Kobo Aura Screen broken?

[Bakkie]

Hey There, new on the forum.. unfortunately not for a good reason It looks like the screen of my 1 month old Kobo Aura is broken.. I just picked it up the other night and there where those black and white lines on the screen with some of the cover of the book i was reading visible.

Later today a few horizontal lines appeared as well. It was not dropped or anything, but cant remember if anything else happend... So I just was wondering what the opinion of the experts was on this..

If have made some pictures of it: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/4s0sjlpju1x70ey/xxSVjPbwlH

The last one is of the book (cover) i was reading the last time.. you see parts of that cover are visible when using the ereader..

Edit: Another thing.. I tried the reset button.. but it seems that wont do anything.. Pressed it 1 sec and tried holding it for a few secs. Tried when turned off and turned on...

What do you people think?

[pauli]

from the pictures I can see that the glass of the display that holds the pixel electronics has cracked in the lower right side. The only way to fix this is by replacing the display.
Sorry, no good news...

[Bakkie]

Originally Posted by pauli

from the pictures I can see that the glass of the display that holds the pixel electronics has cracked in the lower right side. The only way to fix this is by replacing the display.
Sorry, no good news...

Thanks for your reply Pauli, I guess this can only have come from the impact of something on the screen? In case of warranty etc.

[pauli]

Bakkie, do you see any damages on the front glass of your reader? If something hit your reader from the front, I think that part should show some damage.

Another possibility is that the reader was hit front behind. On the location of crack, the connector for the battery, a chip and a screw are located on the inside of the reader. These all are a bit thicker that the rest of the electronics. Maybe if the reader was pressed at from the backside, it has pushed the display forward and caused a crack.

[Bakkie]

Originally Posted by pauli

Bakkie, do you see any damages on the front glass of your reader? If something hit your reader from the front, I think that part should show some damage.

Noo there is no damage on the surface that would indicate something hit the screen.

Edit: Like i mentioned before that after a while more horizontal stripes appeared. Now however I cant even seem to turn it on anymore.. When i trie to turn it on I only see a orange light blinking next to the on/off slider.. I have no clue if that light always was blinking when turning it on/off or not... Could someone check that, I would be most grateful!

[soulfuldog]

In ereaders it's usually the glass substrate underneath the top screen that has cracked, therefore you can't see or feel any damage to the top surface. If a hard object has been leaning against the screen putting some pressure on it, that can cause damage to this glass substrate, and it isn't always immediately noticeable. In some instances it will work ok but then it gets a very slight knock and that is enough for the damage to turn into a crack. A bit like a chip in a car windscreen which only turns into a crack when you later drive over a pothole!

[Josieb1]

Did you have it in a case, if so that might show evidence of what happened.

[Bakkie]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I did not have my ereader in a case, was planning to buy one but did not get around to buy one yet.. If only I would have know how fragile those ereaders (E-ink screens) where..

It's really a annoying thing, because I'm sure if I deliver it to the store I bought it they are going to tell me it will not be under warranty. Even though there aint a scratch on the screen surface.

You would expect a product like this to work for more then 1 month.. I always take good care of my products but if these screens are so fragile they at least should be a warning of it.. I mean you don't expect a mobile phone/tablet screen (even the old ones back in nineties) to go get damaged if there is even the slightest pressure on it..

Another question: Is Kobo the only one that has these extremely sensitive ereaders or do all ereaders (with e-ink screens) suffer from this?

[Athropos]

Originally Posted by Bakkie

You would expect a product like this to work for more then 1 month.. I always take good care of my products but if these screens are so fragile they at least should be a warning of it.. I mean you don't expect a mobile phone/tablet screen (even the old ones back in nineties) to go get damaged if there is even the slightest pressure on it..where..

Maybe it's just bad luck and you got a faulty one, in which case you could ask the vendor to exchange it for a new one. But if you broke the screen yourself, not sure the warranty would work.

