I originally posted the below on reddit, but thought it would probably better fit here. But first of all, I’ve had my Pebble Time 2 for close to a week now, and i LOVE it. It has fixed all the shortcomings my old Pebble Time Steel had, which i have been wearing since release a decade ago. I really hope this watch holds up as great as the old ones did, which is also a bit why i ask the question below:
I think i have already seen somewhere on reddit, that it is not possible to replace the glass, since the display is glued to the glass. But it could be argued that it is worth replacing both glass and screen even though only the glass breaks.
But is parts, including this, even available? And, while probably not an easy fix, is it fixable?
Back when Core devices first started, Eric stated that they would try to build their watches so that they would be easier to fix. But if no parts are available that isn’t really worth much.
EDIT: Just to clarify, i have not broken the glass on my Pebble. But who knows what happens down the road
Not sure if it is anyhow useful or efficient but I’ll definitely give it a try because I freshly received mine too and do not want anything to happen to it.
Im going to do this too. There is also a version that covers the raised part of the glass, and that doesn’t even look bad. The one you link to is the best I’ve seen of the full covers. I just think its a shame to cover the watch, because of how good it looks
Depending if you can 3D print it yourself, you could actually customize the colors quite a bunch, hence it makes it more sturdy and customizable without locking yourself into 1 specific color.
Yeah I am fortunate enough that i have my own 3d printer. Im going to try and print the parts in silver, since i have a silver PT2. But you are right, it does give one more customization, which is also nice
I’ll offer a criticism, the screen should be replaceable, any company that designs a wearable with a non-replacable screen is gouging it’s customers. Particularly when they design them with weak glass. I’ve had mine for about 2 weeks, and got 5 gouges in my screen already. Wish I knew the glass was gonna be made outta cellophane when I was ordering. Wish screen protectors were bundleable add-on items.
Hey Nick; not sure if you saw the latest blog post, but if your glass is cracked please fill out a bug report in the Pebble app and we’ll get you sorted out!
The glass of my screen accumulated a lot of scratches pretty fast. Coming from a major brand that offers sapphire glass for their watches, I find it very prone to scratches. A replacement option is a MUST and I’d also like to see a sapphire glass option. I want to wear and like my pebble watch for many years to come, but that is hard with a scratched display.
Have you tried adding a screen protector? Sometimes the adhesive can fill in the gaps to make the screen look a little less scratched than it actually is. Sometimes. Really depends on the severity of the scratches.
I enjoy the watch and I have several ideas for developing watch faces, apps and so forth. Not having options to purchase / replace / repair the glass is very disappointing.
The glass isn’t scratch resistant, as you see here, I have some nasty scratches. It is easily done as the glass is proud of the bezel. As such, many are resolving this through ‘bumpers’.
I’ve replaced screens on several phones & tablets but this one requires a hot plate / heating due to adhesion used.
iFixit has a tear down for the pebble time 2 & old pebble 2. Pebble 2 gets an ifixit score of 2/10. The tear down didn’t even attempt the screen.
Being in the UK, I usually prefer to be shipped the parts and self-repair. The value of this watch over other smart watches is with the customisable / open source / modding / appeal. Wanting to also fix it is natural for the customer base.
At the very least, I would have like to have seen an option to purchase screen protectors & bumpers when ordering, but given the proud non-scratch resistant screen - I think that they should be provided with the watch.
@eric - Please could you suggest an actual way forward for this other than ‘No, it would not be possible to do a screen/glass repair, sorry.’ ?
Just an update - as suggested above, I did a bug report - thank you again to @claudio for being so accommodating and kindly assisting beyond my expectations
Considering that the glass will get scratched over time i would love to see a way forward. I intend to keep the watch longer and I’ll probably have to replace the glass at some point.
