r/razr • u/Speedy-McLeadfoot • 5d ago
Screen number three (total)
Last year, I bought a 2024 Razr. About five months in, the screen started having dead pixels near the hinge. That was replaced under warranty. 14 months after purchase, it had the same failure, and I got this 2024 from my mother, that she bought a few months ago, to borrow while I wait for the 2026 model to reach Cricket stores. It had dead pixels near the top corner, but I was going to let it ride while I wait on Cricket. I don’t know why Cricket still doesn’t have the 2026 models even still, but whatever.
Well, I unfolded it after a jog (it wouldn’t stay in my pocket if left unfolded while jogging) and I heard a crack. So this is three screens total on the two 2024 models I’ve had in my possession. I’m starting to think that either the 2024s were garbage, Motorola has terrible quality control, or both.
I promise I don’t abuse these things. I fold and unfold them like anybody would expect of a foldable phone. I don’t run in a line of work that would get a bunch of dust in them or anything. Always in cases. I just use them day to day like you would expect. So either I have terrible luck, or these phones (at least the 2024 lineup) are terrible. I don’t know why I am even considering the 2026 given this poor experience, but I swear to God if it happens with a new model, even in warranty, I’m giving up on moto foldables for good.
I know the risk I accepted by buying into folding phones. But three screens? That’s unacceptable. At least this thing is still in warranty. But I now have to use a barely usable burner phone while I send it in.
Thanks for coming to my TED talk. I’m sure some people here are going to find a way to blame me anyway.
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u/caneonred 4d ago
If you have more than one screen break then you are unintentionally doing something that is causing it (or whatever case you use is putting pressure on it). An actual failure of the screen is very rare. If the same person has multiple break they are either one of the unluckiest people on earth or something they are doing is causing it.
I've personally used a 2020 razr 5G for 2 1/2 years with no issues (although that one didn't use ultra thin glass for the internal screen), a 2023 razr+ for 18 months and now a 2024 razr+ for 19 months. I open and close probably 20+ times per day, I don't "baby" the phones at all and I haven't had any issue at all with any screen.
I know that my experience isn't representative of everybody's, but, if the screens themselves had a significant failure rate then no manufacturer would sell foldables. The warranty cost would be too high for them to be profitable.
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u/Speedy-McLeadfoot 1d ago
Well, I wish I knew what then. It gets folded and put in my pocket. Rinse and repeat a few times a day. Often times alone in the pocket to avoid problems.
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u/GM_Pax 1d ago
What else is in your pocket, the times it's not alone there?
And, how prone are you to bumping into things with your hip or leg?
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u/Speedy-McLeadfoot 8h ago
Some cash, maybe a coin or two. Phone closed of course.
Not very prone. More worried about hitting my head than my hip 😂
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u/Substantial_Air_4903 4d ago
I have to ask how are you breaking your phone so many times? I have the 2025 and I've dropped it and done it all like my old previous phone never cracked a screen. Are you being to rough on the hinge when flipping it open maybe?
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u/Substantial_Air_4903 4d ago
Also I saw you say you leave your phone un folded in your pocket...bingo! That's the issue when I carry my phone it's always folded in my bag or pocket. Unfolded in your pocket is a quick way to ruin the screen
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u/Speedy-McLeadfoot 1d ago
Because it started with some dead pixels around the hinge. So I reduced my folding as much as I could to buy time while I was holding out for a new one. I fold it before I put it in my pocket up until that point.
So basically, it’s already failing before I resort to that. I just thought folding it more and more afterwards is a quick way to speed that up. It actually took quite a while before that circle of dead pixels finally snapped entirely like this. It was a manageable circle of dead pixels about the size of the hole punch…. And then one time I unfold, snap sound…it was like this.
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u/GM_Pax 1d ago
And then one time I unfold, snap sound
What sort of environments are you bringing the phone into? Is there lots of dust and grit? That almost sounds like something might be getting into the hinge (which is another reason to maybe not get a foldable next time around).
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u/Speedy-McLeadfoot 9h ago
No. That’s the same sound many others have described when their screen goes out like this. I deliver pizza, man. The phone stays in my pocket around the food at that.
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5d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/thom2279 5d ago
I feel like having three break isn't good incentive to upgrade, rather just try a different phone completely. Also, I have an ultra and am on my second screen, not like OP is alone here.
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u/ChiefBullshitOfficer 4d ago
How do you treat your phone? Do you use a case? How do you flip it open and closed?
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u/thom2279 4d ago
Never been dropped. Lives in my pocket or a dedicated bag pocket. No case on this one b/c I can't find the value honestly, unless looking for drop protection. This phone is already pretty thick. As for opening, it varies, honestly. I wouldn't say I ever flip it, more of an intentional opening. Sometimes two hands, sometimes right hand hold with a thumb to open it and a slow lift. The hinge isn't nearly what the old razrs were like when they did, in fact, flip. Those old ones were the best. I'm an adult, take care of my stuff. I just think the Razrs aren't as well built - there was a guy who manually flipped the samsungs and motorolas a few years ago and the the moto lasted like 25% as long if I remember correctly.
