Here's a quick fix for a creaky Lumia 950 XL back cover

Lumia 950 XL
Lumia 950 XL (Image credit: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central)

There is a lot to like about the Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL, but the super thin polycarbonate back covers could be better. Sure, we know have some of the lightest and thinnest Lumias to date, but the trade-off is somewhat flimsy.

One issue some folks have noticed, and we have too is rather unfortunate: some creaking in the corners.

The issue is undoubtedly due to the thin shell and some mild warping when removed to put in SIMs and microSD cards (or changing into a Mozo shell). The result is near the corners of the device there is an audible creaking when pressed. It's not the end of the world, but it does take both phones down a notch. It also seems to be more prevalent with the Lumia 950 XL due to the larger cover.

Luckily, there is a stupidly simple fix for it. Granted, this is something that Microsoft could – and should – fix in production, but for now you can just take the 45 seconds to fix it yourself.

The easiest way is to grab some sticky posts and add four pieces to the lower sides and corners of the cover as seen above. You could, of course, Scotch tape them too if you don't have sticky notes. The bigger point is to get some padding in there, so, in theory, you can jam any material in there to help.

We applied this to our Lumia 950 XL, and it's been a much better experience. Creaking cases are one of those nuisances that once you notice, you cannot un-feel and it could spoil the experience. If you are wondering if this applies to the more expensive Mozo cases, the answer is a tentative yes, but it is a lot less pronounced and probably more rare.

Our Lumia 950, on the other hand, is just fine both for the default and Mozo cases. Then again, if you do experience some creaking you can do the same trick above to alleviate it.

Thanks, Brandon R., for the tip and photo!

More tips

Will you be using the People app more often after learning these tips? Do you have other tips or requests that can improve our experience with the People hub on Windows 10 Mobile? Let us know in the comments below!

News

Want all the latest news on these phones? Hit these topic pages for all that we got.

Support and help forums

Need to chat about the Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL? Jump into our forums and ask others what they think or get help and advice on your new phone!

Daniel Rubino
Editor-in-chief

Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central. He is also the head reviewer, podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft since 2007, when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, laptops, next-gen computing, and watches. He has been reviewing laptops since 2015 and is particularly fond of 2-in-1 convertibles, ARM processors, new form factors, and thin-and-light PCs. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics, watched people sleep (for medical purposes!), and ran the projectors at movie theaters because it was fun.