I just stumbled upon this:
http://www.irevivespray.com/
Supposedly it can bring water damaged devices back to life. They claim it removes the corrosion and hence any shorts that may have been caused. Looks like a total scam to me, but I was wondering if anyone has this or has any experience with similar products.
Also it would be great of one of the hardware savvy guys could comment on whether it's possible to "repair" water damaged devices at all. My (basic) understanding is that the electrical components in the phone/tablet etc. can be permanently damaged by exposure to water and all the minerals typically found in water. Moreover, even if they survive the initial submersion, there's no guarantee that they will not slowly corrode and fail in the future.
Here in Germany all official repair companies refuse to repair water damaged devices, because they are required by law to a guarantee for their work and they claim it's impossible to guarantee that a water damaged component will continue to function even after being properly cleaned.
Any comments?
Have to admit it does sound a bit dodgy, although I use something that may be similar on bearings - Skanunu Bearing Cleaner is good for cleaning rusted bearings (and I mean so rusted they didn't move), although I'm not sure I'd want to put anything like that on electronics. I can't seem to find any chemical info on it...
Iamnotacrook said:
Have to admit it does sound a bit dodgy, although I use something that may be similar on bearings - Skanunu Bearing Cleaner is good for cleaning rusted bearings (and I mean so rusted they didn't move), although I'm not sure I'd want to put anything like that on electronics. I can't seem to find any chemical info on it...
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I suspect it's just branded 99% alcohol Still I am curious whether simply cleaning the salts and minerals left by the water can possibly "repair" a device.
Water damaged phones can be repairable depending on the level of submersion and whether the owner is enthusiastic with the power button or not. If I try to repair a water damaged phone I do a full stripdown and clean aggressively with a brush and pure alcohol. It can work sometimes but quite often water damage is terminal. I've had plenty of people phone me and say they dropped their phone in water so I say 'bring it to me and definitely don't turn it on' then they phone me back later and say 'i turned it on and it's ok now so don't worry' but it may work short term but water destroys electronic components very fast.
This spray, as el_commandante said is probably branded alcohol and while it may work in extracting water, it will not clean properly without any agitation.
Sent from my 1.8ghz Xperia Play!
BensJammin said:
Water damaged phones can be repairable depending on the level of submersion and whether the owner is enthusiastic with the power button or not. If I try to repair a water damaged phone I do a full stripdown and clean aggressively with a brush and pure alcohol. It can work sometimes but quite often water damage is terminal. I've had plenty of people phone me and say they dropped their phone in water so I say 'bring it to me and definitely don't turn it on' then they phone me back later and say 'i turned it on and it's ok now so don't worry' but it may work short term but water destroys electronic components very fast.
This spray, as el_commandante said is probably branded alcohol and while it may work in extracting water, it will not clean properly without any agitation.
Sent from my 1.8ghz Xperia Play!
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If by agitation you mean cleaning the inside of the phone with a brush, they do say you should do that. In fact they have videos on YouTube in which they show you how to do that Still, it feels a little scammy to claim a $30 bottle of alcohol will fix your water damaged phone in 90% of the cases They even offer money back guarantee, which is pretty bold.
It seems to me that if you drop a working phone in water and the water finds its way to its internals and shorts one of the components it doesn't really matter how well you clean it Then again there are plenty of info online about devices that have successfully survived encounters with water so the policy of the manufacturers is indeed a little questionable...
el_commandante said:
If by agitation you mean cleaning the inside of the phone with a brush, they do say you should do that. In fact they have videos on YouTube in which they show you how to do that Still, it feels a little scammy to claim a $30 bottle of alcohol will fix your water damaged phone in 90% of the cases They even offer money back guarantee, which is pretty bold.
It seems to me that if you drop a working phone in water and the water finds its way to its internals and shorts one of the components it doesn't really matter how well you clean it Then again there are plenty of info online about devices that have successfully survived encounters with water so the policy of the manufacturers is indeed a little questionable...
