Frequently Asked Questions and Troubleshooting
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Before Application
Where can I watch your Video Application Instructions?
All the videos are listed above
Are there any precautions I can take to minimise the dust in the air around me during the application?
There are indeed:
1) ALWAYS read our product instructions very carefully first, and then use them! (this sounds very obvious we know, but a large number of our customers still do not do this) :)
Some of our customers decide to ignore our instructions, by fully exposing the protector's adhesive side before applying it. This significantly increases the risk of dust sticking to the protector before it is applied to the screen!
The vast majority of customers who contact us with issues, are customers we can tell have not read our instructions carefully.
2) An extra step you can take is to either:
i) apply the protector in your bathroom after a hot shower/bath, after the steam has been allowed to subside. This removes a lot of dust from the air.
ii) apply the protector in a kitchen with a tiled floor. There will be a lot less dust in the air compared to a carpeted room, and the tiled floor ensures very little static electricity is generated. This is a trick used by the computer repair industry.
For ultimate application conditions, why not take things a step further. Apply in a bathroom with a tiled floor, after a hot shower/bath!
During Application
I am applying a Magic Screen protector and bubbles have appeared. Why has this happened and how can I remove them?
Our product packaging provides detailed instructions on how to apply the screen protector with no air bubbles or dust bubbles, and also advises how to remove them should they appear. They mention that you should stop applying as soon as bubbles appear - did you do this?
These bubbles are very likely to be a result of dust/debris rather than air (otherwise they can be pushed out easily using the smoothing card). Can you see any dark 'spots' in the bubbles?
The adhesive tape dust-removal method mentioned in our instructions is especially effective if used during the initial application process (but less so in the hours afterwards), have you tried this method?
We strongly recommend using a popular branded adhesive tape (for example, Sellotape in the UK, or Scotch tape in the US) to remove dust from your protector. If you use tape from a 'dollar store', there is a high chance you will experience issues that ruin your protector (e.g. the glue from the tape will stick on the protector). Trust us on this one! :)
We also strongly recommend in our instructions that you use strong adhesive tape (i.e. duct tape) if you need to lift the protector. This reduces the ever-present risk of dust/dust/fingerprints sticking to the protector when you lift it, and ensures the edges of the protector are not damaged.
Whatever you do, don't touch the adhesive side with your fingers. Skin cells are very hard to remove and usually result in blurring of the protector.
Can I remove trapped dust/dirt from under the protector?
The adhesive tape dust-removal method mentioned in our instructions is especially effective if used during the initial application process (but less so in the hours afterwards), have you tried this method?
We also strongly recommend that you use a BRANDED adhesive tape to remove dust (e.g. Sellotape in the UK, or Scotch Tape in the USA). Using tape from "Dollar stores" DOES achieve a very inferior result.
in our product packaging instructions we strongly recommend that you use strong adhesive tape if you need to lift the protector. This reduces the ever-present risk of dust/dust/fingerprints sticking to the protector when you lift it, and ensures the edges of the protector are not damaged.
Whatever you do, don't touch the adhesive side with your fingers. Skin cells are very hard to remove and usually result in blurring of the protector.
Why do your protectors have sticker tabs and a round 'QC' sticker glued onto them? They created a horrible gluey mess when I removed them. Isn't that very stupid, my protector is ruined!
- Are you aware that on BOTH sides of the screen protector there is a disposable layer that needs to be removed?
- This is something that we are contacted about incredibly rarely, but this has (without fail) always been the cause of the issue :)
- Please do have another read of the application instructions in our product packaging (or alternatively please watch our application video tutorial), and all should become clear.
The sticker tabs are not meant to be removed from the disposable layers in isolation. Their purpose is to remove the disposable film layers from the screen protector itself.
There is a disposable film layer on both sides of the screen protector, which is why there is a sticker tab on either side of the protector with the message "Pull downwards to remove disposable film layer from protector (See inside of packaging for application instructions)".
The round 'QC' inspection sticker is also stuck on top of one of the disposable film layers. The sticker tabs and the QC sticker are stuck on using permanent glue, they are not meant to be removed in that manner. This is why forcibly removing them creates a gluey mess :)
Removing the disposable layers will remove the QC sticker and sticker tabs by default.
To be honest we are not sure what we could to make this more clear :) Any suggestions you can make will of course be greatly appreciated and looked into further.
The screen protector itself should still actually be fine, it will just be rather hard to remove the disposable film layer now.
We recommend using strong adhesive tape instead of picking at it with your fingernails, which can damage the protector.
After Application
I need to lift the Magic Screen protector off the screen. How do I do that without damaging the corner of the protector?
We recommend in our packaging instructions that you use strong adhesive tape (e.g. duct tape, although Sellotape or Scotch tape usually works well too) if you need to lift the protector. This reduces the ever-present risk of dust/dust/fingerprints sticking to the protector when you lift it, and ensures the edges of the protector are not damaged.
