possible n97 design defect with the camera cover-*DISCUSS HERE*

[N98]

Bought a couple replacement lens assemblies ($12.99) and removed the plastic clear part over the lens....No flooding issues..

I scratched up one cover pretty good..No effect on photos.

My conclusion is the scratches don;t affect the PQ at all. What is causing the flooding and fogging is a fibre optic effext of light travelling through the lip og th plastic covering and hitting smudges and dispersing across the plastic.

The fix is remove the plastic altogther as pictured....or paint the inside of the lip on the lens side withnblack Marker keeping ligh from going through the plastic.

[N98]

Originally Posted by buxz777

i have to agree about the n86 the middle of the cover is clearly raised meaning it wont drag dirt etc over the lens causing the scratches

the n97 dosent have the raise and is flat and sits right on the plastic of the lens thus causing the scratches

the n86 is raised in the part that goes over the actual circle of the lens

the n86 design seems quite good to me , its not the best , still could get scratched but around the actual circle of the lens would be quite hard as its raised

But any light entering the side of the clear plastic covering will still be dispersed by the scratches and cause flash and bright light issues. The only solution I found was to eliminate the plastic altogether or paint the lip between the flash and the lens black to keep light from entering the plastic c ala a fibre optic effect...Light will travel horizontally through clear plastic.....that horizontal travel will be ACROSS the lens being dispersed by ANY dirt, smudges or scratches

[dcastrog]

and the N86 differs from the N97 because there is a metal strip between the LEDs and the glass. so no 'optic fiber effect"

[GSMGuy]

Was speaking to a high level TS guy @ Orange yesterday over issues with my N97, and got onto the subject of the N97, which was showing on their Nokia Phones web page for the last week, as coming soon, and has now disappeared - Including from the "coming soon" pages...

I asked if they were still having software issues, and he replied "off the record" that the software issues were sorted, and it was going to be unbranded\unlocked as per my N96's - BUT there were "build quality" issues surrounding the case....

When pressed he could not, or would not divulge if it was the scratching issue... But makes you wonder...

I am, sadly after seeing this, glad that I have not gone for a N97 yet, due to my only wanting to get it from Orange, and not CP or P4U (Orange Care won't cover phones supplied by them)

I am now sorely tempted by the IPhone 3Gs....

Mike

[93tid]

Originally Posted by GSMGuy

I am now sorely tempted by the IPhone 3Gs....

How does the Orange Care cover work for handsets on O2 ?

[buxz777]

TAKEN FROM THE VODA E FORUM WRITTEN BY AN OFFICIAL VODA MOD

Hi everyone,

Thanks for posting. Nokia have responded and requested examples to be given so we have supplied some of the return devices we've had back. Vodafone will only make the results public once we have an official solution from Nokia which will be no overnight scenario. To be fair, this forum acts as a public domain in it's own right so while nothing official has been announced yet, we're certainly not hiding the fact customers are having issues biggrin.gif

The pictures you guys have supplied already can also be used to show evidence too so keep them coming and as soon as we get news on a fix we'll make sure you all know.

Cheers, Ben

eForum Team

[celios]

If you look at this page about the forthcoming N900:

Nokia Internet Tablet (N900/Rover) Images | The Symbian Blog

This image shows a similar design of slider to the N97, but with a little groove so you can better grip the cover.



I think the problem with the N97 appears to be twofold. [1] The fact that the only way to grip the cover so you can (quickly) open it is by applying some downward pressure and [2] the fact the cover is so close to the lens in the first place. The groove solves problem number one. Unfortunately, due to the position of the magnet in the N97 cover I don't know how much they will be able to do about problem number 2.

[buxz777]

iam not a member of the voda forum but could someone who is please go here

Camera Lens.. Design Flaw - Vodafone eForum

and provide a link to this

Is your N97 Camera Glass being marked by the Slide cover? *PICS OF DAMAGE ONLY* here!

this maye help voda convince nokia there is a problem , if voda have problems with nokia iam thinking they may actually listen to them considering how many device nokia must sell to them a year

maybe someone could also post pictures in that voda thread :-)

thanks everyone

[mookies11]

I've also have faced the same problem as well on my N97 white, and have sent an email to Nokia Malaysia . However, their reply was very disappointment and frustrates me!!. The email here goes as below:

ext-custservicemy@nokia.com to me

Dear Mr. mookies,

Thank you for emailing Nokia Careline.

We sincerely regret to hear that you have been facing issues with your Nokia N97 and we apologize for the inconvenience caused.

In response to your inquiry, we sincerely regret to inform you that Nokia does not have a replacement policy. Please be advised that the camera lens of your Nokia N97 is considered as an accessory part of your phone, thus replacement of this part may not be covered by Nokia's Limited Warranty.

You may like to visit our website at Nokia Malaysia - Home for more information and support for your Nokia device. If you have further enquiries, please write to us again or contact Nokia Careline at 1300 881600. We operate between the hours of 8.00am and 8.00pm, seven days a week.

Please help us improve our services by completing the Nokia E-mail Satisfaction Survey from the following link: http://digiumenterprise.com/answer/?...CFD7&anslang=0

Kind regards,

Kay Cee Baltazar
Nokia Careline
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nokia malaysia said that the camera lens is "a part of accessory". Its part of the PHONE ! ....... Annoyed by the replies and gonna think of changing to E72 when it comes out!!!! I mean, in Europe or USA, you could as for a one-to-one of your handsets when the phone has a defect in one year.....but here.....owh god, its soooo hard to get a replacement!!!!!!!!!

[Micky]

@mookies11 - I have Approved your post, only because I edited out all of your swearing. Please do not post any such words again within these forums. This is a family based forum, and we do not tolerate such foul language on these boards.

Thanks