The hard plastic back of the three-month old Google flagship Nexus 6 comes off, something the non-removable shell of the Motorola-made handset should not do. More and more customers claim to have experienced the issue, which led the manufacturer to replace the defective devices.
Plagued users have turned to social media to share the situation. There are rants on Google Plus, grumbles on Reddit and inquiries on Twitter from users in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. In one conversation between a disgruntled customer named Chris Cannon and Motorola in the microblogging site, the company prompted the user to head to Customer Support to have the device replaced.
The root of the defect has not been determined. Many concluded that the glue is not just firm enough to hold the back and the body intact. However, a Reddit user that goes by the name npjohnson1 warned that the battery is swelling; it puffs up enough to have that it pressed on the back, making it pop out.
"PLEASE be careful," wrote Reddit user npjohnson1. "Check under the back cover, my Nexus 6 had something similar happen, except, upon further inspection... THE BATTERY HAD EXPANDED, and was pushing the back cover off. They ended up letting me keep the nexus and get a new one for free, they even threw in the SUPCASE for the N6 for free..We removed the battery on the old one for safety."
The same happened to another, who shared what happened through XDA developer forums.
"Make sure to check for battery expansion pushing the back cover off, happened to my father's N6," the commenter said. "So we got a replacement unit, and TMO (T-Mobile) told us to take the phone to a dump and safely dispose of it. We decided to wait and see the outcome (in a fire-proof box), the battery has continued to expand, completely removing the back cover."
If this is the real reason, Tech First Post said that this is "not a good sign." The site added that Motorola should have built the device with the best means as the Nexus 6 comes with a hefty price (about $700).
