vulcanized.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicone_rubber
http://www.amazon.com/Permatex-80050.../dp/B0002UEPVI
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DAP_Products
Loctite

[ebrahimpak]

Originally Posted by Ken Maltby

The problem is that the design of the AuraHD enclosure has the Bezel, and a layer of IR transmissive black plastic attached to it, as a critical part for the IR touchscreen's operation. The IR plastic must be held in tight to the surface of the screen. I don't see how applying it to the outside of the case could be effective. Silicone sealer has considerable bonding capability, and can be slit apart without breaking the bezel or the rest of the case. So, it would be a good choice for "gluing" the bezel to the case. You would open the case ( and do any upgrades while you have it open ) then apply the sealer as a bead all around the edge of the case. Reattaching the bezel and putting some weight on the device while it sets, should work.

I am adding an adapter to connect the internal uSD to a uSD socket, to create the same kind of slot as the external uSD. When the adapter cable gets here I'll do up a post like I did for the temporary "Quick" one I did already. With one of these in place the only reason to open the case again might be to replace the battery.

Luck;
Ken

I suppose I need more help, since you recommended opening the device instead of applying the glue merely from outside. Thank you.

[Smartie]

why Kobo has so many quality issues, cannot they just outsource to Foxconn?

[filmo]

Problem with using silicone sealant, you can't control where it flows when top and bottom case are joined. This is could be why double sided tape is used for phones, tablets, and readers by OEM and not sealant to bond top 1/2 to bottom 1/2 of case.

[Ken Maltby]

Originally Posted by filmo

Problem with using silicone sealant, you can't control where it flows when top and bottom case are joined. This is could be why double sided tape is used for phones, tablets, and readers by OEM and not sealant to bond top 1/2 to bottom 1/2 of case.

That could be an issue to keep in mind. The idea would be to use as little as you can. It shouldn't take much to secure the bezel and stop any squeaking.

Luck;
Ken

[filmo]

Surface Pro 3 uses lots of sticky black stuff to glue it together making teardown without breaking something difficult. Thankfully this isn't used by Kobo yet except to secure battery.

http://www.zdnet.com/surface-pro-3-t...en-7000030823/