Screen burn
Screen burn-in is a permanent ghost of something that sat still on the screen for a long time — the navigation bar, the keyboard, a game HUD, a clock.
Test it now
Open the burn-in test: full-screen grey (50%) shows ghosts more clearly than any other colour. If you can read the keyboard or the navigation bar in the grey, that is burn-in or retention. Leave the screen off for an hour and test again — retention fades, burn-in stays.
What it is
Screen burn-in is a permanent ghost of something that sat still on the screen for a long time — the navigation bar, the keyboard, a game HUD, a clock. On LCD screens it is rare and it is usually image retention: the liquid crystal holds the last image for a while and then lets go. On OLED and AMOLED screens (most phones since 2018) the pixels that showed a bright static element have aged faster than their neighbours, so they are dimmer for good. Image retention looks the same but fades in minutes to hours; burn-in does not fade at all.
Can it be fixed?
Burn-in: no. Nothing recovers aged OLED pixels; "burn-in fixer" apps only age the rest of the screen to match. Image retention: yes, by itself — turn the screen off for a few hours, or run the colour cycle on the test page. Prevention is the only fix: auto-hide the navigation bar, lower brightness, shorter screen timeout, dark mode.
What to do
- Burn-in test, full-screen grey; photograph.
- Screen off for an hour, test again: gone = retention.
- Still there: burn-in. Check warranty — a few makers replace within the first year for severe burn-in.
- Prevent more: gesture navigation, dark mode, brightness under 70%, 30-second timeout.
What a repair costs
| United States | Phone display $80–380; laptop panel $100–300; monitor panel from $150 (often more than a new monitor) |
|---|---|
| India | Phone display ₹2,000–20,000; laptop panel ₹3,000–15,000; monitor panel ₹4,000–10,000 (a new monitor is often the better buy) |
Typical ranges from repair-shop and manufacturer price lists, 2026-09-06. Get two quotes; prices vary by model and city.
Warranty
Most makers replace a panel under warranty for physical panel faults that are not accidental damage; pressure marks, cracks and liquid damage are treated as accidental and are not covered. For dead pixels, each brand has a threshold (typically 3–5 bright or 5–8 dark pixels on a laptop; Dell's premium-panel guarantee replaces at one bright pixel).
Burn-in, image retention and shadows are three different things
People use "screen burn" for all three, and only one of them is permanent.
Image retention is a faint ghost of something recently displayed that fades on its own within minutes or hours. Common on LCDs, harmless, no action needed.
Burn-in is permanent uneven wear of OLED pixels. Pixels that displayed a bright static element — a navigation bar, a status bar, a game HUD, a channel logo — age faster and stay dimmer. It does not fade and it cannot be repaired.
A dark shadow or blotch that was never a static image is not burn at all: it is pressure damage, heat damage or a backlight fault, and it belongs on a different page.
The test: leave the screen showing a solid mid-grey at high brightness for an hour. If the ghost fades, it was retention. If it is still there, it is burn-in.
Why OLED burns and LCD does not
An OLED pixel makes its own light by passing current through an organic compound that degrades as it works. Show the same bright element in the same place for hundreds of hours and those pixels dim relative to their neighbours. Blue subpixels degrade fastest, which is why burn-in often shows as a warm or yellowish ghost.
An LCD has a single backlight behind everything, so its pixels do not wear individually. LCDs can show temporary retention, and their backlights can age unevenly, but they do not burn in the OLED sense. If your laptop or monitor has an LCD panel — most do — a permanent ghost is almost certainly something other than burn.
How to check properly
Display a solid mid-grey image full screen at high brightness in a dark room, then step through solid red, green and blue. Burn-in shows as darker patches shaped like whatever caused it — a status bar across the top, a keyboard outline, a game interface. It is usually clearest on grey and on the colour whose subpixel has worn.
Do this before assuming: dirt, a screen protector mark and a pressure mark all get mistaken for burn, and all three look different on this test.
Can burn-in be removed?
No, and it is worth saying plainly because a great deal of advice online implies otherwise.
Pixel-refresher tools and "burn-in fixer" videos cycle colours rapidly. They can clear genuine image retention, which was going to fade anyway. They do nothing for real burn-in, because the pixels are physically worn.
Television panel-refresh cycles — a feature on many OLED TVs — even out brightness across the panel and can reduce mild uneven wear. They cannot restore worn pixels.
The honest position: mild burn-in can be made less noticeable, never removed. Severe burn-in needs a new panel.
How to stop it getting worse
Every one of these slows OLED wear and none of them costs anything.
Lower the brightness — wear is roughly proportional to it. Use dark mode, which turns most pixels off entirely on OLED. Turn on auto-hide for navigation and status bars. Set a short screen timeout. Avoid leaving a static image on screen for hours: a paused video, a spreadsheet, a dashboard, a game menu. On a television, avoid leaving a news channel with a permanent logo running all day.
Warranty
Most makers treat burn-in as wear rather than a defect, and exclude it. Some phone makers have replaced panels with severe burn-in inside the warranty period, particularly where it appeared unusually early. It is worth asking, with a photograph of a grey screen showing the ghost and a note of how old the device is — but expect the default answer to be no.
A dark patch that is not the shape of anything you displayed is a different matter. That is pressure or heat damage, or a backlight fault, and it is assessed under different rules.
What a repair costs
United States: Phone display $80–380; laptop panel $100–300; monitor panel from $150 (often more than a new monitor)
India: Phone display ₹2,000–20,000; laptop panel ₹3,000–15,000; monitor panel ₹4,000–10,000 (a new monitor is often the better buy)
Warranty
Most makers replace a panel under warranty for physical panel faults that are not accidental damage; pressure marks, cracks and liquid damage are treated as accidental and are not covered. For dead pixels, each brand has a threshold (typically 3–5 bright or 5–8 dark pixels on a laptop; Dell's premium-panel guarantee replaces at one bright pixel).
Frequently asked questions
Is screen burn permanent?
Real burn-in is permanent — the OLED pixels are physically worn. Image retention, a ghost that fades within minutes or hours, is temporary and harmless. Show a solid grey screen for an hour: if the ghost fades it was retention, if it stays it is burn-in.
Can screen burn be fixed?
No. Pixel refreshers and burn-in fixer videos clear image retention, which was going to fade anyway, and do nothing for real burn-in. A television panel-refresh cycle can even out mild uneven wear but cannot restore worn pixels. Severe burn-in needs a new panel.
Do LCD screens get burn-in?
Not in the OLED sense. LCD pixels share one backlight and do not wear individually. LCDs show temporary image retention, and backlights age unevenly, but a permanent ghost on an LCD is usually pressure damage, heat damage or a backlight fault instead.
How do I stop burn-in getting worse?
Lower the brightness, use dark mode, auto-hide navigation and status bars, shorten the screen timeout, and avoid leaving static images on screen for hours. Wear is roughly proportional to brightness and to how long a bright element stays in one place.
Is screen burn covered by warranty?
Usually not — most makers treat it as wear rather than a defect. Some have replaced panels where severe burn-in appeared unusually early. Ask, with a photograph of the ghost on a grey screen, but expect no by default.
Related
Also free on Toolsitz: Screen Test Tool — no login.