How to Avoid Breaking the Streak LCD or Gorilla Glass and What to Do If You Have a Broken Streak

I took my Streak back to the O2 shop where I bought it a few days later, because of dust on the inside of the camera lens. The assistant manager took it into the inner sanctum of the shop to get me a replacement. He came out a few minutes later, looking a bit shamefaced, and told me that he'd dropped it on the floor and smashed the glass! He took me into the back room and showed me the damage, it looked terminal.

You can replace the glass on your Streak.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=961608

Sad that Dell isn't consistent about when damage to the screen is covered by the warranty, but that's no matter. Get your Streak covered with a Squaretrade warranty and take comfort in knowing that parts are becoming available for our wonderful phones/tablets.

I decided that I'd give the screen replacement cost money to Viewsonic and "take comfort in knowing" that the eminent release of the iPad is lowering the cost of the VviewPad 7 Inch Tablet w/ Phone everyday.  It is the only phone with 7Inch display and Froyo today.  Unlocked and getting cheaper literally everyday.  Works with ATT and T-Moble sim cards and still fits in my pocket.  I can't continue to help Dell profit from this crappy level of support.  Fool me once shame on me...

FYI-  If you call to speak to the "Out of Warranty department" make them transfer you to that department.  They will try to tell you that they are not allowed to, but that is not true.  You don't have to wait for someone to call you back (They never call back.)  Keep trying til someone puts you through to them.  Good luck though, they are asking more to replace them then it would cost you for a competing device.  Or even the same device on a new contract.  I tried the unresolved link below and someone did get back to me, but did not offer any other solution than the $250 replacement cost.  Still no affordable repair or parts option.  What a rip off.

Good luck to all who choose to stick it out.  Hope they kiss you before they bend you over the way the've done me. 

And to Dell you just lost out on hundereds of thousands of dollars of very near future business now going to your competitors.  Literally.

Hi everyone,

I bought a Dell Streak from Dell UK website on November 2010 on the behalf of the company I am working for. I have really nothing to say about the functionalities and the concept of the phone, it is a really great phone that I use for international business, perfect size, sometimes laggy with Android 2.2 but eclipsed by the huge screen and the capabilities of Froyo. It even seemed that the speed was improving over the weeks or maybe was I simply getting use to it :).

Concerning the phone itself and the way Dell designed it, well, let's say it's not as perfect as you would expect for a £400 phone... First thing I noticed when I opened the box 4 months ago was the poor quality of the rear cover. It is so thin and easily deformable! The black paint on it is not of the best quality too with an unfortunate tendancy to come off. The front glass look pretty tough, I have always used a screen protector film so impossible to really evaluate it.

And here comes the bad part.

It happened yesterday during a dinner, the phone was in my pocket, I did not dropped it on the floor or hit it on any kind of surface, my pocket is large enough not to exert pressure on it, the phone was perfectly working before the dinner but the LCD was cracked right after it. The Gorilla front protective glass is perfectly fine, no impact, no scratches, nothing but the LCD behind it is cracked from the top middle of the screen at the junction between the screen and the frame, I uploaded a picture of it. Notice the upside down V shape...

Looking online for solution or similar issues, I found many cases of Dell Streak owners experiencing a suddent break of the LCD whitout apparent reason. And then I found this really interesting post: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=12102539 where the user says:

"Pulled my Streak out of my front pocket today and found the LCD cracked from the top middle of the screen downward in an upside down V shape with multiple colors and areas of just white. Not the Gorilla Glass but underneath it"

It seems that I am not the only one having this exact issue. Simple coincidence? Maybe, but I doubt it.

And here comes the very bad part, Dell Support.

I called the Dell Mobile Devices at the UK number indicated by Amy in this post. I had to wait half an hour before having someone on the phone telling me that the warranty does not cover this. I tried my best to explain the fact that it was not an accidental damage since I did not damage the phone whatsoever. But nothing, all I had was "the LCD screen is not covered by the warranty, even if you haven't damaged the screen", so basically, if a Dell Streak screen cracks itself, there is nothing Dell can do about it. And what about a design flaw? The support asked for my number and told me that someone will contact me and give me a quote in order to change my screen.