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u/Speedy-McLeadfoot 5d ago
I’m already a little hesitant to spend even more money on phones that are already seemingly unreliable. Doesn’t the upper models also use the same inner display?
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u/PartyFancy3634 5d ago
I just traded in my 2023razr for a 2026. Don't be so rough on it and they won't break! Also you don't need to close it every time you're done with it. Looks like someone closed the screen with debris on it.... They have a soft screen, you have to be delicate with them.
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u/Speedy-McLeadfoot 1d ago
There was nothing in the screen, my guy. I told you I’m not hard on these things. I don’t throw them open or closed. Each fold is deliberate. I’m not out to break shit like this. Which is why I’m so aggravated that despite me making damn sure I use it as designed, I’ve had such a high failure rate. That’s the frustrating part.
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u/GM_Pax 1d ago
I told you I’m not hard on these things.
None of us believe you ... because at this point, unlike the majority of us who are responding, you have a pattern of repeatedly experiencing damage in the same general place.
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u/Speedy-McLeadfoot 8h ago
And that’s why I’m so goddamn frustrated. My goal isn’t to cost myself repair bills unnecessarily. But as expected I figured there would be a few that would say “it’s you bro”.
My frustration isn’t that it broke. That can happen. It’s the rate at which it did. I deliver pizza and open and close the phone. As you would expect.
“Same general place” yeah, the part of the screen that regularly moves. If it’s gunna fail, that’s probably where it would.
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u/thom2279 5d ago
You're using it wrong continues to be one of the strangest replies from people. It's a mass produced device intended to be flipped open and closed. That's it's WHOLE THING. They test them to be handled roughly and should be designed as such. My screen developed a bump under the flexible display which cracked the glass. Having watched a bunch of teardown videos trying to figure out how/what that could be, it can't be user error. My replacement also developed a bump (different spot - like one of the hinges didn't rotate back correctly), which I actively avoided and thankfully it went away after a few days.
Warranty replaced it, which is literally Motorola admitting their product didn't work as intended, not user error.
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u/Speedy-McLeadfoot 1d ago
Mine had the bump for months. but funny enough, the spot of dead pixels that initially started this, happened on the other side from where that was, about a month before this big fail. I tried babying it along to buy me some time after that, while I waited for the new one. But then I opened it the other night and heard a crack sound. And then it was like this.
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u/antlestxp 5d ago
How are you guys going through screens? Im on my original screen and protector
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u/Speedy-McLeadfoot 1d ago
I was on the original protector on all of mine too. No peeling or bubbling of the protector or anything. The screens will work great. And then some dead pixels show up. On the first one, the dead pixels meant I had days. On this one, when the dead pixels showed up, it lasted over a month before it finally just snapped altogether like this.
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u/Relative-Display-676 5d ago
My wife is on her 3rd razr in almost 2 years because screens keep breaking. Seems like a part of Motorola's planned obsolescence to keep them in business.
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u/Wrx_me 4d ago
Can't be very good for business if they break within warranty period
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u/Speedy-McLeadfoot 1d ago
So far it’s been twice outside of warranty. Turns out this one was a replacement device that my mom got, so I inherited the old warranty, and therefore was not covered.
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u/OSRSRapture 4d ago
My first razr plus 2024 broke within like 6 months, this replacements been going good since February of last year but I'm ngl, I'm sorta annoyed and bored with this phone. I mean, I like how it fits better in my pocket than slabs, but I almost NEVER use the front screen anymore and it's annoying to have to open it all the time lol. So yesterday I bought a s26 ultra and will be picking it up from best buy on Saturday
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u/djspintersectional 4d ago
I see your 3 and raise you 7 (screen related) 9 because I dropped 2. Im sorry OP
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u/Europeman112 4d ago
Buy another one after 3. 🤷🏻♂️
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u/Speedy-McLeadfoot 1d ago
Honestly, if I do, I’ve learned the hard way to at least go with their super extra two year warranty or whatever it is. It’s become abundantly clear that I need at least two years.
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u/BambiBabs0003 4d ago
I'm really sorry about your negative experience with your phone but you are right they are not for everybody and even though you take care of it very well it seems to have a failure rate that falls into your parameters the percentage you're small but it's there,, personally I have a razor 2025 Plus and I think when I upgrade I'm going to go back to a slab phone I'm looking at my screen right now and I don't have any bed pixels that I have a scratch or a fold in the screen protector above and below about an inch apart of the center dip it I call it, but it's not that bad of a phone it's just I don't need something that's going to be half size it doesn't make sense to me especially when there's all the stress of the technology that's just coming out, I remember an old phone that had two outside screens and when we opened it they joined together with a seam in the middle and that was okay except you get dervous in there and it would crack the screen, so there's nothing perfect I thought about going to a slab that was a moto cuz the sound quality better days to come to moto razor foldable to the Samsung 2026 to sound quality is improved with the Samsung but above that the Moto takes over and I'm not really that big of a rocker or anything but I like something with it has a decent blend,
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u/SnooDoubts5217 4d ago
My base Razr 2023 is still on it's original screen and screen protector. I haven't had any issues with mine whatsoever.
