# New phone broken already! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 15, 2017, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-phone-broken-already/791291 "2017-07-15T00:25:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-phone-broken-already/791291/1 "2017-07-15T00:25:02Z")
Stupid, fragile fucking android phone! :mad: I dropped it, trying to take a goddamn picture of my dog, from the height of about two feet, and CRACK! There goes the screen! :mad: :smack: 😕 ☹ I had my cheap-ass Tracfone for about 15 years, never had a problem, dropped it all the time (well, not really. Almost never used the thing), never had a problem. Then, it gets outdated, and I’m forced to get a new, fancy fucker that I can’t even figure out how to use most of the time. And it has a stupid camera. So, what do I do? Start taking fucking pictures! And I drop it, and it breaks, all for nothing! A picture of my dog. :rolleyes: Now, I almost never use this thing, and it’s importance in my life ranks up there with say, a worn-out set of used golf clubs. But how do you hipsters and kids that can’t live without them glued to their heads and are constantly beating your thumbs on them deal with this fragility? You people must go through these like shit through a Goose! I guess I understand now so many of these fuckers are being sold. Goddamn dog picture! (It would have been Awesome! It was Dixie, sitting in almost the exact same spot, the exact same way as when she was just a tiny puppy!) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-phone-broken-already/791291/2 "2017-07-15T00:59:46Z")
😕 Clarify, please. Has the cracked screen rendered it non-functional, or simply less aesthetically appealing? ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-phone-broken-already/791291/3 "2017-07-15T01:03:42Z")
Replacing the glass on phones is pretty easy these days. The truth is, we’re all becoming [Ood](http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/tardis/images/f/f2/Translation_sphere_Planet_of_the_Ood.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20090901231748). - Doctor Who universe creatures that evolved with a second brain they have to carry in their hands. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-phone-broken-already/791291/4 "2017-07-15T01:06:10Z")
I usually break one phone per year. I’m pretty abusive towards them. If it didn’t have a case and tempered glass on them I’d probably break it every couple months. The tempered glass gets replaced every 4-6 months. In my case paying for insurance has always worked in my favor. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-phone-broken-already/791291/5 "2017-07-15T01:20:35Z")
I put a tempered glass film on mine and it keeps the screen itself from breaking. To back up **kaylasdad** , is the screen cracked or is it busted open and wrecked or ?? You can keep using the blasted things with all kinds of cracks and damage. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-phone-broken-already/791291/6 "2017-07-15T01:34:05Z")
Screen protectors do tend to stop the glass from breaking too easily. My iPad has fallen off my upright dresser at least a half-dozen times and never broken. I dropped my iPhone earlier this week onto a asphalt walking path and it didn’t break (thank you GOD!). ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-phone-broken-already/791291/7 "2017-07-15T01:37:34Z")
I’ve never been unlucky enough to drop my phone. If I do, my screen is Gorilla Glass, which is supposed to be break-resistant. And I keep it in a case, which makes it less likely to slip out of my hands and hopefully will protect it. ---
**Author:** ![Palooka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/palooka/32/2902_2.png) [@Palooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palooka)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-phone-broken-already/791291/8 "2017-07-15T01:55:42Z")
Gorilla Glass is ridiculous. You can drive over it and the glass is fine. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-phone-broken-already/791291/9 "2017-07-15T01:56:43Z")
Unless you hit it at just the right spot on a corner or edge, then kablammo! ---
**Author:** ![Palooka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/palooka/32/2902_2.png) [@Palooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palooka)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-phone-broken-already/791291/10 "2017-07-15T02:01:59Z")
Well, they gotta sell AppleCare somehow. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-phone-broken-already/791291/11 "2017-07-15T05:48:48Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > I put a tempered glass film on mine and it keeps the screen itself from breaking. > > To back up **kaylasdad** , is the screen cracked or is it busted open and wrecked or ?? You can keep using the blasted things with all kinds of cracks and damage. Besides which, pictures still come out fine. So we’re still counting on a pic of your dawg, dawg. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-phone-broken-already/791291/12 "2017-07-15T14:25:04Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Unless you hit it at just the right spot on a corner or edge, then kablammo! This is what I was going to say. Most phones can survive a drop or three no problem…unless they hit on a corner (or edge). Unless you have one of those cases which makes the phone 3x\* larger, a corner hit will spell D-O-O-M for most screens. \*Yeah, anything less than 3x and your still doomed. Even 2.95x. So make sure you get the right one! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-phone-broken-already/791291/13 "2017-07-15T16:18:12Z")
