More claims of cracked Zune screens
By Donald Melanson 
posted Mar 5th 2007 12:54PM
posted Mar 5th 2007 12:54PM
While earlier reports of Zune screens cracking from battery pressure didn't exactly prove to be widespread, that hasn't stopped others from supposedly finding new cracks of a different sort, although the cause of them remains unclear. As the shot above courtesy of Cliczune.com shows, at least one of the cracks appears to have occurred on the LCD panel itself, with the Zune's screen protector remaining intact, which would seem to preclude damage as a result of direct impact. What's more, according to Cliczune, another of its readers reported hearing a popping noise just before their screen cracked, and yet another reportedly sent their cracked Zune back to Microsoft for repairs, only to have the newly replaced screen crack a week later. That said, the problems still appear to be relatively few and far between, so if anyone's had some unfortunate Zune experiences of their own, feel free to let us know about 'em.
Not only did the LCD crack without abuse, but Microsoft doesn't even have the ability to repair it. They offered no help. Faulty product and horrible business practice to manufacture something you can't repair.
My zune screen cracked and i called microsoft and they told me that i had to of abused it and i didnt. So they treated me like crap and their warranty sucks cock. I think microsoft should go back to selling software the only half-way good think they made was the 360
My zune screen cracked and i called microsoft and they told me that i had to of abused it and i didnt. So they treated me like crap and their warranty sucks cock. I think microsoft should go back to selling software the only half-way good think they made was the 360
This claim of cracked screen is not fiction. I bought a reconditioned zune in January, by February, it was cracked for no apparent reason. I filed a complain online about it with the Michigan Consumer Affairs Division. Microsoft would NOT fix it and couldn't even tell me where it could be fixed. They said it wasn't covered in the warranty and they said to take it to a cell phone repair place and see IF they would fix it. MS SUCKS.
I bought my 15yr old son a Zune for Christmas. He did nothing but set it on his night stand to charge and when he picked it up the LCD screen was cracked. I can't believe Microsoft wants to blame the customer for this problem. I have read to many issues with a cracked LCD screen to believe this is a users problem. My son called tonight about the cracked screen and was told to bad, not under warranty. That's just not right. There must be something we consumers can do. It's tuff as a parent to see your child so upset because he knows he didnt do anything to cause the screen to crack but yet they want to blame him for misuse.
yea so my red zune screen cracked within a week of buying it for no reason. and the worst part was microsoft wouldnt replace or repair it. and when i bought it i bought insurance from target for an extra year and they still wouldnt do it so a wasted $300. thanks microsoft.
I am an attorney with a consumer protection / class action law firm in North Brunswick, NJ.
My firm is currently investigating consumer complaints concerning the cracking or breaking of the internal LCD screen of the Microsoft Zune during normal use.
If you or someone you know has experienced this problem, or have information you believe could be helpful, you may be eligible to join our investigation. Please call Jon of Galex Wolf, LLC at (732) 257-0550 or e-mail your name, contact information, and circumstances to info@galexwolf.com. For more information, you can also visit http://www.galexwolf.com/sub/microsoft-zune-galex-wolf.jsp
Thank you.
my screen cracked today when i was at school. i was just listening to it and the backlight went off, and when i turned up the volume, there was a giant black spot on the left middle screen, and had spider web looking cracks all across the screen. but of course microsoft can't fix, or replace anything they make. which is why they suck
I recently noticed a crack on the inner LCD screen after charging Zune all night. There wasn't any impact to it and it still works but you can't see anything on the screen except the crack. Contacted Microsoft and of course they won't do anything for me. Attempting now to bring it to Office Depot where originally was purchased.
I always read engadget and autoblog, I have a Red Zune 30gig my mom bought me for christmas I was trying to sync more chelsea lately pod casts which usually take upwards of two hours for the program to convert the tiny episodes and load them on my zune, I returned to my computer like ten hours later and the screen has line running through it and is black and white displaying nothing at all! I am just devistated....I'll contact repairs/warranty during business hours and post a response. God Speed Ya'll
My son's Zune's screen cracked in June after only having it for about 35 days. I called Microsoft and complained and they said the screen was not covered under warranty. I told them about all the battery comments on the internet and they simply said that according to their research this information was totally bogus.
