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I can't figure out what this is...

I

iamjose

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 19, 2011
114
2
I bought my iPad a couple of months ago at Best Buy (open item). Check out the two pictures below. I didn't notice this before but I was wondering what the heck this is. When the screen is clean (on or off), you cannot see it at all but when I was cleaning it (using the mouth-fog & tissue method) you can see this rectangle-looking smudge on it, as if a label was placed on it or something. I was thinking of cleaning it with some Windex or something but I didn't want to mess up the screen. Any ideas?

It doesnt bother me that much other than knowing it's there, but I would like to know what it is, if and how I can remove it, and if it will have any long term affect on my screen. Thanks.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1335935387.913525.jpg

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1335935348.520905.jpg
 
K

Kralledr

macrumors member
Apr 28, 2012
55
0
It Look like this antitheft Clips wich you find on iPad for Demonstation like in the Stores
 
S

Snesley Wipes

macrumors regular
Jun 29, 2009
119
5
Someone might've spilled a solvent like acetone or something on it. And maybe tried to rub it out and it left the smear.
 
Macman45

Macman45

macrumors G5
Jul 29, 2011
13,197
135
Somewhere Back In The Long Ago
Whatever you do DON'T use Windex or any chemical compound on the screen..It does look like marks left behind by anti-theft clips...Probably how your unit ended up as open box. If it doesn't bother you too much I'd be inclined to leave it alone.
 
I

iamjose

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 19, 2011
114
2
Snesley Wipes said:
Someone might've spilled a solvent like acetone or something on it. And maybe tried to rub it out and it left the smear.
Click to expand...

Interesting... Are you familiar with acetone? Would this have any long term affect on the glass/screen?

Macman45 said:
Whatever you do DON'T use Windex or any chemical compound on the screen..It does look like marks left behind by anti-theft clips...Probably how your unit ended up as open box. If it doesn't bother you too much I'd be inclined to leave it alone.
Click to expand...

Yeah I knew I was kinda taking a chance on an open box. I was hoping this could have fixed in someway, or if anyone would had seen something similar to this. I was even thinking about the stuff they use on cars, scratch doctor, crazy... I know.
 
Z

ZipZap

macrumors 603
Dec 14, 2007
6,076
1,448
Take it into an apple store and show them. See what they'll do for you.
 
K

klover

macrumors 6502a
Jun 7, 2009
799
90
I've seen this very thing on a first-gen iPad that I had. The section in question looked as if some of the optical coating (and/pr oleophobic coating) had either not been applied correctly or was worn off.

I also noticed that that section was not as smooth; I could tell there was more friction in that section while glidding a finger across the screen. It had absolutely no impact on usability or image quality however.
 
spiderman0616

spiderman0616

Suspended
Aug 1, 2010
5,670
7,490
I have a theory---

Knowing how anal Apple customers can be (myself included), I bet someone scratched their screen and tried to fix it with some kind of abrasive polish or some other chemical. When they ended up doing more damage than good, they returned the iPad.
 
I

iamjose

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 19, 2011
114
2
Abarth1200 said:
i cant see anything focused on in those photos, what am i looking at here
Click to expand...

The top photo is when the screen is clean and smudge-free. The second is when I apply some "mouth-fog" to the same location.

----------
spiderman0616 said:
I have a theory---

Knowing how anal Apple customers can be (myself included), I bet someone scratched their screen and tried to fix it with some kind of abrasive polish or some other chemical. When they ended up doing more damage than good, they returned the iPad.
Click to expand...

That's possible... I wouldn't have even thought to look for it. It's not seen by the naked eye. So I'm sure some dude at Best Buy wouldn't have either. I guess just FYI if you are buying a open item at Best Buy.

----------
klover said:
It had absolutely no impact on usability or image quality however.
Click to expand...

Well... that's good to hear.
 
I

iamjose

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 19, 2011
114
2
Update: Took the iPad in to the Apple store. They also supposed some of the oleophobic rubbed off. Quick exchange. Love iCloud. Love Apple!
 
Ecoh

Ecoh

macrumors 6502a
Oct 30, 2009
653
26
USA
iamjose said:
Update: Took the iPad in to the Apple store. They also supposed some of the oleophobic rubbed off. Quick exchange. Love iCloud. Love Apple!
Click to expand...

This is really interesting, glad it worked out for you.

Now, I must try the "mouth-fog" test on my iPad !
 
X

xraytech

macrumors 68030
Mar 24, 2010
2,518
214
iamjose said:
I bought my iPad a couple of months ago at Best Buy (open item). Check out the two pictures below. I didn't notice this before but I was wondering what the heck this is. When the screen is clean (on or off), you cannot see it at all but when I was cleaning it (using the mouth-fog & tissue method) you can see this rectangle-looking smudge on it, as if a label was placed on it or something. I was thinking of cleaning it with some Windex or something but I didn't want to mess up the screen. Any ideas?

It doesnt bother me that much other than knowing it's there, but I would like to know what it is, if and how I can remove it, and if it will have any long term affect on my screen. Thanks.

View attachment 338151

View attachment 338150
Click to expand...

Looks to me that Oliophobic coating was removed from that one spot.
 
I

iamjose

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 19, 2011
114
2
Matthew9559 said:
That's awesome that they took care of this small annoyance for you. :D
Click to expand...

yeah... they were super cool about it. I just showed it to them and asked them what they thought about it and the guy instantly said "... that shouldn't be like that." and exchanged it. Cool guy at the Pasadena, CA store.
 
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