Coming Unstuck With The Nexus 6

The Motorola built Nexus 6 is just about the worst Android handset I've owned. The USB port is upside down, the screen is smeary at low light, the back is so slippery it spins wildly on any flat surface, the battery is average at best, and the curve of the back makes impossible to type on without gripping firmly. All acceptable annoyances in a cheap handset, but for a "premium price" device, it's just not good enough.

To add insult to injury, many many many people have discovered that the back peels off due to a systemic manufacturing defect.

After only a few weeks of using the device, I found that the back cover was beginning to come loose on my phone. I thought it might be a swollen battery, but it appears to just be crap build quality and non-existent QA.

When I charge the phone via Qi (the wireless charging standard) the phone gets hot - as does the charging plate. This heat is enough to partially melt the cheap glue which holds the device together.

On picking up my phone the other morning, I could easily pry up the corners of the cover. Not great. Motorola's advice to me was that I should send it back to them and - if I hadn't changed the firmware - they'd re-glue the device for me and send it back a week later. Again, not the service I expect for a £500 handset.

So I decided to take matters into my own hands.

Using a plastic knife, and aided with a little extra heat from a hair dryer I removed the back in under a minute.

This is what it looks like :

The thin layer of glue gave way easily. I had initially thought about cleaning it off with a little isopropyl alcohol and sticking it back on with something stronger.

Given my dissatisfaction with the back (too slippery and too curved) I decided to stick the phone in a cheap, clear TPU case.

I think it looks rather neat - the circuit design of the case nicely complements the actual circuitry of the phone.

The case adds much needed friction to the back of the phone and protects it from bumps and knocks. It can't do anything about the upside-down USB port though!