What Is This ... Uhm... Shit?

[mindlord]

Well, it happened again. I suspect there is a real design flaw in the Pandora now. I swear I treat it well, and am careful about the hinge, and I don't put any undue pressure on the screen. 11 Months and three units with the purple haze of death. 30+ Dollars in extra shipping costs. And I'm still coming back for more. I'm going to send it back again and pray this time I don't get yet another defective unit.

What does this say about me? Or better yet what does this say about the Pandora?

 

[quartercast]

Wow, that's quite a record. We should seriously consider coming up with an award for the person who received the most defective units per order

I feel for you, mindlord. My first unit came with dodgy nubs, hence I was pretty pissed off when the left nub died on my replacement unit. Your post has given me some perspective.

 

[Esn]

Well, I guess you should change your vote on this poll, then.

I feel really fortunate that I haven't had any of these problems yet. Although I've only had it since January, so who knows?

Just to get some idea of what might be wrong... do you open and close the hinge quickly? I try to do it slower than I open my Nintendo DS, because it doesn't feel quite as safe - there's more resistance. Although I worry that by doing this, I may only be prolonging the inevitable, so that when it does finally break my warranty will have run out.

 

[Mjlink]

Well, it happened again. I suspect there is a real design flaw in the Pandora now. I swear I treat it well, and am careful about the hinge, and I don't put any undue pressure on the screen. 11 Months and three units with the purple haze of death. 30+ Dollars in extra shipping costs. And I'm still coming back for more. I'm going to send it back again and pray this time I don't get yet another defective unit.

What does this say about me? Or better yet what does this say about the Pandora?

At least you'll get the newest LCD cable type which is supposed to be the most durable. Fingers crossed

 

[torpor]

And then there's me .. my two Pandora's are from the first week that they were shipped, and both still working perfectly (well, the case and keys are getting quite worn down, but thats to be expected). Fingers crossed.

 

[Titcher]

My Pandora developed a crack near the hinge within the first couple of weeks of me having it. I'm not going to bother returning it for that, at least not yet, as right now it's just a cosmetic thing.

 

[EvilDragon]

Well, it happened again. I suspect there is a real design flaw in the Pandora now. I swear I treat it well, and am careful about the hinge, and I don't put any undue pressure on the screen. 11 Months and three units with the purple haze of death. 30+ Dollars in extra shipping costs. And I'm still coming back for more. I'm going to send it back again and pray this time I don't get yet another defective unit.

What does this say about me? Or better yet what does this say about the Pandora?

It's the exact reason we switched to another company to produce the LCD cables.
We did do this on purpose

 

[Esn]

EvilDragon, I notice that when my screen is not in an entirely horizontal position, I get very faint horizontal bands moving downwards on my screen. Does that mean that the LCD cable is being squeezed and I should avoid those positions?

 

[sebt3]

^ first sign of a PTOD

 

[Esn]

Damn. You know, if it does happen, I'll probably hold off on sending it back until they announce that all the old LCD cables are used up and they're using the new ones.

Any idea when that'll happen?

I'm hoping before January 2012 at least, since that's when my 1-year warranty will end.

EDIT: You know, I just realized that it would be worthwhile to write an article on the Pandorawiki about this. It's pretty hard to find information about it. Anyone have any links where information about this was posted, which can be used as sources for an article?

 

[Esn]

I follow the PandoraStalker; so yes, I did see that post, but I was looking for more detailed info.

Anyway, I wrote the article about it:
http://pandorawiki.org/Purple_Tint_of_Death
Please tell me how I did.

I also created a new "hardware defects" category.

 

[quartercast]

Please tell me how I did.

Nice work! Can you write more articles on defects and fixes regarding case cracking, power switch, and wifi?

 

[Esn]

Well, I don't know very much about those things... what problems are those? I thought the wifi thing was more of a software issue...? I wasn't aware of any problems with the power switch.

If you can find sources that talk about them, maybe I can. Some of the more minor issues could be combined into one article, perhaps.

EDIT: Ok, here's a rough article:
http://pandorawiki.org/Hardware_defects

 

[quartercast]

Well, I don't know very much about those things... what problems are those? I thought the wifi thing was more of a software issue...? I wasn't aware of any problems with the power switch.

If you can find sources that talk about them, maybe I can. Some of the more minor issues could be combined into one article, perhaps.

EDIT: Ok, here's a rough article:
http://pandorawiki.org/Hardware_defects

Good stuff. Maybe Prometheus can put her case crack fixing techniques on there.

 

[Prometheus]

^ I absolutely should. I will get that done later.

Long story short for those wondering in the meantime, though: The cracks settled down and really didn't call for an RMA, so I used Sugru as a filler (it's a modelling-clay-like substance that sets to become silicon-rubber that's adhered to the surface(s) that you applied it to - I applied it only so that it filled in the cracks, leaving none on the outer surface).

 

[Mofokubik]

I've had my pandora for quite awhile now, still with no major problems. It is a one-nub unit, and the left nub works ok as long as it's centered on boot. After a few months of playing around with it, I dropped it in the street. Since then, the hinge is loose and the screen will fall back on it's own while holding it upright. That's my own fault, but maybe since the hinge has loosened up, there is less tension on the video cable. No signs of any purple screens of death yet...

Edit: I have pandora sticker #859