I have no idea why something so simple escaped my attention for so many years....

So a ways back I had posted how in a few select case, smartphone screens that had caused me pain were converted to pain free phones by adding a Skinomi screen protector. Problem is Skinomi doesn't make screen protectors for every phone.

So I was going through my annual routine of buying 20 phones, and returning them all after they all cause me pain, and looking at screen protectors. I know most today are glass (which have never helped), and I know there were PET film screen protectors. I don't know why this was the first time I was inclined to Google "What are the different kinds of screen protectors?" in the last 10 or so years, but I did and I learned about TPU Screen protectors. Which seem to be what Skinomi's are. So on a whim I ordered a knock off TPU screen protector for a phone I was trying (Skinomi did not make one for this device), and lo and behold, it did help a bit. I wouldn't say it was 100% out of the gate, but after a few days it may become useable.

So just an idea, if a phone screen is causing you issues, see if a TPU screen protector is available for it. Maybe it will help.

    ensete

    The most likely reason these help is due to polarised light. LCDs and OLEDs emit polarised light. Polarised light distorts as it passes through the eye and hits the retina, requiring our brains to do additional visual processing to correct for the distortion. Plastic screen protectors scatter polarised light somewhat, potentially reducing the visual processing burden and making symptoms less intense.

    I was able to make a bad phone much more tolerable by gluing a sheet of tracing paper to the screen, removing all the polarised light. I was also able to make a phone more usable by using a transparent red plastic sheet as a screen protector. This does not remove polarisation, but the polarised light distortion effect only occurs with blue - green light, which are both removed by the red transparency.

      Seagull Plastic screen protectors scatter polarised light somewhat, potentially reducing the visual processing burden and making symptoms less intense.

      It;s not just plastic though. It's specifically TPU. Plastic and PET screen protectors do not help, nor do the 9H glass ones.

      2 years later

      Seagull I was able to make a bad phone much more tolerable by gluing a sheet of tracing paper to the screen, removing all the polarised light.

      Great!

      When I imagine tracing paper, I think it sort-of blurs and occludes everything behind it. Doesn't that give you issues? I mean, are you able to properly see the display's contents from behind the tracing paper?

      Also, what kind of glue did you use? In order for it to be removable later

        logixoul

        Visibility is a bit hit and miss on a smart phone, I found it usable, but not a great experience. It was totally unusable in direct sunlight though. I used it with the tracing paper to allow myself to adjust to it, after 3months I removed the paper, it still hurt but less than originally. Now I use the phone without any tracing paper, just a screen protector.

        On a PC monitor or laptop it is much clearer as the pixels are bigger.

        I used a clear spray on glue to stick the tracing paper to a screen protector, which I applied to the phone. This way it can be taken off without any damage to the screen.

        17 days later

        For some weird reason, I also find that TPU screen protectors (I used 3 layers of them on top of each other) slightly and definitely lessen my symptoms, or better to say feeling of pressure. Enough to draw a conclusion, not enough to use a phone. PET and glass also made nothing.
        Another material that helped slightly was ceramic matte film, but it seems that while decreasing feeling of pressure it manages to increase light sensitivity.
        I tried to use them in many layers (eventually I have 3 or 4 TPU layers and 3 matte ceramics layers) and was still unable to use my phone.
        But here is a post in Russian where matte ceramic film helped for iPhone 11
        Translation:
        "It was impossible to use it up to pain in the eyes, head and nausea. I glued a matte plastic film (the so-called ceramic glass) onto a transparent protective glass.
        In this thread, it was offered to simply change the protective glass. So, after about 4 months, I decided to try to change it, maybe my eyes got used to the phone, the size of the screen.
        Took a transparent new glass from another manufacturer, it sits well. But this horror began again after 2 minutes. I had to wash the matte film, stick it back on top and get used to poor sensitivity in a horizontal position (until you take the phone in your hand, nothing is pressed at all)"
        A couple of other people tried to replicate the result with matte ceramic film (one on iPhone 11, one on S20 FE). Both got no result.

        a year later

        ensete which phone did this work for?

        Curious as I'm trying both the iPhone 13 Pro and the Pixel 7 Pro with screen protectors at the moment and it seems to work much better on the pixel!

          markdotpeters5

          I dont use flagship devices, but these TPU screens have worked on a Moto G, Moto G4, Blu R1, and TCL A30 (current device)

          dev