Simple Ways To Get Air Bubbles Out Of A Glass Screen Protector

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Terms of Use wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. Learn why people trust wikiHow How to Remove Air Bubbles from a Screen Protector: A Complete Guide PDF download Download Article Quick tips to fix bubbles under a screen protector & keep it bubble-free Co-authored by Glenn Carreau Reviewed by Stan Kats

Last Updated: October 9, 2025 Fact Checked

PDF download Download Article
  • Removing Bubbles with a Card
    • |
  • Reapplying a Screen Protector
    • |
  • Removing Bubbles with Tape
    • |
  • Can you use oil?
    • |
  • Application Advice
    • |
  • Keeping a Screen Bubble-Free
    • |
  • What causes bubbles?
    • |
  • Video
    • |
  • Tips
    • |
  • Things You'll Need
|Show more |Show less ARTICLE VIDEO X

This article was reviewed by Stan Kats and by wikiHow staff writer, Glenn Carreau. Stan Kats is a Professional Technologist and the COO and Chief Technologist for The STG IT Consulting Group in West Hollywood, California. Stan provides comprehensive technology solutions to businesses through managed IT services, and for individuals through his consumer service business, Stan's Tech Garage. Stan holds a BA in International Relations from The University of Southern California. He began his career working in the Fortune 500 IT world. Stan founded his companies to offer an enterprise-level of expertise for small businesses and individuals. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 1,028,631 times.

Screen protectors may help keep your electronics safe from cracks, but they can sometimes be a challenge to put on! If you apply the screen protector crookedly, or without the screen being perfectly level, air bubbles may appear beneath the surface of the protector. We’ll show you how to prevent air bubbles before applying the screen protector and get rid of them after you’ve placed it on your phone or tablet, all using simple household items like Scotch tape and a credit card. Keep reading to get started!

Quickly Get Air Bubbles Out of a Screen Protector

Grab a plastic credit card and rub it across the screen protector, starting from the center of the device. Use the card to push bubbles toward the edge of the screen until they disappear. You can also clean up excess dust by putting Scotch tape on your device screen and then removing it before applying the protector.

Steps

Section 1 of 7:

Getting Rid of Air Bubbles with a Plastic Card

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  1. Step 1 Rub a credit card across the surface of your screen protector. 1 Rub a credit card across the surface of your screen protector. Once your screen protector adheres to the screen, press down with your finger or the edge of a credit card in the center of the screen. Push from the center of your screen to the outer edges to move air bubbles outward. Work around the entire screen until you press all the air bubbles out.[1]
    • If air bubbles remain on your screen, try reapplying the screen protector or consider getting a new one.
  2. Step 2 Slightly lift the edge of the protector to remove persistent bubbles. 2 Slightly lift the edge of the protector to remove persistent bubbles. If you don’t want to fully reapply the screen protector, but you’re noticing some bubbles near the sides that won’t go away, you can gently pry up a corner or edge of the screen protector with your credit card. Then, press that side or corner back down and rub the credit card over the screen protector (from the center outward) to eliminate any stubborn bubbles.[2]
    • It’s also possible that your screen protector will come with a squeegee or applicator tool that you can use instead of a credit card!
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Section 2 of 7:

Reapplying the Screen Protector (to Get Air Bubbles Out)

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  1. Step 1 Lift one corner of the protector with a credit card or a sharp, thin object. 1 Lift one corner of the protector with a credit card or a sharp, thin object. Carefully slide the credit card’s sharp edge (or something else, like a razor blade if you’re extremely careful) underneath one of the screen protector’s corners. If you use a razor blade, keep the blade horizontal. Once you lift the corner, it should be easy to pry the screen protector away from the screen.
    • Don’t try to bend your screen protector to lift it up since it may break or shatter.
    • Many screen protectors can be removed and reapplied multiple times.
  2. Step 2 Clean... 2 Clean and dry your phone’s screen with a lint-free cloth. Dust and lint can cause unevenness on your screen’s surface, resulting in air bubbles beneath the protector. Dampen the corner of a microfiber cleaning cloth (if you don’t have one for screens, try one meant for eyeglasses) with rubbing alcohol and wipe it across the device’s screen to get rid of dust or lint. Then, use the dry end of the cloth to dry the screen thoroughly.[3]
    • If your screen protector came with alcohol pads, you can use one of those too.
    • You can also use individually packaged wipes meant for cleaning screens. Screen wipes are available at many electronics stores.

