Nexus 6 defective back plate

Some Nexus 6 owners reporting defective units where the back cover is coming unglued

If you’re feeling bummed out about how nearly impossible it is to pick up a Nexus 6 right now, the good news? You may have dodged a bullet. We’ve been receiving reports of defective Nexus 6 units being shipped to customers where the back covers are literally coming off.

The severity of the separation seems to vary by unit and although it seems like it could have something to do with the glue Motorola uses to secure the back cover in place, some have reported defective batteries that are expanding, causing the back cover to raise from its housing. If you’re noticing this problem on your device, we’d advise you to take caution. As we’ve seen in the past, exploding batteries are not fun.

Where some Nexus 6 units are coming out of the box with the back plate coming off, others are reporting that it’s a slower process, not seeing the issue until a few weeks down the road. We’ve even seen reports of back plates raising on the Motorola Moto X 2014, and I myself experienced a similar issue with my Motorola DROID Turbo a few weeks back.

One Redditor claims that he, and four of his friends have the separation on their devices but are using a TPU case to cover it up out of fear that a a new replacement would only have the same problem. As for me, I just got off the phone with a buddy of mine and sure enough, his Nexus 6 is also separating. Motorola Support confirmed they’re “seeing a few” back covers popping off in response to the below user’s tweet:

So, what can you do if you receive a defective unit? We’d recommend contacting the retailer where you purchased the device from as this is clearly a manufacturer’s defect and if given the option, ask for a refund and then re-purchase the device brand new. The Nexus 6 is in very short supply and if you simply opt for a replacement, often times you’ll receive a refurbished unit (which can have their own set of problems). Just giving you a heads up.

Those of you looking to purchase a Nexus 6 used — whether off eBay or Craigslist — may want to thoroughly check for the separation defect before buying or avoid the secondhand market altogether. Nothing worse than being stuck with a defective phone and no proof of purchase when you need to get an RMA.

If you’ve had (or are just now seeing) this problem on your Nexus 6, hit up the thread on AndroidForums where discussion is already taking place.

[Reddit 1, 2, Google+, Twitter 1, 2]

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