Fixing my Zune’s broken glass (again) on the cheap!

May 23rd, 2009

A while ago I dropped my Zune flat on its face and fixed it myself with some parts from RapidRepair.com. Unfortunately, it seems that Rapid Repair’s replacement “glass” wasn’t glass at all but rather some cheap plastic that broke while the Zune was in my pocket with my cell phone.

Youch!

I had already spent a bunch of money fixing my Zune the first time, so I wasn’t too eager to spend more money. Since the original accident Microsoft began offering a repair service for broken glass and screens… for $80. I opted for a cheaper solution in every sense of the word. Instead of replacing the front glass, I decided to remove the broken pieces and simply put the Zune in a clear plastic case. I clicked around Amazon.com and found the a cheap clear case for $3.27. (As of today, the price is $3.10.) The whole deal as $6.25 with shipping.

The first step in the repair was to remove the broken pieces from in front of the LCD screen. I began to take apart the Zune, but then I thought I might be able to pick off the pieces with a small pick—I used the flathead screwdriver that came with my Rapid Repair kit. The process was oddly reminiscent of pealing a hard-boiled egg. Note that I was only able to peal away the glass because it was the cheap Rapid Repair stuff. The glass that comes on Zunes is much stronger and stays in one piece even after it cracks.

After I got all of the pieces off I sprayed a bit of Windex on a paper towel and cleaned up the remaining dust. (The blemish at the top of the frame is from when I replaced the glass the first time.)

With the case on my Zune is basically as good as new. My only concern now is that dust will get up under the cover and I’ll have to clean it out. Time will tell for that.

As for the case itself, the only problem that it seems to have is that it makes the hold switch inaccessible without something like a toothpick or paperclip. The case does come with the necessary parts to clip the Zune to a belt, so it might not be a big deal if I decide to do that.

I almost decided to ditch this Zune, an 8GB model, for a larger 16GB model, but I hear a new model, the Zune HD, is coming out later this year. I’ll be paying close attention to that as well!

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General, Tutorials
DIY, Fixing, Microsoft, Projects, rapidrepair.com, Zune
23 May 2009 comments [9] TrackBack-URI

9 comments

Zune Repair: Replacing a Flash Zune’s Glass | My Piece of the Inter(.)net posted on May 23, 2009:

[...] The Rapid Repair glass broke a few weeks after I installed it. More on that here. [...]
Jim Ramsey posted on May 23, 2009:

Very cool!
The Coucil posted on May 23, 2009:

“…so I wasn’t to[o] eager to spend more money.”
David McGrath posted on May 23, 2009:

Thanks, Ryan. Fixed.
anon posted on July 10, 2009:

Correction, Rapidrepair.com doesnt sell plastic replacements. Only Glass which is rated for better impact. they have sold thousands of these glass lenses to happy customers all over the world!
David McGrath posted on July 10, 2009:

the product page says

All orders will come with a free ThinSkin protective screen cover to function as a laminate for the glass. Using your Zune without this ThinSkin cover can expose you to sharp glass if you should break the front panel again.

This heavily implies that their glass is fragile. At the very least it doesn’t stay in one piece when it breaks like the original glass. You say that the glass is “rated for better impact,” but better than what? You really lose credibility in your comment by posting as “anon.”
mayank posted on July 26, 2009:

my zune does not connect to the computer or doesnot turn in help me please.
David McGrath posted on July 26, 2009:

Sorry, can’t help you….

http://www.zune.net/en-US/support/default.htm

http://forums.zune.net/default.aspx
d posted on December 24, 2009:

Can’t you just repair the screen on rapid repair and buy a leather case?