What is OLED Screen Burn-in?
OLED burn-in is a permanent defect where a faint "ghost" image remains on your screen even when you are looking at something else. It happens when static UI elements—like the battery icon, time, TikTok buttons, or your keyboard—are displayed at high brightness for hundreds of hours.
How to spot burn-in
Burn-in is notoriously difficult to see on colorful images or pure white/black screens. The absolute best way to detect it is by looking at solid dark gray backgrounds (like 5% or 10% gray). This forces all the sub-pixels to light up dimly, instantly revealing areas where the pixels have degraded unevenly.
Look closely at these areas during the test:
- Top edge: Battery icon, WiFi signal, and time.
- Bottom edge: The navigation bar pill or back button.
- Bottom half: Ghosting of your phone's keyboard.
- Right side: TikTok or Instagram heart/share buttons.
Can you fix permanent burn-in?
Unfortunately, no. True OLED burn-in is physical degradation of the organic pixels. Unlike "image retention" (which fades after a few minutes), permanent burn-in cannot be fixed by software or flashing colors. The only solution is replacing the display panel.
Selling a phone with burn-in?
Phones with severe burn-in lose significant resale value. Consider trading it in via official programs that accept damaged screens.
Shop Refurbished Replacements on AmazonFrequently asked questions
What is OLED burn-in?
Burn-in is permanent, uneven wear of OLED pixels. Areas that show the same bright image for hundreds of hours, like the status bar, navigation buttons or a keyboard, age faster than the rest of the screen. You then see a faint ghost of that image, especially on gray or single-color backgrounds.
Is burn-in the same as image retention?
No. Image retention is a temporary ghost that fades within minutes after the image changes. Burn-in stays no matter what is displayed and does not fade after rebooting or leaving the phone off.
Can burn-in be fixed?
True burn-in cannot be reversed. "Burn-in fixer" videos and apps may make faint image retention less noticeable, but the only real fix for permanent burn-in is replacing the display.
How do I prevent burn-in on my iPhone or Galaxy?
Use dark mode, keep brightness on automatic, set a short screen timeout (30 seconds to 1 minute), avoid leaving static apps like maps or games on screen at full brightness for hours, and use gesture navigation instead of a fixed navigation bar.
Do LCD screens get burn-in?
LCD screens very rarely suffer permanent burn-in, but they can show temporary image retention and backlight bleed, a glow around the edges on dark screens. Many budget phones and older iPhones such as the iPhone 11 and SE use LCD panels.