what do you mean they won't last? I've had my phone for 2 months now, and there's no sign I've even USED the buttons, let alone that they "won't last"

 

Go back to the store and ask them to open a new one and see if it does the same thing. If it doesn't then exchange it. The buttons will hold up I assure you though.

 

if the buttons go, it's a mfg defect and covered under warranty for a year. After a year you'll most likely be upgrading to something new anyway. Though, I don't see it as a problem. Outside of the dust issue for some, the build quality is pretty good. Don't imagine that button pad failing.

 

The Home/Menu/Search/Back button panel seems very sturdy, so I wouldn't worry about that much. Some users have reported peeling of the silver overlay though. The Call/Power buttons DO scratch and peel very easily. My Power (red) button peeled pretty badly. Since I had no other hardware or dust issues at all, I decided to go ahead and peel the rest of the silver overlay off of both buttons. I rather like the look of a solid green Call button and a solid red Power button. (It's particularly festive during the holidays.)

 

Can you please post a picture of your phone so we get an idea how it looks with the all green and red buttons?

 

I apologize for the quality -- snapped this with the Pre's camera, which doesn't do close-ups very well.



I'll have time later tonight to get some shots with a real camera and a real macro lens. In the meantime, hope this helps.

Incidentally, the Noah Bennett character on Heroes used a Sprint Hero in the first few episodes this season before the entire cast switched over to Pres. His Hero had solid green/red buttons as well.

 

Hahahaa that made my morning, I would've never imagined these buttons did that and you're right, I think it looks tolerable

 

@doublebullout you are right, it doesn't look bad at all. Thanks for posting the picture. Now I don't have to worry about the silver paint on the buttons wearing out. Are those green and red colors on the buttons also just painted underneath the silver? or are they really green and red plastics? Just wondering if those colors will also wear out eventually.

 

Hah that looks cool

 

How did you peel it all off? My button is only peeling about half way.

I'd like to get it all off like you did but don't want to scratch the rest of the phone.

Totally off topic: Are you a transplanted Aggie or do you just like Texas A&M?

 

The buttons are molded in that color, so they won't peel or wear out any further. I am still enjoying the new look, and I've gotten compliments from other smartphone owners. Nice, cheap little "mod".

I used a small pocketknife, and sharpened the tip first. The silver overlay peels off the top of the buttons fairly easily if you apply the blade gently at the right angle. If you're very careful, you can scrape off the silver overlay without scratching anything else. The tough part is getting the overlay off the sides of the button. Some of it will come off when you scrape the top of the button if you can get a big "peel" going. I used the knife blade to score or cut the silver around the sides where it hadn't already peeled. A high quality pair of small tweezers and a magnifying glass (or extreme nearsightedness) helps too.

Class of '87, and married an '88 too. Whoop!

 

It's definitely a problem. As soon as I started seeing mine flake off, I exchanged it at a local CSouth store. I caught myself afterwards using my thumbnail to press the buttons, and I've tried to avoid that completely. I guess that could have contributed to the problem, although it should still be able to withstand that.

 

My wifes phone is doing the same thing.

 

Guess what? *ANOTHER* known "issue" lol. It's being investigated to see what could have been done differently to prevent this, but I've noticied it on my phone as well. Only on the End button now (probably because I don't think I've ever pressed the Call key, I just use the onscreen buttons, but have to use the End key to wake up the phone, and was using my fingernail). No word yet on if this will constitute a recall or phones being exchanged, but as usual, if I hear anything, I'll pass it on.

 

Proof positive, stupid is as stupid does, Hook Em Horns!!!! just kidding

 

Do you ever use the menu button to wake it up and twice to go into the phone?

 

Not really, because it's force of habit to press the big red button.

 

It just started peeling on me as well. I will try to take it all off.

 

My end button cover just came off. Damnit. I emailed HTC to see if they will do anything about it. I want it looking pretty for 2.1. Now its just hideous with a big a55 red eye sore button.

 

It ISN'T covered by the warranty. The User's Guide says:
This Warranty does not apply to: ... (e) Defects in appearance, cosmetic, decorative or structural items
HTC considers the peeling plating on the END button and the panel identifying the four hidden buttons to be cosmetic and not affecting the operation of the phone and specifically does NOT cover these problems. Nor does Sprint.


I NEVER push the buttons with anything but the pads of my fingers and I got the peeling paint on the END key and the MENU label on successive days after only five months of use. Lots of people are having this problem. This is not indicative of "pretty good" build quality; it's abysmal build quality. HTC should be ashamed to produce a phone that is so ill suited for its intended use that it can't remain intact for even half a year. And Sprint should be ashamed not to stand behind the phone either. We expect more from these two companies.