Smashing! 7.5 million unlucky Brits currently have a cracked phone screen

• Research reveals that, when dropped, phones land screen side down 64% of the time.
• 6 million people have dropped and cracked their phones immediately after purchasing
• Over 20% of Brits who’ve cracked their screens have lived with it for over six months and 3.3 million have injured themselves on their cracked phone screen
• One in 10 gadgets are broken by children, costing the UK up to £1.4billion
• O2 becomes the only UK network operator to offer free screen replacement cover for its customers’ Oops moments.

Research released by O2 has today revealed that 7.5 million Brits are walking around with a cracked phone screen at any one time and half of all smartphone owners have damaged their screen at least once.

It appears that Lady Luck isn’t on our side as 64% believe their phone is most likely to land screen side down when dropped. A staggering 2.6 million have cracked their phone straight after buying it.

Women are more likely to have dropped their phone (54%) compared to men (47%) and 16-24 year olds are the unluckiest age bracket (29%) compared to 45-54 year olds (11%). The East of England is the luckiest region with only 39% of those surveyed reporting a cracked screen, whereas nearly two thirds of Londoners (61%) have suffered a smash, meaning that they can’t get the most out of their devices.

Along with bad luck, butter fingered little ones are a key cause of breakages, with one in 10 gadgets broken by children (12%) costing the UK £1.4billion, followed by 5% broken by clumsy friends.

Over 20% of Brits who had cracked their screen admitted to living with a cracked screen for over six months and only 1% would ensure it is sent away for repair within one day of breaking it. With cracked screens causing injuries to 14% of the owners there is a heightened need to repair phones as quickly as possible.

Keeping that new phone feeling has just become easier as O2 has become the only UK network to launch Free Screen Replacement Cover for customers buying the latest handsets from 8 September 2017.

“We can’t stand the thought of so many people walking around seeing the world through a cracked screen and we know a customer’s phone is much more than just a phone. So we know how frustrating it can be when a handset isn’t fulfilling its full potential.” said Nina Bibby, Chief Marketing Officer, O2.

“We want to give our customers that new phone feeling so that they can continue to share every experience, connecting them to the people and things that they love, without being hampered by a cracked screen. That’s why we’re proud to be the first UK network to offer a free screen replacement option.”

The new cover will mean customers who drop their prized handsets will be able to get the screen replaced once during the 24 months of their contract – ensuring they keep that ‘new phone feeling’ even if they accidentally damage the screen.

Free Screen Replacement Cover is available exclusively from O2 for the latest handsets on selected tariffs*. To make their replacement claim customers simply need to call Pay Monthly customer service. The next day courier service will collect the handset with the cracked screen and provide a replacement device, ensuring pain free screen replacements.

To find out more about O2’s Screen Replacement Cover, visit www.o2.co.uk/screenreplacement

• One screen replacement within the term of a contract (up to 24 months) 30GB+ on iPhone X, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, Samsung Galaxy S8, Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus, Samsung Note8 and OnePlus 5. Further devices may be added in the future.