Nexus 7 Battery/Screen Manufacturing Defect

z3phyr04

Just something I thought others should really be aware of - my own Nexus 7 16GB I purchased when they were first released. My friend has a 32GB model that was a Christmas present.

He had a problem with his last night, it took a very small tumble off the sofa whilst charging and appeared to be broken. I thought it was odd when I looked as there was no physical damage to the screen or the device itself. Basically the screen had gone completely haywire with red/green/white pixels flying all over the screen, yet holding down the power button for 20 seconds showed the Google logo perfectly for a short while before going back to the same haywire display.

It seemed that there was no power at all unless it was plugged in, display would immediately turn off. This made me think the issue might relate to the battery.

Eventually made the decision to pop the back off (there are no warranty stickers etc. and it's held on with retainer clips so there is nothing to stop you doing this). What I found is a bit worrisome - in mine the battery takes up the entire bay and is plugged in very firmly whereas in his the battery cable wasn't connected properly and there was room for movement. It seems the adhesive holding the top of the battery was loose and over time the cable had worked itself loose, the slight fall causing it to finally disconnect.

After reconnecting it the device worked perfectly again. According to the labels inside there is only a month apart between the manufacture of my Nexus 7 and his so if this was changed shortly into production it could potentially affect thousands of people who may mistake it for a broken screen. Quite the design flaw. :eek:

S0litaire

The loose battery connection has been seen a few times in every version of Nesus7. Saying that my 8Gb version never had that problem.

But it did have the weird screen problem due to the battery running flat and I tried rebooting before sufficient charge was available to run correctly!

Magenta

Thanks for the interesting post.
I was about to purchase A Nexus 7 32Gb myself and this post has given me food for thought.

Was wondering if I should buy the 8Gb one instead- what do you guys think?

Thanks.

System

I don't think you can call someone dropping a device and breaking it a manufacturing defect...

kwikbreaks

Magenta wrote: »

Was wondering if I should buy the 8Gb one instead- what do you guys think?

Mostly it depends on how much space you think you'll use. Apps take very little and obviously video/music in the cloud uses little either. It's mostly your own video and music that you copy on that takes up space and you'd store more on the 8GB model than you'd use in several days so you could just refresh it as required with new material. Plus OTG with a pen drive is a cheap option if slightly inconvenient.

z3phyr04

the_r_sole wrote: »

I don't think you can call someone dropping a device and breaking it a manufacturing defect...

Oh come on! It was clear to see inside his that the battery was too small for the compartment which gave it room to move around over time meaning the adhesive would weaken also. I would expect the same effect for people who put theirs in a bag to travel with or playing games in landscape using the accelerometer. Over time it will occasionally get jolted to the point the cable works loose. There was no possibility of this happening in mine as the battery was the correct size for the compartment so has nowhere to move.


Magenta, they're still great tablets! The 16GB has done me well for space and I use it extensively for reading and gaming.

[Deleted User]

I am viewing this on a Nexus 7 32 gb. Got it in January. My one had the same issue with the rampaging pixels when I took it out of the box!.

Enraged (not a pretty sight:mad:) I was in full - I'm taking this piece of carp back to the shop mode - when my son took the back off and sure enough the power connection was loose. So while not a fatal issue, it does seem to me that there is a design issue involved here.

Now that the issue is resolved, I'm perfectly happy with it and would (and have) happily recommend it.:)

WR

S0litaire

Note Google don't sell the 8Gb model any more,
Though you can probably pick one up cheap on ebay

thescouselander

the_r_sole wrote: »

I don't think you can call someone dropping a device and breaking it a manufacturing defect...

I do. Any mobile should be capable of being dropped from a small height without destroying itself.

Magenta

Thanks for all replies.:beer:
Google are selling the 16Gb model, I think that I might go for that intead.:)

Lorian

My 32GB 3G model goes everywhere with me, including weekly flights. hasn't missed a beat.