Edit by @nrp: I’ve edited the title from “Do not buy a ViaScreens screen protector!” to “Warning when applying ViaScreens screen protector!”. We strongly recommend not using the sticker-based “Pre-Application Dust Remover” that comes with the screen protector kit (regardless of which brand the screen protector is). Instead, clean the screen carefully using the microfiber cloth and wet wipe that come in the kit, and apply the screen protector in an environment that doesn’t have a lot of dust floating around.
Original post:
I bought a Via Screens screen protector specifically for the laptop.
While using the “Pre-Application Dust Remover”, the adhesive felt like it was too strong.
When I pulled it up from the panel, I was left with a faint mark:
Yikes. This definitely needs more visibility. For the tablet screen protector do you recall if the adhesive strength of the ‘dust remover’ was similar?
I think the alignment tabs and dust removers are the same across all products - they’re just stickers. The tablet likely has at least another layer of glass on top of the screen, which could be coated in something that reduces the adhesion of the sticker (e.g. oleophobic coating). The strength of the adhesive wasn’t nearly as strong on the tablet.
If you watch the ViaScreens instruction video for laptops, they use a laptop with a screen that’s bonded behind a layer of glass. I’m not sure if ViaScreens actually tested this exact product - which would be irresponsible IMO.
Yikes. I have installed both Via and Photodon screen protectors, but avoided using the adhesive dust collectors for this reason. Going into a dust free environment and using only lens cloth to wipe away smudges and dust should be ok. We’ll add a warning around this in the Knowledge Base.
I used all the stickers and didn’t have this happen to me. Granted it’s still a nightmare to get all the air bubbles out but I kept the bezel on after hearing a story about someone breaking their screen from installing a ViaScreens protector with the bezel off. Maybe this is the same issue?
Luckily this happened to your framework laptop and not another brand and have an opportunity hopefully in the future to just replace the panel yourself.
Man, sorry to see that. Very frustrating, to say the least. I put the Via Matte one on and also found the dust remover to be extremely sticky. It should be more like a Post-It, and less like duct tape. In fact, it also left some residue on the screen that I had to carefully clean off. I gave up on it after that and was just very careful with the wiping and dust.
I was unlucky and this happened the first time I used the dust remover on this screen.
Once I replace the screen, I don’t think I’m going to try this again without the dust remover.
I would imagine that attempting to remove the screen protector would destroy the LCD if not done very carefully.
I certainly understand your hesitation. I’ll just share that when I was applying the protector, it actually seemed to come off fairly easily. When I went to peel off the protective film, the protector itself came off, rather than just the film. It’s a sample size of one, I realize, but that was my experience.
I don’t suppose that Via has offered to pay for the cost of the replacement?
I thought this could happen, but wow. That’s serious. So sorry that happened to you. I think that the ViaScreens dust stickers were stronger than any other screen protector I’ve ever used, so I actually used some other ones, except for one tough spot.
That’s frustrating. I had reached out to them with some questions and to ask for samples of their different options, and they were pretty responsive. Sorry to hear you didn’t have a similar experience.
It’s too bad that we don’t have too many options and are beholden to whoever makes accessories for Framework. Hopefully, Framework laptops become more popular and we would have more options in the future.
Saw this just after I ordered matte screens for two of my tablets. My experience was good though, relatively quick delivery and very easy installation. I only had a couple of dust flecks to worry about and I did notice it was way sticky, so I had to peel very carefully (and got lucky it seems).
Looks like scotch tape for the next two screens. Hope your issue is able to be resolved somehow.
I’ll provide feedback to Viascreens; maybe if we let them know en masse it’ll help avoid this in future.
Quick followup; I just went on chat on Viascreen’s site and pointed them to this thread. They told me they’ve heard (but thanks very much for letting them know).
okay maybe I’m cancelling my order for the matte protector then, has anyone else run into this?