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Model 3 Abstract Ocean Matte Screen Protector Before/After

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I installed the Abstract Ocean Matte Tempered Glass screen on my new Model 3 today. I found that the three pieces of tape supplied with the screen for temporarily aligning the top edge would not stick to the screen protector. As soon as I flipped the screen up to get the final dust off with the supplied "stickers", the tape gave way. Next I tried blue painters tape - same issue.

Then I tried using 4" long pieces of black electrical tape - success! To insure it would hold while flipping up for the final dusting, I used a total of five pieces along the top edge. The rest of the installation went smooth.

I was a little concerned that the matte (according to some reviews) would lower the "resolution" of the display as it supposedly adds a little fuzziness. I found it very acceptable after using it for a day. The matte gives it a very "clean" look as compared to a HD super-sharp, yet highly reflective surface. I suppose the slight change in sharpness would be noticeable on a flat screen TV, but we're not watching movies here. My eyes are not as good as they once were, and if I experienced any difficulty reading the screen then I would have removed the protector.

I highly recommend.
Great tip about the electrical tape. Hopefully I never need to replace this protector to use your tip, but it would have been helpful during my install.

I also have the HD tempered glass protector from AO, and thought I was the only knucklehead to have trouble with the supplied tape! Only my tape failed right after I had removed the backing from the screen protector (exposing the sticky side) and was about to lower it into place — causing the whole protector to fall face down! Thought for sure I had ruined it, or that the sticky surface would be covered in dust and fingerprints from my frantic effort to catch it mid-air, but miraculously, it was fine. Managed to reposition it without any tape, stick it down, and then marveled over how there was no visible dust or fingerprints on the underside, or damage at all.

In spite of my fumble, it turned out perfectly, and I love how you can’t even tell it’s there. Haven’t noticed any interference with my Oakley or Maui Jim polarized sunglasses.

Would still recommend using the supplied yellow tape, because it has no stretch and allows precise positioning, but make sure it’s tracked down super well, to both the back of the screen and the screen protector, and a couple of extra strips of electrical tape would be great for insurance, too.
 
I installed the matte version on my car and was surprised that quite a bit of California sun was washing out the entire screen with the matte look. I figured not having any tint was a huge issue and proceeded with Photosync 35 on all glass and 75 on the windshield. Even with this change, it still gets completely washed out at times while driving. Honestly it didn’t seem as bad or frustrating (ie. Jerking my head around like a bobble head doll just to like a song or find the next turn) as with the naked factory setup, and having the washout in addition to the degraded clarity is not worth it to me. Maybe I’ll try the HD version instead or look for a crazy nano coating if available somewhere. Not having to deal with finger prints and having less finger drag on the touch screen are the only positives right now.

FYI, I wear polarized lenses and haven’t had any issues with this combo.
 
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Tried to install this protector on my P3D on Saturday, complete failure. Twice.

It is impossible to get this protector installed without getting huge bubbles underneath. I have installed many screen protectors before, on phones, tablets, etc. without issue in the past. I followed directions to the letter: I used the "hinge" method where you tape the top edge of the protector to the screen so that you can flip it down into the exact proper position. I scrupulously cleaned the screen with alcohol, there was not a single speck of dust on it. I had the protector properly oriented with the #1 side towards the screen and the curved edge on the bottom. The instant I tried to affix the protector to the screen, instant bubbles appeared underneath it. I'm not talking small bubbles that would eventually disappear or tiny bubbles caused by a speck of dust that got trapped -- I'm talking about quarter and half-dollar sized bubbles. No amount of scraping and pushing with the plastic card could move these bubbles towards the edge. I pushed hard enough on the scraper that I left scratches on the outer protective #2 sheet that you're supposed to pull off after installation.

This exact scenario happened twice (actually, 4 times if you count the two times I did this same thing back in April for my first Model 3 LR. In that case the 2nd one was tolerable, so I left it on). I have no idea how any of you are able to get this protector on that screen without these giant bubbles underneath it.

Obviously, both protectors were ruined and had to be thrown away.

No refund possible, as AO's web site plainly states that no refunds will be given for failed installations.

I tried to leave a rather critical review of the protectors on Abstract Ocean's web site, and they censored it. I should have known. There are no 2- or 1-star reviews for the screen protector products, so it looks like anyone who tries to leave a critical review just gets censored and their review never appears.

