A Pinephone case that'll actually prevent the screen from cracking
#1
I'm on about my 3rd screen replacement. Yes I'm quite clumsy and often drop the Pinephone.

So is there **any** Pinephone case that'll actually prevent the screen from cracking if you drop the Pinephone screen face down? If someone makes this case they'd make a lot of money from sales - I'd buy one and I'm sure many others would too.

What is everyone using for a durable Pinephone case? I've heard the soft and hard cases from Pine64 also don't prevent cracks..
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#2
A good case like you're hoping for would need to be made by a 3rd party company that has the know-how and R&D team to make that happen. Pine64 isn't nearly a big enough name for a company like Otter to take notice, so my hopes aren't raised. I think its a miracle we have *any* cases for it.
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#3
(01-31-2022, 01:17 PM)gamerminstrel Wrote: A good case like you're hoping for would need to be made by a 3rd party company that has the know-how and R&D team to make that happen. Pine64 isn't nearly a big enough name for a company like Otter to take notice, so my hopes aren't raised. I think its a miracle we have *any* cases for it.

Hmm that's what i feared - but isn't there some phone close enough in dimensions to the pinephone to make it possible.

Or what about a 3d printed back case that extends the Pinephone dimensions a bit and offers a nice fat front 'lip'. If there was a case that has a large extrusion around edge of the front of the phone that should prevent cracks when dropped on flat surfaces I think?
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#4
I have been thinking about doing it myself, a denim pouch type that attaches with the belt through it, a flap that can be snapped when needed.

Similar to a holster.

If you have the attached keyboard your screen is pretty well protected, but THAT will need a very large case should you decide to put that into a case.
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#5
I had a long standing rule, I never would buy any phone unless an OtterBox Defender was made for it. I made an exception for the PinePhone, because I knew chances were slim for finding such a thing (and I wanted very badly to support GNU/Linux phones).

I have been very careful with it, but one day it slipped out of my hand onto the ground and shattered. It was just maybe like a 3 foot drop. Touches still register, and I can pretty much still see the screen, but disappointing nonetheless. I can certainly empathize with OP, I thought I had it bad, but he is on his third one! It doesn't help (IMO) that the back of the thing is slicker than snot.

Anyway I had the same ideas as above. If I had a 3d printer, I would start developing a very OtterBox-like 2 part case, as apparently you can even print quite a number of rubber-like substances nowadays.

Until someone starts doing that though, I think we need to find another model phone that is closest in size, ideally with camera and button holes in the same place. I think that's just a huge research project though. So maybe we should stick with popular and readily available phones as a short list at first. Like ones you can commonly get maybe at most shops?

I read about a couple phone models that were supposed to be close enough in size, but some had to be modified by cutting openings for either camera or button(s). I mean, if we have to I guess, but not ideal IMO.
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#6
I def have been wanting a better case for sure.and now I just got the Qi  charging back the phone is slightly thicker so the tpu case that pine sells is even less useful. Hoping someone finds a case that can work for us as I can see my screen shattering soon (which is why I have a spare ready to go).

The TPU case feels very cheap also, I would love a real silicone case with a lip to protect the screen a bit.

I looked through here;
https://universe2go.com/en/product/compa...artphones/

And looks like the Xiaomi redmi note 8 pro is the closest in measurements. Would prob need a lot of surgery to get a camera cut out and possibly usb port to lineup.

I read somewhere the galaxy s20 ultra is a fit but based on measurements I think the plus would be better then the ultra?
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#7
I heard one can 3D-print flexible phone cases using TPU or some other types of filament nowadays. Let alone hard cases from harder filament types. Is that true? At least some little research on the web shows that.
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#8
(02-04-2022, 01:33 AM)grizzlyuser Wrote: I heard one can 3D-print flexible phone cases using TPU or some other types of filament nowadays. Let alone hard cases from harder filament types. Is that true? At least some little research on the web shows that.

It's true, although some printers work better with TPU filament than others. If you've got a dual head printer you can print with both hard and soft filament in the same print to get a similar result to dual shot moulding too.
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#9
(01-31-2022, 12:59 PM)mil Wrote: I'm on about my 3rd screen replacement. Yes I'm quite clumsy and often drop the Pinephone.

So is there **any** Pinephone case that'll actually prevent the screen from cracking if you drop the Pinephone screen face down? If someone makes this case they'd make a lot of money from sales - I'd buy one and I'm sure many others would too.

What is everyone using for a durable Pinephone case? I've heard the soft and hard cases from Pine64 also don't prevent cracks..

I just cracked my third one also. It has the clear soft case, but still cracked from a very low height drop of only about 40 cm. It was a ver small crack, but still. At this point I am done with the PinePhone. I will be moving on to the PinePhone Pro with the Gorilla Glass
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#10
(02-08-2022, 08:53 PM)KNERD Wrote:
(01-31-2022, 12:59 PM)mil Wrote: I'm on about my 3rd screen replacement. Yes I'm quite clumsy and often drop the Pinephone.

So is there **any** Pinephone case that'll actually prevent the screen from cracking if you drop the Pinephone screen face down? If someone makes this case they'd make a lot of money from sales - I'd buy one and I'm sure many others would too.

What is everyone using for a durable Pinephone case? I've heard the soft and hard cases from Pine64 also don't prevent cracks..

I just cracked my third one also. It has the clear soft case, but still cracked from a very low height drop of only about 40 cm. It was a ver small crack, but still. At this point I am done with the PinePhone. I will be moving on to the PinePhone Pro with the Gorilla Glass

Glad to know I'm not the only one who has this problem with the screen easily breaking. It seems very common.

That's interesting you mention that the PinephonePro has Gorilla glass. I wonder if the gorilla glass front as a spare part could be sold separately and used with the standard Pinephone as an upgrade? Would that be something PIne64 would consider?
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