Samsung Z fold 5 Hinge issues

[mando786]

I had my Samsung Z fold 5 as soon as it got released in August. As my first Foldable i absolutely loved the experience but i continued to read about these phones being notoriously fragile hence i would absolutely baby my Z Fold 5. Three months in and i started noticing the hinge making this sound i wasn't used to and i also felt the phone wouldn't open completely. Although it was a very minor difference but it did alarm me. Just a week ago i open my Fold 5 and Bam. The inner display has a black line in the centre and my heart sank. I closed the phone and opened it a couple of times and eventually the touch stopped working and the more i opened and closed the hinge the worst it got. Eventually the inner display started flickering and turned green in the centre. All this happened in just one day and i had to run to O2 office to claim the warranty and they eventually replaced my phone. Mind you that the inner display had the protector intact and as i said i would absolutely baby my phone with the best case i could get.

Point is i am scared of Foldables now. It is a risky luxury but i have anxiety now everytime i open my Fold 5. If you want to get this phone without full damage cover warranty you might as well throw money in fire.

[Solo86]

Unfortunately it's an issue spanning the Z fold history. I thought they would have addressed the problem by now instead of continuing to manufacture phones with the same design flaw.

[Ryler007]

That looks like a 3rd party screen protector, I have had fold 3, 4 and now 5. The 5's screen started to crackle and pop when opening after 3 months and when I sent it to Samsung, they sent me a brand new handset with my old imei number 🤔

[chionophilaine]

I have accepted the fact foldables are very fragile still and needs more care than a regular slab phone. I switched to a Fold 5 last November (after using iPhones for a long time). 

Also, I baby it a lot: I keep it unfolded at home and avoid folding it unless I am outside (or when necessary). I also do not fold whilst touching the inner screen; I fold it at the bottom part to avoid exerting too much pressure on the inner screen.

I wonder how many times, on average, do you fold your phone in a day? I feel like this is also a key factor into keeping the inner screen intact, even if Samsung has not directly answered this issue. I average about 4 folds a day. I know they said they did an 'extensive test' where the fold survived thousands of folds, but then again, it is still a new technology and we still see a lot of units breaking especially from the first 4 versions. 

I am not trying to defend Samsung; in fact, I'm only trying to gather information on how Fold users usually handle their phones to avoid problems in the future. I am planning to keep this phone for 2 years but from the way I see it, it seems futile no matter how much I look after it.

[Nick9542]

You are soo lucky they replaced your phone... This is my third time with the same type of issue. 

Mine starting with a small lines on the left side hinge.. then began to run to the right side. I babied mine also. Never dropped it, had the case cover and bought extra screen protectors. I sent it in and warranty covered it, and they fixed it. Then a month later, no dropping nothing. it came back, but worse. The bottom half began flickering, and changed to bright lights and i had a hard time using it. 

I sent it back in, and they tried to tell me it was out of warranty and damaged. However, it was the same issue. They were able to keep it in warranty... 

Now, not even a month later... and the issue started back up again and I am having a hard time clicking on the screen.  

[Lylacocomoio]

They made me pay for a new screen on mine for the same reason

[Ahmad El-Bukhari]

I solved this issue on my fold 5 phone where I discovered that after removing the protection from the phone's hinges, which I installed when I first opened the phone, the sound disappeared completely. Opening the phone became smoother, indicating that the protective membrane was causing obstruction to the movement of the central axis during phone opening.

[Mistapock]

I had that same problem. Got it replaced within 12 month of purchase z fold4 to a zfold 5. 3 years warrant, but the next one did the same thing after 9 months. I treated it lik3e a baby, never dropped, never wet. But said it was customer damage. It's in mint condition. $1000 to replace the screen. I will never waste money on another fold. It split right up the fold both phones. Front still works great

[Amirud]

Fold 4 internal screen issue, what is samsung saying about it? Is it a known manufacturing fault?

[BluSleeper]

I can attest to the problems with Samsung Fold devices. Stay away!