As for the fact that the screen is fragile: I bought a Kobo Aura HD 4 months ago and I've been taking it with me everywhere since then. I take the train to my workplace everyday and read in the train twice a day, and nothing ever happened to it. Of course I have a cover case, which may explain that...

[Ripplinger]

Originally Posted by Bakkie

...
Another question: Is Kobo the only one that has these extremely sensitive ereaders or do all ereaders (with e-ink screens) suffer from this?

Don't forget that it is still glass, and the larger the glass screen, the easier they seem to have a breaking point. I never take my readers out without a cover, even an object pushing up against the glass n a backpack or purse can easily cause a tiny invisible break.

I would try to take it back to the store if it's really only a month old, they may cover it under warranty. And then I would invest in a cover.

SquareTrade has excellent warranty programs, I've gotten 2 in the past for an extended 3 years for only $35 or so. Watch for when they're running 35% off their protection plans, it might be worth it for you.

[soulfuldog]

You probably have just been really unlucky Bakkie, but it is true that all ereader screens are somewhat fragile. Though like the others who have posted, if I take my ereader out with me, I have it in a case. I have dropped my old Kindle Keyboard a few times on the floor while just in a silicone skin and the screen has never been damaged, but they do seem more susceptible to damage from pressure of another object pushing onto the screen.

You can try returning it and saying it hasn't been dropped and you are completely unaware of how the screen has been damaged and try to argue with them it's not fit for purpose. Good luck!

[Bakkie]

Just came back frome the store, told them i wanted to return the product because it was broken.. The girl right away knew wat was wrong and even told me she had the same thing with her ereader.. She asked if something fell on it or if i dropped it. I explained to her it alway lay next to my bed and nothing fell on it.. After that she told me i could exchange it for a new one or get my money back... Just like that...

Apparently they did not had the kobo aura in stock anymore because this model was going to be replaced by a new model... I thought this was strange because the kobo aura is the newest model from kobo and even newer then the kobo aura hd...maybe this model had problems??

Now only i have to decide if i buy the same one again or a other model/brand. Maybe i look into buying a kindle, i think they are being sold over here(Netherlands) to nowadays.. I mostly buy ebooks from unknown authors that only sell there books on the amazon store anyway.

Anyway i wanted to thanks all of you for your replies! Next time i'm putting that ereader in a cover right away!

[ktkat1949]

[QUOTE=Bakkie;2745916]Thanks everyone for your replies. I did not have my ereader in a case, was planning to buy one but did not get around to buy one yet.. If only I would have know how fragile those ereaders (E-ink screens) where..

Hi Bakkie (that's my hairdresser's name too!)
My one month old Aura was knocked off my desk last night and is toast. I
called Kobo and they confirmed. I had more problems with it in the last 30
days than I can tell from having to replace it due to defective device to weeks spent trying to get on internet. Frankly I am glad it is gone. Have ordered a Google Nexus 7 tablet which I should have done in the first place. If you go on the internet they do have a reputation for being very fragile especially the
screens. I figure they were crap to begin with and now that is why they are going out. Sorry it is tough to lose that kind of money so fast. I should have taken the money and bought lottery tickets instead.

[ischeriad]

Hello Bakkie, nice to hear that you got a replacement.

Originally Posted by Bakkie

Another question: Is Kobo the only one that has these extremely sensitive ereaders or do all ereaders (with e-ink screens) suffer from this?

In my experience, iRiver devices were even more fragile. Between a friend and me, we have had one faulty screen, replaced by iRiver, and four cracked screens on iRiver Story and Story HD. Even though some of them broke in rough circumstances, my feeling is that my Kobo Touch would have survived. I really liked the Storys despite their quirky firmware, especially the display and typography on the Story HD, but I cannot afford buying (and possibly breaking) another one.

My Kobo Touch is fine, I carry it most of the time in a soft, padded sleeve in my jacket's inner pocket and have no worries.