Switch OLED screen protector - impossible!

Forzafan

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Hi,

I am having trouble installing a screen protector on my switch OLED. I managed to do the old switch fine and most phones but this one - despite being only a slightly bigger screen - is proving impossible to get a good finish. I've had 4 goes now and none were what i would consider acceptable. And the more i do it the more bloody dust is getting on there!!

Did anyone else have trouble? Any tips? Is a screen protector for a careful person even needed?

Thanks!
 
I had the same problem as you and wasted even more screen protectors than you before I finally gave up. Even with taping one side in place before peeling off the backing sheet, I couldn't get the protector on without any dust underneath.

The OLED screen does seem to be much more of a dust and fingerprint magnet than the original Switch.
 
thank you for your reply - i have 3 protectors left but can imagine they will go the same way and i'll give up like yourself. its frustrating as i am usually good at this
 
well the latest one i used was orzly and have 3 left but it seems there is ALWAYS dust on the screen
 
Do it in a bathroom with the hot tap / shower running to create steam which will help control the amount of dust in the air.
I've been using Orzly too... and have tried the bathroom trick and still got dust underneath.
 
i didnt get a chance to do it last night but i played on the switch and love it as it is without a protector its jsut when i googled it people seemed to be saying you must put a protector on as it may scratch otherwise (even though im super careful with my stuff)
 
I purchased these and it went on perfectly first time, comes with the template that makes it line up almost perfectly, so you're not spending time trying to line it up

Amazon product ASIN B09B4MJ9H3


I've done the bathroom thing myself in the past, but I used the kitchen this time, following that video above, not sure I even needed the dust stickers, it was done that quickly so dust didn't have a chance to get on the screen, although I guess the environment will vary.

I mean you can get away without a protector, I gave up on various devices, but it's nice to know that if you come to sell later, you can remove it and have a perfect screen, or just peace of mind knowing it's almost impossible to mark the screen short of dropping it on a concrete floor :D

Another thing you may be tempted to do instead which isn't going to impact your viewing experience, is placing some self-adhesive felt lining (stuff you can get from hobbycraft and the like) on the switch dock on the thin strips that the screen rests against; just minimises any chance of the screen getting marked when docking/undocking it.
 
thanks for that, the first pack of protectors were similar to that but i couldnt fit the protector in the frame which was annoying and rendered it a bit useless!

i think if i'd done this straight away i'd have been fine but as mentioned above the screen picks up dust so easily so i feel i may be beyond the point of achieving perfection anyway
 
I have a glass protector on my OG Switch, it's pretty much perfect, no dust or bubbles, but that was at the second or third attempt. I think it likely saved my Switch on a few occasions as when I used a wired controller I knocked my Switch dock over a few times, and my screen would have surely been at least scratched by the dock otherwise.

Providing there's no risk of knocking your dock over then some felt strips (can be bought pre cut on eBay etc) may be all you need. Just be sure to ensure the screen and strips are clean of any particles that could scratch before docking. Same goes for any carry case, make sure the soft screen cover flap is clean. If you do that and only touch the screen with clean fingers or a clean microfibre cloth, then you should be fine.

I have a thorough screen protector ritual and I can spend up to an hour applying a protector to get a perfect result, but even then I would say I only successfully achieve that half of the time at most, trying to get a perfect result can be frustrating, time consuming and expensive as you burn through protectors. I'll usually try a full pack and either get lucky or give up.

The tips I can give are:

wearing short sleeves,

wash and moisturise your hands,

wash and dry several small microfibre glasses cloths and use sellotape to remove any particles from them,

do not use a low quality microfibre cloth as these can leave more particles than they remove, (some protectors come with good quality ones and some come cheap disposable ones, the latter can be kept to use after the protector is in place but not before),

cut a long piece of sellotape and hang it from the side of the surface you're using so you can use it to 'clean' your fingertips, especially prior to handling the screen protector,

use a lamp or torch to shine a light directly onto the screen to highlight any particles you can't otherwise see,

use tape to remove as much dust as possible from the as yet unused screen protector,

clean the screen, ideally with glasses/screen cleaning fluid (eg isopropyl alcohol), you may only need to breathe on the screen to clean it but don't use a spray that contains vinegar,

dry with a clean, dry microfibre cloth using circular motions and begin to remove any remaining visible dust, paying attention to the edges where dust can get stuck, use dust removal stickers as necessary,

once it's 'like new' clean, hold a new clean cloth lightly and fashion it into something like a brush tip and gently brush the screen repeatedly from left to right, the goal is to flick any remaining dust particles off the screen, as you do so you should be scanning the screen for dust, do not look at the entirety of screen as you will miss dust this way, focus on small areas of the screen and keep scanning around looking for the slightest spec, this can take some time as you want to be as certain as you can that you have a completely dust free screen,

when you're satisfied, 'clean' your fingertips with the tape and remove the back cover and place the protector, hope for the best, you need to be quick but try not to make too sudden movements that might circulate most dust in the air,

if it's no good then remove and repeat the process from the brushing stage with a new protector, until you run out of attempts. If you're successful then use the applicator card if provided to smooth out any bubbles. I would recommend always wrapping an applicator card or whatever you use in a microfibre cloth, especially if using the card to remove a screen protector.

Hope that's useful to someone.
 
Last edited:
Thank you for such a detailed reply. I was unsuccessful the other day albeit the best effort yet and will try again tomorrow using your tips. 2 left…!
 

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