Help Screen cracked on overnight...

[Mikerosoftpro]

Yes, I wouldn't believe this is I were told it, so please don't start giving me grief. So I went to bed the night before last after watching a couple hours of Netflix on the phone. The phone was crazy hot so I plugged it in and set my alarm. I woke up the next morning to a shattered screen. The phone has a ton of little spider web cracks with a center point of around the speaker. I have never dropped this phone and always keep it in my front pocket. So not sure what the deal here is.

Again I know most of you will doubt me, just looking to see if it is possible anyone else has experienced this.

Samsung is taking the phone and going to look at it, but if they find me at fault, I have to pay for the repair.

 

[Rob]

This stinks... sorry to hear about your problem. I have noticed my phone getting quite hot while charging but my screen cracking was from dropping it (not some weird/unfortunate incident).

Do you have a screen protector? The only thing I can think of is that your screen had a small scratch or nick in it already and the heat from the battery charging accelerated the particles in the atomic structure, causing that small scratch to widen and the integrity of the screen to collapse. Those tiny nicks can gradually become cracks and screen protectors help prevent them. I'm going to guess you weren't using a screen protector... but then again for it to happen as quick as overnight seems outrageous.

It certainly looks as though there is a specific pressure point that the phone busted. My first inclination would lean towards a dropped phone, but if you're saying it was sitting on your nightstand, I'll have to believe you (short of a sleepwalking accident). And I would think heat related problems would originate closer to the battery port. However, I'm curious what Samsung has to say. It's certainly possible that a bad component for the camera and/or flash caused the phone to heat up irregularly in that specific location and cause this damage.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help... just some observations.

 

[EarlyMon]

Unlike some others the usb circuitry is typically not located close to the usb port on many Samsungs.

Local heating spiking faster than can be dissipated throughout the device would cause a lateral expansion in the glass beginning at that point.

Gorilla glass is not mechanically resistant to all stress modalities. It's particularly weaker for longitudinal stress in favor of strength from normally occurring direct stresses.

From our pals at Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateral_strain -

"When a sample of material is stretched in one direction, it tends to get thinner in the other two directions. Similarly, When a sample of material is compressed in one direction, it tends to get thicker in the other two directions. Lateral strain of a deformed body is defined as the ratio of the change in length (breadth of a rectangular bar or diameter of a circular bar) of the body due to the deformation to its original length (breadth of a rectangular bar or diameter of a circular bar) in a direction perpendicular to the force."

In other words, the heat expansion caused the already thin glass to get thinner and the uneven transverse stresses, coupled with the expansion constraints of the glass firmly coupled to the device would easily lead to it cracking. No prior damage would be necessary but a glass screen protector may have helped by providing further mass and thickness.

Interesting to see what Samsung will conclude.