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For the most part you are right. I do phone repairs as a side business but I will rarely touch a water damaged one. Phones can be repaired provided no damage was done when it shorted, and providing no power is applied until it is totally dried 100%. I use a brush to agitate the board with alcohol and this removes and conductive materials on the board (which could even just be damp dust). I have rescued a couple, but for the most part I leave them alone. I would be very dubious about this spray though. I'm sure there's some small print regarding the money back guarantee!
Sent from my 1.8ghz Xperia Play!
I've repaired many Android, & non-Android phones, & I can tell you this... Water damage is completely random, & completely various. Many times, it is not as terrifying as everyone makes it out to be. There was a point in time when I was actually hunting for water damaged phones to repair.
As I said, it's completely random, & is determined on a case by case basis. The damage will not always be the same. Maybe the speaker will blow out... replace the speaker. The hardware buttons are malfunctioning now... replace the ribbon cable for the buttons. Many times, people say the phone died & won't turn on anymore, when really, the LCD screen blew out... replace the screen, problem solved. Many times, the main ribbon cable is not good, causing the device to not turn on, or other multiple problems... replace the ribbon cable. Sometimes, it can be a headache though, because many different components will all blow out at that time, or, you'll fix some, & others will go or malfunction soon after.
As far as the cpu itself, from what I've seen, these things are BGA components. They are soldered on with a BGA interface. Not only that, they are also plastered down with a ridiculously strong super glue adhesive as well. They are completely airtight. NO water will EVER get underneath there.
Yes, it is always very important to clean everything off with pure alcohol & a q-tip. Alcohol is best for cleaning off electronic components, & it evaporates very fast too. About that spray you've posted, I didn't even look at it, but I've seen plenty of those same type of marketing schemes for a long time. Basically, it's just alcohol they pour into a bottle with their fancy looking label, & sell it to you for a ridiculously high price, claiming that it's magic. A page right out of apple's book, in my opinion.
3ndymion218 said:
A page right out of apple's book, in my opinion.
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Haha, absolutely! But as we all know, there are plenty of suckers in the world
Thank you for your detailed explanation. The bigger question for me at least is whether you could really be sure that a phone has been repaired once water has entered inside. It sounds like there's some merit to the claim that once water enters the device, you can never be sure that some components will not fail in the near future. Now the next question is how hard it actually is to water proof the key components inside. It seems to me that it's relatively trivial to do a relatively good job water proof most of the phone to a good degree...
Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2
el_commandante said:
Haha, absolutely! But as we all know, there are plenty of suckers in the world
Thank you for your detailed explanation. The bigger question for me at least is whether you could really be sure that a phone has been repaired once water has entered inside. It sounds like there's some merit to the claim that once water enters the device, you can never be sure that some components will not fail in the near future. Now the next question is how hard it actually is to water proof the key components inside. It seems to me that it's relatively trivial to do a relatively good job water proof most of the phone to a good degree...
Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2
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From what I've seen, it is true that there could always be headaches down the line with some components starting to give out, but I've never seen the most important things take any damage. Those being the cpu & other memory chips. The cpu is really plastered on there, & I think the other important chips too. It's usually only components that take damage, such as buttons & the main ribbon cable.
Then again, most of my experience is with various HTC devices, which relied more & more on ribbon cables the newer they got. I believe some manufactures still use a big board with everything on it. I don't know how bad those would take to water damage, or if they have main ribbon cables that can be replaced. As far as water proofing a phone, I don't think it's really possible without some kind of exterior, water proof case. The housings have way too many opportunities for water to pour right in.
3ndymion218 said:
From what I've seen, it is true that there could always be headaches down the line with some components starting to give out, but I've never seen the most important things take any damage. Those being the cpu & other memory chips. The cpu is really plastered on there, & I think the other important chips too. It's usually only components that take damage, such as buttons & the main ribbon cable.
Then again, most of my experience is with various HTC devices, which relied more & more on ribbon cables the newer they got. I believe some manufactures still use a big board with everything on it. I don't know how bad those would take to water damage, or if they have main ribbon cables that can be replaced. As far as water proofing a phone, I don't think it's really possible without some kind of exterior, water proof case. The housings have way too many opportunities for water to pour right in.
