Resolved What is this under my screen protector?

I have what appears to be a persistent bubble under my iPhone 5 Bodyguardz Pure glass screen protector that just doesn't want to shift and I want to show it to folks who have had experience of air, lint or dust under their own glass protectors to get a consensus on what it is.

Under magnification (I have a 12x loupe) I cannot see anything under the glass at all. No matter what angle I hold the screen at near the window, all I see are the squiggles of adhesive/air, the polarised light effects and underneath those the pixels of the display. There is no visible physical object between the Bodyguardz and the iPhone screen.

Here are the two images of the bubble. The first shows the position and size relative to the home button and the second is a closeup. The other specks visible in the images are actually dust on the surface of the glass at the time of taking the photo...







I fitted the screen to my iPhone5 seven days ago. I correctly cleaned the iPhone and got the Screenguardz positioned perfectly first time. It has not been lifted up as I am aware that this would damage the adhesive.

There were a few areas at the edges where there were the expected air bubbles as well the area near the home button that also appeared at the time to be a visible air bubble. Within a few hours, all the edge air bubbles disappeared leaving the screen perfectly lined up with absolutely no dust or lint under the surface but the one area near the home button just wouldn't shift.

I read in the FAQ that larger air bubbles could take up to five days to work their way out but I became concerned about this one because, no matter where I pressed on the glass, it wouldn't move about like a real air bubble should. In addition, despite pressure above the area, it just shrank a little then reappeared in a few seconds.

It is highly visible because of the coloured polarised light effect and has not changed in size at all since the glass was applied seven days ago. Under high magnification, it appears that the glue at its edges is incomplete and has a "bald spot" in the centre. I wondered if that despite being fortunate enough to position the glass correctly first time, I had been unlucky enough to get one that had a defect.

I considered that there might have been a bubble in the adhesive when this piece of glass was manufactured and that there was in fact one small spot on my glass that has no glue on it. The spot does not move about when pressed and is showing no signs of clearing after seven days.

Is it lint or is it a defect?

Here is an additional picture in which I took shots at different angles and lighting to try to see if there was anything under the glass.

Folks who did have lint and dust underneath said the dust was visible and easy to spot. I just can't see *anything* between the glass layers here. You can even see the pixels!

I have sent in the first two pictures (and just now the extra one) to Bodyguardz but they seem insistent that it is something under the glass and that I should pay for a replacement under their Advantage Replacements program (including international shipping). This is why I am trying to get an opinion of folks who have seen lint under their own glass screen protectors to get a better idea of what this might be.

If I do indeed have something under the glass, fair enough. If it is a defect then in the UK, I would expect a replacement under warranty. The protector was bought through Amazon UK who fulfilled the order for one of their Marketplace Sellers. I don't want to dump this on the poor guy's lap if it is user error but if it is faulty, he will be hit with UK to US shipping fees to return it for his refund.

It is on the underside and is far smaller than a fingertip. Look at the first pic for an idea of scale

A replacement is what I would like but Bodyguardz' current stance is that it must be a foreign object and I would have to pay for the replacement.

I will put the Amazon Marketplace Seller on notice that I may have an issue and direct him to this thread.

The stage we are at just now is that they are yet to comment on the mosaic of four shots in better lighting. Due to timezone differences (they are Utah, I am UK) I am having to be patient.

Yes I did, and I certainly didn't touch the underside after peeling off the backing. I was being careful to not get any dust under there.

I thought about this but no, I was being scrupulously clean to avoid dust. It just seems to be a place where the adhesive doesn't want to go.

I have heard back from the Seller and he wants me to see how it behaves under more localised pressure... seeing if a fingernail across the middle will split it into two to see if the bubble will break up or disperse. I'll report back later.

RESOLVED

The Marketplace Seller got back to me and asked me to try something prior to considering a replacement. He asked me to apply harder and more localised pressure to the bubble.

I noticed that when I applied pressure with a cleaning cloth, the bubble shrank but always swelled back to the original size after a few seconds so I tried putting a fingernail across it to see if I could split it into two. This didn't work.

Next I got a satay stick and flattened and rounded one end. I applied the flat end directly over the centre of the bubble and pressed down more firmly. The first few times the bubble squashed away completely but came back in the same spot when I released the pressure.

I then tried pressing a short distance away from the bubble and hoped to displace some of the nearby adhesive into the bare spot. I did this from a few directions and then tried the centre of the bubble again. This time the bubble disappeared and stayed away. It has now been an hour and it has not reappeared so I think we can safely say it was indeed just a large air bubble and given a slight redistribution of the adhesive has now gone.

I am glad I have managed to sort it out because I was so pleased I had got a dust-free and straight-edged positioning of the Bodyguardz Pure on my first go.

As far as I am concerned, I have resolved the problem to my satisfaction, so thanks for everyone's suggestions and patience. At least this means we can recommend the same technique to others who have the same problem.

Daniel.

Good to hear. The bubble that I had is still gone and has not reappeared at all.