Damaged or Defective Kindle 2 Screen :: Photos
16 Mar
Last week I traded in a few pieces of camera equipment for the new Kindle to really see if I could just whip through books at lightning speed and to my surprise, after about 2 days of use, I managed to mess up the screen. I am in the middle of doing an in depth review of the Kindle 2 that I will post at a later date, but after having the Kindle 2 for about 2 days, I seems that the screen on the Kindle 2 was damaged beyond a simple fix. The reason for this post was really to show what the customer service representative at Amazon did to fix the problem.
For those who don’t know, I really missed my calling in life to be a product tester. No matter what the product, I can an uncanny way of being able to break the unbreakable and find problems or issues that manufactures somehow seem to miss. I was told that the Kindle 2 was tested for durability and could withstand a drop from a two story building, but 2 days in my backpack managed to screw up the top of the screen.
Once I went through the normal troubleshooting that I knew how to do, I called the customer service number for the Kindle. She walked me through a few other tests, had me “reboot” the system (you can hold the power slider over for 20 seconds and that will initiate a reboot on the Kindle 2). After that (all of which took about 2 minutes total) Amazon told me they would just ship me a new one overnight. No questions asked, they just shipped me a new one. They paid for the shipping to return the old one, and I transferred all my book from the old kindle to the new kindle. It was easy as it possibly could have been.
As for what I did to the Kindle, I have no idea. I did put it in my backpack (in its own case) and perhaps to much pressure what applied to the top of the screen somewhere. I am not sure about the 2 story drop, didn’t try that, but I will be a little more careful with it in the future regardless. I was totally and completely thrilled with Amazon’s customer service on the kindle.
That doesn’t really have anything to do with the practicalities of the Kindle, that will come later, but as far as their customer service goes, it was great. Having also sold on Amazon for years, I can say that all of Amazon’s customers service is geared towards their buying customers (as opposed to their sellers) and they will bend over backwards to provide the best service they can.
You can see the screen issue on the photos below. It covers about an inch from the top with a blank line of gray going across the screen with a slash in the upper left corner. The last two shots are what the screen shot from the damaged kindle looks like (so it is seeing everything correctly under the screen issue) and what the new one looked like when it arrived.
Update May 21, 2010
I thought I would update this post with a few comments since it is still one of the most read posts on my blog. As some have suggested, my Kindle was NOT dropped. I simply put it in my backpack, which also wasn’t dropped, and took it out an hour later and it showed up with the damaged screen.
I did get a free replacement from Amazon, but I returned the replacement within a week for a refund (see my review A Not-So-Normal Kindle 2 Review for my reasons), but one major reason was I knew the “free screen replacement” was only going to last a short time, and it was a one time shot. Amazon did replace the damaged screen, but they said they weren’t going to do it again. Looking back now, more than a year later, it was the best decision and I am not super happy with my iPad.
I’ll be looking forward to the in-depth review!
Everything about the kindle seems cool to me (except the bad screen)
I too received a defective Kindle 2 screen that stopped working after a couple of days. I had a new one the next business day, and Amazon also sent me a $359 gift card! I thought it was a mistake and I would be double charged, but I called customer service and they say there are no further charges. I don’t know why, but I basically got a free kindle for my trouble!
I also had a defective screen- it had problems the first day, and then filled up with lines one day and refused to be re-booted. Despite documented difficulties (emails to amazon about the problem starting day 1) Amazon claimed that the damage was not under warranty. They offered to fix/replace the device for $180. I was very surprised and disappointed, because I had bought the Kindle 2 with reservations, but confident Amazon would stand by its product (after reading the reviews above). Less than 30 days after receiving the Kindle 2- it is wholly unuseable, and will cost an additional $180 just to fix. My advise? Wait for a better (less fragile) product.
Hi,
You were very lucky! My Kindle 2 is damaged similarly with an arc on the right side of the screen. The Amazon Customer Service told me that I had to pay $135 for replacement. Very disappointed!
Rimma
I was so happy to see your site. I have had, used and loved my Kindle for about 6 months. The Kindle has traveled around the world with me. I have never had any problems. yesterday, I turned the Kindle on and my screen looked exactly like the above.
I just called customer service and they are sending me a brand new Kindle with a prepaid envelope to return the effective one. This process took me three minutes in total, and I will get the new Kindle within two days.
I highly recommend buying and using a Kindle. Their customer service could not have been better!
I am now on my 3rd kindle within 4 months because part of the screen will become blocked out. I don’t know what I am doing to it to make this happen. both times it was after about 2 weeks on non-use. The first time amazon was great about replacing it. The 2nd time they wanted to send me a refurb but eventually agreed to replace it with a new one. It doesn’t help that the price has gone down either. If I had done my research i dont know that i wold have bought it. I do love it, but the product is not the quality i expected. i would love to know how to prevent if possible, this from happening again.