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The problem I have found is that if you get it working again easy enough, your customer comes back saying there's something wrong with it again in a week or so. Most of my experience is with iPhones and although a lot can be repaired, there's usually more that needs replacing, headphone jacks, mics etc and it gets expensive which is why I avoid water damage repairs now.
There's always Liquipel though. The sooner manufacturers start investing in this the better!!
Sent from my 1.8ghz Xperia Play!
el_commandante said:
I just stumbled upon this:
Supposedly it can bring water damaged devices back to life. They claim it removes the corrosion and hence any shorts that may have been caused. Looks like a total scam to me, but I was wondering if anyone has this or has any experience with similar products.
Also it would be great of one of the hardware savvy guys could comment on whether it's possible to "repair" water damaged devices at all. My (basic) understanding is that the electrical components in the phone/tablet etc. can be permanently damaged by exposure to water and all the minerals typically found in water. Moreover, even if they survive the initial submersion, there's no guarantee that they will not slowly corrode and fail in the future.
Here in Germany all official repair companies refuse to repair water damaged devices, because they are required by law to a guarantee for their work and they claim it's impossible to guarantee that a water damaged component will continue to function even after being properly cleaned.
Any comments?
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Click to collapse
I would like to get my hands on this
BensJammin said:
The problem I have found is that if you get it working again easy enough, your customer comes back saying there's something wrong with it again in a week or so. Most of my experience is with iPhones and although a lot can be repaired, there's usually more that needs replacing, headphone jacks, mics etc and it gets expensive which is why I avoid water damage repairs now.
There's always Liquipel though. The sooner manufacturers start investing in this the better!!
Sent from my 1.8ghz Xperia Play!
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Yes, that is true. The headaches will come from people, & not so much from the device itself. If it's your phone, no problem. You can always replace whatever else starts to go. But when you're fixing things for other people, whether it be phones, or cars, or whatever, it's ALWAYS your fault. Once you touch it, anything that happens is blamed on you. It gets really annoying after a while.
Didn't some of the motorola tablets use Liquipel?
Hobbzey said:
Didn't some of the motorola tablets use Liquipel?
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Not sure but I'm surprised more companies haven't jumped on the waterproof bandwagon. I would love a waterproof tablet as I read magazines in the bath and most publications are going digital now due to costs and there will definitely be a need for waterproofing. Although capacitive touch screens can react awkwardly when they're wet though.
The Sony xperia z is totally waterproof already so the technology to do this is already there. Just not sure if I trust it.
Sent from my 1.8ghz Xperia Play!
BensJammin said:
Not sure but I'm surprised more companies haven't jumped on the waterproof bandwagon. I would love a waterproof tablet as I read magazines in the bath and most publications are going digital now due to costs and there will definitely be a need for waterproofing. Although capacitive touch screens can react awkwardly when they're wet though.
The Sony xperia z is totally waterproof already so the technology to do this is already there. Just not sure if I trust it.
Sent from my 1.8ghz Xperia Play!
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I don't think it's so much having to do with technology, but more in how they design the casing. Other things, like watches, use o-rings to seal the casing & make it waterproof. I wonder how Sony did it??? I especially wonder what they did about the speaker & mic openings. I'd really like to see that phone opened up. Yes, it would be nice if other companies joined in too. They probably don't want to spend the money researching how to make their cases watertight.
it sounds too good to be true
3ndymion218 said:
I don't think it's so much having to do with technology, but more in how they design the casing. Other things, like watches, use o-rings to seal the casing & make it waterproof. I wonder how Sony did it??? I especially wonder what they did about the speaker & mic openings. I'd really like to see that phone opened up. Yes, it would be nice if other companies joined in too. They probably don't want to spend the money researching how to make their cases watertight.
