Title slightly misleading; I had a ti-84 plus CE which had over time gathered dust UNDER the screen.

Lightly used, it took about a month of slow accumulation to become a real issue. Sent it in to a repair company and got a new one without the dust, no issues there.

Problem is I'm kind of scared to take the new one out of the plastic bag, for fear of the same problem.

My question is: how common is this issue? I've seen posts about it on these forums and from other sites when I was looking for a fix and it doesn't seem to be uncommon, but should I genuinely be worried about it happening again? Any way to prevent it from happening?


*Disclaimer: Am not super tech savvy, please phrase it like I'm an idiot.
Yes this is common, it seems that some calculators are more prone to it than others. Dust can get in many places such as the gap between the USB port and the shell of the calculator, but more commonly through the plastic screen protector if the glue becomes weak and gives way. You can prevent it by popping the protector off with a suction cup and sealing it with stronger glue however, you must be extremely careful not to accidentally get glue on the LCD because it will be impossible to clean that off.
The dust generally gets stuck between the LCD itself and the plastic on top. The plastic is glued in place so its a bit of a pain to remove, but you can definitely clean it out if it gets bad enough. Although I've had mine for a few years now and I haven't encountered this problem at all. Presumably this is due to people dumping it at the bottom of their dirty backpacks or pencil cases.
mr womp womp wrote:
Presumably this is due to people dumping it at the bottom of their dirty backpacks or pencil cases.


I have a special box for it and I usually left it in the box while I used it anyway, so the dust got under from just regular use; no dirty backpacks. Barely took it out unless it was charging (I only had it for like a month, I still had the "must protect new thing" feel).

I'm also not exactly confident in my technical prowess to dare take it apart, and apparently TI themselves don't do repairs, just replacements(or so I was told when I called their customer support).

Would a screen protector/silicon case be a worthwhile investment to keep the dust out? If not, who on earth even does glue fixes? I don't want to risk it for fear of screwing up and voiding the warranty...
Yeah, TI only does replacements. Probably because it's more expensive for the consumer. Rolling Eyes

The plastic part over the LCD is the screen protector. A silicon case might help, however there's still gaps where dust gets in.

What do you means who does glue fixes? You can do it yourself if your calculator's warranty expired like mine did. Just pop the protector off with a suction cup, clean off the old glue, then put new glue (like super glue) in its place and put the protector back on. I can confirm dust will never get in through the screen again.

If you want to learn how to access the LCD by taking the calculator apart, there's an easy guide on iFixit that will walk you through how to disassemble it and put it back together.
I meant like popping the screen off to glue it back better, but I guess that would be a slightly ridiculous service to offer.

When I said "silicon case/screen protector" I meant this, as it seems to cover most of the screen's edges (where I'd assume the dust comes from) but I wouldn't know unless I owned the thing, since no review addresses its seal around the screen(people also said it sucks but I wouldn't buy it for its protection against damage).

In the end I've no clue what I'm talking about. I suppose I'll just leave it in a bag for as long as I continue to even care, then try my hand at popping the screen off after it gets bad again.

Thanks for the responses
  
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