One of Samsung‘s measures to make its foldables more durable appears to be backfiring. A Galaxy Z Fold 4 user recently found that the internal brush used to clean the hinge was breaking and preventing the device from opening completely flat. The debris is getting caught in the hinge, blocking its proper functioning.
Galaxy Z Fold 4 may develop debris internally and fail to open flat
Samsung has been making foldable smartphones since 2019. It is the only firm that has launched a foldable every year for the past five years. During this period, the Korean firm addressed numerous issues reported by foldable users. Each new generation of Galaxy foldables has come with improved hardware, design, and software features.
However, the very nature of these products makes them less durable than regular smartphones. Due to various openings and moving parts, you don’t get strong protection against dust. The dust particles can damage the hinge or disturb its function. To minimize the risk of dust damage, Samsung placed a tiny brush along the hinge on the inside of the Galaxy Z Fold 4.
This brush is supposed to prevent dust from entering into the hinge. While it likely did its job effectively, it appears the bristles aren’t strong enough to survive several years inside the foldable. As Redditor ahmed1smael discovered, they get weaker over time and break. Worse yet, the broken pieces remain inside the phone and may get stuck in the hinge, causing it to malfunction.
Many Galaxy Z Fold 4 users have reported that their foldable gradually stopped opening fully flat. Most of them speculated that dust may have entered inside the device. However, the aforementioned Redditor opened the phone to find debris developed internally. Along with broken pieces of the bristles, they also found pieces of adhesive film used to keep the brush in place.
After removing the debris, their Galaxy Z Fold 4 unfolded completely flat. This is a manufacturing defect but Samsung reportedly refused repair or replacement under warranty. The company doesn’t admit that the internal structure has failed. This is poor customer service from the Korean behemoth. Hopefully, it owes up and offers free repair for devices under warranty.
The Galaxy Z Fold 5 may not have this issue
Following this discovery, many Galaxy Z Fold 5 users are worried that their foldable may have the same fate over time. While we can’t rule out the possibility, the newer model has a lesser chance of developing debris internally. From what we have seen so far, it doesn’t have a brush on the inside. Samsung also redesigned the hinge to push debris away instead of getting caught in the mechanism. It will be interesting to see what changes the Galaxy Z Fold 6 brings to the hinge mechanism. The new model may launch in July this year.