Whatever you do, don't touch the adhesive side with your fingers. Skin cells are very hard to remove and usually result in blurring of the protector.
It has only been a few days/weeks since my screen protector was applied, and already there are loads of scratches. What am I doing wrong?
Do you store your keys (or other sharp objects) in the same place as your phone?
Keys inflict huge damage on phone/MP3 player screens. It is an unspoken rule to NEVER keep them together in a pocket/bag/purse. Even the (allegedly) 'unscratchable' iPhone screen is affected by it.
We receive tiny amount of customer emails about scratching to the protector (less than 0.01% of our total customers contact us about them). In most cases these customers agree that the scratches were created by their keys.
We remind all of these customers that if Magic Screen had not been present, the situation would be significantly worse for them (a screen replacement in an Apple store is easily more than £100) :)
Magic Screen 'protects from scratches' and is not 'scratch resistant'. However, we can promise you that one of the key benefits of Magic Screen over unbranded screen protectors (and some well known brands, e.g. Belkin), is that is it much more resistant to scratches. Our material costs are much higher as a result.
Here are a few Amazon customer reviews we have picked out to reassure you of this:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/RKOCIDX1LOEJN/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R1NHH98ED0Z9VV/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R1RR9HRBZYESFA/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/RF6VPZ6P8BOK/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R3S662BA48NDFW/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R2LIEKOSIWVZAH/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
What can I do to prolong the life of my Magic Screen protector?
NEVER store your keys (or other sharp objects) in the same place as your phone (or other valuable objects).
Keys inflict huge damage on phone/MP3 player screens. It is an unspoken rule to NEVER keep them together in a pocket/bag/purse. Even the (allegedly) 'unscratchable' iPhone screen is affected by it.
Magic Screen 'protects from scratches' and is not 'scratch resistant'. However, we can promise you that one of the key benefits of Magic Screen over unbranded screen protectors (and some well known brands, e.g. Belkin), is that is it much more resistant to scratches. Our material costs are much higher as a result.
Here are a few Amazon customer reviews we have picked out to reassure you of this:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/RKOCIDX1LOEJN/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R1NHH98ED0Z9VV/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R1RR9HRBZYESFA/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/RF6VPZ6P8BOK/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R3S662BA48NDFW/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R2LIEKOSIWVZAH/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
Miscellaneous
I have an issue or question that this troubleshooting guide was not able to fix or answer. How can I contact you directly?
Sure thing, that's no problem. Here is the link to our contact page.
Please be sure to mention the product you ordered, where you ordered it from, and your order number. We require all of this information before we can provide any support.
How do your protectors not lose stickiness if I use adhesive adhesive tape or water to remove dust. Are you friendly Wizards?
Our Magic Screen protectors are not simply a piece of plastic with glue on the bottom-side. Each protector consists of 3 layers, none of which is an adhesive!
That's right...there is NO glue on our protectors. The bottom layer of our protectors made of a premium 'static-cling' silicon material. It allows our protectors to 'cling' firmly to your device screen using a static charge.
Whatever you do, don't touch the adhesive side with your fingers. Skin cells are very hard to remove and usually result in blurring of the protector.
Are there particular brands of adhesive tape you recommend using to remove dust?
We strongly recommend using a popular branded adhesive tape (for example, Sellotape in the UK, or Scotch tape in the US) to remove dust from your protector.
If you use tape from a 'dollar store', there is a VERY high chance you will experience issues that ruin your protector (e.g. the glue from the tape will stick on the protector, or the tape will not remove the dust). Trust us on this one! :)
We also strongly recommend in our instructions that you use strong adhesive tape (i.e. duct tape / gaffer tape) if you need to lift the protector. This reduces the ever-present risk of dust/dust/fingerprints sticking to the protector when you lift it, and ensures the edges of the protector are not damaged.
Whatever you do, don't touch the adhesive side with your fingers. Skin cells are very hard to remove and usually result in blurring of the protector.
Are there any cases that are NOT compatible with screen protectors?
- iPhone 3G/3GS
Regrettably we are unable to recommend the (very good) InCase Slider, CaseCrown Glider or Seido Innocase II cases (these three cases all have the same design, they are just rebranded).
These cases fit too snugly to the screen and therefore make contact with the protector (to such an extent that it pushes up the protector).
This is an unfortunate lack of foresight of the case manufacturer, rather than a weakness of our screen protector. We are not currently aware of any other cases that make contact with the screen protector.
It affects all the good screen protectors, including the ones Apple sell. As an example, you can see this mentioned here on the Apple website in a review from 'DF' from South Croydon on 18 Sept 2009.
Apple Store Link
Aside from using a different case, there are 2 solutions (neither of which are ideal, but they are solutions all the same):
1) Carefully sanding the rubber runners that are inside the case on either side (using sandpaper). We have had a customer tell us this worked very effectively for him. Just make sure they are both sanded equally the same.
2) Trimming the screen protector with a craft knife or pair of scissors.
