Zune screens cracking from battery pressure?

Interesting news on the Zune front: a friendly tipster's buddy works at a Microsoft call center and handles Zune-related issues. Apparently they've received numerous reports of the Zune screen cracking for no apparent reason, after being left charging overnight. Our tipster's friend conjectures that the lithium ion battery -- which resides right behind the top half of the Zune's screen -- is expanding from overheating and putting too much pressure on the screen, causing it to crack. Unfortunately, Microsoft currently regards the issue as outside warranty coverage, leaving the victims with a broken Zune and nowhere to turn. Of course, this could all be off the mark, and it might turn out that a few Zune-droppers conveniently made up the same story to try and get a free repair, but if there is such a battery-expanding problem, we'd sure like to hear about it -- any of y'alls experiencing screen crackage of a similar nature?

[Dasgooch @ Jan 31st 2007 11:14AM]

I have left my zune charging for well over 8 hours more times than I can count. I can't even recall it getting warm. Others might have something else to say but I have never experianced anything close to that kind of heat it would take to crack a display.

[Kurt MacD @ Jan 31st 2007 11:57AM]

It could not be the heat, but the expanding of the battery without making heat.

[edward_sparks @ Jan 31st 2007 11:27AM]

I have had no issues with cracks, scratches, or anything like this with mine. I am really enjoying my Zune and a lot of people ask me about it when I am out. The only thing I do not like about the Zune so far is the software and it's inability to convert avi files.

[mayoo @ Jan 31st 2007 11:38AM]

"The only thing I do not like about the Zune so far is the software and it's inability to convert avi files. "

Hey dude.. who said u cant do tht .. all u have to do is rename the file to .wmv, drag and drop in zune software rename the files back to .avi from the folder u got press F5 and sync... walla.. it will sync .avi and .mpeg and .divx

[Mrfreezie @ Jan 31st 2007 11:28AM]

Reason not to buy a zune, number 2051.

[Adam @ Jan 31st 2007 11:31AM]

I'm the same as Dasgooch. Everything's been peachy for mine. I've left it for longer than that a number of times (both plugged into USB 1.1, 2.0, a 360 and the wall charger), and stays as gorgeous and cool as ever.

[edward_sparks @ Jan 31st 2007 2:02PM]

Yeah I knew about the renaming of files but that is a bit annoying and there have been complaints about the quality after the conversion. I have been using encode360 to do it now and it's faster than the Zune software and no need for it to convert when you go to sync it.

As for the screen cracking it is possible that it is a small issue that most will not experience. But for the apple boys don't play high and mighty over a

[JD @ Jan 31st 2007 3:18PM]

oh my God....unreal what you PeeCee people have to go thru just to convert a file. And it's Voila. The French word. Not Walla. What the hell is walla???

[Heyzeus @ Jan 31st 2007 11:40AM]

My Zune arrives today!

I'm so excited and I just can't hide it
I'm about to lose control and I think I like it
I'm so excited and I just can't hide it
And I know I know I know I know I know I want my Zune!!!

[Cameron Campbell @ Jan 31st 2007 11:41AM]

This is deeply disturbing.

[Ayle @ Jan 31st 2007 12:44PM]

good for you.....

[Hinkmania @ Jan 31st 2007 11:46AM]

Nope, no such problems with my Zune. Though my headphone cable insulator did detach from the plug, exposing the wire, but I have a habit of wrapped the cable around the zune when putting it in my breast pocket which is likely the cause.

[gizmoguy @ Jan 31st 2007 11:49AM]

I smell bullshit! I've left my Zune on the charger for over a week while I was out of town and it isn't even warm to the touch. I bet the second part of the article is the real truth, people who dropped their Zune and the screen cracked are more likely than not.

[ChongO @ Jan 31st 2007 11:54AM]

Sounds like ipod fanboys working overtime!!

I have had my zune since release! works perfectly fine.... Just wish I could transfer video files from my xbox to the Zune... anyone figure that out?

thanks for the tip on converting avi, mpegs..ill test that out later.

[doyouflip @ Jan 31st 2007 12:02PM]

WTF? Why bother bringing iPods into this discussion at all? Your post would have been fine if you got that chip off your shoulder before typing.

FWIW I agree w/gizmoguy and think it's a few clutzes trying to make up for their lack of hand-eye coordination.

[Boynamedsue @ Jan 31st 2007 11:55AM]

i'm waiting for the forum to fill up with guys that are like "haha.. these people are full of shit... my zune works fine."

but really, whats there to be proud of? you bought a zune.

[andrew @ Jan 31st 2007 12:02PM]

i think this could be false. i mean, the design is straight from Toshiba Gigabeat. surely we would've heard something of this nature since the gigabeat has been out for a while.

[Spartacus @ Jan 31st 2007 12:15PM]

From a few years in cellphones, it sounds like the second answer is the right one. I've had a dozen or so people come in with the 'I plugged it in, went to bed and in the morning the screen was cracked.' Of course this is on a flip phone whose screen is nowhere near the battery. People will never stop thinking things that are their fault aren't, and moreso, will never stop lying to cover up that it is.