    Tip: If you’re running a fan or AC unit, turn them off first so dust doesn’t float around.

  3. Step 3 Reapply the screen protector. 3 Reapply the screen protector. Line up the edges of your screen protector with your device so it doesn’t go on crooked. When you’re happy with how the screen protector is positioned, set one edge of it against the screen and slowly press it down into place. The adhesive on the back of the protector will start sticking to the screen immediately.
    • Only touch the edges of the protector to avoid fingerprints on the screen.
    • Put on the screen protector in a humid room, such as a bathroom, to reduce air bubbles.
    • After reapplying the screen protector, use a plastic credit card to seal it tightly against the screen (using the tips outlined below).
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Section 3 of 7:

Removing Air Bubbles with Tape

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  1. Remove excess dust with Scotch tape before applying a protector. Remove excess dust with Scotch tape before applying a protector. This is a simple way to remove dust and lint from your screen, ensuring no bubbles form after you apply a protector. Place a strip of tape across your screen and press down on it lightly so it sticks. Then, slowly lift the tape so it picks up smaller pieces of dust and lint from the screen. Go across the screen this way, overlapping areas you already cleaned, so you don’t miss a spot.[4]
    • Cover your screen entirely with strips of Scotch tape if you want to clean it all at once.
    • Once you’ve cleaned your screen with Scotch tape, you can apply (or reapply, following the steps above) your screen protector—hopefully with zero bubbles.
    • You can also use this technique when reapplying a screen protector to remove bubbles (after removing the protector and before reapplying it).
Section 4 of 7:

Can you remove air bubbles with oil?

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  1. Oil can remove some air bubbles, but use caution. Oil can remove some air bubbles, but use caution. This method works primarily if you have bubbles around the edge of your screen protector. However, be careful not to get any oil inside the device! Just dab a bit of olive or vegetable oil onto a cotton swab, then run the cotton swab along the edges of the protector with air bubbles. This should smooth out the bubbles, perfectly sealing the screen protector shut.[5]
    • If it helps you dab oil onto the cotton swab, pour 1–2  tsp (4.9–9.9 ml) of the oil into a small dish first.
    • When you’re done, press the screen protector down tight against the screen so it adheres firmly, and use a lint-free cloth to wipe away any excess oil that was pushed out.

    Tip: If the air bubbles don't disappear as you apply the oil, slightly lift up the edge of your screen protector with your fingernail or a razor blade so the oil can get underneath.

    2. Advertisement
Section 5 of 7:

How to Properly Apply a Glass Screen Protector

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  1. Step 1 Wash your hands... 1 Wash your hands and the device’s screen. Any dirt, dust, or grease on your hands can transfer to the screen or the bottom side of the screen protector, so wash it all off first! Similarly, make sure there’s no leftover dirt on your device’s screen by the time you’re ready to apply the screen protector. As mentioned above, use rubbing alcohol and a lint-free microfiber cloth to clean (and dry) your device’s screen
  2. Step 2 Align the screen protector, then apply it from the top down. 2 Align the screen protector, then apply it from the top down. Use any openings for the device’s microphone and camera as a guide to help you align the screen protector with the device’s screen. Once it looks like it’s in alignment, apply the screen protector to the screen starting from the top of your device and working your way down.[6]
    • Press down firmly on the screen protector to affix it to the device’s screen to make sure no bubbles form.
  3. Step 3 Push any bubbles to the edge of the protector to remove them. 3 Push any bubbles to the edge of the protector to remove them. Once the screen protector is affixed, check for air bubbles. If you see any, grab a credit card (or applicator tool) and use it to push the bubbles to the edge of the screen until they disappear. As long as you’ve followed the steps above and applied the screen protector correctly, you shouldn’t see any major air bubbles!
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Section 6 of 7:

Keeping Your Screen Protector Bubble-Free

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  1. Air bubbles can appear over time if your screen protector isn’t cared for. Air bubbles can appear over time if your screen protector isn’t cared for. So, to prevent them from forming (especially after you’ve taken the time to smooth them all out during the application process), try not to touch the edges of the protector too much and avoid damaging it too much. Additionally, make time to clean your screen protector regularly.
    • When cleaning the screen protector, you can use rubbing alcohol or screen cleaning wipes.
Section 7 of 7:

What causes screen protector air bubbles?