A couple of hours later, I had a phone call from a certain Kumar telling me that they can change my screen but it will take 25 days and the cost will be...  £309! Incredible. The price of the phone whitout VAT is £340... First, I simply cannot do whitout a phone for nearly one month and second, for £309 I should better take the risk of changing it myself. I called back the Dell's support and got the same answer plus "we do not know their prices". How can you redirect your customers to a third part practicing those prices... It is simply scandalous. No support, no alternative solutions, not even the chance to describe my problem to a technician, nothing. The worst being that I am almost sure it is a design flaw.

So now I have an unusable Dell Streak and a really bad opinion of their support.

Thanks Dell,

Louis 

Hi Dell,

Concerning the Gorilla Glass and "robustness":

Dell Streak 5 is a tablet - it needs to be guarded carefully like a tablet

I damaged my display a few days after I got it from a 1-foot fall on a tiled floor.

The display did not crack - but became seriously discolored - not of any further use.

I live in Denmark. I bought my unit from Amazon market (TTsims). Plus a second unit as a gift for my sister in France.

I phoned Dell UK support and they were fantastic:

As a one-time courtesy, my unit was repaired via the UPS pick-up service in U.K.

I was required to send the unit to my friend in U.K.

The unit was repaired in under 10 days and delivered back to my friend.

She sent it to me in Denmark.

I almost had a heart-attack when the display touch-function worked like a disaster

Another service call, and I was taught which buttons to push to make the unit do a display auto-calibration.

I thought: "This will hardly work", but gave it a try.

I told my sister to do the same thing to her unit ( not very good touch function) - she thought I was nuts.

I confessed I did not know how exactly the unit manages to autocalibrate.

Some things in life just needs to be accepted - nut comprehended.

Since then: the display has worked impeccably!

Since then my Dell lives inside an Otterbox Impact thick silicone skin.

Before: handling the Dell was like handling a thin sliver of wet soap

After: love the silicone skin touch which gives a firm grip.

I carry the unit in my zipper-hip-bag which is just the right size and includes my wallet and,

a company phone,

and....

an extra battery (from Amazon).

Thank you DELL UK for excellent support!

( and OH YEAH - there was a labyrinth of an automatic Dell SUpport answering system to deal with- but I learned to navigate through eventually - and of course this is necessary )

p.s. No Dell Streaks in Denmark - I guess because there is no standard Scandinavian keyboard included with Froyo 2.2

The best method to avoid breaking this poorly designed tablet is to not use it too much. Mine lasted about 6 months before a couple of very minor mishaps left me with a screen that was unbearable to use. Dell is no help on this unit. Take it from me, I have tried everything. Just think, how bad must this issue be for such a response to be made by Dell? The flimsy casing is what allows mild stress and short drops to damage the unit. A unit this size needs more support than the battery and thin tin cover. I went to a Samsung Windows 7 phone and I am completely blown away by how much more responsive it is to use and how solid it is designed. So I lost a little lcd real estate but it is more than worth it. Every few years I decide to give Dell another shot and I have gotten bitten each time. I will never buy Dell again. Seriously, if you want to use this device as a phone it is a very poor choice. Once you get over the honeymoon with the bigger screen and come to the realization that Android is a cheap iPhone knock-off with fragmented software and awful phone capabilites.......you are left with an overpriced and fragile dissapointment. You have been warned.