I love my Kindle 2 and am realistic enough to recognise that any device can have or develop problems. It’s what happens next that shows the kind of business you’re dealing with.
My Kindle 2 developed a screen problem this morning when the upper right quartile of the screen refused to lose the sleeping picture when I turned the machine on. I called customer service in the States (I’m in UK, and for some odd reason Amazon only sell Kindles internationally from the US) and we talked through the problem. A bright and cheerful Irish guy apologised that I’d had a problem (the machine had not been dropped or knocked and lives in its leather case), and agreed immediately to send me a replacement.
This is great customer relations, and typical of my experience of Amazon over the last decade or more. On one occasion, when a Palm device failed a few days after delivery, they sent out one of their guys who personally delivered a replacement to me about four hours after I called in the complaint, (and I live about fifty miles from their depot!).
Jeff Bezos should be praised for the ethic he has engendered in his business. Amazon have always been and continue to be straight with me, their customer. I shall remain loyal to them. Some of the stupid comments I’ve read elsewhere with people seeming to expect Amazon to replace damage they have themselves caused show their authors in a bad light, whereas Amazon, in the way they have treated me this morning show that they continue to be the Good Guys. Thank you, Amazon.
I just got my Kindle and when I finally had some free time to start reading my first book, a quarter of the sleep screen image won’t disappear. I’m very bummed. I hope customer service is as accommodating. But my question is how/why did it happen. I haven’t done anything that I know of to damage it.
Same problem. Corner right screen blacked out. Less than 3 months old and barely used.
Amazon sent new one. Seems that this will be a recurring problem.
I googled “kindle screen problems” this morning because as most of you, I’m having screen problems. I am on my 2nd kindle. My first I bought on 3/23/10 and received it on 3/30. After using it for less than 2 weeks, I had to call amazon on 4/10/10. I had no issues what so ever until that day. I went to turn it on and started getting lines across the bottom half of the screen along with a a grey arched area on the top right corner. I tried everything the customer rep later told me to do to no avail. Like most said, amazon was great with the customer service aspect. I was ordered a new one with free 2 day shipping and free return shipping and $0 out of my pocket. But now I’m greatly disappointed because the same thing has happened again! I really really love my kindle but I don’t know if to just ask for a refund and get an ipad.
Good point. I shouldn’t have accused you of dropping your Kindle. My bad.
Instead, what happened was some sort of strain in the corner which may or may not be a drop. The same thing happened to me (it wasn’t in the corner but I think it was more a torsion from being on the outer pocket of my carry on). I’m beginning to think the person at Amazon who claimed that angular cuts = impact was just full of shit. All failures seem to have properties that look like either and depending on the time and attitude can be used to rationalize all manner of b.s. (sort of like an arson investigation from looking at burn patterns).
In any case, they replaced your Kindle 2 and they refused to replace mine the first time I called using that reasoning. My girlfriend called a couple of months later and they replaced it immediately. Go figure.
My new kindle is going fine, and I hope yours is too. I’ve now owned it much longer than the first one (which failed pretty quickly), so I don’t know if my habits have changed, or there are a lot of defective Kindles being produced, or some of both.
My iPad (often using the Kindle App) has replaced my Kindle for most of the reading I do. In non-fiction, esp. technical manuals, I tend to flip around profusely—and the faster rendering of the iPad makes a difference (not to mention the dock can be useful as a stand while working on a computer at the same time). Also reference manuals (like camera manuals), they’re PDFs and are better viewed even on an iPhone (which you are more likely to carry with your camera).
The notable exceptions are novels which are read cover to cover and the New Yorker magazine—Conde Naste in the U.S. doesn’t seem to support Zinio and the Kindle app doesn’t do magazine subscriptions).
Take care,
terry
@terry you are exactly right, I am pretty sure my screen issue was caused by some strain in the corner when I put it in my backpack… I still think Amazon should have replaced any and all devices that ended up with bad screens like that, it seems more like a flaw than anything else, we shouldn’t have to walk around with bubble wrap for these things, we should be able to drop them with no bad effects. Thanks for the update.
I had my kindle for 1 and 1/2 years before the screen froze. Each attempt at resetting resulted in the screen getting an increasing number of horizontal lines. Now the screen is almost completely black. Customer service can’t offer any help besides recommending that I replace my device with a refurbished one for $99. I’ve been reading online that I’m not the only one with this problem. Yikes! Buyer beware: you might end up saving money buying hard copies of books instead!
My daughter is on her 7th Kindle. (2nd Kindle 2) All have died with screen damage like the above. All in her backpack, all in M-Edge cases. Her iPod touch in same backpack, no case, dropped many times is just fine. Kindle durability is non-existent. When Kindle 7 dies it is iPad time.