Just noticed that a leading N97 blogger has the problem as well! He's sent his unit off for repair:
How long can Nokia hold out before they make a statement of some kind about this?
Camera lens cover is scratching the lens!
Unplugged wrote:A simple mod would be to remove the protective cover from the underside would it not?Im nos sure how "robust" that would make the slide ( it will prob just flop around and be far too loose )
Apart from possibly invalidating the warranty, this may or may not work (like you said, the cover might not have an resistance to stop it moving from side to side).
If it does come down to me having to fix the lens cover myself, I will get the scratched plastic replaced and then dispose of it.
I took mine to nokia care in peterborough today. They looked at it and said that nokia are going to contact me and took my details...
Interesting... maybe... I wonder if I'll ever hear anything more...
I don't seem to have scratches...yet. Dang, I must be lucky. I have only opened the camera 5-6 times, but I guess I should just keep it open from now on?
I would if I didn't have any. If you get a scratch in the wrong place it can render all future photos with light sources in (or nearby) rubbish!
(update: I just emailed Watchdog & Trading Standards. Not expecting much...)
MonarchX wrote:I don't seem to have scratches...yet. Dang, I must be lucky. I have only opened the camera 5-6 times, but I guess I should just keep it open from now on?
i took around 90 photos in a 6 days - i got two scraches
so one scratch every 45 pictures! 😊
though several were taken on one opening, so probably opened and closed it about 50 times.
dont nokia test these things?
macwhu wrote:dont nokia test these things?
They do. And they get the testers to pay them. And don't tell them that they're testers...
davecozens wrote:They do. And they get the testers to pay them. And don't tell them that they're testers...
:tongue:
I might write in for my fee.
davecozens wrote:They do. And they get the testers to pay them. And don't tell them that they're testers...
heheh, its funny because its true
Check out this forum post & the poll
http://www.nokiausers.net/forum/nokia-n97/28816-possible-n97-design-defect-camera-cover-discuss-here-13.html
http://www.nokiausers.net/forum/nokia-n97/28878-your-n97-camera-glass-being-marked-slide-cover-pics-damage-only-here.html
Vote ... and make sure you check the last page so you can see what is the exact material used for the backcover of the lens ... the blue one
You will be shocked 😡
just a quick link of the one of the pictures
How do you know its a design fault and not a manufacturing defect?
My cover has 1mm distance between itself and the lens, so when I close mine nothing gets scratched and its scratchless right now. It could be that a part manufacturer has a defect...in large amounts I guess. Still, it could be production fault, not necessarily design.
MonarchX wrote:How do you know its a design fault and not a manufacturing defect?My cover has 1mm distance between itself and the lens, so when I close mine nothing gets scratched and its scratchless right now. It could be that a part manufacturer has a defect...in large amounts I guess. Still, it could be production fault, not necessarily design.
Same here .......
Are all the N97's manufactured in Finland, see the white label under the battery, as mine is and so far has had no problem with lens scratching.
I seem to remember that there was a quality issue with, I believe, the N95-1 in that those manufactured in Finland seemed to be of a better quality than those from other countries (I think Hungary or China).
It's just a thought. Trying, as Sherlock Holmes would say, to eliminate the possible.
Hi,
COuld you guys please check following post 😉
http://www.symbian-guru.com/welcome/2009/07/nokia-n97s-camera-slider-is-destroying-itself.html
[email protected] wrote:Are all the N97's manufactured in Finland, see the white label under the battery, as mine is and so far has had no problem with lens scratching.I seem to remember that there was a quality issue with, I believe, the N95-1 in that those manufactured in Finland seemed to be of a better quality than those from other countries (I think Hungary or China).
It's just a thought. Trying, as Sherlock Holmes would say, to eliminate the possible.
Nope, mine (and plenty of others with the problem) is "made in Finland".
MonarchX wrote:How do you know its a design fault and not a manufacturing defect?My cover has 1mm distance between itself and the lens, so when I close mine nothing gets scratched and its scratchless right now. It could be that a part manufacturer has a defect...in large amounts I guess. Still, it could be production fault, not necessarily design.
So the first time you get a 0.5mm piece of grit or dirt from your pocket into the lens cover mechanism, you're getting a scratch, since finger pressure on the cover causes it to depress a little and the blue surface nearest the lens is hard plastic... 😮
cricfancy wrote:Hi,COuld you guys please check following post 😉
http://www.symbian-guru.com/welcome/2009/07/nokia-n97s-camera-slider-is-destroying-itself.html
From the article:
Apparently, Vodafone is reporting a 40% return rate because of this flaw, and obviously, if you�ve shelled out $600+ for the Nokia N97, you�re not a happy camper, either. I�m having trouble believing that Nokia didn�t discover this in the testing that it does on devices. I�m also interested to see how Nokia plans to fix this � obviously they�re not going to just ignore it, right? Let�s hope not.