First I DO carry my Streak in a shirt pocket and sometimes a FRONT pants pocket but only because I use an Otter Box defender rubber cover. Yes it makes it more difficult to put into a pocket, but the trade off is it won't fall or slide out of my pocket should I bend over to pick something up off the ground. Very cheap insurance and the Otter Box makes the Streak more comfortable for me to hold.  That being said, I think Dell is missing the mark by not offering an insurance plan. I believe Dell would make a fortune if they followed Best Buy's example and offered full coverage AND lock and found ability for $10.00 per month. I am one of the lucky people who purchased from Best Buy and have full coverage, remote locking and GPS recovery for my Streak should I misplace it. I don't believe broken screens are an epidemic problem because the people who choose this beautiful tablet understand they have something beyond a simple cell phone and they treat it differently. 

I am also wonder why Dell's support seems lack luster. It just feels like Dell can't go all in with the Streak. For example: ATT is the provider of service but try finding anything about it on their web site. They don't even show them for sale, what's up with that? Second, Best Buy starts selling these phones and to quote the sales person " was one of their most popular sellers" and then Best Buy just pulls them off the shelf. What's up with that? Why doesn't Dell want Streak owners to register their phones? I register my Dell computers, but there's no place for the Streak on the Dell website. 

Truth is this phone / tablet is perfect for me. I LOVE THE PRODUCT but don't understand the sales / support debacle. I laugh when I go places and see people with their small phones held up to their faces so they can read something on the tiny screen. But I don't know how to answer them when they inevitably ask me where they can get a Streak. Yes,I can tell them Dell but they can't get an insurance plan with the phone. That seems goofy since Dell must make money on the computer service plans. Come on Dell, be proud of the Streak and throw your support behind the product. People will eventually catch up and realize internet access through 3G service is nearly useless on small screens and soon the tiny screens will be obsolete. Why do you think the EVO was so popular?

hi Mike,

You've really spoken all the right words I wanted to let Dell Streak manufacturers know.Its annoying and frustrating when small mistake can make all your data in the phone be lost permanently .we are after all bound to make mistake and drop the phone.

Dell should seriously reconsider marketing its product or atleast put out an service center.This is the same with the cheaper chinese products-Use and Throw.I thought dell is doing a good job but this is cheating as far as I'm concerned.

Regards,

Shyam Kiran Gandam

The 4 inch read just as well. This unit is fragile and sluggish compared to the competition. I am glad I traded an inch of lcd for a better device.

My previous post was deleted by an administrator (it was not necessarily more negative than the posts here but stated the BBB) so I'll make this short and informative.  I will also screen shot this post since information  empowers consumers to make the right decision and if this is deleted others should know what is going on with dell.

The dell streak I received was open boxed, had fingerprints all over it, and I was told it was still new but needed a firmware update.  I was convinced that it was new despite my knowing it shouldn't be and after a lot of back and forth I relented to keep the streak.  A little less than 2 weeks later, the streak started to act funny and unresponsive.  Then, hours later the lcd fractured when I was surfing the web.  No drops, no storage in jean pockets, and only handling in a laptop bag with plenty of padding and security.  This is NOT an isolated incident as others have stated the same problem.  They wanted dell to give answers but from the get go the customer service was very unresponsive or evasive.

The response that I managed to get left a lot to be desired and it makes me wonder if dell understands why we are even complaining:

We actually LIKED the products you've made but the product died unnaturally.  I never complained about their laptops which were solid and reliable but still were carefully handled.  But for the streak was far too frail.

If this message is deleted once more, I would like to close that I was just another dell customer who referred friends, family, and clients because of my love for dell products but feel differently after this incident.

My issue is before I bought my dell streak I asked the sales rep about the screen as I read about them being fragile and his wods were its bullet proof you have nothing to worry about the screen will not shatter.and this is how its being described a lot when they first came out

I have had a Dell Streak Mini for just one month and when I first bought it I opend the slide back cover to insert my sim card. First thing I noticed was how stiff this was to open, but this lead me at the time to think that it's great quality and that the cover  won't be opening up on it's own, which in the case of a streak is a good think as there are switches under the cover that shutdown the device when the cover is removed.

