Otterbox Defender for iPhone 4 scratches screen?

I stopped using my OBD because it always let a LOT of dust inside and I was concerned about the exact thing that happened to you.

Sure, the OBD is great about keeping your phone from breaking but it sucks at keeping the phone pristine.

jbachandouris said:

It seems that you almost need a screen protector to eliminate scratches, but the reduction in screen quality would probably be severe. I used the phone without the case yesterday and the screen is SO much nicer.

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If you want a good bit of protection without making the phone too bulky get the Speck Candyshell. It also does a great job of not letting dirt in.

Granted, it's not as protective as the OBD but it's pretty damn good and still looks good.

I didn't like the screen protector built in to the defender. Since I already had a screen protector on my iPhone 4, I just removed the one from the otterbox, and I like it much better now.

Have you dropped your phone while it's in the Speck Candyshell?

iammike1 said:

If you want a good bit of protection without making the phone too bulky get the Speck Candyshell. It also does a great job of not letting dirt in.

Granted, it's not as protective as the OBD but it's pretty damn good and still looks good.

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the gryphon said:

Have you dropped your phone while it's in the Speck Candyshell?

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I just dropped it today when it fell out of my bag. And it was fine except for the screen protector I had on it. The outer shell really helped protect the phone from rocks and it's a bit dented now but the rubber absorbed the shock. My screen protector got scratched and I guess it fell on the rocks but now theres a dot of scratch on the actual screen of my iPhone! The CandyShell protects mostly everything but the screen but also keeps dust out. I don't like the Otterbox Defender cause of the screen cover which would scratch the screen or the cover itself will scratch and will be hard to see. I'm now searching for a good screen protector like the InvisibleShield which is thick or PowerSupport from eBay.

jbachandouris said:

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I have an Otterbox Defender on my iPhone 4 and yes, it us bulky and ugly. The issue is that it appears that a speck of dust came between the case and the screen causing a pit mark. It's by the earpiece and barely noticeable, but I am concerned that more are possible. Anyone else notice this?

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Same thing happened to me. I used the OB for about a day and went to take it off and noticed a mark near my home button that wasn't there before. At first I thought it was a speck of dust so I tried cleaning it but it wouldn't come off It is a tiny mark but once I put a screen cover over it becomes unnoticeable.

Have got a Otterbox defender case for IPhone 4 have had it for a about a year never take it off much and I just did and there Is huge scratches on the black top and bottom bit and I'm not impressed considering its supposed to protect your phone .....

It's not the dust scratching your iphone while the otterbox defender is on. I had this case for months and took it off to clean when I noticed scratches near the earpiece. I looked at the hard plastic that made contact with the phone and it was all jagged and sharp - putting pressure on the iphone causing some scratches and pitting.

I threw the otterbox defender away and switched to the incipio delta. Now the soft silicone touches the iphone with the hard layer on the OUTSIDE, not touching the phone. This is the way it should be - not with the phone constantly touching hard plastic.

I did get a scratch near the earpiece too but I haven't noticed any other scratches. The number 1 thing that annoys me about this case is that THE SILICONE will always pop out. I've gone through about 3-4 replacements and they all do the same thing it is very annoying.

Anyone know if the Griffin Survivor case is better?

GrannySmith123 said:

I did get a scratch near the earpiece too but I haven't noticed any other scratches. The number 1 thing that annoys me about this case is that THE SILICONE will always pop out. I've gone through about 3-4 replacements and they all do the same thing it is very annoying.

Anyone know if the Griffin Survivor case is better?

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The Survivor is definitely better IMO

I just clean my phone about once a month.