Using it one minute. Put in my pocket for 5. Went to use it again and the screen has a hairline crack. I have taken so much care with this phone, it was mint.

Phoned Tesco mobile to be patronisingly told warranty would not cover screen damage implying I must have damaged the phone. Fair enough if it was a rare occurrence, google search says otherwise, they must get a lot of numpties dropping their phones then trying it on.

What to do now. It’s a common fault, google search tells you that. There’s a facebook page with numerous identical occurrences.

I could send it to Sony but if they don’t determine it to be a faulty product they charge £20 to return the phone!! Many people’s experience with this process is negative.

Are my hands tied? Does anyone have experience?

Tesco are also having problems with thier Hudl screen and denying any problems, BBC Watchdog a few weeks ago.

screens are subject to quite a few forces and different temperatures when in use and stored.

had a xperia z1 first issue was the speaker being very quiet. sent to sony and fixed and happy days.

got z2 had some dirt in speaker recess near glass used a toothpick to remove and pop… glass shattered..

rang sony sent away and refused repair. kicked off and the waivered the return charge as “good will” cost me 149 to get new screen fitted but was informed only sony can repair back to full waterproof cert.

got a z3 thinking it was a one off and low and behold put phone in my car holder took out after arriving at work and noticed a crack in the glass near the lhs… again sony refused as no screen damage is covered….

i sold it for spares as the bill was 250 for a whole new screen as they have to be a bonded unit not just a top glass replacement as it can become unresponsive and break again..

never buying sony again after looking at alll the other people with the same issues on forums and facebook.

Not warranty but a SOGA issue with Tesco surely?

It’s a known probem with Sonys cracking (never touch them again). Google throws up a lot of results regarding Screen cracking. I would collect evidence of complaints from the net and talk to the CAB (citizens advice bureu) or contact sony.

Have a look at the Sony forum for others with the same problem.

http://talk.sonymobile.com/

As a balance, I’ve had an Xperia z for 18 months with no problem. I do have it in a wallet type case though.

I’m on my 3rd Z3 compact (£70 insurance excess each time).

First one, fair enough dropped one concrete from fair height, back screen broken.

The second one it just cracked in my pocket.

I won’t be buying Sony again until they get rid of the “full glass” design – its just too fragile, and slippery.

On balance my X10i looks like its been given a good going over with a pellet gun, it’s cracked and still it won’t do the decent thing and just **** die.

a good pal of mine owns a phone repair shop and i dabble with the easier fixes. he repaired mine for me as the sonys have to be sealed correctly to keep the ip rating. i tried the collective complaints but theri terms rock solid. you have to prove its a fault… i did read they had tempered the glass so much for toughness it actually makes it weaker to temp changes ie being in pocket for long period then taken out into room temp can cause cracks.

currently have a g4 lg im a tradesman so my phones dont last long tbf but the lg has taken abuse and still good. get a glass screen guard also i swear by em now.

the new moto looks good. anti crack screen.

claim on contents insurance for the phone maybe?

if the crack worsens the touch will become unresponsive near the crack as sonys screens are a full contact screen unlike apple or samsung which can have chunks missing but still fully function

Went exactly as I expected.

Sent to Tesco Mobile for their engineers to examine. Their stance is that as Sony hasn’t notified them of a fault then it must be accidental damage. Not really sure why they asked me to send it in, unless maybe they thought they’d find a massive dent in the frame and could say told you so.

Sony said I can send it to them for one of their engineers who will go through the same process and tell me the same thing then charge £21 to return the phone. As you said bigphil they deny any fault with the product even with numerous instances.

Tesco Mobile wanted £124 to replace the screen. A local shop wants £60 but their reputation is not very good.

Does anyone know a good repair shop near Halifax?

mine cracked on my desk at work. just randomly cracked.

xperia z1.

luckily my bank account comes with phone insurance. cost £25 excess.

DIY. Its not that difficult. Watch some youtube videos, get happy with what you are doing.
A screen on ebay is 15 quid ish, a pack of spooger tools (blunt, soft picks to get behind hidden clips is about 3 quid.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/23-in-1-Mobile-Phone-Repair-Tool-Kit-Set-Opening-iPhone-iPad-HTC-Blackberry-Sony-/301780450550?hash=item4643843cf6:g:2kgAAOSwA4dWH~0B

Screens are the top layer generally, so its normally a case of taking out two tiny retainer screws, and popping it out.

Get in touch with Sony so they can tell you there’s no problem.

No problems with my Z3 but bought my eldest lad a Z5 3 weeks ago and I insisted that he had a wallet style case with a screen cover. Made bugger all difference and the screen cracked within 48 hrs. 👿

dont recomend it yourself as I tried and failed as its hard to not break things removing them

I got an ebay screen fix for £40 iirc

I did drop my phone though so it was my fault!

For balance I’ve got a Sony Z3 Compact and have had it for over almost a year now. I’ve used it mounted on my handlebars, in a case within a case, on my bicycle for navigating to Turkey aswell as 1000’s of audax miles. Very first thing I did before the first charge was to buy a suitable case and screen protector. Didn’t touch the phone before buying and fitting those two items. The phone’s been fantastic….seriously. It’d have to be to rely on it as an only means of navigation through Europe.

This case…

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00NP2WMP6

and this screen protector for anyone that’s interested

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00OFVQN24

Just watched this Olly https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x56gWKCFst4 and think my sausage fingers would do more harm than good

Don’t think people are really having the problems with the compacts RAGGATIP. I work with a guy who has one and he’s pretty good at breaking everything he touches yet his phone survives.

