• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Help 2D/3D switch is cheap!

LBPHeretic

LBPHeretic

Android Expert
I just received my Sprint HTC EVO 3D from UPS about twenty minutes ago. I looked at the box and immediately noticed that the seals were broken on it and the screen protector had been lifted. I assume that was to get the ESN or MEID so that is is assigned to me. The battery is already in the handset, but it does not seem to power on and I have not activated it yet.

I still need to plug it in and see if it will take a charge. However, my bigger concern was that the 3D switch on the side seems to have some play to it. It wiggles a bit like a loose tooth. It switches between 2D and 3D alright, but if you just lightly press it, it wiggles. Is this normal? Should I call Sprint and ask for another one?
 
LBPHeretic said:
I just received my Sprint HTC EVO 3D from UPS about twenty minutes ago. I looked at the box and immediately noticed that the seals were broken on it and the screen protector had been lifted. I assume that was to get the ESN or MEID so that is is assigned to me. The battery is already in the handset, but it does not seem to power on and I have not activated it yet.

I still need to plug it in and see if it will take a charge. However, my bigger concern was that the 3D switch on the side seems to have some play to it. It wiggles a bit like a loose tooth. It switches between 2D and 3D alright, but if you just lightly press it, it wiggles. Is this normal? Should I call Sprint and ask for another one?
Click to expand...

Sounds rather fishy to me. The seals shouldn't have been broken and the plastic cover on the screen should still be covering and unbroken (it is a plastic covering perforated on both ends, rather than a screen protector that clings to the screen like was on the Evo 4G and probably the Hero). The vital numbers are printed on the end of the box, so access to the inside of the phone should be moot. Was there a piece of plastic between the battery and the battery contacts? There should be a film you have to remove.

My Evo 3D came with the seal stickers sealed and affixed. There should be no reason for them not to be, unless it is so hot out they un-glue in the heat or dislodge during shipping.

I believe that every Evo 3D slider switch is going to have the same little play in the switch. We all have loose teeth :) Some teeth may be looser than others.

Once you get the phone up and running go into the dialer and press ##786# and it will take you into a service menu. It will show you if the phone is refurbished, when it was activated, and how many lifetime calls it has made, data transferred, etc.

After that you can take it up with Sprint if you want.
 
PyroSporker said:
Sounds rather fishy to me. The seals shouldn't have been broken and the plastic cover on the screen should still be covering and unbroken (it is a plastic covering perforated on both ends, rather than a screen protector that clings to the screen like was on the Evo 4G and probably the Hero). The vital numbers are printed on the end of the box, so access to the inside of the phone should be moot. Was there a piece of plastic between the battery and the battery contacts? There should be a film you have to remove.

My Evo 3D came with the seal stickers sealed and affixed. There should be no reason for them not to be, unless it is so hot out they un-glue in the heat or dislodge during shipping.

I believe that every Evo 3D slider switch is going to have the same little play in the switch. We all have loose teeth :)

Once you get the phone up and running go into the dialer and press ##786# and it will take you into a service menu. It will show you if the phone is refurbished, when it was activated, and how many calls it has made etc.

After that you can take it up with Sprint if you want.
Click to expand...

Yeah. I am actually sort of irritated that the seals were broken. The handset itself is extremely dusty. Could someone have just been playing around with it?

I read around a bit online and found that the 3D switch looseness seems to be commonplace for this handset. I guess I will call up Sprint and see what they will do about this.
 
LBPHeretic said:
Yeah. I am actually sort of irritated that the seals were broken. The handset itself is extremely dusty. Could someone have just been playing around with it?
Click to expand...

Mine was quite dusty as well. The screen covering sleeve is not a protector at all.

I had to clean my phone quite well to clear all the dust so I could install my screen protectors. Even so I still ended up with some dust underneath. While cleaning I noticed some very fine scratches/rub marks on the glass from the dust they shipped it with. I was not happy at all! Irritated like you to say the least. But after putting on my screen protector the micro-scratches are not noticeable.
 
Yes I believe this is normal. I just received my 3D Monday, and there is a small amount of play with the toggle switch. It does not affect functionality at all.
 
