Applying a screen protector without bubbles: how to get it right first time

You know the feeling: you have a new screen protector, you hold your breath as you lay it on your screen, and then you see it. A little bubble. Or a speck of dust, right in the middle. You peel the glass off, try again, and now it’s crooked. At the counter I see screen protectors that went wrong like this every week. A shame, because applying a screen protector without bubbles almost always works first time, once you know the preparation and the order.

I’m Job, specialist at ThePhoneLab. I’ve been applying screen protectors for years, all day long, so I know exactly at which moment it goes wrong. Below I show you how I do it myself, because it really has to be right first time, and what to do if a bubble gets under it anyway.

In this blog, we discuss:

1. Why do bubbles or dust get under a screen protector?
2. Preparation: how to get your screen really clean
3. Step by step: applying a screen protector with an applicator
4. Still a bubble or a speck of dust? Here’s what to do
5. Rather not do it yourself? We’ll apply it for free

Why do bubbles or dust get under a screen protector?

Bubbles and dust almost always appear in the last second before applying, and they are very different: you can rub out a bubble, but you will almost never get a speck of dust out again. You prevent both with thorough cleaning and an applicator.

An air bubble means the glass wasn’t pressed down evenly: it made contact in one spot earlier than next to it, and that air couldn’t escape. Freehand, this happens almost every time, because the glass drops at an angle. A speck of dust landed between cleaning and applying, or was still sitting in a corner of your screen. And a crooked screen protector happens because you lined it up by eye, without a tool.

That’s also why our tempered glass screen protectors come with an applicator: a frame that you click onto your iPhone and that holds the glass exactly in place. The frame does the lining up, the hardest part, for you. All you have to do is clean and press.

Preparation: how to get your screen really clean

A clean screen is ninety percent of the work. You clean it in three rounds: wet first, then dry, and finally the dust with a dust sticker or a piece of painter’s tape. Do it in a room without a draught, with clean hands, and don’t touch the screen afterwards. This is the order I use myself:

1. Wash your hands and pick the right spot. Grease from your fingers on the edge of the screen leaves a rim that won’t stick. Apply it in the bathroom right after a shower: the humid air keeps dust on the floor. Not by an open window, not under a fan and not on a fluffy jumper.
2. Take your case off and wipe the edges of your phone clean too. That’s where dust collects that later creeps under the glass.
3. Wet wipe, then dry wipe. First wipe the whole screen with the wet wipe from the packaging, right into the corners. Then dry it with the dry wipe, in one direction.
4. Dust sticker last. Dab away the last specks of dust with a dust sticker or a piece of painter’s tape. Look at the screen at an angle against the light: if you still see a speck, dab it away. Don’t touch the screen with your fingers after that.

As soon as the screen is clean, carry straight on. Every second you wait is a chance for new dust.

Step by step: applying a screen protector with an applicator

With the applicator, the lining up is done before you start: you click the frame around your iPhone and the glass can only land in one place. The only thing you can still get wrong is sloppy cleaning. So take your time with that; the rest is pulling out a strip and pressing down. These are the six steps from the instruction sheet that comes with our tempered glass:

1. Clean the screen with the wet wipe and then the dry wipe.
2. Place the frame on your iPhone. The frame (the applicator) clicks around your phone and only fits one way.
3. Pull out the orange strip with the film. This removes the protective film under the glass. Don’t touch the adhesive layer.
4. Press the glass down: first from left to right, then from top to bottom.
5. Wait until all the air bubbles are gone and only then remove the frame.
6. Done. Take one more look at an angle against the light to check that all the edges are flat.

Tempered glass with applicator

Tempered glass with frame and wipes, for iPhone 12 and newer.

Shop our tempered glass

Without an applicator the same order works, with a hinge as your tool. Line the glass up with the camera cut-out and the speaker while the film is still on. Stick two pieces of tape along the side as a hinge. Flip the glass open, remove the film and flip it back. That hinge stops you putting the glass down crooked.

Still a bubble or a speck of dust? Here’s what to do

You can almost always get an air bubble out; a speck of dust almost never. You push small bubbles to the outer edge by rubbing firmly over them, calmly and carefully, with the dry wipe around your finger. Start at the bubble and work in one direction towards the nearest edge, until it’s out.

A speck of dust under the glass is a different story. Trying to get it out usually makes it worse: you lift the glass, new dust gets in and the adhesive layer sticks less well afterwards. That’s why it really has to be right first time. Our applicator helps with that, because the glass goes onto your screen straight and quickly and isn’t left open to dust. But cleaning thoroughly beforehand remains crucial; that’s ninety percent of the work.

Is there still a speck of dust under it that bothers you, or is the glass crooked? If you bought it from us, come by the store within 7 days: our experienced specialists will fit a new one for you free of charge. Bought it elsewhere? Then a new one with an applicator is the best choice, with extra thorough cleaning beforehand. Sliding or lifting it won’t make it any better either way.

Rather not do it yourself? We’ll apply it for free

Buy a screen protector from us and we’ll apply it for free, at a store near you. I do it all day myself and so do my colleagues, so it’ll be straight, with no bubble and no dust. Allow five minutes, often less.

We always apply the ThePhoneLab Skin ourselves. It’s cut to size in the store and applied with a gel, and that’s not something you want to do at your kitchen table. You can order it online and collect it from a store near you. To find out which screen protector suits you, read my blog on glass, film and privacy.

ThePhoneLab Skin

Cut to size and applied for you in the store, for any smartphone up to 8 inches. Order online and collect it in the store. Or add it to your repair appointment, and you don't need to order anything.

Order the ThePhoneLab Skin

See all screen protectors in the shop. Add a case and a camera protector, and the cheapest of the three is free; that applies online and in our stores.

3 for 2 on all accessoriesOnline and in our stores. Mix & match: combine whatever you like, the cheapest one is free.

About ThePhoneLab

For more than ten years, ThePhoneLab has been repairing phones, tablets and laptops, every day, throughout the Netherlands. Every repair starts with an honest diagnosis, no cure no pay, and then you choose what suits you: original parts or a more affordable alternative from our own brand, for every budget. Because repairing is almost always smarter than replacing, for your wallet and for the planet. No wonder customers give us a 9.5, in tens of thousands of reviews.

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