I’ve kept all of my BlackBerries\* in a leather case. I’m on my 5th or 6th one now. I can’t imagine carrying around a phone with its glass screen exposed. :eek: That was something I liked about my flip phone-- screen and keyboard protected. \*BlackBerrys? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-phone-broken-already/791291/14 "2017-07-15T16:37:01Z")
I think it’s a matter of bad luck. I’ve had iPhones for eight or nine years now, and never used a case, and have dropped it countless times from all sorts of heights, as my kids have as well. There’s apparently a dent in the phone my brother noticed that I didn’t even realized we’re there. No idea how it got there. But I did once manage to break the glass, and it was from a small fall of about two feet, sitting down at a chair. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-phone-broken-already/791291/15 "2017-07-15T19:28:49Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > 😕 Clarify, please. Has the cracked screen rendered it non-functional, or simply less aesthetically appealing? It still works. The glass just has two big cracks in it. I put a piece of clear packing tape over it to keep it together. Why the hell not? I’ve got two cars with clear packing tape holding the back windows up, so why shouldn’t my damn phone be just as redneck jacked-up? Dog pictures: [bob smith | Flickr](https://www.flickr.com/photos/155285423@N02/) ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-phone-broken-already/791291/16 "2017-07-15T19:38:34Z")
Well, it’s still better than losing the phone entirely, like I did a few months back. My new one has a case and a protective film on the glass, plus I sprang for the insurance. And thanks to this board I now know that I can locate it if I ever lose it again, assuming it’s turned on and still has battery life. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-phone-broken-already/791291/17 "2017-07-15T20:15:41Z")
I’m not too torn up about it. I got it for free, and actually have a second free one, too. I hardly ever use it anyway. Just kinda pisses me off. I hate stupid, careless shit like that. It really was only a two foot drop at most. And the damn dog moved before I could get the shot! ---
**Author:** ![igor\_frankensteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/839c29/32.png) [@igor\_frankensteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/igor_frankensteen)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-phone-broken-already/791291/18 "2017-07-15T21:48:39Z")
My sympathies. The only phone I ever broke that way, was a work phone that I dropped several times in the street with no problems… But then one day when I bent down to grab something on my way into a USMC office, from a height of about two feet, the phone slid out and landed on a two-inch thick rubber mat. Cracked the screen thoroughly. Must be that rubber is more dangerous than we thought. I just taped it up as well, since my boss expected me to pay for a new screen. ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-phone-broken-already/791291/19 "2017-07-16T17:15:54Z")
I’ve had Samsung smartphones since S3 and have dropped phones countless times and only once several years ago chipped the edge of the glass, no crack, though. Fortunately, I had insurance and the glass was replaced at no charge to me. Since then, I always insure my new phones until they are paid off and I use a protective case. But then I’m very active with my phone and use it while cycling and backpacking, so a protective case is a must. Once, my phone fell off my bike while I was moving and bounce in the street with no damage whatsoever except a couple of scuffs on the rear-only protection case (like [this one](https://www.quadlockcase.com/products/samsung-galaxy-s8-case)) . I do prefer LifeProof FRĒ cases, though. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2017, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-phone-broken-already/791291/20 "2017-07-16T18:01:42Z")
Mrs. Cretin dropped her Samsung Galaxy onto a concrete floor, put a monster crack across the screen. A few months later I did exactly the same thing with my Galaxy, rendered my screen unreadable. Lessons learned, we put tempered glass screen protectors on our new phones. Since then, Mrs. C hasn’t had another mishap, but I’ve managed again to drop my phone onto concrete from shoulder height, twice. Both times the $30 screen protector was cracked but the phone was undamaged. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-phone-broken-already/791291.md?page=2)