Our founder, Callum, use this popular 'Feather' case from Incipio, and is very happy with it. Incipio Feather Case on Amazon.co.uk
While it provides slightly less protection than the InCase Slider, the Incipio Feather is very minimalist, which is Callum's main priority when it comes to cases (he likes to live on the edge).
- iPhone 4
Unfortunately it seems the inCase Slider case for the iPhone 4 messes up screen protectors just like the 3G/3GS version does! :(
Check it out from 2 minutes 50 seconds. This reviewer is NOT using a PhoneDevil screen protector - this issue affects static cling protectors from ALL brands.
I want to use a case with my screen protector. Is there a particular brand or case you recommend?
- iPhone 4 & iPad
We do not yet have enough information about iPhone 4 or iPad cases.
This section will be updated once the market has settled down a bit and all of the 'big' brands have released their cases.
- iPhone 3G/3GS
Our founder, Callum, use this popular 'Feather' case from Incipio, and is very happy with it.
Incipio Feather Case at Amazon.co.uk
While it provides slightly less protection than the InCase Slider, the Incipio Feather is very minimalist, which is Callum's main priority when it comes to cases (he likes to live on the edge).
Why do your protectors cost more than unbranded screen protectors? Surely they are all the same thing?
We can promise you that one of the key benefits of Magic Screen over unbranded screen protectors (and some well known brands, e.g. Belkin), is that is it much more resistant to scratches.
Our protectors are also much less prone to peeling, and are (on average) cut significantly better. Our material costs are much higher than those of our competitors for this reason.
Don't forget that we also supply a premium lint-free cleaning cloth, and a decent sized/strength smoothing card. These two things are really important to significantly increase your chances of applying the protector perfectly! :)
Here are a few reviews from one of our Amazon UK product pages, which show how our protectors compare to inferior 'static cling' protectors. This gives you an idea of just how big the difference is between a 'good' static-cling protector, and a bad one:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/RKOCIDX1LOEJN/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R1NHH98ED0Z9VV/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R1RR9HRBZYESFA/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/RF6VPZ6P8BOK/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R3S662BA48NDFW/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R2LIEKOSIWVZAH/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
What is the difference between 'soft' static cling protectors (like PhoneDevil's), and 'hard' scratch resistant adhesive protectors like the Zagg InvisibleShield.
There are two types of screen protector available on the market today:
- 'hard' (scratch-proof) protectors, e.g. Zagg's InvisibleShield
- 'soft' static-cling protectors, e.g. PhoneDevil's Magic Screen protector. This is a much more commonly used screen protector format.
Both formats come with their individual pros and cons, it really comes down to what you feel best suits your needs.
- 'Hard' (aka 'wet') screen protectors are very scratch resistant, but very hard to apply and non-reusable.
They are also quite rubbery to touch and can affect the user's experience with their device (especially a touch-screen one). They also have a habit of acquiring an "orange-peel" tinge due to ongoing exposure to natural UV-rays from sunlight.
- Soft (aka 'dry') 'static-cling' protectors are what most premium screen protector brands and retailers (including Apple) sell.
There is a vast difference in quality between the different static-cling protectors available. Thankfully our protectors are right at the top of the quality spectrum.
Static-cling protectors are by no means 'scratch-proof'. This is for good reason which I shall explain, however with regular/considerate treatment of the device there should be very little issues in this area.
The best static cling protectors (including ours) have 3 layers, the bottom of which is made from silicon. You will see these layers illustrated on your product packaging.
This silicon layer is what allows the protector to stick to the screen using static electricity. It means the protector is easy to remove, clean, and reposition. It also means the screen feels cushioned, which makes it more comfortable for the user over prolonged periods.
Because static cling protectors do not use the scratch resistant material used by 'hard' protectors (like the Zagg InvisibleShield), it means the material also feels extremely nice to the touch.
The only downside of the static-cling format is that unlike with the Zagg protector, if you try to scratch it with a sharp object it WILL scratch. In normal everyday circumstances you should not experience scratching however. Naturally your device should always be kept away from keys and other sharp objects, but I am sure you are aware of that already.
It would be possible for us to make our clear protector more resistant to scratches, however this would remove the softness and smoothness of the surface, and as a result it would not feel like a naked iPhone screen. We don't want to reduce enjoyment of the device, so this is why we do not sell a scratch-proof protector.
We can promise you that one of the key benefits of Magic Screen over unbranded screen protectors (and some well known brands, e.g. Belkin), is that is it much more resistant to scratches. Our material costs are much higher than those of our competitors for this reason.
Here are a few reviews from one of our Amazon UK product pages, which show how our protectors compare to inferior 'static cling' protectors. This gives you an idea of just how big the difference is between a 'good' static-cling protector, and a bad one:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/RKOCIDX1LOEJN/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R1NHH98ED0Z9VV/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R1RR9HRBZYESFA/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/RF6VPZ6P8BOK/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R3S662BA48NDFW/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R2LIEKOSIWVZAH/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm


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