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Anyone know why the iPhone 4 screen scratches so easily?

my son refuses any cases or anything he carries that thing in the pants pockets and his school back and drops it and even tosses it in my car cuppy holder. NOTHING! No scratch NOTHING! He never broke a phone he has phones since he is 4 years old (now 10 iPhone4) and I the Mom already have a track record (4x iphones I broken screens ) LOL
 
imutter said:
my son refuses any cases or anything he carries that thing in the pants pockets and his school back and drops it and even tosses it in my car cuppy holder. NOTHING! No scratch NOTHING! He never broke a phone he has phones since he is 4 years old (now 10 iPhone4) and I the Mom already have a track record (4x iphones I broken screens ) LOL
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How is that possible when mine gets scratched by being in my pocket in a case??


Anyways copied and pasted this from a 603 member about scratches


"Any phone will scratch. How badly and how soon involves a lot of luck or a little unexpected grit! (Or a drop. Yikes!)

My plastic 3G still looks like new... until I JUST NOW looked at it close under good light, and I can see little scratches. Thanks for that

Look for them or don’t... ANY phone will scratch when something harder touches it, and there’s no magic that can prevent that. Some will choose a case. I’m torn: I like my phone as small as possible. (And when grit gets inside a case eventually, that CAUSES scratches. I think it’s best to go caseless at first, and eventually get a case to HIDE the scratches.)

But no screen protector for me for sure: I think they look worse than scratches!"
 
OllyW said:
I've had mine since day one with no screen protectors and have got no scratches on the front or back.

The only damage is on the stainless steel band where dust trapped between the bumper and phone has rubbed the surface finish off. :(
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Same here! I keep mine in my cargo pocket. I think most of your scratches are from when something is pressed right up against it and dirt gets in the middle... such as with that case.
 
The glass is supposed to be scratch-resistant and not scratch-proof. Even Corning Gorilla Glass can get scratches from sand.

Don't look for them and you won't worry. You can't stop dust landing on the screen no matter how much you clean it. The very nature of touchscreen phones with a slate design is it will accumulate germs, lint, dust, etc over time.

By iPhone 5, 6, or 7, you won't care about the iPhone 4 as much anymore and it will be put up for sale on CL or eBay, traded-in for a newer one, demoted to an iPod touch, or given away to a relative or friend. Happens to all iPhones whether the original at under $100 at Craigslist or a 3GS. By the time iPhone 6 is announced next year, expect a sea of iPhone 4's on CL for under $150. Since iPhone 4 seems to be a very popular model, expect it to be very common and cheap after two years.
 
The glass used in the iPhone is strengthen/tempered (not like any cheap glass), it should not get scratched by normal use.
I have never used a screen protector, and never will.
Any material can be scratched if it is impacted by a material of the same or higher hardness.
Sand will do it, and metallic sharp objects will do it also.
If your iPhone glass is easily scratched then it might have a poor quality, the hardness is nit as it should be. Poor or uneven strengthening/tempering process can be a reason.
The key question are: is it scratched easily with normal use? Or it is scratched because of abuse?

Keeping it clean is good practice. I clean it on a daily basis with a water wet napkin and then dry it with a clean napkin. Sometimes I use a clorox wipe and then the water wet napkin, and then the dry clean napkin. And while on the road I use alcohol gel for hands and then the napkin.
No scratches since day 1.
 
McGiord said:
The glass used in the iPhone is strengthen/tempered (not like any cheap glass), it should not get scratched by normal use.
I have never used a screen protector, and never will.
Any material can be scratched if it is impacted by a material of the same or higher hardness.
Sand will do it, and metallic sharp objects will do it also.
If your iPhone glass is easily scratched then it might have a poor quality, the hardness is nit as it should be. Poor or uneven strengthening/tempering process can be a reason.
The key question are: is it scratched easily with normal use? Or it is scratched because of abuse?