I thought I had no other recourse until I read someone's blog about complaining to the Attorney General. So I did and was immediately contacted by MicroSoft. The MicroSoft representative continued to deny that there was any problem with their product but said that they would look at my son's Zune and if it didn't show any signs of abuse that they would replace it with a new Zune. They wanted to make sure I understood that they were not admitting that there were any problems with their product, they were just making an exception for us. Well we sent in the Zune, MicroSoft paid for the shipping, and they ended up sending my son a brand new Zune.
The postscript here is that the new Zune they sent broke within a week and we had to send that one back as well and he is now on his third Zune which has also broke (the hold switch came off in his pocket).
They DO crack for no reason!!!! What the heck?!? We didn't have ours for a full week and we got the spider web crack. Again nothing on the surface, just the lcd screen. Watched in the am, pulled it out about an hour later and crack. Call and all you will get is an "I'm sorry" and then another phone number to hear the same appology. No help at all. DON'T BUY ZUNES!! They are not worth the money or the hassle.
add me to the unfortunate list of the masses :(
same problem i just got my zune 2 weeks ago and charged my zune over night about 10 time and when i used i heard a poping sound and my zune was cracked insidebut the outer screen was perfect.
AND IT MUST BE SOMTHING INSIDE THE ZUNE I MEAN FOR EXAMPLE LETS SAY YOU GET STABBED WITH A KNIFE GOD FORBID AND THERE HAS TO BE DAMAGE IN YOUR SKIN FOR THE KNIFE TO GO IN YOUR BODY IT CANT BE THAT IT JUST DOES NOTHING TO THE SKIN AND THE YOUR MUSCLE GETS CUT. SO IT IS A PROBLEM WITH THE ZUNE
Add me to the list, I am a pretty big fan of Microsoft usually after all I live in the Seattle area and work in IT, but this is just asinine to not cover your product under warranty for a defect that is obviously on your side. I am an adult I've had my Zune 80 for 3 months. Never dropped it never crushed it in any way it would not turn on all of a sudden would show the splash screen and then turn off, I turned in a support ticket but while I waited for them to send me a box to ship it in I had it in my office plugged into my USB. all of a sudden I was looking at it tonight and teh screen is now bulged and cracked out from the inside. I havnt even been using the thing for the last week. Now I call them to tell them the development and I am told it is not under warranty so they will not even look at it but charge me for shipping if I send it to them. Microsoft sure makes it hard to love them.
I had my Zune for less than a year and my screen cracked for no apparent reason. It was fine when I plugged it in to charge and when I came back to it, it was cracked. Nothing fell on it...there was no pressure...it just cracked. And yes, I have the 30GB version! Microsoft will not cover it, so I have to wait for their warrantly to expire before the one I purchased with OfficeMax kicks it. I hate it!
haha my zune is only a month old and i live in the philippines so u think u know where i can get it fixed? and why doesnt the warranty cover cosmetics :| P.S. I hace cuzins in arizona and NJ nd LA , so do you know a place where i can find a place to fix ?
Same story as others. We have three Zunes, one screen cracked after 8 months with no abuse. MS support says not covered. Here are two links for repair parts and service. http://www.rapidrepair.com/shop/3020-microsoft-zune-lcd-screen.html and http://www.pdasmart.com/zunerepaircenter30gb.htm I might try the attorney general route just for the sake of justice.
Now, we are now aware that this isn't an isolated incident. Zune co. Microsoft need to take this seriously, Today, by surprise a spider crack beneath the screen. Less tha 4 weeks old. I will be returning this to the store we purchased it and not even replacing it as this can happen again.
a girl had a ring on and hit my zune 30 wen it waz in my pocket and i took it out 2 watch a movie in class and it was like a spider shape crack on the front
but i can still play music but i do not no wat i am playing
I'm baaaccckkk....
