Will screen protector impact solar charging?

I currently own the Garmin Instinct Tactical but an Instinct 2 Solar Tactical is on the way. For my Instinct, I had purchased a glass screen protector - same as what you can buy for your phone. I figured it might help on a soft fall or light scrape against rock when I go hiking in the mountains.

Had the screen protector for Instinct 2 in my cart and was about to check out, but then wait. I remembered the solar panel is embedded in the display. Any thoughts on whehter or not the screen guard would negatively impact the solar charging capability? Has anyone performed an actual test?

Top Replies

Garmin - Chris 10 months ago +3 verified

It might but you won't know until after you have added it. The bigger concern, some screen protectors will slowly erode and remove a protective layer that is added and on top of the reinforced glass cover…

All Replies

+1 Garmin - Chris 10 months ago

It might but you won't know until after you have added it. The bigger concern, some screen protectors will slowly erode and remove a protective layer that is added and on top of the reinforced glass cover of your watch. The screen protector is now glued to that surface on top of the glass and that now middle layer can breakup over time and ruin it. It is for that reason we do not recommend screen protectors or provide them with a new watch purchase. With that being said, we cannot tell you how often it happens since so few watches have a screen protector on them. I have seen pictures over the years on what happens when the protective layer is broke down. It looks pretty awful.

- Frequently Asked Questions About Power Glass and Power Sapphire Solar Lenses (Discusses screen protectors too.)

0 4508948 4 months ago in reply to Garmin - Chris

Thank you for explaining the matter. Personally, I consider this as realistic risk and removed immediatelly the screen protector, after a couple of days of usage...

0 8912403 22 days ago in reply to Garmin - Chris

Hi Chris, any chance you can link a photo or explain what it looks like after breaking down? Thanks