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  1. Air bubbles can be caused by a few different factors. Air bubbles can be caused by a few different factors. If you try to apply a glass screen protector and notice air bubbles forming during the process, it’s usually because dust, lint, dirt, or similar debris is leaving small gaps between the screen and the protector. Otherwise, air bubbles could be caused by a screen protector that’s the wrong size for your device (or one that was applied incorrectly).
    • A cheap, low-quality screen protector might also simply have a subpar adhesive on it.
    • However, most of the time, you can eliminate air bubbles using the advice above—by cleaning the screen first, aligning the protector properly, and smoothing bubbles out with a credit card.
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Video

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Tips

  • Some screens aren’t perfectly flat, so they may have air bubbles with any screen protector. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
Submit a Tip All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published Name Please provide your name and last initial Submit Thanks for submitting a tip for review! Advertisement

Things You'll Need

  • Lint-free cleaning cloth
  • Rubbing alcohol
  • Scotch tape
  • Credit card (or applicator tool, razor blade)
  • Olive or vegetable oil (optionally)
  • Cotton swab (optionally)

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References

  1. ↑ https://youtu.be/aZwZv7ZebbA?t=146
  2. ↑ https://www.iphonelife.com/content/how-to-get-air-bubbles-out-screen-protector-iphone
  3. ↑ https://www.iphonelife.com/content/how-to-get-air-bubbles-out-screen-protector-iphone
  4. ↑ https://www.iphonelife.com/content/how-to-get-air-bubbles-out-screen-protector-iphone
  5. ↑ https://youtu.be/Q-IVkXrZTmg?t=42
  6. ↑ https://www.iphonelife.com/content/how-to-get-air-bubbles-out-screen-protector-iphone

About This Article

Stan Kats Reviewed by: Stan Kats Professional Technologist This article was reviewed by Stan Kats and by wikiHow staff writer, Glenn Carreau. Stan Kats is a Professional Technologist and the COO and Chief Technologist for The STG IT Consulting Group in West Hollywood, California. Stan provides comprehensive technology solutions to businesses through managed IT services, and for individuals through his consumer service business, Stan's Tech Garage. Stan holds a BA in International Relations from The University of Southern California. He began his career working in the Fortune 500 IT world. Stan founded his companies to offer an enterprise-level of expertise for small businesses and individuals. This article has been viewed 1,028,631 times. How helpful is this? Co-authors: 9 Updated: October 9, 2025 Views: 1,028,631 Categories: Cell Phone Maintenance Article SummaryX

If air bubbles have gotten trapped under your glass screen protector, it may help to remove and reapply the screen protector. Slip a thin object with a sharp edge, such as a credit card, under one of the corners of the screen protector and very carefully lift the corner. Take care not to bend or break the screen protector. Once you’ve removed it, set it aside and wipe the screen clean with a screen wipe or a lint-free microfiber cloth dampened with rubbing alcohol. Dry the screen with a clean, dry microfiber cloth when you’re done. If you still see dust on your screen, remove it with the sticky side of a strip of cellophane tape. Carefully line up the edges of the screen protector with your screen, then reapply it, starting at one edge of the screen and working your way down. If possible, do this in a humid room, such as in your bathroom with the shower running. When you’re done, press down in the center of the screen with the edge of a credit card or another thin, flat object. Push out from the middle of the screen to each of the edges to squeeze out any trapped air. If you notice bubbles around the edges of your screen, lightly dampen the tip of a cotton swab with vegetable oil and wipe the swab along the edge with the bubbles. Squeeze the edge of the screen protector to push the bubbles out, then wipe away the oil with a lint-free cloth or paper towel. Did this summary help you?YesNo

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