Does the BlackBerry KeyOne screen STILL FALL OFF?? - Round 2 By JerryRigEverything

So it's been exactly two months since I released a video on the durability test on the BlackBerry KeyOne – where the screen popped off the device. Two days after I made that video, BlackBerry issued a statement saying: “Our teams are actively examining additional adhesive measures that might further strengthen and eliminate and possibility of display separation occurring. If a customer does experience this however, they're encouraged to contact us for a device warranty replacement. ” I think that's really cool of BlackBerry to issue a statement like that so soon after the issue presented itself. My screen wasn't the only one popping off. There were multiple before I even made my video.

The only problem is, one month later I was on Twitter and I noticed that people were still complaining about their screens popping off. So I asked them what was going on. And BlackBerry replied assuring me that “additional measures are already in place and rolling out now. ” Yesterday I went on Amazon and purchased another KeyOne. It's been two months since the original issue and they've had plenty of time to fix it.

So let's take a look inside this and see what new measures are in place. Before I jump into the boxes, let's get a closeup look at the original screen that fell off my phone two months ago. Normally on any other smartphone there would be some sticky residue leftover from a screen removal, but on this BlackBerry KeyOne, all the surfaces are smooth. There's no tackiness to be found – not on the screen, nor on the phone body itself. Without any adhesive the screen can fall away from the phone.

Now taking a look at the retail boxes – they are essentially identical. The next box I purchased yesterday is on the left, and the old box I purchased two months ago is on the right. Even down here on the sticker the model numbers are the same, along with identical PRD numbers. Usually if a physical change is made to a device something will be added to the box to differentiate them – like recalled Note 7's and that circular sticker that Samsung added to the bar codes. These boxes look the same though.

The phone itself looks as slick as ever. Personally, I like the design. I enjoyed having a physical keyboard while using my old BlackBerry Pearl back in the day. Looking close at the new screen there is no visible gap or lift, so if BlackBerry did add more adhesive under the display there's no way to tell physically from outside the phone. With my old KeyOne, my screen was weak enough to pull away from the body with my fingers, but so far with this screen it's staying in place like it should.

So far so good. We'll jump right into the bend test which is a solid indicator of build quality. With my hands placed below the screen, it should allow it free access to pop away from the device – if it's going to pop off at all. Surprising to me though, there is no screen failure. Honestly, I assumed that BlackBerry's initial response was corporate cover up and damage control, but it looks like they actually did something to the screen to hold it in place better.

There's only one way to find out for sure though, and that's by opening up the phone and taking a look from the inside. Remember, I purchased this phone myself. BlackBerry has not contacted me directly outside of that one response on Twitter when they said they rolled out some physical updates. Now normally to remove the screen of a phone you would turn it off and use heat to soften the adhesive and make it more pliable and then separate the display from the body carefully with some pry tools. I assume that this would be the same with the BlackBerry KeyOne, but it is not.

The adhesive is not softened by heat, it is permanent. And my pry tools obliterated the display underneath the glass trying to remove it. Extreme brute force is now the only way to remove the screen, and the screen is not going to survive. This has quickly become a very expensive project, but at least now we get to see inside the phone. We went from having the screen fall off too easy, to a screen so attached it's un-removeable.

I'm totally fine with that though, since to access the internal components of the phone, like the battery, you'll go in from the back of the phone and not the front. So a permanent screen on this device is just fine with me. And a huge thumbs up to BlackBerry for stepping up and taking care of their costumers. There's still no tackiness from the adhesive. The new BlackBerry KeyOne on the bottom had a rough texture from the extra black glue added to the display.

The smooth BlackBerry KeyOne at the top is the one that arrived with no adhesive and the screen fell off. I'm very impressed that BlackBerry stepped up and corrected their fatal design flaw. And now that it is fixed, I'm more than happy to remove the BlackBerry KeyOne from my Shelf of Shame, and I can fully recommend it has a phone that will stand the test of time. If you want a phone with a physical keyboard, this is indeed a good option. I'll leave a link in the video description if you want to check out the current pricing.

And follow me on Twitter for future updates. Thanks a ton for watching, and I'll see you around.

Source : JerryRigEverything