[Jake Sims @ Jan 31st 2007 4:53PM]

To be honest, I think if my zune broke then i would lie my way to get a free repair. Don't you?

[timo123 @ Jan 31st 2007 12:15PM]

I have left mine charging overnight several times and have had no issues. Sounds like someone's trying to scam the system.

[A_Str8 @ Jan 31st 2007 12:16PM]

I've had no problems and have not seen any posts about similar problems in the Zune forums I visit regularly. I would be wary of any "news" that begins with "My buddy who works at Microsoft said . . ." I'm disappointed in Engadget for posting such a baseless story.

[Joseph @ Jan 31st 2007 12:20PM]

I agree that the zune is much much more useful than the ipod. It is so big and durable it makes a better paper weight, it makes a better door stop and when i get my "wacky wall walker" stuck too high on the wall, i can knock it down with my zune.

I tried to put my ipod in front of the door, the door just closed like it wasnt even there. I tried to knock down my wacky wall walker and i lost my ipod in the air molecules. It is just too small. Give me something big and beefy like a zune.

you can tell it was made to be tactile.

[Mike @ Feb 1st 2007 1:05PM]

Evidently you did not read the topic of this thread.

[Arthur Gustafson @ Jan 31st 2007 12:25PM]

Also, I want to say in regard to the anti-zune ipod fans, I used to own a video iPod, before that I owned an older generation iPod for a year. I had it for 6-7 months and decided to try out the zune, which ended up with me enjoying the zune much more and selling my iPod to a coworker. The zune has worked perfectly, it is a lot tougher and more scratch resistant. Overall, I'm glad I made the change.

[tf @ Jan 31st 2007 12:30PM]

It's pretty hard to call bullsh!t just because yours is fine. (The same didn't work in your mind for iPods: my 2nd gen iPod's battery still gets 4.5 hours after almost 5 years.) The problem is: we are probably talking about a problem that occurs 1-3% of the time... that would be like 5000-15000 out of about 500,000.


It toughs to imagine that engadget is reaching 100% of the Zune owning population. More so to imagine that they'd fess up to the issues (they are actually more diehard about defending the Zune than iPod owners.)

It's already well known that there is a widespread issue with skipping. The Zune chokes when its full with content. This is known and widespread, but you hardly see any coverage of it. (I don't think it's been covered here yet.)

[Shane @ Jan 31st 2007 12:33PM]

I too smell bull....

Yes, LiIon batteries can expand while being charged but generally there are protections put in place that would shut down charging LONG before this happens.

Also, I doubt the amount of expansion that generally occurs would be nearly enough to crack the screen.

I have several portable devices with integrated LiIon batteries and have never seen this happen. I have, however, cracked the screens on devices by leaving them in my pocket and sitting/laying on them. Oops...

The only way to find out for sure would be forensic examination of the device which I'm sure would happen if it were sent in for replacement. Anyone who has had this happen care to take pictures (including the bulged battery?)

[MearWolf @ Jan 31st 2007 12:59PM]

sorry mate, the only way the battery could expand is if heated, no heat, no expansion

[Dave T. @ Jan 31st 2007 1:05PM]

I put mine on a dock every night to charge and its never gotten warm. I'm guessing these folks dropped their zunes and broke the screen and had to come up with a way to get a free replacement.
I'm still happy with mine.

[Kooster @ Jan 31st 2007 1:14PM]

I've had my Zune since Christmas, and I've had no recharging problems. I've left my Zune plugged in at work all day without any problems.

For those who are having file converting problems, there's plenty of software out there that can do your conversion job; and that are configured for Zune's WMA format. WMA files need to be set at 400 kbps--I believe--for a smooth transfer without any reconversion during a sync. I just wish that the Zune videos had a playlist like the music.

[Blaxploitation @ Jan 31st 2007 1:17PM]

how long have we had electronic devices with Li-Ion batteries and how many of them have warped because of overcharging...That's the beauty of Li-ion batteries they don't have the "memory effect" of Ni-Cad or NMH batteries. That isn't to say that defective Li-ion batteries don't exist and can't be the culprit of the death of zune screens or any other electronic device using a Li-ion battery.

[netposer @ Jan 31st 2007 1:17PM]

My Zune battery expanded and shattered the screen and sent razor-sharp glass into my eye, my 60" plazma tv, my dog, my new car, and my cereal.

It's too easy to get free shit these days--pay up M$

[DreGGs @ Jan 31st 2007 1:38PM]

I've had my zune since day 1, the only time its even EVER gotten even remotely warm is when I transfer a large amount of files to it (I'm talking thousands here).

Regarding the obvious disease of apple-fan-boyism on here. Yes, you can all pretend like you're iPods have no flaws, but you must really come up with better well thought out arguments than the things I've been reading on here (such as "ZUNE SUCKS!@(@*($%^) . If anything, you're just making the average apple user look like an over complacent 13 year old brat. I have nothing but the highest of respects for apple, it's their cult-like userbase that tends to make them look bad.

