Scratched my Galaxy S20 Plus screen

[Ravynmagi]

Ugh. I'm usually so good. But I was careless and put something on top of my Galaxy S20 Plus phone and scuffed up the screen pretty good. It's not one of those little scratches either...



I got desperate, and tried somethings I probably shouldn't have. I think I stripped off some of my oleophobic coating around the scuffed up area.

I contemplated 3 plans to resolve this...

1. Replace the screen... $300+ cost
Replacement screens on eBay are still very expensive for this phone and it seems would cost the same as just taking it to Ubreakifix for a warrantied official Samsung part.
I don't really need an entire screen, just replacing the glass would be perfect, but looks like that would be next to impossible and doesn't seem Ubreakifix does that.

2. Trade-in phone for Galaxy Note 20 Ultra upgrade... $700+ cost
Samsung offers up to $650 trade-in value for an S20 without cracks. Would they deduct because of the scratched display though? Not sure. But even best case scenario, I get $650 for the S20 and still have to pay another $650+tax for the Ultra. Sadly the regular Note 20 would be a downgrade over my S20 Plus.
I just don't want to pay that much for the Note 20 Ultra.

3. Hide the scratch... $50+ cost
Glass polish and repair kits on Amazon have pretty horrible reviews and seemingly a success rate about the same as home remedies. So no.
But would a screen protector hide the scratches and scuffs? I'm thinking a tempered glass protector would do a much better job if this works at all. And apparently Whitestone even claims their Dome tempered glass protectors do just this very thing!

"LIQUID DISPERSION TECHNOLOGY - Our patented liquid glass evenly disperses over your entire screen, including existing scratches and scuffs, and hardens to create an impenetrable edge to edge barrier while repairing former cracks and imperfections."​

Was pretty close going with options 1 or 2. I'm a little OCD I guess. But logic prevailed, and I'm going to try out the screen protector to see if it hides it. If not, I think I'll just live with it and wait for the Galaxy S21 next year before upgrading again.

 

[Ravynmagi]

I put on the tempered glass protector. Had some trial and errors getting this done, thank goodness it came with two. The position is off by a tiny tiny bit at the top, but I think I can live with that. But most importantly, this thing actually has totally hidden all the scratches on my screen. I’m actually genuinely shocked. Looks like new again. I might start doing this more often with my phones.

The glass has a very nice finish too, feels like like my phone’s brand new screen.

Instructions had me remove all my old fingerprint and enable touch sensitivity. It feels as responsive as ever. The biometric fingerprint unlock works as well.

I’m super happy with the results.

 

[killster1]

I put on the tempered glass protector. Had some trial and errors getting this done, thank goodness it came with two. The position is off by a tiny tiny bit at the top, but I think I can live with that. But most importantly, this thing actually has totally hidden all the scratches on my screen. I’m actually genuinely shocked. Looks like new again. I might start doing this more often with my phones.

The glass has a very nice finish too, feels like like my phone’s brand new screen.

Instructions had me remove all my old fingerprint and enable touch sensitivity. It feels as responsive as ever. The biometric fingerprint unlock works as well.

I’m super happy with the results.

i know protectors are like 5$ each but seriously i put a new one on like every 1.5 months since i manage to crack the old one. the one thing that shocks me is your biotmetrics work well. i havnt really tried to hard to get mine to work but on my galaxy s10+ and s20+ it doenst work well. (maybe you will inspire me to try it again, however you always see those movies where the police force you to unlock your phone.

 

[rh71]

Are glass protectors better than traditional screen protectors as far as cracked glass goes? I haven't cracked anything ever with my traditional protectors (usually IQ Shield) even on concrete drops so I can't tell.

 

[Ranjen617]

Either use your insurance for a new screen or glass protector. If you trade in the device, they will deduct for a full screen replacement. I have the Note 20Ultra myself now. Saw something similar to this on another thread online. I prefer glass over the thin protectors myself due to using a Spen, but without one you should be ok with either one. Glass protectors are better in the long run.