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On the mass scale that these companies sell their phones I wouldn't think it would cost them too much in the long run to invest in liquipel. That protects the mics, speakers and even jacks. I'm sure someone I know will smash their xperia z soon so I look forward to ripping that apart
Sent from my 1.8ghz Xperia Play!
BensJammin said:
On the mass scale that these companies sell their phones I wouldn't think it would cost them too much in the long run to invest in liquipel. That protects the mics, speakers and even jacks. I'm sure someone I know will smash their xperia z soon so I look forward to ripping that apart
Sent from my 1.8ghz Xperia Play!
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I think it was the Motorola Xyboard's that used it...?
Hobbzey said:
Didn't some of the motorola tablets use Liquipel?
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I wish my xoom had it, my son dropped it in the bath tub, it got nearly no water in it worked for about a week more
then died completely. I'd almost be willing to try this if it really did work
I know there's a rust to primer stuff out there, but that's a bit simpler
---
I hate jelly beans, Google's jellybean is alright though.
Sent from my sickeningly sweet Galaxy Note II
I think it works,becoz all service centers will have this.
................................................................................................
So I upgraded from my Galaxy S3 to my new S4 with Telus last week.
Yesterday night I was sitting down playing with my phone. I put it in my front pocket, and then took it back out less than 30 seconds later, while still sitting. I keep my phone in an otterbox, with screen protector, and keep nothing else in the pocket I keep my phone.
When I took my phone out, I noticed the display wasn't working. Sounds, etc were fine. After careful examination I noticed 2 small hairline cracks, one from the top middle, going down/left to the side, and another from the left/middle, going towards the other crack - however there is a large space in between where it is not cracked.
The cracks are NOT on the outside plastic piece, nor on the screen protector. They are on the inside screen only. There is some pixelization on the "top" area past the crack, and solid black/not working on the bottom. Never dropped this phone, put any excessive stress/pressure on it - absolutely blows my mind how this could happen.
So I went to Telus today to speak to them, they looked at it and the sales lady confirmed theres no impact marks on front/back and it just seems strange. The manager told me if they sent it away it would be 99% chance not covered under warranty and I would have to pay. He told me my best chance of anything, is to call Samsung. I left more than unimpressed.
So I call Samsung this afternoon. I tell them exactly what happened, draw the scenario out clearly - He tells me physical damage is not covered under warranty and screens do not break themselves. I tell him I agree, but there was no negligence on my part and I feel this must be a defect of some sort. He tells me he has never heard of this happening before and there is nothing he can do for me. I tell him we are are a wall and not understanding each other and ask to speak to a supervisor. Supervisor tells me the best they can do is give me a USP parcel to send my phone in to get looked at. If it's determined if it's physical damage, then I will have to pay to get it fixed and they will send me a quote and the phone back, if it's a defect of some sort they will cover it.
Just by the language that was used in the conversation (IE: Physical Damage, not covered) I don't have very high hopes on this matter. I understand it's physical damage, but that is very broad language. It's not physical damage due to negligence, but can this be proved one way or another? If only the screen shows a hairline crack, but nothing else - could this be my fault? If they do tell me it's not covered and I am to pay - What more can I do? Aside trying to fight Samsung in court over this (High cost, time, chance loosing and paying more), what are my options? Has anyone ever seen this happen before?
I'll upload some pictures in awhile.
Edit: Wow i'm not the only one, this guy wanst using a case though but still! I had an otter box on mine.
TL;DR - Screen broke, never dropped it or used carelessly, Telus won't do anything. Good chance Samsung wont cover it. What do
I had the same issue with my s3 that was in a Otterbox defender... Tmobile and Samsung told me the same thing and I was very disappointed...
The cracks wasn't even visible outside the Otterbox
X10a-Freedom
And the pictures...
Could the otterbox be putting compression stress on the phone edges?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium
I've noticed this device doesn't seem very sturdy. I wouldn't suggest trying this, but if you just hold each end long-ways and give your hands a slight twist it seems it's very flimsy. I don't doubt the gorilla glass 3 is strong as balls but the underlying screen isn't, which is what seems to be cracking a lot.
