Duct tape on a cracked phone screen - works but ruins the touch sensitivity?

I tried using duct tape as a temp fix for a hairline crack on my phone screen last month after seeing it online. The crack stopped spreading, which was great, but the tape made the screen feel super sticky and my taps started registering wrong. Is this a legit hack for emergencies or just a sloppy shortcut that creates more problems? Has anyone found a better quick fix that doesn't mess with the touch sensor so badly?

3 comments

3 Comments

kim19122d agoTop Commenter

I mean, honestly, I gotta disagree a bit here. Duct tape is actually a pretty decent emergency fix if you know what you're doing, you probably just used the wrong kind or put it on wrong. People act like it's ruining their screen, but if you cut the tape super clean and smooth it out with a credit card, the touch sensitivity drop is barely noticeable after a day or two of getting used to it. Idk, maybe I'm just less picky, but I'd rather have a sticky feeling than watch my crack spread into a spiderweb and have glass shards falling out everywhere. For a cheap, fast stopgap until you can get a real repair, I really think it's way better than just leaving the crack bare or wasting money on those liquid glass fillers that never work right.

phoenix_carter22d ago

Ugh yeah, I tried the clear packing tape thing once and it was awful... but then I switched to actual repair tape from a phone shop and it was way better. @kim191 you're right about the prep work too, I took my time cutting it and used a old gift card to push out bubbles. Held together for like two weeks until my replacement screen came in, so not perfect but definitely kept the glass from falling out everywhere.

hannahw3022d ago

Barely noticeable after a day or two" is EXACTLY what I found too. The first few hours I was sure I'd messed up, but then my thumb just got used to the texture and I stopped thinking about it. I actually had a similar thing happen with my old iPod touch where the screen was completely shattered and I kept using it for months with just a layer of packing tape holding the glass in - it eventually got super gross and sticky from pocket lint though, so dont do that for too long.