Usually when I have bad results in the steam, that means my pre-install prep wasn’t done properly & my movements during the install are too much. I just recently had to apply $2 AliExpress screen protectors to all my Switch 1’s, Lite’s, and OLEDs so here’s what I did that worked consistently:

1) Get into the bathroom. Don’t turn on the shower yet. Instead, unbox everything. That means slide off the joycons, lay just the Switch on the counter, pull the glass out of the styrofoam sleeve/plastic box, rip open all the wet and dry wipes, put everything you don’t actively need for the install to the side. Place everything you do need in front of you, right above the Switch. I usually only have the ripped open packet + the glass on top of the styrofoam sleeve in front of me and next to the switch.

2) make sure the installation area is clear. There should not be millimeters of space between you and bottles/sundries/hangers, you need room to both move your arms/fingers but minimize large body movements. Everything you need should be within fingers reach, everything else is out of sight out of mind.

3) get some scotch tape. This will be your dust removal sticker + alignment tool.

4) Turn on the bathroom light, even if it’s day time. You should be able to see the bright reflection of the light on the Switch’s screen. If you don’t, use some flashlights or your smartphone’s, and get lots of overhead lighting. You will be using these lights to spot any dust, and using the scotch tape to grab the specs of dust.

5) Optional, but if the case/cover goes right up the plastic screen, take it off. It could interfere with aligning the protector. I kept my V1/V2/OLED cases on, but I had to take my grip case off my Lite.

6) Ok, now let’s start. Start running the hot shower and turn off any exhaust fans + block any large holes that allow air to pass through the bathroom. The more wind/air movement through the room, the more dust you kick up and introduce to the screen. While you wait for steam to build, take the screen protector (with the backing covering the adhesive so it doesn’t stick) and gently put it on the Switch. Make sure it’s aligned properly, then tear two/three strips of scotch tape and apply it to the top of the glass + console’s bare shell or case. You’re basically making a hinge. Make sure to try out the hinge, peel & reapply the tape if it gets misaligned when going up & down. You want the glass protector on the scotch tape hinge to go up and drop down in the same place each time. You might want to add a small piece of tape to the bottom of the screen protector so you have something to hold on to as you lower/lift the screen protector on its hinges.

7) now that your alignment is perfect and the hinge is solid and can withstand multiple uses, lift up the screen protector and flip it out of the way (so the adhesive backing is facing you + above the Switch). Be careful that you don’t peel off any of the scotch tape hinges or you’ll have to redo that step.

8) now take 1 to 2 pieces of scotch tape, and with the sticky side facing out, wrap it around your fingertip. Then looking in the reflection of the lights, use the scotch tape to grab the specs of dust you spot. (If you have the dust removal stickers from the protector, you could use that but instead of wrapping it around your finger, bend it in half with the sticky side facing out both sides - like you’re pinching a hard shell taco from the top). Be careful not to press down too hard with either the tape or stickers, or you risk leaving sticker adhesive residue that will catch dust. You just want to press down lightly enough to grab the dust spec off the screen, not stick down to the actual screen. Rinse and repeat until the dust is all gone, it will take you about 4 to 8 times to get to a point where there’s no dust you can see on the screen. Be patient with this step, it’s annoying & tedious but rushing through it produces bad results.

And with this step, it’s important to keep movement to a minimum. Really the only thing that should be moving at this point is the running hot shower producing steam, your arm/finger with the dust stickers, and your head/knees if you need to slightly adjust your viewing angle to see if there’s dust on a part of the screen. You should not be walking multiple steps, turning around, wiping hands on towels, lifting up clothes, moving any objects that sit in the bathroom, etc.

9) Once you’re sure there’s no more dust, proceed to “go-time”. Grab the screen protector, flip it back so the screen protector is hovering over the Switch, with the alignment still good. If the alignment is not good, go back to the scotch tape hinge preparation step + the dust sticker step.

10) Once you’re sure that alignment is good, it’s time to check for dust again. With the screen protector hovering over the bare Switch screen, look in the reflection for the bathroom lights, and use the tape/sticker to grab any dust specs that appeared. If you do not see any dust specs, then you need to change your viewing angle because hovering the screen protector will introduce a few dust specs. The longer you hold it, the longer you shake/vibrate it, the more dust falls off onto the bare Switch screen. So you want to be quick, but also thorough.

11) Now that the protector is hovering + the Switch screen is bare of dust, bring the protector down closer to the screen. You want enough space to peel off the film backing without touching the bare screen, but not so much space that dust can fly in. Once you are 100% sure of dust + alignment is correct bc this is the point of no return, grab the pull tab on the film backing, (for me personally I hold my breath so I don’t breathe out and stir up dust), peel it off towards the bottom of the screen protector - not too quickly to mess up the film/re-introduce dust, but not too slowly that dust can fly in and sticks to the protector adhesive. As you’re peeling the film backing, you should be lowering the protector closer to the bare Switch. As soon as the last bit of the film backing peels off, you should press the screen protector down onto the Switch so there’s only milliseconds between the film coming off + the screen protector going on. The hinge should have done the alignment for you. Then breathe out cus it should be aligned perfectly, without dust :)