Montana 650 Screen Protector issues?

[Montana Mike]

I have a Monty 650 that was exhibiting poor touch screen response and random 'map moving all over the place'. I had attributed this to a faulty digitizer, which was apparently a common problem with 6xx devices. I ordered a new digitizer and the device sat for about a year before I got back around to replacing the digitizer (today). Before I started, it occurred to me that I should peel the screen protector off and retest the device. With no screen protector, it seems to be working fine (I'm still testing, so I'm not convinced it's 100% OK). Does that make any sense? Can a screen protector cause goofy touch screen response - even when not touching it? Is there a particular type or family of screen protector that should be used with these devices?

[GPSrChive]

Oh yes, absolutely! There were endless posts from users that had touchscreen issues with a screen protector installed that were resolved by carefully removing it.

The Montana 6x0 uses a soft resistive membrane stretched over the surface of the display, and this is what a screen protector is actually adhering to when installed. The wide variation in material and thickness and elasticity can create all kinds of issues, especially when exposed to extreme temperatures.

We always had good results with the BoxWave screen protectors, available from the GPSrChive Store.

Check in and let us know if the original display touchscreen is still working a few weeks or months from now!

[Montana Mike]

Oh yes, absolutely! There were endless posts from users that had touchscreen issues with a screen protector installed that were resolved by carefully removing it.

Good to know. When I first looked into the screen instability issue about a year ago, I couldn't find anybody that really knew about it, although it seemed screen problems were not uncommon.

We always had good results with the BoxWave screen protectors, available from the GPSrChive Store.

Will check that out. Thank for the tip.

Check in and let us know if the original display touchscreen is still working a few weeks or months from now!

Will do. So far, so good! - before I pulled the screen protector off the instability would occur within a few minutes of turning the power on. Now with the protector off, it's been on for hours and seems to work fine. I'll give it a real world test on my motorcycle when the weather clears up.

Thanks so much for your help with this.

[Montana Mike]

We always had good results with the BoxWave screen protectors, available from the GPSrChive Store.

Just remembered that I purchased a new powered cradle for the 650 last summer and it came with a couple of screen protectors - I'll see if I can find them to see what brand they are.

[GPSrChive]

I suspect those will be the 'Garmin' branded OE protectors. No idea who produced them for Garmin if they are.

[Montana Mike]

Found the screen protectors that came with my power cradle. They're 'Garmin' brand - does that mean they're junk?

Garmin Screen Protectors

Garmin Screen Protectors.jpg

[GPSrChive]

Garmin screen protectors were OK, I still have some laying around somewhere. I liked the ClearTouch better, especially the Anti-Glare version, and those are what I used on my devices.

[Montana Mike]

Had the Montana 650 on for several hours today as I rode around on my motorcycle. It never skipped a beat!