Will probably never do business with them again. And as far as the censored review, well I'll just be happy to share my opinion here in any thread about them. :)
 
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Hi @SomeJoe7777. First, how can we help??? If you've not reached out to us, email us at [email protected] as we can proactively help with any issues - that's what we're here for. I am sorry you had issues, but with everything we sell, we always invite you to reach out to our support address if things don't go well. As much as we aim to have products that work great for everyone, it's inevitable that on rare occasions, things just don't work out, but either way, it helps us improve.

We tend not to reply to these posts, as it’s far better for the conversations to just take their own track, but there's a few points here that warrant a reply. This thread is mixing our tempered glass and flexible screen protectors. As a rule, the tempered glass protectors are easier to install, but we do have over 200 reviews of the flexible protectors (bear in mind our review rate is about 8%, so 1000's have been installed, or tens of thousands if we include the S & X as well), so it's clear that plenty of people have succeeded in installing these.

Regarding your review, we have not censored it. We place a lot of value in our reviews, and we're the only Tesla accessories after-market company with thousands of reviews. Most review platforms have something called a negative sentiment filter, which, as you might expect, quarantines the review for a certain amount of time before publishing it regardless, the same is true for anything with profanity. This gives us the opportunity to respond and hopefully resolve any issues, and the review can then be updated by you before publishing. As a small company, we put a priority on fulfillment and direct support requests, so it can take a few days before we respond. But, and I really do want to be clear about this, we see and take every review personally, and there's plenty of people here on TMC and other forums that would support that. And, ask around, we respond to emails and our customer service is generally very well received.

We'll reply to the review, but I do suggest that everyone's first port of call should be our Support team if you need assistance, everyone gets a qualified response within a day.
 
I also got the matte HD screen protector. I'll add that I reviewed it, as well as 2 other AO products, and never received any discount codes for reviewing them. That being said, shipping was always quick, and support was always helpful.

Installation was easy, other than removing the dust. After the dust was taken off, I had no issues and it just stuck right on. I had no issues at all with bubbles.

My thoughts on the screen protector seem to be little bit of everything. In general, it cuts down on glare and reflections, but if it gets hit with sun at the right angle it will completely wash out the screen. This doesn't happen without the screen protector. It is something about the matte finish. So it either improves the glare/reflections in some cases, or makes the screen worse in others. For fingerprints, it makes it a LOT better. I rarely see any fingerprints, if ever. As far as the washout scenarios, they are also rare. The sun has to be at just the right angle at a certain time of day, and I have my windows tinted. Since I still have it installed, the washout obviously hasn't happened often enough to make me take it off. I'd probably like the gloss version better, but as I don't see any way I'd actually scratch the screen, fingerprints and glare are really the only reasons you would want a screen protector in the 3 to begin with.
 
I installed the Abstract Ocean HD Clear primarily for protection and to reduce glare. It is advertised to work with polarized sunglasses and it does. Still shows fingerprints, but doesn't soften the graphics like the matte protector. Touch screen works perfectly with the protector.

I received a Norwex glass cleaning cloth as a gift, had no idea it was so crazy expensive ($28 for one!) but I keep it in the console and it is terrific for wiping away prints on the screen and console.

https://www.amazon.com/Norwex-Window-Cloth/dp/B01N7NLV2J
 
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First, how can we help??? If you've not reached out to us, email us at [email protected] as we can proactively help with any issues - that's what we're here for.

I appreciate the offer, but at this point, what can be done? The protectors are already ruined and thrown away, and no refund can be given. What is support able to do -- just say I'm sorry? While it's nice that you're willing to engage, it sounds like a waste of everyone's time.

Regarding your review, we have not censored it. We place a lot of value in our reviews, and we're the only Tesla accessories after-market company with thousands of reviews. Most review platforms have something called a negative sentiment filter, which, as you might expect, quarantines the review for a certain amount of time before publishing it regardless, the same is true for anything with profanity. This gives us the opportunity to respond and hopefully resolve any issues, and the review can then be updated by you before publishing.

The review briefly appeared about 3 days after I posted it, but within about a week you changed to your new format web site. All of your reviews are no longer visible on the web site (clicking on the link to the reviews does nothing). I verified this in multiple web browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Internet Explorer).

Take a look here:

Screen Protectors for the Tesla Model 3

There is a link right under the "Screen Protectors for the Tesla Model 3" that says "213 Reviews" which does nothing.
 