I had the same problem that everyone else is having and I wanted to share my experience and resolution to this matter. Just like everyone else, when I called Microsoft, they claimed they wouldn't replace it. I contacted Office Max because I purchased an extended warranty through them. Office Max told me that I just had to wait for Microsoft's warranty to expire and then they would replace it. So I waited the additional 6 months for my Office Max warranty to kick in and called them.
Can you believe the rep at Office Max claimed that because it was an "existing condition" I couldn't get it replaced through them. As upset as I was, I remained calm and explained that someone at Office Max TOLD me to call back when the warranty kicked in and they would replace it. Nevertheless, she stuck to her story and wouldn't budge.
I calmly asked for a supervisor and explained the situation to her. She reiterated what the original rep said, but after I explained that HER company said they'd fix it, she stated that she will go ahead and "do me a favor" and allow me to return the Zune, which I did.
I received a Office Max gift card for the full value of my Zune. Do you think I bought another one? NO WAY! And even if I wanted to purchase another Zune, Office Max no longer carries them. Hmmm...i wonder why?
I purchased an Ipod Touch and I'm loving it! Yep...I spent a lot more money for it, but I know that I have a QUALITY product. My best advise is, if you purchased an extended warranty from a retailer, try my steps --- it worked!
my first zune didn't make 24hrs before it died.. due to me following the directions provide in the user manual instead of online at the microsoft website... the restart process if not completed kills it
returned to walmart for a replacement.. I dropped the next one from a seated position onto carpet. the screen cracked then it started jumping through songs until it tried them all and said that all the data was unable to be found.. it wouldn't respond.. not even to turn off and went to an error message until the battery died. sorry Microsoft but you suck.
Can anybody update me.. abt the class action against MS for cracking of Zune screen...
Sure, three or four broken Zunes doesn't sound like a lot, but that's like a 10% failure rate!
Best. Comment. Ever.
I just had mine last week and I took very good care of it. Never put pressure on or dropped it, I swear.
The screen just cracked yesterday for no apparent reason. When I called Zune support team, the person who answered my call said he had the same problem too (his was a spiderweb crack, whereas mine was a single line crack). I was told that there's no authorized repair dealer for this device yet, and MS is not taking responsibility anyways.
I have had my zune for a lil over 2 months. While not using the zune, i put it in my purse. About maybe an hour or two later, i attempted to use the zune and noticed the internal crack within the screen (spiderweb looking), but the screen itself is not cracked. When I called microsoft to inquire about this issue, microsoft said that when this happens it voids the 1 year warranty, but the guy couldn't tell me how this occured, so basically everyone is screwed. It would be nice to know the cause of this internal screen crack issue, and you would think Microsoft would have the answers. Maybe we should call the news or aware the public about this issue. More than likely it will cost more to fix the damn thing, that what we paid for it.
Be thankful for those out there with zunes that are not experiencing this problem. It sucks when you know you did nothing wrong, and there is nothing that can be done about it.
Two Zunes here in front of me, I bought them in December and both the screens are perfect, my wife even dropped hers onto a concrete floor and it still works perfectly.
I hope we don't have issues :)
Your wife probably thinks you're a cheapskate because you didn't get her a custom-engraved iPod Nano in Pink... so act smug all you like until the divorce papers come through ;)
Has anyone ever gotten a new one after reporting a cracked screen? Because I used mine nearly everyday since Christmas kept it in a case and everything and it cracked! I'm so upset. I want my zune back.
@Nick
Your obviously an idiot first. What makes you think iPods are better than Zunes? They both play music, video, pictures and radio. Oh wait. iPods don't have radio or WIFI! All that Apple advertising is poisoning your mind to think iPods are the best, well buddy your wrong.
- Proud zune owner.
My zune always gets tossed into my pocket and the screen is scratch free. I also have dropped it onto the concrete floor in my garage as well as dropping it a good amount of times will running in the gym. It was a christmas gift and I debated taking it back because of the bad rap, but I used it and am in love! Much better than my iRiver H320, but then again, what isnt.
Ahhh crap, those Microsoft marketing people are back at Engadget again!
"...yet another reportedly sent their cracked Zune back to Microsoft for repairs, only to have the newly replaced screen crack a week later."
