Legit OREO FIX DIY - Warning! Experts only!!!

[tripsbacks]

This really helped me out. I have absolutley NO "oreo" anymore. The super glue corrected 70%, and that was all on one side. I put a little piece of paper in the other side. The battery holds the paper in place so it does not slide around. I know some of you would be against using paper next to the battery, but I have done this before on other phones to make the battery cover tight. I will keep an eye on it so it does not catch fire. LOL.

I'll take some pictures later. I did not get finished with all the glue until about midnight. I had to get up early for work. I applied about 4 applications of super glue. I put it on really thin so it took me a while. Like the OP said, take your time. You DO NOT want to glue your phone shut.

[ranzchic]

Originally Posted by lukehale

also I thought of trying to lightly hammer on it as well, but I didn't know how strong the parts were and so didn't want to have to use too much pressure. Plus, the more times you bend the metal, isn't it going to be easier for it to get bent back out once the metal is slightly stretched (weaker)?

Bending actually makes the metal 'stronger', IIRC. It does make it more brittle so in essence, it is weaker.

[awesomepatrol]

Has anyone else tried this? I'm curious but I'm not sure that I really understand what to do.

Originally Posted by Preman

Thanks to the OP I was able to fix my SMALL wobbly problem on one of my pres. I your screen moves from left to right you want to do this SIMPLE FIX.

- Just use some good sticking tape (I used duct tape) and cut small thin pieces.

- Take of battery cover and battery.

- Lift up the screen, now with the BACK facing you, put 2 of the tapes on the TOP LEFT side of the rail.

- Close the slider and if the tape sticked your good to go. Picture with RED lines show where to add the tape. Hope OP does not mind that I used his pic.

You may need 1-3 pieces of tape depending on your gap.

This worked out REALL WELL.

THANKS OP!

[turtle3]

If you look back a few posts, none of us understand what Preman was talking about. It's almost as if he hijacked the thread to add incorrect information.

A few people have posted back that they followed the procedure originally posted and it worked very well for them. My pre is still doing very very well with zero oreo effect in the closed position.

Try looking at the first post...hope that helps.

[StoneRyno]

When I looked inside the back over with the battery out and seen the slider mechanics I wondered why the flange as you call it isn't longer. It seems to me that 3mm longer would make for a more sturdy slider and probably minimize twisting even more. I too had dropped my pre a couple times. Immediately after the 2nd time I noticed more give between the keyboard half and screen half. I also noticed the side with the smaller flange moved with the slight increase in twist while the other side didn't budge. This led me to thinking why not have the flanges 3mm longer then this may simply eliminate the problem.

I've not tried to do anything to tighten up the flange but I believe this is something that they can easily repair. My guess is even being careful not to stress the mechanism from sliding open and closed and from dropping the pre in time the mechanism will wear so that twisting will occur. But longer flanges may make it so that one can't detect the wear.

[cookedart]

I did this to my pre and it worked spectacularly. I can't get it to wobble even if I try.

That being said my pre no longer has the same satisfying "snap" on shut, but it still closes and opens very nicely.

Thanks so much for the idea! I'm so glad I did this!

[Addie_Goodvibes]

Anyone who attempts this takes on a risk of permanently damaging their phone.

The phones was designed to have some motion while some phones are too "twisty" this doesn't mean they need to be "fixed" or glued. By gluing it you may put additional stress on the device where stress or pressure was not present before.

I personally think that if your phone is twisting so badly it should be addressed with PALM directly and see if you can get a warranty replacement.

Anything other than a manufacterer or authorized repair center is taking a risk.

[sherman901]

I have very very mild Oreo effect, will the repair center actually legitimately remove the oreo effect? The left side of the slider does not sit flush with the bottom part, will taking it in remedy the situation?

[turtle3]

Originally Posted by Addie_Goodvibes

Anyone who attempts this takes on a risk of permanently damaging their phone.

Right you are. There's a very large disclaimer at the top of the first post.

Originally Posted by Addie_Goodvibes

The phones was designed to have some motion while some phones are too "twisty" this doesn't mean they need to be "fixed" or glued. By gluing it you may put additional stress on the device where stress or pressure was not present before.

I agree with the bold part, however, I will respectfully disagree with the other comments. If you closely inspect the mechanism and closely read the procedure, you'll realize this process does not put any undue stress on other parts that were "designed to have motion". Now, if someone decides to ignore my advice about only building up a very thin layer of glue and instead decides they want it thick enough to "lock" their phone in the closed position (i.e. absolutely zero motion, probably would have to force it shut), then yes - I totally agree that undue stress is being put on the slider mechanism to close it.

Mine is doing great - large oreo twisting is eliminated, permanently, but it still can move the slightest bit when closed, as I believe it should (like you indicate). It wouldn't make sense to me that 2 separate halves of the phone could (or should) be assembled with zero movement between the parts. However, the large oreo twisting caused by lateral pressures, or neglect, or factory defect are NOT normal, in my opinion. The gluing process fixes the latter.

Originally Posted by Addie_Goodvibes

[B]I personally think that if your phone is twisting so badly it should be addressed with PALM directly and see if you can get a warranty replacement.

