Cracked Glass

[WAR]

I know of at least 4 people (via the web) who have had the glass on the rear back side of their Duo crack. 3 of us had it crack without dropping the phone. My crack, as did the others, originates right above the USB-C port.

I have been extremely disappointed in the service I have received from Microsoft. I purchased the Accidental Insurance coverage and it took them 3 weeks to "link" my coverage to my device. After waiting this long, and reviewing my case, Microsoft has decided not to charge me the deductible for this damage. However, my replacement has been authorized and "shipped" for several days and still has not been picked up by UPS according to tracking. Nothing is more frustrating than spending $1,600 for a phone and having to use it for a month with it looking like someone took a hammer to it.

On a positive note, this is the first time I've been disappointed in the service from the Microsoft Surface Team.

 

[Plantje]

Just read, that more people are having this issue. Plugging in the USB plug can damage the device.

 

[sharpuser]

Microsoft seems to be caught off guard on this one. I hope they remedy quickly. Glass clearance around the port must have been engineered too narrow.

 

[bangsters]

Is it the outside glass or the inside? I have mine over a week now, and I installed the entrance on the outside to avoid outside glass from breaking

 

[WAR]

It's the outside glass. Post on the Microsoft Duo forum have people even making sure the Windows Logo is face down when charging so as not to put any additional stress on the port.

My replacement is device is scheduled to arrive tomorrow! Hope it restores as easily as my iPhone. Never had an Android . . .

 

[bangsters]

Hopefully yours gets sorted out

 

[kojack]

They need to build version 2 out of aluminum. Stay with the surface design all the way. Glass on the back of devices is NOT good, just use aluminum or good quality polycarbonate like my 1020 was made out of. That was tuff as nails and felt premium.

 

[Plantje]

Agreed. I have had Samsung Galaxy phones for a while now and although I think they're good phones I would have loved to have phones with build quality like my Lumia 930. That design was fantastic! Nothing wrong with a plastic back cover. The fact that the front is glass...duh.... but I don't see any real advantages of a glass back.
Now, I have a Galaxy S20+ . It is a premium device that feels a lot less premium because it is in a case (the Samsung one) and has a screen protector on it. Why.....?

 

[WAR]

Someone on YouTube mentioned that glass is normally used to facilitate wireless charging (which the Duo doesn't have). They summed it up by saying "all of the disadvantage of glass, with none of the benefits."!

 

[Plantje]

I've had wireless charging on Lumia devices without the need for a glass back (I think)
And as I am typing this I am watching the YouTube presentation from Panos Panay on the Surface Duo. It does really look like a great device!

 

[bangsters]

I really loved my HTC one with aluminum housing. Best phone IMO until HTC tanked.

 

[SB Industrial Designer]

The Surface devices all use magnesium for their housings. I'd hoped this was the "case" for the Duo as well. I was surprised the back surfaces are glass.

Since the screens are Gorilla Glass 5 I'm shocked to see the screen surfaces cracking - it takes a LOT of blunt force to crack glass from the edge of the panel (that's the strongest part of it). There could be a heat issue under the screen in proximity of the charging port. Pointed heat will accelerate the breakdown of glass' integrity.

I think the USBc port fit/cracked plastic issues might be an outside-the-tolerance problem that could be isolated to manufacturing. I'd be surprised if FEAs weren't conducted on the 3D assemblies prior to the design sign off - those would have shown the plastic failure and port clearance issues. That would push the error onto the factory for either part error or assembly error.

I'm not surprised to see the hinge issues we've been hearing about - it's nearly impossible to keep two independent pivots in sync without very stable links connecting them on both panels. Any offset in the rotation of the panels will torque each hinge off its axis.

I NEED to buy a new phone (my S8 is a POS) and desperately want this one but there are just too many problems creeping up. I'm confident that fixes can be found for all the these problems but that means not buying one until maybe the 5th or 6th volume batch - assuming they're making 100K a batch so that their supply chain can control inventory, that means I need to wait at least a year or more to know they've fixed the problems.