I think samsung made the phone so thin and poor choice of plastic grade that it can't withstand some normal wear and tear very easily. Had samsung choice an extremely tough plastic compound it may be a different story. Ever seen the plastics used on R/C cars? That stuff is tougher than nails! But hey, at least your screen won't get scratched!
orlandoxpolice said:
Could the otterbox be putting compression stress on the phone edges?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda premium
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I was thinking the same thing since my phone was never dropped or anything like that... In my case I would have never noticed my cracking if I didn't clean it
X10a-Freedom
I'm not sure about the otterbox case putting unnesseary stress on the phone or not. I dug up a few threads on here related to simmilar problems with the S4 - Others have had "pockets breaking AMOLED's" have NOT had a case on their phone.
Tough to say. I guess the case helps from impact damage such as a fall, but the AMOLED screen is still too fragile from flexing, case or no case.
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15 minutes after I received my Note 3 the camera cover popped off after removing the back cover for the first time. This camera cover has 4 very thin metal support legs that are bend sideways in the note's main frame. Once the cover has popped off you can put it back...but you can't bend 2 of the 4 metal support legs anymore so the next time you remove the back cover the camera cover will come off very easily. After 5+ times you have to use duct tape to keep it in place. Very, very clumsy design for a 700+ euro device
So, be careful when removing the back cover, use a thumb to keep the camera cover in place.
(image from Computerworld)
How on earth did you manage that.
You're supposed to use the small indent above the onn/off button to carefully pop all the seals on the cover so it lets go, not wrestle and bend it off with brute force.
It is meant to be done that way to prevent exactly this.
Also, might I suggest the application of instant glue.
Send From My Samsung Galaxy Note 3 N9005 Using Tapatalk
ShadowLea said:
How on earth did you manage that.
You're supposed to use the small indent above the onn/off button to carefully pop all the seals on the cover so it lets go, not wrestle and bend it off with brute force.
It is meant to be done that way to prevent exactly this.
Also, might I suggest the application of instant glue.
Send From My Samsung Galaxy Note 3 N9005 Using Tapatalk
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I know how it works, had a note 1 and 2 and a galaxy 2 After the 3rd or 4th seal the camera cover was already on the floor.
This sounds like a rare manufacturing defect, and not a problem with the majority of units. I've been reading forums and reviews since September 4th, and you are quite literally the only person I've seen with this issue.
I'd say just take it back and get a replacement. I'm assuming you've not dropped the device and caused any physical damage that might otherwise void the standard samsung hardware warranty?
Ragnarkov said:
This sounds like a rare manufacturing defect, and not a problem with the majority of units. I've been reading forums and reviews since September 4th, and you are quite literally the only person I've seen with this issue.
I'd say just take it back and get a replacement. I'm assuming you've not dropped the device and caused any physical damage that might otherwise void the standard samsung hardware warranty?
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I agree, it's not a big problem, although i'm not the only one.
http://www.computerworld.com/s/arti...h_perks_and_quirks?taxonomyId=75&pageNumber=2
I didn't drop the device. Replacement will arive in a few days.
I have read rumors the Note 4 is not water resistant certified but that at least the boards inside have a similar type of coating as the s5. Has anybody heard any new information about this?
ranchosteve said:
I have read rumors the Note 4 is not water resistant certified but that at least the boards inside have a similar type of coating as the s5. Has anybody heard any new information about this?
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It is not water resistant with or without nanocoating protectiong, but it would be cool if the note had it.
They're designed to resist downpour for at least like ten minutes
Kawaisa said:
They're designed to resist downpour for at least like ten minutes
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The Note 4? I'd like to see a source for that information.
theres not necessarily water resistancy going on, but just like my note (which i use under the rain) it can survive a splash here and there. Unless if you plan on dropping your phone into an ocean for long period of time/toilet/swim with it...i doubt should worry
My friend got caught in a heavy rain while biking, his Note 3 in pants pocket. Afterwords it didn't boot up for 3 days, then it dried out to boot but his home button was shorted so he still couldn't use it at all. After another 2 days in rice it finally started working again with no visible long lasting damage, but his water exposure was minimal, it didn't even trip water sensors on the battery nor phone (he claims only bottom part, where USB port is, got wet.). I don't think any phone is safe when exposed to water, unless properly sealed inside, like GS5. My biggest complain about Note 4 is lack of waterproofing.
