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If you buy this phone, get a case for it. The thing slides off of pretty much anything, including apparently flat counter tops. Screen replacements are $130 and
by h4pless 13y ago
If you buy this phone, get a case for it. The thing slides off of pretty much anything, including apparently flat counter tops. Screen replacements are $130 and take 2 weeks. You won't get the awesome feel of the beveled edges, or the nice solid feeling of a thin but reasonably weighted piece of equipment, but definitely get a case lest you watch in horror as your shiny new phone crashes onto your hard tile bathroom floor after sliding off the granite counter top like a magical hovercraft.
- timdorr 13y agoNote that newer versions of the Nexus 4 have small nubs on the back that provide some additional traction, and also give enough of a gap to stop the speaker from being completely muffled on flat surfaces. http://www.gsmarena.com/updated_nexus_4_design_adds_nubs_around_the_rear_edge-news-5777.php http://www.gsmarena.com/updated_nexus_4_design_adds_nubs_aro...
- h4pless 13y agoIt's good that they did this for sure. I remember reading that people were also having problems with the rear glass shattering from the thermal shock of being placed on cold counter tops. I'd still probably get a case for it, though. If you have generally pretty dry hands like mine, a case can reduce the strain of holding on to a generally slippery phone. I also don't know if this would be changed by the little nubs but I had issues with it regularly sliding out of my pocket while on couches.
- redthrowaway 13y agoAgreed. Mine broke without even dropping it within 20 minutes of taking it out of the box. They replaced it, but it took quite some arguing on my part.
- andrenotgiant 13y agoAlso DONT BUY THE WIRELESS CHARGER. It is a joke, the phone might stick to it the first time you use it, if you're lucky. The only thing keeping the above mentioned slippery phone on the un-necessarily slanted charger is some slick rubber material. The rubber holds dust like a pro, but alas cannot grip the phone. If you don't believe me read Amazon reviews: http://www.amazon.com/Google-Nexus-4-Wireless-Charger/dp/B00BGSPIP2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1377660795&sr=8-2&keywords=nexus+4+wireless http://www.amazon.com/Google-Nexus-4-Wireless-Charger/dp/B00...
- tinkerer 13y ago^^ truth. one thing that fixes this, though, is having a diztronic tpu case. with the case on the phone no longer slips off the orb and is protected to boot (an absolute must for this phone -- and i hate cases)
- h4pless 13y agoCarets are risky comment selectors aren't they? Who knows whose truth you'll be supporting next...
- BlakePetersen 13y agoThanks for the inexpensive tip. Only $9.95+S&H more to get that orb to actually stick, I'll take it. But yes, def truth, extra carets.
- scotth 13y agoFunny. I use the wireless charger every day, and haven't had that problem. I wonder why?
- droopybuns 13y agoYou live in one of Intel's clean room fab environments. Seriously, this is a legitimate problem shared by >1 users.
- scotth 13y agoMust be.
- gegtik 13y agolow tech solution: wrap your charger with clingwrap. glass + clingwrap creates a magical bond
- dubcanada 13y agoAnd it will keep your phone fresh!
- Andrenid 13y agoThe phones ability to slide across the flattest of surfaces, combined with the super effective "silent mode" (aka putting your phone on any flat surface, blocking the speaker completely), has dumbfounded me since I got the phone at launch. How do these things get missed in testing? Did no one throughout the entire testing process receive a call while their phone was on their desk? Did they not notice the phone running away from them every time they put it on a shiny surface?
- Jaecen 13y agoThe blocked speaker issue was fixed in a silent hardware rev. Two tiny bumps were added to the bottom edge of the rubber edge that lift it ever so slightly when placed on its back so sound escapes. Unfortunately, this change doesn't do anything for the "magical hovercraft" feature.
- solistice 13y agoThe magical hovercraft feature is why the Nexus engineers should really work at Hyperloop. They have bravely taken up the fight against friction, and they made terrific inroads.
- fragsworth 13y agoNot only does it slide off everything, mine has broken twice after falling - once from sliding off of my wallet on a countertop, and once from me fumbling it out of my pocket. They made me pay for the repairs ($150 each time).
- linuxhansl 13y agoThe Nexus S on the other hand was indestructible. I dropped it multiple times even of hard services. Once I was climbing on some rocks, tried to send a text (yeah, I realize that was dumb), lost balance and ended up slamming the phone screen first on the rock supporting my weight with it. There is a 1/4 sandgrain width dent in the middle of the screen, barely noticeable unless you're looking for it in just the right light. As I said pretty indestructible for me.
- joseph_cooney 13y agoI guess everyone's mileage varies, but I've had a nexus 4 almost since launch, without a cover, and have only had one small 'accident' that didn't result in any damage.
- Theodores 13y agoThat's what I like to hear!!! I decided against some silly case/screen protector and mine is still looking as it did the day I received it. I see the magic slip feature as a bonus - no need to leave it casually lying around if you know it will fall. I compared my phone with a friend's iphone - his was bulked out by the obligatory cheap and nasty case. He had the case because he would not be able to afford to replace his phone should it drop. Meanwhile, with the Nexus 4, you can afford two for the price of one lower-resolution screen iphone. Therefore, only when you have smashed one do you 'need' the case...
- fivre 13y agoHaha, guess who just broke their screen last week and bought a replacement at the old price. Didn't slide off anything though, I dropped it pretty harshly onto some concrete.
