FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
My screen looks scratched, cracked, bubbled, warped, or smudged right out of the box — is it damaged?
Most 3rd Wave units ship with one or two layers of protective plastic film on the display. What looks like a scratch, crack, fissure, bubble, discoloration, warping, or smudge is very often just this film (commonly a harder-to-notice second layer) rather than actual damage. Peel it off starting at a corner — usually the top-left, since the metal bezel makes other edges hard to access — using your fingers or a fine-tipped tool like tweezers to get under the edge. It can take some gentle scraping to get under the film. If, after confirming no film remains, a genuine crack, scratch, or persistent bubbling is present, Groove Synthesis can arrange a replacement screen or repair (mail-in or, depending on location, in-person drop-off/pickup) — send a photo of the issue first.