Help Screen Problem

[JenniferP]

Okay, so...this is the issue I'm having.

Abruptly (I HAVE dropped the phone in the past, haven't we all, but not recently) my phone has started producing thin silver rectangles at the very top edge of the screen. It started with one, and now it's up to four, they're exactly the same size. They seem to be reflective, and are more visible in dark light.

They're visible even when the device is off, so it's clearly hardware.

It's probably not worth getting a screen replacement on such a cheap phone (but it's only a year old, so I'm quite irritated. JUST out of warranty). Is there anything that *would* be worth trying? Is this likely to spread so my phone becomes unusable? (Budget is not there for new phone, but personal safety requires working phone).

 

[JenniferP]

This is the best image I can get - taking pics with a tablet camera isn't easy.

 

[Dannydet]

My phone is about 4 years old and I have the same situation. It's been like this for a good year or so so you could leave it be or get your screen replaced, which would cost about $100 or so.

 

[JenniferP]

If it doesn't get any worse, then I'm living with it. It's a $50 phone, not worth replacing the screen. Anyone else have any experience with this? It HAS been getting worse over the last few days or I wouldn't be so worried.

 

[svim]

If you don't want to put any money into repairing this phone just be sure all your saved data is safely backed up in case the screen does just completely fail. And it would be prudent to at least do some serious shopping around on getting a replacement, since the problem is apparently getting worse you really need to look into a fallback that can be quickly implemented.

 

[JenniferP]

It doesn't seem worth putting any money into repairing it, no. If it was an expensive phone I'd already have taken it in. Annoying that it's only 18 months old, though. Sure, it's a cheapo, but...

 

[Hadron]

Well it's possible it's a delayed consequence of a drop, in which case the age doesn't matter (nor would the warranty, which would only cover manufacturing faults rather than damage)

 

[JenniferP]

It's out of warranty anyway. (And not insured, because it's a cheapo).

 

[svim]

Well I have an E4 (the lessor of an E4 Plus) and it's still working fine as is. Any phone that's been dropped is more likely to fail sooner rather than later, the good thing being in your situation it was a budget-class phone and not a flagship.
Is your phone in a case? If not, that might be something to think about with whatever phone you do end up getting in the near future. It's not a solid, 100% way to prevent a phone from physical damage but adequate for most minor tumbles.

 

[JenniferP]

It is absolutely in a case. I'm thinking it might be a loose screen connector, and unless it gets worse I'm going to live with it until I have other reasons to replace (battery life is still perfectly fine and it's still getting sec patches. I mean, battery life is starting to drop a little, but it's not really causing me issues yet).

 

[svim]

Yeah, I wouldn't rule out the display-to-motherboard connector being a likely cause. If you're comfortable tearing down your phone, iFixit has some really good, step-by-step guides on repairing a lot of different models. If you take a look at this one:
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Motorola+Moto+E4+Plus+Motherboard+Replacement/106273
and look at step 11 there are pics of the actual connector. It might be worth the bother to just re-seat that connector.

 

[JenniferP]

I'll think about it. I'm a little wary of performing surgery when I don't currently have a backup handset, but it might be worth trying if it does get worse.

 

[bcrichster]

Wow, these guys already gotcha covered! ..and welcome to Android Forums, @JenniferP . If you weren't so updated with stock OS's security patches, I could recommend some custom ROMs (just for enjoyment, not the screen fix.. Unfortunately).

 

[JenniferP]

I appreciate the offer, but I prefer to stay stock...I do some work-related stuff on my phone.