OFT cracked screen minutes after receiving..

[Vitamin-R]

So I received my OFT and immediately went to load the stage 1 tune on to my FR-S. I love the difference the tune made, and am super excited to get a header and load stage 2 now.

However, my excitement got the best of me and I ended up accidentally dropping the tablet from about 3 feet off the ground. The screen cracked diagonally, and now every function above the top half of the crack won't work when pressed. Everything is still visible and the pixels on the screen all seem fine.

I emailed OFT telling them about my misfortune and, understandably, there is a cost to pay for getting it fixed. The part that's troubling me is they want $250 dollars to send a replacement, pretty much 50% of the cost of the tablet I just bought.

Before I go about spending another $250 dollars, does anyone with experience with LCD screen replacements think it would be possible to take the tablet somewhere and have them replace the screen and have the functions still work? The crack on the screen looks like its right at the surface.

[Shiv@Openflash]

Originally Posted by Vitamin-R

So I received my OFT and immediately went to load the stage 1 tune on to my FR-S. I love the difference the tune made, and am super excited to get a header and load stage 2 now.

However, my excitement got the best of me and I ended up accidentally dropping the tablet from about 3 feet off the ground. The screen cracked diagonally, and now every function above the top half of the crack won't work when pressed. Everything is still visible and the pixels on the screen all seem fine.

I emailed OFT telling them about my misfortune and, understandably, there is a cost to pay for getting it fixed. The part that's troubling me is they want $250 dollars to send a replacement, pretty much 50% of the cost of the tablet I just bought.

Before I go about spending another $250 dollars, does anyone with experience with LCD screen replacements think it would be possible to take the tablet somewhere and have them replace the screen and have the functions still work? The crack on the screen looks like its right at the surface.

Unfortunately, OFTs aren't repairable. They enclosure is sealed and opening it up with damage it. So a cracked screen requires a whole new device. And since it wasn't a manufacturing problem, we can't claim repair on it and provide you a replacement free-of-charge as would otherwise be the case. I wish I had a more palatable solution for you.

[phobos512]

OP, you should be happy they're discounting the replacement at all. You broke the thing; it's not the manufacturer's fault. Blows my mind how entitled people are anymore.

[phrosty]

Originally Posted by phobos512

OP, you should be happy they're discounting the replacement at all. You broke the thing; it's not the manufacturer's fault. Blows my mind how entitled people are anymore.

He doesn't sound entitled at all.

[Fastbrew]

Sorry about the drop. It reminded me of the Eddie Murphy Ice Cream Man bit. Also -
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lhXOgJ8ahA"]First iPhone 6 sold in Perth is dropped by kid during an interview - YouTube[/ame]

[phobos512]

Originally Posted by phrosty

He doesn't sound entitled at all.

Seriously?

"The part that's troubling me is they want $250 dollars to send a replacement, pretty much 50% of the cost of the tablet I just bought. "

[phrosty]

Originally Posted by phobos512

Seriously?

Totes Serious. He's acknowledged that it is his fault and hasn't shifted any responsibility for fixing it onto OpenFlash. He isn't saying $250 is an unfair price, or demanding a discount, or trying to stir shit up by acting like a victim.

This is not entitlement, this is a DIYer asking a DIYer forum if there's a DIY solution before he drops an amount of money that is tough to swallow.

[phobos512]

Originally Posted by phrosty

Totes Serious. He's acknowledged that it is his fault and hasn't shifted any responsibility for fixing it onto OpenFlash. He isn't saying $250 is an unfair price, or demanding a discount, or trying to stir shit up by acting like a victim.



This is not entitlement, this is a DIYer asking a DIYer forum if there's a DIY solution before he drops an amount of money that is tough to swallow.

Obviously we've read OP's post differently. The word "troubling" lends to me an indication that OP thinks it's unfair that he has to pay for a new tablet, even at a substantially discounted rate.

Yes; this is a DIY forum but it is a car forum; not an electronics forum. If OP can obtain the specs on the display it's possible he might be able to order a new one (from, say, Digikey), disassemble the tablet and install a new screen. However as already has been pointed out the OFT tablet is not end user repairable and someone without an electronics background is probably more likely to damage it while attempting a repair.

[stugray]

If OFT wants the broken one back for the exchange then your hands are tied.

IF they do not want the broken one back, then you are free to try to open the case without destroying the device.

Chances are that IF you can open it without destroying it, you will find that the display is some of the shelf capacitive touch display.
However that STILL doesnt mean that you can find a replacement for cheap.

I broke the screen on my MOTO-Droid phone and was going to replace JUST THE DISPLAY, and guess how much the parts alone were going to cost? - $250

[zkv476]

I had an OFT and shiv is right, the device is sealed and glued together or something of that nature. I do quite a bit of hobby electronics and automation work (I'm an EE haha) and finding the screen shouldn't be much of an issue, it's probably a pretty standardized piece of hardware since it's cheaper to build off available hardware than to have customized hardware for application unless you're doing very high volume production, and the OFT isn't (think cell phones, calculators, etc). Heck I've built projects with TFTLCDs and resistive touchscreens, the OFT looks to be 320x240 maybe? If the display labels and markings aren't obfuscated it should actually be pretty easy to get a replacement. These types of displays aren't too expensive.

The catch 22 though is that by opening it, it may no longer be accepted for discounted replacement. You will probably need to return the device to get a replacement, similar to the policy on Cobb APs. Since this hasn't ever been attempted there's no guarantee for success. It's also not something you can just take to the mall screen replacement guys. You can't just google OFT replacement screen and get 11 million results. You'd need someone with the experience and background of choosing a suitable replacement.

[Vitamin-R]

Originally Posted by phobos512

OP, you should be happy they're discounting the replacement at all. You broke the thing; it's not the manufacturer's fault. Blows my mind how entitled people are anymore.

Get over yourself. I didn't blame OFT at all. 250 dollars troubles me as it would hurt anyone else if they had just dropped 500 dollars. I completely take the blame and understand if there is no other way about it. I just wanted to see if I could solve the problem myself.

[Vitamin-R]

Originally Posted by Fastbrew

Sorry about the drop. It reminded me of the Eddie Murphy Ice Cream Man bit. Also -

Haha yes. Pretty much sums up my luck.

[JEDI]

I have no experience with OFT's. Can they be hooked to a laptop ? And use the laptop as an interface?

[phrosty]

Originally Posted by JEDI

I have no experience with OFT's. Can they be hooked to a laptop ? And use the laptop as an interface?