See the last paragraph of the post if you want to try to fix your current tempered glass screen protector – the video gives an excellent solution for most people. Here’s my story of how I figured out why the edges do this (for some people at least) and how to prevent it from happening in the first place:
A relative of mine recently got a new iPhone 8 Plus and the sales person convinced him to get the tempered glass screen protector. The specific one they were selling is made by Zagg called Invisible Shield Glass +. They had the phone for a few weeks and a small scratch developed in the screen protector. He claims he never dropped his phone or did anything that could have caused the scratch. Anyway, he contacted Zagg and I have to say I am impressed with their customer support. They mailed out a replacement screen protector, no questions asked, and waived the usual $5.99 shipping charge, as long as I mailed back the cracked one.
A week later, he got the replacement screen protector. Because I am the “tech saavy” friend, he asked me to help him put the screen protector on. I hate doing this, because I always mis-align it or get a piece of dust underneath and it drives me crazy, as I’m a bit OCD about things like screen protectors. I managed to get it placed exactly right (I think) with no bubbles or dust underneath, but then I noticed that the edges were not sticking fully to the phone. I tried pressing and holding it down, but no matter what I did, the edges were raised up just the slightest little bit. What the heck?
I did a search online and find tons of people with similar problems but no one had a solution. I decided to try contacting Zagg and tell them about the problem. I got the following response:
Our recommendation is to power off your phone 15-20 minutes before you apply your InvisibleShield on and allow a few hours for your phone to be off after installing the product so that the heat from your battery and from the device light doesn’t heat up the adhesive part of the InvisibleShield, just to guarantee your screen adhering to your device.
Hmmm. I wasn’t sure I it could be that simple, with all of the complaints online and no one having posted this solution. Anyway – they sent out another replacement at no charge and when my relative brought his phone and the new replacement over, we gave it a shot. We left the phone completely powered off for an hour, just to make sure it was cool. I applied the screen protector (no bubbles and no dust again, and got it lined up just right). The edges did seem to stick and we left the phone off for about 3 hours. The edges seem to be sticking just fine. I’m shocked.
If you have the same issue, share if you tried this solution and if it worked for you. I also wonder if some of the screen protectors are just defective or not completely flat and others are. I’d be amazed if the reason for everyone having trouble is that they are applying the screen protectors to warm phones!
For those of you that want to try something with your current screen protector and not have to replace it completely, you can try using a Q-tip (cotton swab) and olive oil. You gently rub it along the edge of the screen protector and the olive oil will fill in the “halo” gap where the screen protector is lifted up from the screen. For many people this will permanently fix the problem. For others, they may need to re-apply olive oil every so often. I’m not aware of small amounts of olive oil being damaging to your phone or screen, but I’ve never tried this one myself. I haven’t heard of any negative reports yet – but if I will certainly share if anyone else has problems. Some people say that if the gap is too large, olive oil won’t help, but castor oil will work in that situation. Again, a simple solution to an annoying problem (to some people). Here’s a video done by someone else, demonstrating the problem and showing the olive oil solution:
How long did it work for?
For the device that was cold when we applied the screen protector, the edges have stayed down without any issues. I’ve never tried the olive oil approach, so I can’t comment how long that will last.
The olive oil trick totally worked. I wish I had looked this up before trying to apply and tossing 3 previous screen protectors. Also good to know about applying when cold. When I was doing the installs my phone was definitely warm from being handled and being plugged in for a few hours while everything was transferring.
I usually am really good at installing screen protectors but I got so frustrated I actually went to a store and paid for it to be put on. And even then the edges started to halo. The evvo did the trick.
With regard to the Class Curve Elite, minor misalignment issues can cause the edge(s) to not adhere correctly. These can be resolved by completely removing the protector from the phone, being careful to keep it face down so that no dust falls onto the adhesive, replacing the alignment tray on the phone, and having another go. My first attempt to install, neither edge was sitting flush against the phone. One the second try only the right edge would not adhere, but the left edge was fine. 3rd try only the bottom right corner was out. By looking at the phone from the bottom end at eye level, I could see that the “curve” part of the protector was too far over to the right and was protruding slightly above the surface of the phone itself. I lifted up just the lower half of the protector and applied a small amount of sideways pressure as I laid it back down to get that last corner into alignment.
I had the same problem with the Zagg glass screen protector on my iPhone 7. The mall Zagg KioskI that I took it to tried with 3 different protectors. I came home , found this post and tried the oil. It worked. Now I wonder if it will last. I will repost if the edges start to lift.