Not officially, but we'll have to wait for teardowns to see if any water resistance is built in.
The Galaxy Alpha is not IP certified but teardowns found many of the same gaskets used on the S5 throughout it. Either Samsung couldn't get it completely protected or they gave up to maintain size. But it's better than non-S5 Samsung phones due to the partial protection.
I'm one that ALWAYS applies a full coverage TPU style case and a screen protector on my phones, immediately after unboxing them, in order to preserve their pristine condition for future resale value, as well as my own OCD tendencies. The good news, for people like me, is that there are already tempered glass screen protector options available for the phone (example). However, it's very clear that this phone was purposely designed with the intent that its users will not use a case. While I appreciate that the phone is more damage resistant with a titanium build and ceramic backing (rather than gorilla glass), it's still not truly damage proof. Because of this, I couldn't bring myself to use the phone without a case on a daily basis. So I'm already looking at how a full coverage case would work and I just don't see how it would be feasible.
The two reasons why a full coverage case wouldn't seem to work are:
1) The two docking pins in the back required for the accessories and the wireless charging dock. A worthwhile protective case would make this feature unusable.
2) The earpiece is pushed to the very top lip of the phone making it next to impossible for a full coverage case to protect the top edge without interfering with the ear piece.
I know the industry is pushing hard for a bezel-less future, but many people still want to protect their devices, especially after shelling out $700+, without losing out on advertised functionality. So now I'm curious to hear what other's think about this. I'm sure I'm not the first person to take this stuff into consideration.
I agree, I know the phone is made to be without a case but I always add a case to my devices. Not only does it help against any damage but it adds grip
Avoiding the ear piece would be trivial. Either leave the spot empty enough to hear or perforate the covering in that location. They could even incorporate something like what the lifeproof cases do and use a special fabric to cover the ear piece.
As far as the pogo pins. Depending on the thickness of the case and the actual distance needed to use the wireless USB they could just toss in some conductive extenders for the pogo pins, and make sure the case mimics the body design enough so that accessories fit. Oh and toss in a magnet to hold the accessory.n
Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
I'm hoping for a bumper. I'm going to use a screen protector.
I'm generally pretty picky about both having a case and what that case is like. I want it to be good quality, fairly thin and I prefer if it has a steel kickstand. Andy Rubin and company got so in love with the idea of creating a phone that "doesn't need a case" that they completely failed to work with phone case makers for the PH-1. Yes the PH-1 is built like a tank -- and they should have taken a page from LG's book and gotten it tested and MIL-STD-180G certified. It's lack of waterproof and MIL certification leaves you just hoping and praying that Andy Rubin knows what he's talking about when he says the PH-1 is super durable. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. The only way to know for sure is to break one on purpose and see how hard it was to do. Mine certainly feels sturdier than an LG-V20. And just like every other phone around today, it's slippery. Don't care if the PH-1 is a tad less slippery. It's slippery and it's dense and heavier that it looks. This makes the PH-1 and gravity great friends. Give me something to grip or I'm going to drop this thing hundreds of times in the next year. Don't care how durable your phone is, it's not going to hold up against that kind of abuse. And if I want a credit card sleeve or a kickstand, the religion of "doesn't need a case!" does nothing for me.
After a week mine already has a ton of little scratches so it definitely needs a case. . I baby the hell out of it too and its still scratched.
I'm using a sopiguard skin from amazon. i'ts pretty darn accurate in fitting and had no issues so far!
https://www.amazon.com/SopiGuard-Es..._rd_w=bePkv&pd_rd_wg=2DRTi&ref_=pd_gwm_simh_0
In the reddit ama they said they were working with case makers and posted one example. So presumably these will become available with time.