How do I apply a screen protector to my iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch?

by Aurora Thornhill, Tekserve Staff

There is a happy medium between living with a scratched screen or contending with a sealed-on layer of dust and air bubbles. With the right tools and a little bit of care and concentration, anyone can do it.

What you need:

• Screen Protector
• Microfiber cloth
• Compressed Air
• Glass or Screen Cleaner
• Credit Card
• Masking Tape (Optional, Helpful for iPad)
• Scotch Tape (Optional)

How to do it:

1. First, make sure your workspace is relatively dust-free. Turn off any fans and close open windows.
2. Spray a spot of glass cleaner on about a 2” portion of microfiber cloth, taking care to leave much of it dry. Wipe down your device with the wet part of the cloth, then buff it with the dry area to remove streaks.
3. Use compressed air to blow away remaining specks of dust. Holding the trigger for more than a second or two it will cause frozen liquid to come out of the can and create more spots to wipe from your device.
4. Remove the backing from your screen protector. If your protector comes in two pieces, remove the backing from the section marked #1. (iPad note: Only remove the bottom 1/4th of the protector at this time.)
5. Without exposing the sticky side of the protector, carefully align it with the home button of your device. Make sure to line up the edges as well. You can allow it to stick a bit until you’ve gotten it in place. (iPad note: Once the protector is aligned, use two small pieces of masking tape to keep it in place.)
6. Give the sticky side of the protector a quick blast with the compressed air and then use a credit card to apply it evenly onto the device. (iPad note: Wrap two credit cards in a paper towel to create a tool wide enough to evenly apply the protector. Slowly peel back the rest of the backing with one hand and use the tool to smoothly apply it with the other. Make sure the edges are aligning properly. You can always peel it back and try it again.)
7. If air bubbles remain, use the edge of a credit card to flatten them out. Push smaller bubbles together to make bigger ones and slide them out at the edges. If you have a #2 screen protector, peel the second sheet off before smoothing out bubbles.
8. Things should look pretty good, but if a sneaky speck of dust managed to find its way under the screen protector, there is a final step. With a loop of scotch tape around your index finger, sticky side out, peel back the closest corner or edge and press the tape against the offending particle. Flatten it all back out again with a credit card.

Voilá, you did it. Any stubborn bubbles that still remain will likely work themselves out in a day or two.

Published May 18, 2010 6:53 PM
Last modified on May 18, 2010 6:58 PM