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How to Put a Screen Protector on Your iPad

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If you’re worried about scratching your new iPad’s display, then getting a screen protector is a great way to prevent that. Here’s how to apply a screen protector to your iPad.

Screen protectors come in all different styles, but most of them are usually made out of a thin and flexible plastic sheet that sticks onto your device’s screen using some kind of adhesive or just static electricity.

More expensive screen protectors are made out of tempered glass, which are essentially just really thin sheets of glass that you stick on top of your iPad’s display. This makes it so that you’ll still get that natural glass feel to the device, but it does add a bit of thickness, since glass screen protectors are a bit thicker than regular plastic ones.

There are also more rugged screen protectors from companies like Zagg who specialize in military-grade screen protection. These screen protectors are made out of an incredible material that’s insanely scratch proof. They’re overkill most of the time and are fairly expensive, but they can be good for users who work in construction that would have an iPad exposed to extreme conditions most of the time.

Screen Shot 2014-12-11 at 11.22.44 AM

Otherwise, plastic screen protectors are sufficient enough for most users, and they’re incredibly cheap. You can sometimes find a pack of them for $1 on eBay, but you can regularly find them on Amazon for a couple dollars a piece.

There are a few different ways that you can apply a screen protector to your iPad, and you may find that one method works better for you than the others, so we’ll show you a few methods that have worked well for us in the past.

Before You Begin

Before you apply a screen protector to your iPad, it’s crucial that you do a couple of things first to prepare.

The first thing you’ll want to do is wash your hands to get rid of any excess oils and dirt on your fingers. You don’t want fingerprints all over your device while you’re trying to apply a screen protector, so washing your hands can eliminate most annoying fingerprint situations.

Secondly, you want to apply your screen protector in a room where there isn’t a lot of dust. A good place to do this is in a bathroom right after a hot shower, since the steam and humidity chokes down any dust and provides a great environment to put a screen protector on your iPad.

Make sure to wash your hands before applying a screen protector

Make sure to wash your hands before applying a screen protector

Thirdly, besides your own two hands, you’ll want a credit card and a microfiber cloth on hand. The microfiber cloth is to wipe the screen clean before you apply the screen protector. You absolutely do not want any dust or fingerprints on the screen while you’re applying the screen protector.

As far as the credit card, you’ll use it to squeegee out any bubbles that form when you apply the screen protector. You can get all of them out most of the time, but sometimes there will some bubbles that will be stubborn. If this happens, just carefully lift the screen protector and try applying it again. Most screen protector packs that you buy will come with a microfiber cloth and a squeegee card to help aid the installation.

Now, let’s start applying your screen protector.

How to Put a Screen Protector on Your iPad

Arguably, the best way to apply a screen protector is using the peel-back method, which involves peeling back the protective wrapping just slightly so that you can attach one end of the screen protector to your iPad, and then as you slowly apply the screen protector, you peel back the protective wrapping at the same time until you eventually peel all of it back and fully apply the screen protector.

It’s the best method to ensure that you don’t get any dust on the underbelly of the screen protector as you’re applying it.

However, it can be a bit tricky and may take some practice. The video below demonstrates how to apply a screen protector on your iPad using the peel-back method.

Other methods include the arch method, which involves arching the screen protector long ways like a hot dog bun and then lining up the Home button and the front-facing camera. From there, slowly lay down the screen protector and work out any bubbles that form.

This method is pretty effective as well, but it’s more prone for dust to work its way underneath the screen protector as you’re applying it, since you have to peel off the first layer of the screen protector completely before applying it.

There’s also the hinge method, which has been gaining popularity over the last couple of years. This method involves first lining up the screen protector with your iPad’s screen without taking any of the protective wrapping off. Then, you simply stick two pieces of masking tape to one side of the iPad, which will keep the screen protector in place while you apply it. This creates a hinge of sorts, just like a door. The video above also demonstrates the hinge method.

From there, you simply lift the screen protector up like you’re opening a door, and remove the protective wrapping. Finally, slowly apply the screen protector to your iPad’s screen and it’ll be perfectly lined up once it’s all said and done.

Whichever method you choose, it still may take some practice before you get really good at it, so be patient with it and you’ll soon be a screen protector ninja.

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Tim

    12/13/2014 at 8:49 am

    You guys really need to coordinate better and cut down on the repetition. Seriously, do we need this article two days in a row? Don’t you sensout enough already with redundant information?

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