And just another side note, the amount of people who own zunes who are HAPPY with it FAR outweigh the ones who say "Its garbage". Where as the average iPod post I see here starts off with "I'm on my 3rd iPod and...". Yeah.

[Brian @ Jan 31st 2007 1:38PM]

My Zune barely even gets warm when it charges. Maybe the units with expanding batteries have bad electronics?

All in all, I really like my Zune. It's stylish, and browsing via the album art feels very natural. I hope that, if there is in fact a defect, Microsoft takes care of these people. They've been pretty good with their customer support so far.

[RyogaHibiki @ Jan 31st 2007 1:54PM]

The Zune at the CES booth had a crack in it too.

http://www.thetechzone.com/?m=show&id=667&page=2

[David @ Jan 31st 2007 1:59PM]

It should be noted that if this is true, it would not necessarily apply to all Zunes. Batteries vary in quality and some bad ones eventually get out. Just because it doesn't happen on your Zune doesn't mean it is impossible. After all not all laptops with Sony batteries caught on fire, but some did. It is certainly possible that some bad batteries got into some Zunes.

[Pat @ Jan 31st 2007 2:00PM]

My Zune screen got a crack in it when I accidently threw my WiiMote at it playing a game. Does that count?

[Paula @ Jan 31st 2007 2:01PM]

I've had not a single problem with my Zune... well, after I exchanged it once.

Oh, and everyone looking to convert videos for it. Google the SUPER video converter. It's just a graphical front end to a lot of codecs, and the newest version has a Zune output setting.

[Mike G @ Jan 31st 2007 2:10PM]

I to have recently bought 3 zunes and absolutely love them all. I have had no problems with overheating and really enjoy the hardware much more than ipods. The only problem i see with the zune is the sharing of files that are non-DRM, which in all honestly i enjoy, but have a feeling record companies will try to put a stop to this...

[FluxCapacitor @ Jan 31st 2007 2:13PM]

I leave mine charging overnight all the tie and have yet to have a problem. Then again, I have Circuit City's accidental protection plan (I got my Zune by dropping my Creative Zen Micro "accidentally" then sending it in in exchange for a gift card) so if this ever does happen, I'm covered.

[farmok @ Jan 31st 2007 2:22PM]

I think for now, all we can do is wait and see. I would think that something like this would not happen do to QA tests that look for these things, but things do happen. Also, considering microsoft's track record with new hardware, more specificaly the 360, I would not call this bull.

On the other hand, I do think alot of people will try to capitolize on this situation just like they did with the wii-mote incidents. Thats the nature of the game. You hear one story about a faulty product from a big company and you already see the green and try to get a piece of it.

The only disturbing thing about this whole situation is that concidering how small this issue is, Microsoft won't even cover it. This will ending up hurting them more than anything else. Its like the whole issue where updates for the 360 bricked the boxes and it took them a while to decide that 1. the warranty should be extended and 2. that it is their responsibility.

Come on microsoft, how about alittle support for your zune.

[Karl Viklund @ Jan 31st 2007 2:29PM]

Like Apple Microsoft have issues with their first versions. Sad that this happens but hopefully Microsoft will replace those cracked units for free and fix the issue with their player to the next version.

[Roger Strong @ Jan 31st 2007 2:51PM]

The first color Palm computer had a similar problem - the plastic case kept cracking. It was blamed on the lithium battery, which heated and expanded during heavy use.

[Andrew Fong @ Jan 31st 2007 6:16PM]

How is it easier to convert a video file on a Mac? The iPod's video support is even less than the Zune's if I'm not mistaken, and unless you pay for Quicktime Pro, converting to H.264 can be a pain (and in my experience with converting video files for iMovie, it can be a pain even with Quicktime Pro).

[JaXX @ Jan 31st 2007 3:50PM]

Any Linux ports for Zune yet ?

[Markarian @ Jan 31st 2007 3:52PM]

While this story may sound made up, this early into the Zune's life, this sounds strikingly similar to the problem that killed the Rio Karma. The Rio Karma, if you'll remember, was very popular in its niche because it featured real gapless playback and played Ogg Vorbis files. The batteries would all expand from overcharging, due to poor charging circuitry. This would compress the small, 1.8" hard drive, rendering it unreliable, and in many cases, damaged beyond repair. I've actually seen it happen.

[Tim Cuculic @ Jan 31st 2007 4:00PM]

My Zune sleeps in its dock every night with no problems.

[ERR @ Jan 31st 2007 4:24PM]

i have a zune. and i have not had a single problem with it. yeah it "lags" here and there, but the ipod videos do the exact same thing. thats just a normal thing to all mp3 players. AAAnd, whoever disses the Zune is just jealous they dont have one. you should have waited for the zune, but you became an impatient little $#17 and got the over rated ipod.

[Ken @ Jan 31st 2007 4:26PM]

What's up with the fanboy comment ratings? Anything not raining glory on the Zune is given a negative rank.

[Shah Kanaw @ Jan 31st 2007 5:01PM]

Now you can get a ZuneSKIN with 3-D peanuts for your Fecal Brown Zune®.

[john black @ Jan 31st 2007 5:02PM]

people actually own zunes?