Keeping it clean is good practice. I clean it on a daily basis with a water wet napkin and then dry it with a clean napkin. Sometimes I use a clorox wipe and then the water wet napkin, and then the dry clean napkin. And while on the road I use alcohol gel for hands and then the napkin.
No scratches since day 1.
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it got a scratch from normal use, i can hardly feel it but can see it which is kind of annoying.
 
My personal experience from my launch day iPhone4...
The back glass scratched within 3 days and has a number of light scratcbes
The front glass is completely unscathed. no scratches or blemishes.

the phone had a bumper on for 2 days before I decided it's a waste, and is regularly carried in pockets with keys (hence the back scratches) and dropped at least 10 times since launch. It has a habit of sliding off surfaces like sofa arms on its own!

Still, pleased an all glass front and back phone has survived my heavy-handedness for this long...
 
kopite19 said:
My personal experience from my launch day iPhone4...
The back glass scratched within 3 days and has a number of light scratcbes
The front glass is completely unscathed. no scratches or blemishes.

the phone had a bumper on for 2 days before I decided it's a waste, and is regularly carried in pockets with keys (hence the back scratches) and dropped at least 10 times since launch. It has a habit of sliding off surfaces like sofa arms on its own!

Still, pleased an all glass front and back phone has survived my heavy-handedness for this long...
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How is it possible your front screen has 0? Did you look under direct light after cleaning it and tilting it various ways? Mine has been treated way better than yours with no keys in my pocket yet it scratches? Makes no sense.
 
andrewr23 said:
How is it possible your front screen has 0? Did you look under direct light after cleaning it and tilting it various ways? Mine has been treated way better than yours with no keys in my pocket yet it scratches? Makes no sense.
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Absolutely, I've looked at it under the same light I spotted the tiny blemishes on the back, as well as the enormous scratch. It's pretty much pristine and I'm very anal about things like this (even though I can be a tad careless). I just assumed the coating/strength on the front was a lot better than the back...maybe I've just lucked out.
 
kopite19 said:
Absolutely, I've looked at it under the same light I spotted the tiny blemishes on the back, as well as the enormous scratch. It's pretty much pristine and I'm very anal about things like this (even though I can be a tad careless). I just assumed the coating/strength on the front was a lot better than the back...maybe I've just lucked out.
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really lucked out
maybe my phones screen is faulty? Idk im not getting a replacement because they are mostly yellow tinted.
 
andrewr23 said:
I believe most of you except the guys who say they drop there phone and found there cats walk on them with no scratches haha
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What's not to believe?! You honestly think my cat's nails are stronger than glass...? Maybe you should look up the Mohs hardness scale...
 
jwingfie said:
What's not to believe?! You honestly think my cat's nails are stronger than glass...? Maybe you should look up the Mohs hardness scale...
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Then how does dust or whatever is in my pocket scratch my screen? I make sure there is no dirt and like I said I have a case on that protects the screen. This scratch happened in 4 days....Honestly for the people with no scratches...Prove it?

If you reply saying what is there to prove? then don't reply and save yourself the time.
 
i have no scratches. ive never scratched an iphone screen. somehow I have a scratch on the back of my phone and its been in a case since the day i got it. I have no idea how it got the scratch. pisses me off.
 
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Okay. Let me go and see if my cat will sit still long enough to pose for a picture with her paw on my phone and then I will take a picture of the glass... Would that make you happy or no?
 
jwingfie said:
Okay. Let me go and see if my cat will sit still long enough to pose for a picture with her paw on my phone and then I will take a picture of the glass... Would that make you happy or no?
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How old are you? Stop being immature please and ruining this thread.
 
CrAkD said:
i have no scratches. ive never scratched an iphone screen. somehow I have a screen on the back of my phone and its been in a case since the day i got it. I have no idea how it got the scratch. pisses me off.
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Yeah same here except i have none on the back but they are on the screen. Its a bummer.
 
andrewr23 said:
How old are you? Stop being immature please and ruining this thread.
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24...?