Of course, Nokia won't just ignore it's users... 🙄
celios wrote:From the article:Apparently, Vodafone is reporting a 40% return rate because of this flaw, and obviously, if you�ve shelled out $600+ for the Nokia N97, you�re not a happy camper, either. I�m having trouble believing that Nokia didn�t discover this in the testing that it does on devices. I�m also interested to see how Nokia plans to fix this � obviously they�re not going to just ignore it, right? Let�s hope not.
Of course, Nokia won't just ignore it's users... 🙄
Right.... so because an article, with zero detail of it's sources, says that Vodafone is reporting a 40% return rate then it must be true?
Krazeh wrote:Right.... so because an article, with zero detail of it's sources, says that Vodafone is reporting a 40% return rate then it must be true?
No guarantees, but if you have concerns why not get in touch with the site? I don't run it and I didn't even post the original link here!
If you take a look at the Vodafone UK forums (http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=30795&st=40&start=40) you'll see there are many people who aren't happy and Vodafone are apparently feeding this back to Nokia. Hopefully they'll listen to their network customers even if they ignore their consumer customers...
But hey, what a refreshing change, a Symbian site that confronts the issues!
celios wrote:From the article:Apparently, Vodafone is reporting a 40% return rate because of this flaw, and obviously, if you’ve shelled out $600+ for the Nokia N97, you’re not a happy camper, either. I’m having trouble believing that Nokia didn’t discover this in the testing that it does on devices. I’m also interested to see how Nokia plans to fix this – obviously they’re not going to just ignore it, right? Let’s hope not.
Of course, Nokia won't just ignore it's users... 🙄
The original source was my Nokiausers article that quoted the 40% return rate. This was announced by a Vodafone representative on Twitter, and mentioning that they have contacted Nokia about this scratch issue, and arer awaiting a response. They have mentioned the latter in their forums.
celios wrote:But hey, what a refreshing change, a Symbian site that confronts the issues!
We too are trying to get an official response from Nokia, and not only posting about this issue on our Nokiausers front page, we have also a few threads in our forums related to the camera lens scratch issue.
N97 Camera Glass Scratch Thread Discussion thread with 5000 views...
N97 Camera Glass Scratch Thread (Photos of damage)..12000 views
N97 Camera Glass Scratch Thread - Photos taken *WITH* N97 with scratched lens..900 views
Nokia could supply the N97 with some : http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/forum//forum/thread/83881/&highlight=Displex
😊 Regards jApi NL
lol. Nokia should supply a small note that reads: -
[INDENT]"There are no known issues with this device. Any perceived issues are imaginary and if you try to talk to us about them we'll stick our fingers in our ears and show 'la la la, we're not listening' until you go away..."[/INDENT]
Micky! wrote:N97 Camera Glass Scratch Thread (Photos of damage)..12000 views
That would be 12000 views but only 31 people who could be bothered actually posting and only 95 who answered your poll one way or the other??
Micky! wrote:
N97 Camera Glass Scratch Thread Discussion thread with 5000 views...
Again, 5000 views but only 136 people were bothered to respond and say anything about the issue?
Having lots of views of something doesn't mean a thing, all it likely means is that a lot of places who have decided to report this "story" have linked to your forum so people have clicked thru to find out what all the nonsense is apparently about. I would hardly use it as some sort of claim that you're spearheading the cause.
Krazeh wrote:That would be 12000 views but only 31 people who could be bothered actually posting and only 95 who answered your poll one way or the other??Again, 5000 views but only 136 people were bothered to respond and say anything about the issue?
Having lots of views of something doesn't mean a thing, all it likely means is that a lot of places who have decided to report this "story" have linked to your forum so people have clicked thru to find out what all the nonsense is apparently about. I would hardly use it as some sort of claim that you're spearheading the cause.
1. DO you own N97
2. IF YES .. do you have the same problem
It is really that simple .. you do not need to be a "smartass"
One more thing .. if there is no such problem .. why Nokia bother changing the scratched ones !?!?!?
O^o What about this forum thread http://discussions.europe.nokia.com/discussions/board/message?board.id=smartphones&thread.id=147821
count the ppl there too !!!
