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xNerdHerdx

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 19, 2011
101
66
I stupidly put on a screen protector on my macbook but instantly regretted it after seeing how reflective it is. Does any coating come off the macbook when you take a screen protector off? I compared the reflectivity of the screen where the screen protector was not applied for the notch and it seems to be the same as everywhere else. I know this is such a minute detail i just wanna make sure i didn’t mess my macbook up on day one ?
 

smbu2000

macrumors 6502
Oct 19, 2014
469
220
Screen protectors shouldn't leave any marks/residue on your screen. I've been using screen protectors for awhile now and I've had no issues when I take them off. I've only had screen coating issues when not using a screen protector as the keyboard touching the screen leaves marks in the coating.

I only use matte screen protectors though as I too find the glare too much with standard protectors.

edit: I don't own an M1 Pro, although I imagine it would be much the same as previous Macs. My current Macs are the 13" M1 MBP and a 16" intel MBP.
 

Fishrrman

macrumors Penryn
Feb 20, 2009
29,205
13,269
I wouldn't use a screen protector on a MacBook Pro because of the fragility of the sprayed-on antiglare coating.

If you took the protector off, and things still look good, I'd just leave it off.
The "less that comes into contact" with the surface of the antiglare coating, the better it will look and the longer it may last...
 
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xNerdHerdx

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 19, 2011
101
66
I wouldn't use a screen protector on a MacBook Pro because of the fragility of the sprayed-on antiglare coating.

If you took the protector off, and things still look good, I'd just leave it off.
The "less that comes into contact" with the surface of the antiglare coating, the better it will look and the longer it may last...
do you think i’ve don’t any damage to my macbook? i even looked at the protector i took off to see if anything is on it and it seems to be exactly the same as when i put it on, probablt indicating it didn’t take anything off
 

xNerdHerdx

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 19, 2011
101
66
Screen protectors shouldn't leave any marks/residue on your screen. I've been using screen protectors for awhile now and I've had no issues when I take them off. I've only had screen coating issues when not using a screen protector as the keyboard touching the screen leaves marks in the coating.

I only use matte screen protectors though as I too find the glare too much with standard protectors.

edit: I don't own an M1 Pro, although I imagine it would be much the same as previous Macs. My current Macs are the 13" M1 MBP and a 16" intel MBP.
yikes do you know if the keyboard touches the screens on the new MBPs? why am I regretting taking the protector off now lol ?
 

smbu2000

macrumors 6502
Oct 19, 2014
469
220
yikes do you know if the keyboard touches the screens on the new MBPs? why am I regretting taking the protector off now lol ?
Generally it is fine. It’s just if you have something on the laptop or if you have it in your bag then there is more of a chance of the pressure on the screen forcing it to touch the keyboard.
Normally it wouldn’t be an issue, but the keyboard can leave marks on the anti-glare screen coating that Apple uses on the screen of mac laptops. (Since the retina MBP models debuted I believe.)

Since I've had issues in the past I began to use a microfiber cloth in between the screen/keyboard&trackpad. On my old retina MBP I used a Radtech Screensavrz cloth. That covered up pretty much the keyboard and trackpad area completely. When I switched over to a touchbar MBP I bought a new one and unfortunately because of the smaller area when closed on the newer models, the updated screensavrz cloth only covered the keyboard area. I've found that the area around the trackpad can also leave marks on the screen though.
That's when I switched over to screen protectors. I prefer having a matte screen anyway and a matte screen protector works well for me.

I have a matte screen protector on my 13" M1 MBP, on my 12.9" M1 iPad Pro and I used to have one on my 16" intel MBP as well. I recently took the 16" in for applecare service (hinge issue) and they ended up replacing my display in the process, so I need to buy another one.
I've used screen protectors on my ipads and iphones without any issues before trying them with my Macs.

edit: Not mine, but you can see an example of keyboard marks (and the trackpad outline) on a recent (2018) MBP here.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8506475
 

xNerdHerdx

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 19, 2011
101
66
Generally it is fine. It’s just if you have something on the laptop or if you have it in your bag then there is more of a chance of the pressure on the screen forcing it to touch the keyboard.
Normally it wouldn’t be an issue, but the keyboard can leave marks on the anti-glare screen coating that Apple uses on the screen of mac laptops. (Since the retina MBP models debuted I believe.)

Since I've had issues in the past I began to use a microfiber cloth in between the screen/keyboard&trackpad. On my old retina MBP I used a Radtech Screensavrz cloth. That covered up pretty much the keyboard and trackpad area completely. When I switched over to a touchbar MBP I bought a new one and unfortunately because of the smaller area when closed on the newer models, the updated screensavrz cloth only covered the keyboard area. I've found that the area around the trackpad can also leave marks on the screen though.
That's when I switched over to screen protectors. I prefer having a matte screen anyway and a matte screen protector works well for me.

I have a matte screen protector on my 13" M1 MBP, on my 12.9" M1 iPad Pro and I used to have one on my 16" intel MBP as well. I recently took the 16" in for applecare service (hinge issue) and they ended up replacing my display in the process, so I need to buy another one.
I've used screen protectors on my ipads and iphones without any issues before trying them with my Macs.

edit: Not mine, but you can see an example of keyboard marks (and the trackpad outline) on a recent (2018) MBP here.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8506475
wow this is really informative, thank you so much! I had no idea this was a thing. it doesn't seem like there are any good matte keyboard protectors for the m1 pro 16 inch yet but I will definitely keep a look out!
 
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rodrigezlopez

macrumors newbie
Nov 20, 2021
25
14
Frankly this topic is strange to me since I never had any keyboard marks or so on my macbooks' screens. I actively used MBP 13" Late 2016 for more than 4 years, then Air M1 for almost a year, and now it's MBP 16 M1 that doesn't have any marks after a month of active usage and carrying it around in my backpack. I even haven't cleared the screen since I've bought the last one more than a month ago. Now I clearly see few marks from my fingers where I touched the screen, but except that few marks there is nothing.
If I was you I would not put any protecter because they turn Macbook screen's best in class antiglare surface into mirror like of some cheep chinese laptops.

Just to illustrate what I mean:
This is macbook antiglare surface: https://www.ixbt.com/img/r30/00/02/36/97/IMG8900.jpg
And this is a typical glossy screen (Honor MagicBook View 14 on the photo): https://www.ixbt.com/img/r30/00/02/47/16/IMG5231.jpg

Images show how both reflect white surface in comparison with Nexus 7 tablet.
 
Last edited:

ChpStcks

macrumors regular
Nov 13, 2021
104
31
Everyone is talking about apples "anti-glare," where? I put a matte screen protector on my new 14" because the glare was too much... literally just looking at myself every day. Granted the screen definitely doesn't look as "crisp" with a protector on but I also don't ever need to clear it form dust or smudges now.. I'd say that's a fair trade off
 
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