- ajr44 13y agoGoogle has a price protection program in place if you purchased after August 12. You have 15 days to claim at https://support.google.com/googleplay/contact/nexus_price https://support.google.com/googleplay/contact/nexus_price
- CoffeeDregs 13y ago[I disagree with the case comment, but that's because I find cases annoying and my wife's didn't protect her Nexus 4 worth a darn.] > The thing slides off of pretty much anything This is incredibly true. An anecdote: I was sitting in the waiting room at my dentist's office; I knew I'd have a wait, so I turned on the access point so that I could do some work and set the phone on the seat next to me. 15 seconds later, it dropped to the carpet. WTF, so I picked it back up and put it on the center of the chair seat. It fell off 2 minutes later. WTF^2, so I picked it back up and, intentionally and very carefully, put it back on the chair seat. It didn't fall off, but it took me 3 tries to get the phone to sit on a cloth chair seat without falling off. And I'm sure it would have fallen off given more time.
- scottbez1 13y agoIf anyone wants more evidence of just how easily the Nexus 4 slides off things, here's a very unscientific video I took after witnessing my Nexus 4 slide off something and shatter the rear glass: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1hbVgO7_k8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1hbVgO7_k8 It's incredible watching it slide ever-so-slowly on a surface that I previously thought was pretty much level.
- hellweaver666 13y agoLooks like a job for Sugru - pop a couple of tiny nubs on the back and it'll stop sliding!
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- oneeyedpigeon 13y agoWhy would you put your phone glass-side-down anyway? Does it still slide about glass-side-up?
- lhl 13y agoI have one of the original (pre-nub) Nexus 4's and mine's slid off of desks/surfaces at least a dozen times. Somehow, the screen/back is still fine, but the plastic bezel looks and feels like it's been gnawed on by bears. Still, it's a fantastic device, and it's been running flawlessly w/ CM10 and an LTE hybrid baseband (TMO in LA) for months - much better than when I got it in fact. It's the best Android phone I've used (4.2+ of course is a big factor), and the first one where I haven't really felt the urge to upgrade at all (haven't been convinced by the S4, One, or X). I think I'd need some combination of ridiculous battery life, way better radios, GoPro3-like video quality, IPX7+, and sunlight viewable screen to get me excited.
- x0x0 13y agois there anything like AppleCare+ -- 2 replacements for $49/ea?
- MacsHeadroom 13y agoYes, SquareTrade.
- mgcross 13y agoSquareTrade is great for iPhones - $99 for two years with a $50 deductible. But for other smartphones, it's $125 for two years with a $99 deductible. For the 8GB, it would just be cheaper to buy a new one.
- blisterpeanuts 13y agoMy home insurance company offers a rider for electronics damage - about $19/year, and it paid $50 out of the $100 to fix my Nexus One when it fell. It's Liberty Mutual, but I think all the big insurers have a similar deal.
- darylyu 13y agoIt's the inspiration for the Hyperloop.
- galaktor 13y agoAfter lots of research I went with this ballistic case for nexus 4: http://www.goballisticcase.com/products/lg-nexus-4-ballistic-shell-gel-sg-series-case http://www.goballisticcase.com/products/lg-nexus-4-ballistic... Not only prevents the potential sliding, but offers great protection for clumsy phone droppers like myself. Most other cases are more fashion accessoire than they actually protect the device. This one adds some bulk in favor of actual protection. (ymmv yadda yadda)
- mrinterweb 13y agoI put a sticker on the back of my Nexus 4. The phone no longer slides off of seemingly level surfaces. In fact it doesn't slide around much at all after the sticker.
- selectstar 13y agoAlways the simplest way to solve these things, this is what I always use on my phones for hand grip as well as when laying on a surface. If you don't like to have a sticker some appropriate colour duck/duct tape works perfectly.
- uniclaude 13y agoI personally use some sort of rubber sticker instead. It does not effect the resale value, as you can remove it easily, and does not look bad if you cut it properly. All this without the bulk of a case, for less than $5.
- jacquesm 13y agoglue a tiny dot of rubber to the back of the phone.
- savszymura 13y agoI agree; the one to get is Ringke Fusion. I didn't take the original screen film off - free screen protector!
- tehwebguy 13y agoIs sending it off for 2 weeks the only official option for screen replacement?
- csmatt 13y agoI got the front & back xtremeguards for mine and have no problem with it slipping. They're not perfect and there may be a better manufacturer, but I didn't want to add bulk to the phone and they were running their 80% off special. http://www.xtremeguard.com/LG-Google-Nexus-4-Screen-Protectors-p/lg-nexus-4-screen-protector.htm http://www.xtremeguard.com/LG-Google-Nexus-4-Screen-Protecto...
- ThomasCharles 13y agoI picked up the Spigen SGP Steinheil Dual for the same reasons. I actually only use the back protector but it's great. Although, while I haven't had issues with my phone slipping off tables, I don't think I can really attribute that to the protector. I find I can still slide my phone across surfaces as if it were a hockey puck on ice. http://www.spigen.com/brands/google/google-nexus-4-screen-protector-steinheil-dual.html http://www.spigen.com/brands/google/google-nexus-4-screen-pr...
- kamjam 13y agoFor a while, it looks like the N4 came with a free bumper. Does anyone know if this is still so? It's advertised separately for $20, and so I assume not...
- coda_ 13y agoA $1 rear screen protector protects against that and gives it a really great grippy feel on the back. It's so much nicer to hold than having to put a clunky case on it.
- triplesec 13y agoThis is a great pity. I'm looking to upgrade from my Galaxy Sii which seems virtually indestructible, and this matters. All my iphone friends have cracked their screens and I'm clumsier than all of them.