Looks like Nokia changed the design of the lens cover for the N86:
I guess at least someone in Nokia knew there would be trouble with the cover sitting so close to the lens.
ltomovski wrote:1. DO you own N97
2. IF YES .. do you have the same problemIt is really that simple .. you do not need to be a "smartass"
One more thing .. if there is no such problem .. why Nokia bother changing the scratched ones !?!?!?
Yes I do own a N97, and no I do not have the same problem. Despite many opening and closings my camera lens is still scratch free.
And i'm not saying there isn't a problem with some N97 handsets but the current claims that it's a design flaw affecting all N97s and that there's been thousands of damaged handsets have just been pulled out of the air with no factual basis for them. It could just as simply be a manufacturing fault that crept into several batches of the handset but it appears that's an idea which is too crazy to be considered and it must obviously be a complete cockup by Nokia who've intentionally designed lens covers that scratch the lens.
ltomovski wrote:O^o What about this forum thread http://discussions.europe.nokia.com/discussions/board/message?board.id=smartphones&thread.id=147821
count the ppl there too !!!
There's been 181 replies, and from a quick browse it appears that a number of posters have responded multiple times which brings the actual number of people contributing to the thread down to a figure far below 181. I would also be willing to bet that a fair few of the people on that thread are also people who've been posting on nokiausers.net and/or here.
Krazeh wrote:
And i'm not saying there isn't a problem with some N97 handsets but the current claims that it's a design flaw affecting all N97s and that there's been thousands of damaged handsets have just been pulled out of the air with no factual basis for them.
You can try and argue the toss if you like, but the popularity of the topic on this and other discussion boards suggests there is a significant problem.
Your only contribution seems to be the denial of something that I and many other posters here are experiencing on a day to day basis. Yet, still you continue to post?
celios wrote:You can try and argue the toss if you like, but the popularity of the topic on this and other discussion boards suggests there is a significant problem.Your only contribution seems to be the denial of something that I and many other posters here are experiencing on a day to day basis. Yet, still you continue to post?
i agree, if you have no problem with your n97 then you are lucky and go be happy.
but clearly there is an issue, my lens is so far ok but i can see how this problem could occur and clearly its to do with the slider, its no conincedance that EVERY SINGLE photo posted of stratches are in line with the sliding mechanism
i think its in the interests of all N97 owners (whether their lens is currently ok or not) to get Nokia to look into this and find out what the problem is.
Personally i cannot see any other explanation of the issue, other than the sliding cover
celios wrote:You can try and argue the toss if you like, but the popularity of the topic on this and other discussion boards suggests there is a significant problem.Your only contribution seems to be the denial of something that I and many other posters here are experiencing on a day to day basis. Yet, still you continue to post?
I'm not denying that you, or other posters, are experiencing a problem with your N97 as it's clear that you are. What I have an issue with is the constant unfounded claims that the same problem affects all N97 handsets, that it's a design flaw and that Nokia need to recall and redesign all the handsets.
And popularity of a topic on the internet doesn't mean that it's a significant problem for anything other than the people involved. It's very often the case that topics with a large number of responses tend to have most of the responses from a small number of vocal posters so the number of people involved is usually far less than it would appear from first glance. As a case in point my ISP had an issue with congestion on a couple of exchanges in London, it ended up leading to the most responded to and most viewed topic in the forum and was also the subject of popular topics on other broadband forums. Despite this, even discounting that most of the replies were from a small group of posters, the number of responses/views were a tiny percentage of the ISP's userbase and it wasn't as significant a problem as posters were claiming.
Krazeh wrote:I'm not denying that you, or other posters, are experiencing a problem with your N97 as it's clear that you are. What I have an issue with is the constant unfounded claims that the same problem affects all N97 handsets, that it's a design flaw and that Nokia need to recall and redesign all the handsets.And popularity of a topic on the internet doesn't mean that it's a significant problem for anything other than the people involved. It's very often the case that topics with a large number of responses tend to have most of the responses from a small number of vocal posters so the number of people involved is usually far less than it would appear from first glance. As a case in point my ISP had an issue with congestion on a couple of exchanges in London, it ended up leading to the most responded to and most viewed topic in the forum and was also the subject of popular topics on other broadband forums. Despite this, even discounting that most of the replies were from a small group of posters, the number of responses/views were a tiny percentage of the ISP's userbase and it wasn't as significant a problem as posters were claiming.
Now you've said your piece, and you don't have a problem - and cannot ever forsee having a problem with the lens cover, is there any chance you can please leave this thread alone for people who have the issue to discuss it and attempt to find a remedy?