Good luck with this one for 2 reasons: 1. Palm isn't addressing it yet (that we know of publicly) and they probably never will for fear of a massive product recall. 2. It's too early in the game for the Warranty Replacement to be any different - it's a design flaw (albeit minor) with the slider mechanism/materials. Maybe the flanges need to be longer, or wider, or stronger...I'm not entirely sure, however, this gluing process improves on the design flaw and makes for a sturdier Pre in the closed position.

Originally Posted by Addie_Goodvibes

Anything other than a manufacterer or authorized repair center is taking a risk.

This is 100% true also. But, I'd rather have a sturdy phone that I fixed myself than keep crying back to Sprint to give me a replacement that will undoubtedly do the same thing. My "fixed" Pre is holding up great, especially with what I put it through every day.

My Pre get's used heavily throughout the day, every day. The oreo was just a pet peeve that I believed I could fix - and I did. As it sounds from others on this thread, the process is reproducible and very very effective. I, personally, am much happier with my $500+ phone without the large twisting (or dealing with replacing it over and over). Sure, I probably shouldn't have to do this to my brand-new phone, but hey, I can respect that Palm is still learning a lot right now. The profile of this device for what's crammed inside is very impressive to me. Future devices will be improved and I appreciate Palm's pursuit of innovative devices. I knew being an early adopter might have its hiccups and I'm cool with that....hence, I'm cool with dabbing a little glue on my phone to make it how I want it.

In about 6 months, when I've beat up my Pre enough and they have actually fixed the slider design flaws (no rumors, gotta have some hard evidence), then I'll invoke my TEP and get a new device.

Until then....I'm happy with my glue....and the minimal risks that I feel I've taken to make my phone better.

[leftyman]

Out of curiosity I decided to look at this as a solution to the slight twist (1mm) my Pre seemed to have in both directions..

So anyways I read your method which makes very good sense and decided to open up my Pre and take a peek at the slider mechanism.

I was a little worried about the lack of space to work in and also notice that both of my flanges had some play in the slider track.

So on a whim I grabbed a small Phillips head screw driver and CAREFULLY applied downward pressure on both of the flanges, pressing the flanges against the bottom of the rail.

I have to say it seems to have at least temporarily resolved what I considered to be excessive play in the slider mechanism.

Im going to be a little more conscious of how I open the slider from here on, and see if it keeps tight.

*edit*

I did this in the closed position and in a half opened position a couple of times to each side.

[Abyssul]

I would just like to thank turtle3 for this fix. I think it might apply to specific oreo issues, but it does work none-the-less. I had a twisting motion when the phone was closed, but not open so I thought this fix was for me. I applied it and now it is nearly solid. It does click when I twist left and right, but I'm fine with that.

Now I just have to determine how long this might last.

[Ecode]

I just got my Bell Pre. I have about a 1-1.5mm oreo. I will be trying this as I'm not afraid of tight places and superglue.....

Worst case is it does nothing for me and I live with it, until I get the chance to exchange it.

[superkyol]

Originally Posted by Ecode

I just got my Bell Pre. I have about a 1-1.5mm oreo. I will be trying this as I'm not afraid of tight places and superglue.....

Worst case is it does nothing for me and I live with it, until I get the chance to exchange it.

Same here exactly.

Anyone know if this superglue fix also corrects the gap issue? When I press on the touch screen, specifically in the top corners, I can feel the top half of the phone moving down against the bottom half.

[StoneRyno]

Originally Posted by Ecode

I just got my Bell Pre. I have about a 1-1.5mm oreo. I will be trying this as I'm not afraid of tight places and superglue.....

Worst case is it does nothing for me and I live with it, until I get the chance to exchange it.

I wouldn't call this oreo. In fact I think a lot of people who are seeing the 1-3mm flex because of the physics of the type of slider and calling it oreo aren't in the category of what the oreo is. The label oreo came out of the handful of people who's slider may very well have been damaged prior to being in their ownership and twist more like 1-2cm or more. I'm not saying don't try and tighten it but I see no reason to try and remove all flex between the two halves. I've had mine since launch of june 6th it has about 2mm flex and I have dropped mine several times and it doesn't appear to have gotten worse between that and normal wear so far. Except for the 1st time I dropped it caused about less than 0.5mm overlap at the keyboard end so the two halves aren't flush when you run your finger over the line where the two halves meet.

[donatom3]

This is the exact same conclusion I came to when I examined the oreo on my replacement pre. I tried bending the track and bending the flange as those are the two obvious sources of the problem. I couldn't do either. I thought about adding thickness, but was worried about the rubber on the track acting as a sort of bushing. I guess if it's just at the bottom of the track it shouldn't affect sliding as much. I may have to try this way.

[meangreengdub]

I took my phone to the Sprint store complaining of my slider being loose and the guy said he couldn't do anything about it. I was a little ****ed since hearing from this board that other people have gotten theirs tightened and I paid $200 for this phone.

[tylerlannan]

I don't know how old this thread is but oh my god!! Thank you so much!!! This worked like a charm. My pre is now PERFECT as far as I'm concerned. No dead pixels, no light leakage and especially no oreo!! Thanks again man. A million times

[DrewPre]

REAL Experts use duct tape!

[Ripcode]

To the OP and others:

How has this fix been holding up since you did it?

[GarrettQ]

interesting. if my oreo effect on my phone gets worse, ill be trying this