Yeah. I just went ahead and activated it. Everything seems fine and the fact that everyone seems to have slightly loose 3D switches has alleviated my concerns about that. PyroSporker, I tried the code in the dialer and this Sprint HTC EVO 3D is brand new apparently.

I just did not want to go through the hassle of exchanging the handsets and the huge amounts of dust were actually not that bad underneath the plastic film cover. Overall, I am pleased and it is now charging safely on the bedside table. I am hoping a case will make the loose 3D switch a bit less noticeable. I just need to decide on which one to get.
 
Just a quick note. I noticed that the reason it would not power on is because there was a plastic film around the battery covering the contacts.

For some reason the battery was already in the handset with this film. The plastic around the outside of the Sprint HTC EVO 3D had a figure on the back explaining this.
 
LBPHeretic said:
I tried the code in the dialer and this Sprint HTC EVO 3D is brand new apparently.

I just did not want to go through the hassle of exchanging the handsets and the huge amounts of dust were actually not that bad underneath the plastic film cover. Overall, I am pleased and it is now charging safely on the bedside table.
Click to expand...

Glad it is new and not someone else's sloppy seconds. I'm guessing the heat caused the sealed stickers to lift, or the inner box sliding around in the outer box ripped them during shipping or something.

The outer packaging and inner packaging are definitely a bit different than any other phone release that I've seen. I hope they abandon that dumb plastic sleeve protector idea and go back to the old cling style screen protector to keep the dust off the screen.
 
PyroSporker said:
Glad it is new and not someone else's sloppy seconds. I'm guessing the heat caused the sealed stickers to lift, or the inner box sliding around in the outer box ripped them during shipping or something.

The outer packaging and inner packaging are definitely a bit different than any other phone release that I've seen. I hope they abandon that dumb plastic sleeve protector idea and go back to the old cling style screen protector to keep the dust off the screen.
Click to expand...

Yeah, my wife's new Sprint HTC EVO 4G had the cling style screen protector. It is nice to have that to keep the screen pristine while in the box, and then apply an actual screen protector right after removing it.

The wrap around plastic film was sort of pointless except to prevent major scrapes, I guess. Now I will have to rigorously clean my screen before applying a screen protector.
 
LBPHeretic said:
Just a quick note. I noticed that the reason it would not power on is because there was a plastic film around the battery covering the contacts.

For some reason the battery was already in the handset with this film. The plastic around the outside of the Sprint HTC EVO 3D had a figure on the back explaining this.
Click to expand...
This is the same with my Evo 3D - the batter was in the handset, and the film was there to prevent the battery from draining until you remove it.

Glad to hear all is well! :)
 
I think it's made in a way that people won't break it. It is pretty cheap though. I'm guessing it cost them about 2 to 3 cents. *shrugging shoulder*
 
It's a switch that goes up and down, not too much science into it. I'd be more worried about the cheap paint coating they used on the bezel.
 
Black paint flaking off is the easiest to fix in my experience. Just use a black fine point Sharpie marker. ;)

I even touched up the black case on my Sprint HTC Hero with a black Sharpie marker. It takes two seconds and looks really good, in my opinion. :)
 
I agree the camera switch feels loose and therefore cheap. But, I think most if not all 3VO's share this common feature...oh well...
 
LBPHeretic said:
Black paint flaking off is the easiest to fix in my experience. Just use a black fine point Sharpie marker. ;)

I even touched up the black case on my Sprint HTC Hero with a black Sharpie marker. It takes two seconds and looks really good, in my opinion. :)
Click to expand...

I tried this except the sharpie part was to shiny compared to the rest, I just ended up exchanging the phone since it was within my 30 day period. If it happens again then oh well I'll live.

As far as the switch goes my original and this new EVO both were a bit loose but not to a great deal.
 
Wiley_11 said:
I'm sure 98% of the "cheap" switches will be working fine when I get my next phone upgrade. :p
Click to expand...

Agreed. Though there is some play to the 3D switch, it never felt like it was going to fall off or not function properly for the long haul.

It snaps into its modes with authority and feels sturdy. I have no problem with it at all.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom