Flip camera slight play - ASUS ZenFone 6 (2019) Questions & Answers

I just recently gotten my Zenfone 6 and I've noticed that the flip-up camera has some play when touching it or placing it on a table. Every time it touches something it makes a very faint click sound. I'm wondering if this is normal or if only my smartphone has this issue.

Yeah, this is normal. The hinge moves a bit but it doesn't affect its durability. If you can stand this type of movement in a phone, you will kinda get used to it after a while.

I've noticed this as well, especially after I've had in a loose fitting pocket and it can swing around a bit while walking. There is a retract camera icon on the tool shade, tap this and it will tighten it up again.
Sent from my ASUS_I01WDX using Tapatalk

^^ What they said. It seems to be normal until Asus states it isn't. Seems to be fine and isn't causing any issues other than my own "Whatwasthat!?" whenever I hear some kind of noise from the phone when putting it down or anything.
I did just find out that dropping the phone outside in a parking lot and catching it about 3" from the ground can cause the camera to go from closed to slightly open. Assuming the inertia of my grabbing the phone during the fall snapped it open a bit. The phone gave me an alert saying I should not try to force the camera open, and clicking the retract camera icon put it back where it should be (flips like normal).

Glad to hear it isn't just mine. So far the only thing I would knock this phone for is that wiggle, that causes a rattle when vibrating, setting it down or a sharp tap on the screen. Otherwise couldn't be happier with the beast.

ASUS's employees told that having a lock or braking mechanism would decrease lifespan of a hinge and could eventually break. If they say that those movements are safer that tight positioning I can handle that.

aleksander002 said:
ASUS's employees told that having a lock or braking mechanism would decrease lifespan of a hinge and could eventually break. If they say that those movements are safer that tight positioning I can handle that.
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Yep same here, minor issue, however it is good to get it out there. I'm sure for some that would bother them more than say you or I.
On a side note, I was looking through the settings and saw the flip camera calibration, went ahead and calibrated it and it definitely seemed to tighten it up a bit atm.

According to some posts on reddit, using the calibration tool fixes/improves the problem.

Related

Does it sound like your Camera lens (flash) is loose when shaking the phone?

it sounds like when shaking the phone something is loose around the area of the back camera and/or flash light.. hard to pinpoint exactly where the sound is coming from but it really sounds like it's coming from around the camera.. if you jiggle the phone in your hand you can clearly hear this sound like something inside the phone is banging around...
aliensquale said:
it sounds like when shaking the phone something is loose around the area of the back camera and/or flash light.. hard to pinpoint exactly where the sound is coming from but it really sounds like it's coming from around the camera.. if you jiggle the phone in your hand you can clearly hear this sound like something inside the phone is banging around...
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yup this slight tapping noise from the top where the camera is located or in that area, how strange.... now you have set my OCD off! lol
Never noticed it before, but my guess would be SIM, SDCard, or battery moving around. They can't make the spaces exactly the same size as what goes into them due to manufacturing tolerances, so it could be that there is a little extra space for one of them that allows it to wiggle around some.
no it's not the sdcard, battery or sim card.. it sounds like something inside the camera area.. like by the lens or the camera flash is jiggling around inside..
hold your phone, shake it a little bit and see if you hear anything around that area..
does anybody else have this sound?
Jerks
Now I will never stop hearing that. I have to return the phone.
Mostly kidding, yeah, I hear it. Forget about it.
okay so it sounds like all of these phones make that noise huh?
I dropped my phone the other day in the sink (opps)... and after that is when I first noticied this sound.. so I don't know if it was like that from day one and I never noticied or if because I dropped it that caused it to start happening and then I was anal about the phone being okay after I dropped it thus that's when I noticied this sound..
you guys ever drop your phones? or you hear this from day one?
I havent dropped my phone and i can hear the sound.oh well not a big deal
Sent From My VooDood Charge
so I guess this is just how all of these Droid Charge's are brand new..
imnuts said:
Never noticed it before, but my guess would be SIM, SDCard, or battery moving around. They can't make the spaces exactly the same size as what goes into them due to manufacturing tolerances, so it could be that there is a little extra space for one of them that allows it to wiggle around some.
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Mine does too. As far as tolerances goes, I was a machinest for 10yrs. I've made everything from hip/knee implants to car parts. If they wanted to make it fit better they could. I use to work with +/-0005. One human hair is about .005.
mechanical engineer here... I give my designs to machinists to make every day...
damn you have thick hair.. mine is only .002"
Hughes4123 said:
Mine does too. As far as tolerances goes, I was a machinest for 10yrs. I've made everything from hip/knee implants to car parts. If they wanted to make it fit better they could. I use to work with +/-0005. One human hair is about .005.
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Hughes4123 said:
Mine does too. As far as tolerances goes, I was a machinest for 10yrs. I've made everything from hip/knee implants to car parts. If they wanted to make it fit better they could. I use to work with +/-0005. One human hair is about .005.
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Well, while I agree with you about being able to make it better, you can't really compare machining tolerances to injection molding tolerances (which is how the bulk of this case was most likely made). There are a lot of factors that go into injection molding that you don't have to worry about with machining (draft angles for example).
Plus, they're making millions of these... the tolerances were probably created such that the probability of the parts not fitting together was reasonably low with respect to the price of each piece, so you can afford to scrap some units. Then there's the statistical variation from lot to lot, etc., etc., ad infinitum.
This is coming from experience in both areas. I'm a mechanical engineer who's designed both big honking machined metal parts and tiny intricate injection molded plastics.
In the end, they're only going to design and manufacture these parts as well as they need to. Sad truth.
true but regarding injection molding it's all how precise the mold is built... you build a mold right on the money, you get a part right on the money..
anyhow back on topic... I don't think it's the ejection molding, etc. that's making this noise.. it almost sounds like the camera lens or flash is lose or something inside the phone right behind the camera lens is moving around. I took the cover off and held the sd card, sim card, battery, etc. in place with my fingers, shook the phone and still hear this sound...
no big deal.. just a little annoying.. when you put the phone up to your ear to answer a call, etc. you can hear this rattling noise inside the phone..
I hear it too. I also hear a similar click, in the same area, when the phone boots up. no biggie though.
Sent from my SCH-I510 using XDA Premium App
aliensquale said:
mechanical engineer here... I give my designs to machinists to make every day...
damn you have thick hair.. mine is only .002"
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Heads up, you're going bald!
aliensquale said:
it sounds like when shaking the phone something is loose around the area of the back camera and/or flash light.. hard to pinpoint exactly where the sound is coming from but it really sounds like it's coming from around the camera.. if you jiggle the phone in your hand you can clearly hear this sound like something inside the phone is banging around...
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Click to collapse
Its definitely the camera, once you activate the camera app the sound is gone if you trying wiggling it around again. Very strange.
droidxscott said:
Its definitely the camera, once you activate the camera app the sound is gone if you trying wiggling it around again. Very strange.
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so it must be something to do with the auto focus?
Hear it also!
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA Premium App
Could be an orientation sensor, I remember a phone in the past use to have a tiny rattle to it and thats what it was.
you are right!!!! the sound goes away when you activate the camera app.. infact when you activate the camera app and hold the phone steady you can hear a single click noise from the camera... must be something with the focus, etc.
droidxscott said:
Its definitely the camera, once you activate the camera app the sound is gone if you trying wiggling it around again. Very strange.
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I hear it too in my brand new Charge. It works great, camera does too. I'm pretty sure it has to do with image stabilization, which is an option in our default camera app. Image stabilization in cameras typically mounts the image sensor on a little rig that can move around independently of the camera body, and has some means of stabilizing it (usually gyroscopes and/or servos). My guess is that Samsung somehow figured out how to make some compact system for providing image stabilization (maybe a magnetorheological fluid?) for such a tiny sensor. I can't really guess how it works, but it does seem to work quite well in producing crisp images.
The fact that the camera rattles slightly all the time except when you're using the camera app would certainly seem to confirm this.

Screen flicker / backlight / general badness (hardware issue)

So, I managed to get my phone wet. Only very briefly, dried it, opened up everything and set it somewhere warm, dry and with good airflow for many hours (and then later a day) and while its issues have improved, it's still sometimes flicking, having colors drop out (weirdly reminiscent of old crts) and occasionally having the backlight very low or not on at all. So, badness.
My next step is probably to decase it and dry out the boards (somewhat inhibited by the thermostat on my roomate's reflow over being broken). My intuition, though, which is entirely suspect, is that there's a poor connection somewhere on there that's likely gotten worse. (It often had a similar though less severe flicker when attached to the charger and fully charged up.)
So. I'm entirely comfortable with decasing. I'm fine with surface mount. I have a lovely hot air rework station in the basement.
What I don't have is a) a good sense of what components are failing and, more to the point, b) where they are on the dratted board. I have found the one teardown, and need to go over it more carefully, but atm I'm doubting I can pull enough info out of it.
Any clues? This may well turn into "I buy another phone, and then if I fix this one give it to my sister..."
These phones are OLED. That means there's no backlight. The screen itself is simply not displaying correctly.
Did you open the screen section to dry the panel?
OLEDs are highly susceptible to water damage. It eats them up.
Jax184 said:
These phones are OLED. That means there's no backlight. The screen itself is simply not displaying correctly.
Did you open the screen section to dry the panel?
OLEDs are highly susceptible to water damage. It eats them up.
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Nope, not yet. Will as soon as I figure out where my roommate has put the electronics screwdrivers, as none of my multitools are fine enough.
Any pointers on opening the screen panel? I'm happy enough winging it once I find the tools, but the slider looks a bit tricky.
ETA: Okay, opened up the screen panel on one side, have airflow directed towards the interior now. Not sure if this is the ideal means, but it was quick and will be running while I explore other options. Comments welcomed.
No change in symptoms. If I have time, I'll open things up to the main board and check all the connections - corrosion or cruft there seems the next most likely.
...and then I decide to full reassemble it again, as a flickering phone is better than no phone. One of the clips to the screen casing hadn't been fulling seated, and snapped in, and it's been fine ever since. Not sure quite what the contributors were, but I'm just going to go with it for the time being.
Thanks.

Fingerprint Scranner Location A Problem? No!

All the YouTube dread over the location of the fingerprint scanner will not be a problem for most. This is a Urban Armor Gear Case (UaG) for the Galaxy S8+. It will not be a problem for me.
Everyone has different sized and shaped hands, that's where the problem lies, it not being a problem for you doesn't mean that it will work for everyone. Left handed people will also have to hold their hands in an awkward position to hit the scanner, I personally won't have any problem with it, but I know that people with smaller hands will
BleedCrimson said:
All the YouTube dread over the location of the fingerprint scanner will not be a problem for most. This is a Urban Armor Gear Case (UaG) for the Galaxy S8+. It will not be a problem for me.
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You do realise you are going to be putting greasy fingerprints right over the camera lense every time you try to unlock it right? It is slightly less of a problem for people holding it/unlocking it with their left hand (i hold with left and tap with right so its not quite so bad for me) but its still stupid placement. Putting it BELOW the camera instead of next to it would have made it easier to reach for smaller hands, easier to reach for people unlocking with the right hand, and greatly reduce the chances of hitting the camera lense instead.
It's just plain dumb design and that was obvious right from the first leaks showing where it was, so how the geniuses at samsung couldn't see that right from the start I have no idea. It was probably a rush decision after they failed to integrate it into the screen but its so clearly a stupid location for it that even a rush decision shouldn't have resulted in locating it there.
I may be slightly harsh, but this isn't a mid range phone, its the very top end of the top end and for the money they decided to charge for it, it should be damn near perfect.
I'm a lefty so I'm just going to run my finger along the back until I feel the sensor. Doubt I'll have many problems with wiping my camera lense. And I also rarely take pictures so I have that going for me as well.
Looks like you will be covering up at least 50% of the camera at the same time.
I dont even think about to use fingerprint sensor on s8+
Nope!
I'm just the opposite. If I try to do it with my left index finger, the scanner is too close. It's awkward for me to try using my left index finger. With the UAG case, I'll easily be able to keep away from the camera lense.
ewokuk said:
You do realise you are going to be putting greasy fingerprints right over the camera lense every time you try to unlock it right? It is slightly less of a problem for people holding it/unlocking it with their left hand (i hold with left and tap with right so its not quite so bad for me) but its still stupid placement. Putting it BELOW the camera instead of next to it would have made it easier to reach for smaller hands, easier to reach for people unlocking with the right hand, and greatly reduce the chances of hitting the camera lense instead.
It's just plain dumb design and that was obvious right from the first leaks showing where it was, so how the geniuses at samsung couldn't see that right from the start I have no idea. It was probably a rush decision after they failed to integrate it into the screen but its so clearly a stupid location for it that even a rush decision shouldn't have resulted in locating it there.
I may be slightly harsh, but this isn't a mid range phone, its the very top end of the top end and for the money they decided to charge for it, it should be damn near perfect.
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The LG V20 has the fingerprint scanner on the back. I don't know until I see the actual device, but I think the S8 once you get used to it, it should be fine.
I don't think it will be much of an issue either. But the S8 is just so fantastic you need to find a con somewhere
Honestly, I won't even use it. I hold my phone really low compared to most, I guess.
Can someone confirm how fast/reliable the iris scanner is? Also, does having it on make a noticeable impact on battery life?
im using an iphone 7 plus and i wipe my camera every time i use it and theres no fingerprint scanner back there hahahaha people are weird
galaxyYtester said:
Everyone has different sized and shaped hands, that's where the problem lies, it not being a problem for you doesn't mean that it will work for everyone. Left handed people will also have to hold their hands in an awkward position to hit the scanner, I personally won't have any problem with it, but I know that people with smaller hands will
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I hear you and agree with the caveat that people with small hands need to purchase a mobile that they can handle efficiently. The S8 and S8+ are not designed for people with small hands? Its very much a question of compromise. If one desires a screen as large as the S8's then one will need larger than average hands or accept small handed users will need two handed operation. :good:
I don't mind the scanner being where it is. I owned a zenphone with the scanner on the back right underneath the camera. I had zero problems after acclimatising myself to such a layout.
Ryland
I can comment on the fingerprint scanner, it is very fast - near instantaneous, the only issue is that it takes longer to hit the right spot that it does for it to open the phone. as everyone already mentioned it is in a bad/awkward spot. i tend to either hit the camera or the flash when trying to use it. eventually ill train myself to hit the right area, but its not intuitive.
Just checked the s8/s8+ out at Best Buy. The s8+ was perfect for me just doing a quick hands on with the finger print scanner. I thought it would be weird but it was easy for me to use but my hands are bigger than average.
Not looking forward to getting used to this. I have smaller than average hands and I know it will be awkward, but I'll try to survive.
I also am aggravated by the fact that it is impossible for one handed operation on a desk or table. I am work and it just takes a finger swipe with my phone on the desk, but now it will take entering a pin since the FP scanner is on the back and the my face isn't over the screen.
dumpyloser said:
Not looking forward to getting used to this. I have smaller than average hands and I know it will be awkward, but I'll try to survive.
I also am aggravated by the fact that it is impossible for one handed operation on a desk or table. I am work and it just takes a finger swipe with my phone on the desk, but now it will take entering a pin since the FP scanner is on the back and the my face isn't over the screen.
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That is the other irritating thing about it being on the back, when I have the phone in a dock or on the desk I am going to end up picking it up to unlock it instead of just putting my finger on a front facing scanner. I know you can have the iris scanner AND the fingerprint scanner active, but with the iris scanner i would still have to pick the phone up to point it at my eyes so its pretty useless, it will need a pin like you said.
On the back is a way better place for the fingerprint scanner than on the front. On my Nexus 6P I can unlock the phone whilst picking it up single handedly. If the finger print scanner were on the front I'd have to pick it up with one hand and use the other hand to unlock it. The size of the phone, the Nexus 6P and the S8 (The plus in particular) mean that bringing your thumb to where a home button would be would be difficult/painful.
Lagamorph said:
On the back is a way better place for the fingerprint scanner than on the front. On my Nexus 6P I can unlock the phone whilst picking it up single handedly. If the finger print scanner were on the front I'd have to pick it up with one hand and use the other hand to unlock it. The size of the phone, the Nexus 6P and the S8 (The plus in particular) mean that bringing your thumb to where a home button would be would be difficult/painful.
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Ummm, so how do you use the phone with 1 hand if you cant reach the home or back buttons??
And you could just pick it up so your thumb CAN reach the front, seeing as you will have to use the home buttons and back buttons anyway....
ewokuk said:
Ummm, so how do you use the phone with 1 hand if you cant reach the home or back buttons??
And you could just pick it up so your thumb CAN reach the front, seeing as you will have to use the home buttons and back buttons anyway....
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Click to collapse
When I unlock the phone it's usually got my internet browser open which is likely what I'm going to be using, so I'm not looking to use the Home/Back buttons.

Camera mechanism very rattly, anyone else?

My camera is really rattly and doesnt secure in the closed position!
Its ****ing disgusting of a sound when I put in down on a table, is this normal?
Really kills ALL fun I can have with this device
Mine seems pretty OK. No rattling when I control the camera.
There might be some quality control issues. I've seen a few mention rattling but most say theirs is fine. So with that in mind it sounds like you risk having to RMA the device when you get it.
My camera was rattling too if I did not use the Quick Control Button to retreat the camera regularily because the camera is hitting the case even when shaking it.
I fixed it by placing a strip of duct tape under the camera and now it is silent.
The same problem with my flipcam.
Mine works fine.
Dasswable said:
My camera was rattling too if I did not use the Quick Control Button to retreat the camera regularily because the camera is hitting the case even when shaking it.
I fixed it by placing a strip of duct tape under the camera and now it is silent.
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Click to collapse
I was thinking into a similar direction... Good to hear this works.
facepalm lol
Dasswable said:
My camera was rattling too if I did not use the Quick Control Button to retreat the camera regularily because the camera is hitting the case even when shaking it.
I fixed it by placing a strip of duct tape under the camera and now it is silent.
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Click to collapse
Duct tape on a phone? 2019.?
No thanks
My camera is firm and doesnt rattle, it does make some noise when the camera moves but thats to be expected I think.
Well, it seems as if it's going to be a crap shoot whether you get one that rattles or not? Too risky unless we get way more reviews saying that it doesn't rattle.
jaseman said:
Well, it seems as if it's going to be a crap shoot whether you get one that rattles or not? Too risky unless we get way more reviews saying that it doesn't rattle.
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Difficult to say with such a small sample size.
Could be 1%, 5%, 20%, 50% or 90% with issues. The quality control might get better or the mechanism might just have that bad yields. So right now we have to assume it's either a small number of devices or first batch problems. I find it hard to believe they'd bring a device to market with glaring issues. You never know though.
T I find it hard to believe they'd bring a device to market with glaring issues. You never know though.[/QUOTE said:
Ummm, ever hear of the Galaxy fold???
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jaseman said:
Ummm, ever hear of the Galaxy fold???
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Yes and it isn't comparable.
This is a quality control issue from the factory. I haven't heard anyone say it started rattling later (nor does it seem there would be time to start breaking the device through regular use unless it's sensitive and starts rattling from dust and debris).
The Fold worked fine at the factory and testing in a controlled environment did not reveal the fragility of the design. Otherwise we may as well bring up Note 7 too. That's also a design flaw.
Since not all models rattle it isn't necessarily a design flaw but one of quality and yields. Of course Asus is welcome to make a statement on what causes the issue.
Mine also rattle when put down on table and same with just tapping the screen. Otherwise it is good. Weird that no review mentioned this, not even tech tablets. If the phone didn't cost 570 euro, but 250 euro I would not mind, but I'm going to return it, it is unacceptable for the price.
Mine doesn't rattle when closed, but also doesn't open fully. It sits at a slight angle when open, so I have to press "volume up" for a second to straighten it. As far as I can see there's no calibration tool for camera angle. This might help solve both problems.
Mine rattle to
the camera opens a little whenever I was fast walking with the phone in my pocket or when I wear lose pants but I fixed it by adding 2 strips of tape behind the camera :/
I found out that the rattle is coming from the hinge at the side where the volume buttons are
picked it up from table https://youtu.be/QcbjNwhLVIE ...
EDIT:
To clarify - this is how it always is, but it happens - lets say once a day - camera just get _more_ loose by itself. I will create another video how it is all the time (it is still pretty bad in quiet environment) - but it will be harder to catch with one hand holding camera phone.
evlo said:
picked it up from table
...
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Can other users of this phone confirm if it is a faulty unit or it is "normal" behaviour? Camera module seems to be wonky and loose, not firmly closed/locked. No reviewers mention this problem.
Mine moves a little bit too.
And 2 strips of tape help. I'm fine with it.

Does the camera module make clicky sounds when you move around?

Been doing research on the Zenfone 6 and I've seen a few videos and threads about how if you're jogging, or moving the phone around a bit fast, the gears inside the camera module make very audible clicky sounds and sometimes the camera module itself pushes out slightly and you have to push it in every now and then. Has anyone noticed anything related to this?
It is clicky on mine. I don't notice it all the time though. There is a settings in the settings menu to retract the camera if it does come out a little.
It usually happens when the phone is idle for long time the motor actually is idle and is not controlling the flip mechanism..it can be ignored.
So I guess all of the phones have this issue rather than a couple of them? Sometimes I jog or walk with my phone on my hand since I don't have pockets on some pants and it'd be pretty annoying if it makes the clicking noise or/and the camera module pops out ever so slightly.
If you care about this so much, then yeah, you'll be disappointed. It does rattle especially in loose pockets.

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