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geobit

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 19, 2021
2
2
Hey everyone, it had been a while since I last used my iPad, and I noticed some small specks scattered across the screen. First thought was it was just dirty so used a micro fiber cloth and tried wiping it off but nope, it didn't work. Added little bit of water and still won't budge. So I thought maybe they were scratches, or damage to some part of the screen, which doesn't seem to be the case. If I very gently use my finger nail and run over the speck back and fourth, I can get the speck to move. So I can move these specks across the screen (though it does require a lot of effort and risk of scratching the screen). I have no idea what these are. They are solid and granular, almost like salt or sand or something but again, they do not come off the screen easily at all. I've also tried using compressed air, and a nylon brush that you would use for cameras, with no luck. Even using the apple pencil, I can't really get them to budge. Any idea where these specks may have come from? I've basically tried everything I can to clean this screen, and anything else I am honestly afraid would damage the screen. Is this something that Apple could help with in terms of professionally cleaning/removing this debris? Could this be a defect with the screen itself?

Thanks!
 

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Htsi

macrumors 65816
Oct 14, 2020
1,398
1,267
Seems like something that is removable have you tried using a spectacle cleaning wipe or spray
 

AutomaticApple

Suspended
Nov 28, 2018
7,401
3,378
Massachusetts
Seems like something that is removable have you tried using a spectacle cleaning wipe or spray
Is this what you're referring to?
 

geobit

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 19, 2021
2
2
This may sound strange, but have you tried a lint roller?
This is genius! Wow, I saw this comment and immediate grabbed a lint roller. So at first, it didn't do anything. It would not pick up the specks. What did work was gently scraping the speck with the tip of my fingernail (dull) to get it unstuck from the screen, and then the lint roller was able to pick it up. So it took some time, and was tedious, but this is by far the best method I've found for cleaning the specks off. So it's pretty much cleaned up now, but I am still really curious as to what the specks were from in the first place.

I think the paint roller speculation is probably due to the streaks behind the specks. But the streaks are actually just caused when I used a damp cloth and ran it over the specks. Paint would have been much easier to get off the screen than this.

Appreciate everyone's input! The lint roller was an excellent idea.
 

Danae02

macrumors member
Oct 11, 2020
80
105
This is genius! Wow, I saw this comment and immediate grabbed a lint roller. So at first, it didn't do anything. It would not pick up the specks. What did work was gently scraping the speck with the tip of my fingernail (dull) to get it unstuck from the screen, and then the lint roller was able to pick it up. So it took some time, and was tedious, but this is by far the best method I've found for cleaning the specks off. So it's pretty much cleaned up now, but I am still really curious as to what the specks were from in the first place.

I think the paint roller speculation is probably due to the streaks behind the specks. But the streaks are actually just caused when I used a damp cloth and ran it over the specks. Paint would have been much easier to get off the screen than this.

Appreciate everyone's input! The lint roller was an excellent idea.
Glad it worked!
 
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