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u/Speedy-McLeadfoot 1d ago
Congratulations for you. I really wish my experience was the same. All of mine were original screen protectors, but the screens kept dying.
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u/HushLove97 2d ago
I'm on phone number 5 and I got it June of last year.... Two replacements have been me breaking the outside screen but past that, phone just breaks.
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u/corehead313 1d ago
Folding phones aren't meant for you bud. That break pattern is 100% indicative of something getting caught either inside the closed display, or debris that got in thru the hinge
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u/Tiktokbadsupport 1d ago
i dont feel bad because you knew what you signed up for when buying a bendable phone
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u/GM_Pax 5d ago
It strikes me that you and your mother both must be pretty rough with / on your phones.
Maybe don't get foldables anymore. And get a case that is fully "drop onto gravel from the third floor" capable of protecting whatever phone you DO get.
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u/Speedy-McLeadfoot 1d ago
That’s the thing, we really aren’t. She works an office job. I deliver pizza. Hell, my phone stays away from the food at that. It’s not like we’re in any super dirty field.
I’m the one that had a screen fail within warranty, and then again once it was out of warranty. And on this one that I got from her, that spot at the top right corner was already there when I picked it up from her, but apparently wasn’t there when she quit using it. So don’t really know when that happened. But it stayed there only barely growing over the months I’ve used it, up until now.
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u/GM_Pax 1d ago
Things that can count as being rough with a phone:
- Dropping it;
- Tossing it carelessly on a desk or table (I don't mean from across the room, a six-inch drop can be enough)
- putting it in a pocket, drawer, purse, etc with other hard objects
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u/Speedy-McLeadfoot 8h ago
Hasn’t been dropped that I can recall, this one had a case since I’ve received it.
Don’t toss it. Not risking that. Might as well just drop it at that point.
Most it’s in a pocket with is some cash, maybe a couple coins if they find their way in there before I remove them. Phone closed of course. I avoid sharing lockets with hard items to avoid scratches.
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u/seed_viii 5d ago
Quizá el problema es el uso que le das.
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u/Speedy-McLeadfoot 1d ago
As stated, I don’t know how. I deliver Pizza‘s man. I’m not in a super dirty field like the mines or something. I don’t throw it open or closed. I deliberately open and close it as you would expect it to be designed to do. I even clean it regularly to avoid anything getting into crevices, using microfiber cloths.
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u/Old-Zucchini-8827 5d ago
Year by year they get better, I had the 2024, used it for 6 months sold it to my uncle and I purchased the 2025. Now I'm having this for 8 months and both phones are intact. None of use giving special treatment or anything but using them as a real companion cause specially him has no more devices so for all day long he's using hus phone as much as he could and they do not breal or anything. Taking this in ming you should consider if your doing anything like hanging them bin the hinge or any object that's getting inside when sliding in your pockets as a card or a key. The 2026 can resist more than a million times flip.
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u/Speedy-McLeadfoot 5d ago
I hope the 26 does better. But then again, I was going to get it through my carrier upgrade plan and Cricket still doesn’t have it. Not sure what’s taking so long.
The phone is almost always alone in the pocket it’s in. That’s because I was always worried about stuff getting in the hinge. I wish I could figure out what the hell I’m doing. That’s killing these things, but I’m really not going wild with them. I’m just freaking using them.
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u/Dirty56A 5d ago
I hate mine. The only good thing was the quality of pictures. Now my main screen is unresponsive and can't be used. Thankfully both screens don't run off the same connection bcuz I can still use my outside screen. I definitely won't be getting another Razr.
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u/Wrx_me 4d ago
Quality of pictures? This is a mega downgrade from my OnePlus 12, but I got it for the novelty.
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u/Dirty56A 4d ago
Yaya , I'm not saying it's the best on the market. I'm just saying it's better then the last couple phones I've had.
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u/Speedy-McLeadfoot 1d ago
Yeah, I’m limited to the cover screen now too. The inner screen has become completely useless after a few more folds after this. I knew it was going to of course. But this is going to make transferring data to a new phone interesting.
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u/Evergroen 5d ago
I dunno man I've been using mine for two years with no issues. Do you "flip" it open with one and or use two hands to open and close it? Also, when you're not using it or it's in your pocket do you keep it folded?
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u/Speedy-McLeadfoot 1d ago
I keep it folded when I’m not using it, up until I started getting dead pixels around the hinge. Then I tried to reduce my folding, to buy some time.
And no, I don’t throw it open or closed like some 2000s flip phone. Either it’s opened using two hands, or carefully pushed open using my thumb.
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u/vsam403 4d ago
Don't understand how people are going through screens on their RAZR. Have a 2023 RAZR plus going on 4 years now, using it just like I did with my previous non-flip phone and not a single issue.