Mine was in a case with a screen protector when it ghost cracked

I had 3 Xperia Z3’s all crack spontaneously, twice in front of my eyes!

O2 replaced the first two without a problem, the third they refused to issue another Z3 and instead I had the LG G3, which also cracked, I then had repaired and its been as good as gold since.

I was tempted to upgrade to the Xperia Z5 Premium but having seen that this bullshit is still ongoing I think I’ll go for the LG X10 instead.

I hope you got in touch with sony MrNutt.

I don’t know how they can refuse to fix a phone that has a hairline crack in it and a customer saying they didn’t do it.

How would a person cause one single hairline crack in a screen?

Twice I’ve posted this in the last week.
http://www.xperiablog.net/2014/05/30/bbcs-watchdog-investigates-xperia-z1-cracking-screen-issue-sony-responds/

Sony fixed mine in a week free of charge.

Please dont attempt a xperia screen without the correct tools/equipment.

Sony seal their handsets with a special uv activated bonding agent thats expensive and a pig to work with and source.

Cheap chinese screens can become unreaponsive and “rainbow” over time average price is about 60-80 now in a third party shop but most just use a 3m double backed tape to affix new screen.

Phone wont be water tight and whole bonded unit needs replacing ie digitiser and glass as one unit.

They are a bugger as there are other parts affixed to the screen and nearby that are fragile. By all means have a go but damage internals and finish job how pissed will you be.

Ive watched my pal dismantle these and use a uv chamber and the correct adhisive and he hates doing them. Time consuming and a pain. Google local shops and ask above questions and if they offer a warranty etc go with the most recommended.

I had exactly the same issue. Z3 screen cracked for no reason. Sent it to Sony with well worded letter and they replaced for free

Sometimes you arevlucky I spose

You’ve just reminded me of an issue I had with a Sony laptop. There was a bit of plastic round the screen that they broke whilst repairing the screen. I phoned up and complained and asked where they were based. They gave me an address in Edinburgh that was a 5 minute walk from where I stayed. I took a wander round there. It turned out to be an outsourced call centre. However, for some reason the high heid yins of Sony were all in attendance that day. I got a meeting with one of the directors and my issue was sorted out stupidly quickly. You might fluke something similar. Or email the CEO.

For balance, I’ve had my Z1 for 2 years now and although the aluminium surround is battered and the back is cracked the actual screen is fine. It’s not been kept in a case and has been dropped multiple times.
The battery died a few months ago with only 2 months left in warranty and Sony replaced it for free (along with the speaker cover and one of the port covers.
In the same time my girlfriend’s iPhone 5c screen has smashed 3 times and that’s been in a case.

Z3 Compact here, dropped it an embarrassing amount of times until I got a more grippy case…no screen issues but did break the camera button after a drop of less than one foot, they repaired that for free. The compact is clearly more robust (thankfully)

Not just a Sony issue, had the same with a Samsung S6 and Samsung wont warranty it, will not be buying another Samsung and now Sony look like they may not get my business either.

Interesting stuff and good link to the blog post. I’ve just got a Z5 Compact, hopefully the compacts are a little less likely to get this.

I have the misfortune of owning an Experia E4G. Apart from being the slowest phone I’ve ever had, it also magically cracked in my pocket one afternoon. Utter crap if I’m honest.

Had the same with my Z1c.
Using it one minute then gently chucked it onto the sofa, when I picked it up screen was unresponsive and I discovered a hairline crack in the digitiser panel.

No insurance and only £30 for a new assembly, takes 10mins to repair yourself, so couldn’t be arsed with arguing the toss.

I might risk the £21 return charge and send it to Sony with a covering letter.

Not sure what angle to take, whether it should be strongly worded or emphasising the fact I have been very loyal to their brand in the past. I have TV,stereo,PS4 at the moment.

Davidian – Member
Twice I’ve posted this in the last week.
http://www.xperiablog.net/2014/05/30/bbcs-watchdog-investigates-xperia-z1-cracking-screen-issue-sony-responds/

Isn’t this saying that Sony WILL repair them??

From what I’ve read and I’ve read a lot, it seems that they fix the odd few to keep the many at bay. The many are then left even more disgruntled at having to pay £21 to have their useless phone returned to them

Had my Z3 compact for 6 months and despite numerous drops, it has very surprisingly survived unscathed.

Headphone socked borked after 2 months though, seems as common as the screen issue :-\

Are Sony worth avoiding ? A work colleague updated his Sony phone from Kitkat -> Lollipop (Sony update) and the GPS stopped working. Sent it off for “repair” only for Sony to return it still bust. Now having to send it off again with step-by-step why it’s bust instructions.

Stuff that for a game of soldiers. My Stoner Approved ™ Jiayu S3 just works.

Z3C owner here, I’ve dropped it a few times in the past 6 months and no damage to the screen whatsoever. It is in a case (Rinke Fusion, as above?) and has a Gorilla glass screen protector. I keep it in my front left pocket and nothing else is ever kept in there, just in case. So far so good 🙂

I’ve only ever had Sony (or SE) phones, it’s a brand I know and trust and have done for a very long time, at least 40 years. To date I’ve not been let down. However, I wish that I could say the same about Vodafone’s preferred repairers. When the current phone lost the LH channel the repairers seemed daftly ill suited to deal with the task. Not Sony’s fault though.

I have that Rinke case on my Z3C and have occasionally dropped it – nothing major though.

I have the Ultimate Shield tempered glass on mine as well, had the Orzly ones before but they where a bit thin and cracked easily.