However two days ago I went tto remove the back cover to put in a new sim, so with the phone upside down thums on the back cover and fingers underneath the phone i slid the cover back. To my horror I heard a small crack and guessed instantly what had happened! I at first thought the Gorilla glass had cracked buyt when I turned it over I didn't see anything noticable. When I treid to use it though it was obvious that something was wrong and eventually i noticed the small crack on the LCD beneath the gorilla Glass.

I genuinely did not use excessive force to open the back only the amount required to stop the device slipping whilst sliding the back down.

This is an amazing device I love it to bits, but i'm currently in the situation where Dell deny the possibilty that this could happen, and even if it did they would not repair the unit as they would still consider this user damage/abuse!!

I think the only reason that they have taken trhis line with me is that they see so many of these returned due to damage screens that they assume they were all dropped which in my case is absolutely not the case.

They have after a lot of complaining agreed to look at the phone to see if it has a manufacturing defect, but I was told not to hold out much hope.

Feels to me that this device although brilliant is not really quite fit for purpose and would be amazed if anyone can prevent the screen from cracking if my experience is anything to go by. Additionally I bought mine from Tescos as they were selling them of at £200 and are not restocking them. I'm speculating here and suspect that they had so many returned that they decided they were not viable and were losing them money.

I agree KNoakes.  I got the streak at a very good deal and although my case was eventually settled after a lot of back and forth, it does still bother me.  If money was an issue, why wasn't it sold for more in order to last much much longer?

And that's what puzzles me.  What is the issue?

Every dell laptop I've had lasted for more than 5 years and frankly weren't THAT expensive, especially when there is a promotion.  I was extremely happy with their laptop build quality and that is why the streak  performance and durability boggles me.

Those who did pay around full retail truly do deserve bullet proof streaks.  Unfortunately I heard they also experienced manufacturing defects...

Quite honestly no one would complain if the streak was as solid as an apple.  It really was that awesome to use and I miss it.  But until this issue is solved, a lot of people I know wouldn't use the streak.  It's just too frail.

Amy and all at Dell,

1. The accident: I did not happen to read through these forums before purchasing my Dell Streak 5 just under two weeks ago. I am now the proud owner of a 2 week old Streak 5 with cracked glass. Now first up it was my fault that the screen cracked, while vacationing in Chattanooga TN I got out of our car with my streak inside the Dell supplied pouch in my  hand. My five year old daughter also exited the car and I went to take her hand. She made a jerk towards the street so I instinctively grabbed her arm dropping my phone in the process. Now admittedly this was my fault, however it was not a bad fall in my estimation and the ensuing damage was quite shocking to me(and the phone pun intended). I had also applied an extremely durable protective laminated AR cover liner over the entire screen, this however only had the effect of holding in all the broken shards of gorilla glass. The LCD is still intact no bleeding or apparent damage so I was encouraged that yes I broke my phone but replacing the outer glass would be minimal, both financially and procedure. Or so I thought.......

2. Dell Support: I called Dell on returning from Vacation and was told even though the phone was just over a week old it wasn't covered as I hadn't purchased insurance. I generally don't purchase insurance on devices as I take care of them with extreme caution.  They could replace my phone at cost though - $249. I explained my phone is functioning fine I just need the glass replaced, could they please tell me where I could purchase a replacement piece or just repair the phone for me. Not an option I was told. I thanked the tech and informed him I would talk to ATT first. They gave me a couple of options, but none included fixing or replacing my streak. I explained it only required replacement glass and so they then called Dell, at this point I was patched through to the Dell tech again where we went though the same details with the same result.  Now the easy option here would be to shell out another 249 and be done with it, however on principle I have decided to try and limit the damage on my broken streak using some optical adhesive and another AR cover to keep it all in and stick with this phone for the next two years complete with cracks. When I get my 50 dollar voucher from Dell for purchasing this phone, I will purchase an accessory and then this Dudes never getting a Dell again.  I will also do what every person who feels they have been wronged do I will negatively broadcast my experience with Dell.

John P Smith