Wow, that person must just have extremely bad luck...or is seriously mistreating his or her Zune. Come on - I've seen no indication that the Zune would be any more susceptible to screen damage than any other portable device. I've used mine daily since Christmas and my biggest complaint are two isolated specs of dust under the screen.
I'm wondering if this has anything to do with Zune's being left outside or in cars when the temperature drops well below freezing. The last group of liars who claimed their battery broke their screen were already proven wrong, we'll see if this bunch are also crying wolf.
For those people whose Zune doesn't have a problem, good for you! But yours is fine doesn't mean that others' claims are false.
"at least one of the cracks appears to have occurred on the LCD panel itself, with the Zune's screen protector remaining intact, which would seem to preclude damage as a result of direct impact"
I've never even seen a Zune in person (I don't think they're even being sold in Canada yet), but is it possible that the screen protector is flexible enough that it could crack the un-flexible glass LCD screen, while itself remaining intact?
All I see is an impact crack, you can clearly see the place of impact.
Its a fake ... he found some douchey picture of a crack, opened it on the Zune, put it to sleep and woke it up with it still loaded. The video is chopped. I have a Zune, and I LOVE it.
Stupid people suck.
Not a fake, happened to me. but i had a reason my fault really, girl friend sitting on my lap, zune in back pocket with headphones wrapped around it. Kinda weird that it just randomly broke for him, all though the battery is right behind the screen, and if over heated it could expand, so i guess that could crack the screen on the inside. but im pretty sure mine was my fault, because my girlfriend and i both heard it crack.
Happens all the time with the Ipod as well.
I leave my Zune in the dock all the time and I've never had a problem.
I just don't see how this happens. Are these folks using a third party AC adapter? I leave mine charging overnight all the time and nothing happens... It can't be the temperature change because I take mine with me every time I go to work, and that's a 45 minute walk in the Minnesota winter each way. The battery thing got shot down real quick, so I'm calling shennanigans.
This is absoultely ridiculous. I've had a black Zune since the beginning of December, and not even a scratch has marked it, much less a cracked screen. Most likely these people are just fanboys that like to show off how the zune is "inferior" to their ipods. I bet they all use the same pics or send broken Zunes by mail to other comrades. This just happens to a few people by the way. Just like there are many ipods that have been broken in the past years. I bought 2 of them before, 1 broke, and the other just really lost it's quality. So Engadget, it's not use making up these Zune stories.
This has already been proven as inaccurate.
Just go look at http://www.iwantapinkzune.com/?p=172
There has been no proof of any form to say that a zune screen cannot break due to a battery defect. The simple qualitative analysis provided in the previous posting is of such 2 dimensional thinking it cannot be offered as any sort of prove only MS propaganda. Now I'm not going to sit here and call anybody Liars as many other posters have done already. What I would say is unless any of you have actually seen a cracked Zune, disassembled it then performed a full 3d stress analysis on the device to find out how it cracked in the first place then please reserve all judgment on the issue as you are not qualified to make such an assessment. I have offered speculation already on the possibility of these devices breaking and potential but that is still speculation I would love to actually dismantle a cracked device for evaluation at my lab.
What I will say is this I am happy that many have had great experiences with there zunes. I have used them myself and despite some bugs in the software I think the zune is a good device. That does not mean, though that other users have not encounter cracked screens. I would surmise that there are some customers who have had these issues, and I hope that these incidents are in the minority. But do not think that just because you have had a great experience that someone who has not had such a satisfactory experience is simply making things up.
AC, maybe you should ask for a raise @ apple. We arent trying to market the Zune, most people just try tell the truth when they have experienced a decent product. Anytime I experience a good product I try to spread the word, just as I would when something goes wrong. The problem is that most people dont let it be known that they had a good experience with a product, only the bad experiences get broadcasted. If you trusted everything you read you would be under the impression that nearly all electronics, cars, everything, are absolute pieces of crap.
I've actually seen a cracked screen at school and from what a kid said, MS deems it not economically sound enough to actually repair the screen.
AKBlade13
Ahh... I remember when I was young... We used to buy portable music players to listen to our music on... Kids nowadays seem to use them for identity...