If my memory serves me correctly, you were the one who asked for proof? I was just making sure my pictures would be sufficient for you before I took them. I guess not. There is no need to get mad at me because I don't agree with your theory about how bad the glass is...

Anyways, these pictures were hardly worth taking. I don't have my lightbox set-up with me and it's the middle of the night so proper lighting was impossible to achieve. I had a flashlight aiming directly on the phone screen which would have magnified any imperfections.

Coins...
img0880m.jpg

Screen focused on the home button and then the center of the screen...
img0884i.jpg

img0882p.jpg


You don't have to believe me when I say my screen is pristine, but it is.

EDIT: And mods, I looked for a picture resolution limit but couldn't find it, if these are too large, you can edit the IMG tags.
 
jwingfie said:
24...?

If my memory serves me correctly, you were the one who asked for proof? I was just making sure my pictures would be sufficient for you before I took them. I guess not. There is no need to get mad at me because I don't agree with your theory about how bad the glass is...

Anyways, these pictures were hardly worth taking. I don't have my lightbox set-up with me and it's the middle of the night so proper lighting was impossible to achieve. I had a flashlight aiming directly on the phone screen which would have magnified any imperfections.

Coins...


You don't have to believe me when I say my screen is pristine, but it is.

EDIT: And mods, I looked for a picture resolution limit but couldn't find it, if these are too large, you can edit the IMG tags.
Click to expand...


I'm not mad at all, yes your phone is perfect haha

whats that thing around the home button though? also, what do you clean it with? I tried using my 10mp camera but it couldnt catch the scratch for some reason? Any idea why?
 
andrewr23 said:
I'm not mad at all, yes your phone is perfect haha

whats that thing around the home button though? also, what do you clean it with? I tried using my 10mp camera but it couldnt catch the scratch for some reason? Any idea why?
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It's just a weird reflection caused by the flashlight. I cleaned it with a microfiber cloth that came with my GFs screen protector (she is an android user:( ) It was almost impossible to get the dust to not float back onto my screen when i was done cleaning it

As for taking the pictures, most lenses have a minimum focus distance so it's going to be hard to get up close and get something that small. Plus you will need to focus a light source to hit the screen/scratch directly to really be able to pick it up.
 
jwingfie said:
It's just a weird reflection caused by the flashlight. I cleaned it with a microfiber cloth that came with my GFs screen protector (she is an android user:( ) It was almost impossible to get the dust to not float back onto my screen when i was done cleaning it

As for taking the pictures, most lenses have a minimum focus distance so it's going to be hard to get up close and get something that small. Plus you will need to focus a light source to hit the screen/scratch directly to really be able to pick it up.
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K kept trying and I couldnt get it...I guess it can only be seen by eyes. When the 5 comes out, im giving this phone to my dad (in his 50s.) Hes excited to use it and doesnt care about scratches.

Anyways Whats it mean if i can hardly feel it with my nail? My nails arent long btw.

Putting a screen protector on. But honestly do you believe people that put there phones in there pocket WITH keys? How could it not scratch

edit...just curious, if your screen got scratched, what would you do? Sorry for getting angry earlier..had an issue with a friend.
 
for people who say screen protectors suck should try 'power support'..matte finish and doesnt distort the screen. I have been using it for years. each time i get a iphone I buy that before i buy my iphone..
 
jdaniel said:
for people who say screen protectors suck should try 'power support'..matte finish and doesnt distort the screen. I have been using it for years. each time i get a iphone I buy that before i buy my iphone..
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I just got it, its perfect !! thank you
 
I've never used a screen protector on my iPhone 4, it has a small nick in it in the middle somewhere that's never noticeable unless under bright light, but no scratches anywhere and I always just slip it into my pockets.

and how often do Apple stores replace iPhones just because they have scratches? o-o
 
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