lifetime of Kindle screen(e-ink display)

[ellenoc]

I've had a K1, KK, PW, Voyage, Oasis 1, and Oasis 2 with never a failure. The K1 was fine at the time I gave it away, and the KK still works fine today. I used it again for awhile when I donated the PW to my dog club's annual fund-raising sale a week or so before the Voyage I'd ordered arrived.

Once in a great while I see reports of screen failures on older Kindles over at KBoards, but as I recall they've always been on devices much older than 3 years.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by GlenBarrington

I'm not going ANYWHERE! Death is just giving in to peer pressure!

Someone's pressuring me like nobody's business!

[Victoria]

Like so many other members, mine are all still operating fine, going back to the kindle keyboard version.

[nelamvr6]

I've never had any Kindle experience a screen failure. I've always bought the newest model after a couple of years, but always the model I was leaving was working perfectly when I handed it down to a family member.

[graycyn]

I have owned a Nook, 3 different Kindles, several Sony readers and a couple Kobo readers. Not one single instance of screen failure since 2011. It's more or less a non-issue in my book.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[JSWolf]

I've had one Reader fail. That was a screen controller issue and not the screen. I've never had a screen just fail.

I voted else as in no failure at all.

[Richwood]

My only screen failure was due to impact on a Kindle DX. A vacuum insulated no spill coffee mug slipped out of my hand while reading and hit the screen glass. I suspect that most screen failures are due to impacts or due to the frame of the reader twisting due to applied stress such as carrying in a pocket.

[meeera]

I voted "else" because I've never had a screen fail. Never broken one either.

[rcentros]

I think "screen failure" usually means a broken screen.

This princess lives in a glass castle, that princess on a glass hill; this one sees all things in a mirror; they may all live in glass houses if they will not throw stones. For this thin glitter of glass everywhere is the expression of the fact that the happiness is bright but brittle, like the substance most easily smashed by a housemaid or a cat. ...

Remember, however, that to be breakable is not the same as to be perishable. Strike a glass, and it will not endure an instant; simply do not strike it, and it will endure a thousand years.

— G. K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

[isaak]

Originally Posted by Richwood

My only screen failure was due to impact on a Kindle DX. A vacuum insulated no spill coffee mug slipped out of my hand while reading and hit the screen glass. I suspect that most screen failures are due to impacts or due to the frame of the reader twisting due to applied stress such as carrying in a pocket.

My Kindle DX screen has 2-3 permanent black points probably due to impact, but it is still pretty readable. The main limiting factor is battery life.

[Tarana]

20 person discussion group at library - not a single person had screen failure due to anything but direct damage (dropping unit, banged around in a backpack or purse, child under 7). I think the 3 year claim is just a marketing ploy to get you to buy another.

[JSWolf]

The screen is fine, the battery is what causes the problem. Given that most people cannot replace the battery or know of anyone who can, the hardware is still in good condition except for the battery.

[Tarana]

Originally Posted by rcentros

I think "screen failure" usually means a broken screen.
— G. K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

Well, there are different screen failures. There is the one kind where there is an actual break in the screen. Then there is the failure UNDER the screen where that delicate stuff is wounded. For instance, my 'broken' screen worked perfectly fine except in the area where I had grabbed it to prevent it from falling. Had I let it fall, it probably would have been perfectly ok. Instead, I grabbed it and the area where my fingers applied a small amount of pressure damaged the substrate underneath.

It's a reasonable question. It's pretty hard to bust the screen on a tablet without apply considerable force or having it land on a very hard surface. But bending of the ereader frame, as mentioned, will damage the substrate underneath.

[rem736]

the only non-damaged screen failure i've had is the screen on the sony prs-500. at this point, it is 11 years old. the screen failure isn't so much a complete failure as it is showing a lot of ghosting from the previous page. it is ghosting so much that is is difficult to read. this isn't a total surprise as light ghosting is one of the problems of this screen to begin with.

[pdurrant]

I've never seen screens fail through wearing out. Only through broken substrates. Since all movement in an E-Ink screen happens within sealed capsules, I expect their lifetime to be considerably more than 10 years.

The fragility of the glass substrate is one reason why I'm hoping that my next ereader will have a flexible substrate.