I installed the matte version of the AO tempered glass and it is definitely an improvement. Install time took about 5 minutes and it helped because I still had the original factory protector on prior to installation. I simply removed the original protector, put this one on and no dust or issues. It does soften the screen resolution a touch but I don’t mind the trade off since the glare is now much less. I also use polarized sunglasses and did not have an issue all weekend. Highly recommend the product.
 
I decided to try the clear one as I had done the mat one before and it helped with the glare at the price of some loss of resolution. I found it just as easy as the first time and installed it without any real issues. (These were both the Hard glass versions). Contrast is much improved but glare is a bit worse. Given my eyesight I will stay with the clear one.

The key is to let it fall on the tape hinge side and just touch it once lightly near the hinge center. You will see it start to electrostatically cling and travel down and across the screen. Only after it has done its thing should you gently remove any bubbles left near the edges.
 
The key is to let it fall on the tape hinge side and just touch it once lightly near the hinge center. You will see it start to electrostatically cling and travel down and across the screen. Only after it has done its thing should you gently remove any bubbles left near the edges.

So foolishly, I decided to try this again, and this time I purchased the 9H tempered glass screen protector (matte finish). This is rigid glass, so there's absolutely no way that bubbles could even form underneath, right? I followed barjohn's procedure above exactly, just let it gently fall and first touch the center of the screen, then let it slowly cling itself to the screen from center outward. I did exactly that, and ...

Riddle me this, batman:

bubbles1.jpg


3 dime-sized bubbles, right in the center of the screen.


bubbles2.jpg


Edge bubble that can't be removed. I tried to push it down and it disappears for a minute or two, then slowly comes back.


I'm at a loss. I got nothing.
 
I just installed a Matte AO Glass Screen protector for a friend 1 hour ago.
I have a Glass AO Clear one. I still prefer my clear one.
But I will say the Matte one had VERY little "blur" I've seen mentioned. It was still quite clear.

Also when I put mine on it was warm and I used the supplied tape and some painters tape.
For my friends install we used just the painters tape. Quite a lot of it too.
But it started slipping as I was peeling the back off.
I think the painters tape wasn't sticking to the Matt screen as well and it was also a bit colder.

If I install another, I'm using packing tape.

I found the suuplied dust removers, and some I had kicking around from some other screen protector kit both left a little bit of residue.
I prefer use Scotch tape (the one that's not clear).

And don't rely on the supplied cleaning kit. It's really tiny and his screen needed several few passes at getting all the oils off.

Both Clear and Matt are great.
 
So foolishly, I decided to try this again, and this time I purchased the 9H tempered glass screen protector (matte finish). This is rigid glass, so there's absolutely no way that bubbles could even form underneath, right? I followed barjohn's procedure above exactly, just let it gently fall and first touch the center of the screen, then let it slowly cling itself to the screen from center outward. I did exactly that, and ...

Riddle me this, batman:

bubbles1.jpg


3 dime-sized bubbles, right in the center of the screen.


bubbles2.jpg


Edge bubble that can't be removed. I tried to push it down and it disappears for a minute or two, then slowly comes back.


I'm at a loss. I got nothing.

Ugh, I feel your pain.

One trick I use is when the avalanche gripping starts I try to "guide it" so that it doesn't surround itself.
And don't let the whole thing "go" at once or it could start another "avalanche" from another edge or corner.
Hold the bottom a little away until the avalanche is closer and ease it in.

Your bubbles in the middle might go away overnight. As long as there is nothing in there. I hope your photo is not after overnight.

Something is wrong in your corner. Either the car screen is bent in that corner or the screen protector is, or there is some obstruction.

I'm 2 for 2, but I'm really lucky on the 2nd one, the painters tape partially let go as I was peeling and I had to reposition it "live", and I did get one bubble but it was close to edge and I could push it outward.

Oh, yes, you can certainly get bubbles.
 
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Your bubbles in the middle might go away overnight. As long as there is nothing in there. I hope your photo is not after overnight.

Something is wrong in your corner. Either the car screen is bent in that corner or the screen protector is, or there is some obstruction.

That's what I'm thinking ... those bubbles in the middle may disappear after a while. The picture was right after installation. I'll check it in a few days.

I'll look closer at the corner and see if I can determine anything.