Screen Burn-In Test
Fill your screen with solid greys, colours and a gradient to look for the faint ghosts of status bars, navigation buttons and keyboards that burn-in leaves behind.
How to use
- 1Turn screen brightness up to about the level you normally use, or a bit higher.
- 2Clean the screen so smudges and dust aren't mistaken for marks.
- 3Tap Start test to go full-screen. It opens on mid grey, the best colour for spotting burn-in.
- 4Tap the screen or press the arrow keys to cycle through dark grey, light grey, white, black, red, green, blue and the grey gradient.
- 5Look along the top (status bar), the bottom (navigation bar and keyboard) and anywhere an app shows fixed buttons.
- 6Tap Exit or press Esc when you're done.
What screen burn-in actually is
Burn-in is permanent, uneven wear on a display. On OLED and AMOLED screens each pixel makes its own light, and the materials that produce it slowly lose brightness the more they are used. If the same bright shapes sit in the same place for hundreds of hours — the status bar, the navigation buttons, the keyboard, an app's toolbar — those pixels wear faster than their neighbours. The result is a faint, fixed outline that stays visible whatever is on screen.
Because it's physical wear, burn-in shows up most clearly on flat, even colours. That's why a full-screen grey test is the standard way to check: on a busy photo or webpage your eyes simply don't notice the difference.
Burn-in vs image retention vs dead pixels
Temporary image retention
A ghost of the last thing you looked at that fades within seconds or minutes. It's common after showing a static, high-contrast image for a while and isn't damage. If a mark disappears after you use the phone normally for a bit, it was retention, not burn-in.
Permanent burn-in
A ghost that's still there after a restart, after a day of normal use, and in the same place every time. It usually matches something you see constantly — the clock and battery icons, the three Android navigation buttons, a gesture bar, or the outline of a keyboard.
Dead and stuck pixels
Single dots rather than shapes. A dead pixel stays black on every colour; a stuck pixel stays one colour. Our Dead Pixel Test is designed for those.
How to read each test screen
- Mid grey and dark grey: the most sensitive screens for burn-in. Look for slightly darker or tinted bands at the top and bottom, or a keyboard-shaped patch.
- Light grey and white: burn-in often appears as a faint yellowish, pinkish or darker shape against the white.
- Red, green and blue: some burn-in only shows on one colour, because the red, green and blue sub-pixels wear at different rates.
- Grey gradient: a smooth left-to-right gradient makes uneven brightness and banding easier to see than a flat fill.
- Black: OLED screens should look completely black. Bright dots point to stuck pixels rather than burn-in.
Which screens get burn-in
OLED and AMOLED panels — used in most recent flagship phones and many mid-range ones — are the type most prone to burn-in, because every pixel ages individually. Phones that have spent years on high brightness with the same layout, such as ex-display models, phones used for navigation or ride-share apps, or phones running one app all day, are the most likely to show it.
LCD screens use a shared backlight, so they don't burn in the same way. They can show temporary image retention, backlight bleed and uneven brightness, which the black and grey screens will also reveal. If you're not sure which panel your phone has, check its official spec sheet.
How to reduce the risk of burn-in
- Use dark mode where you can. Darker pixels emit less light, so they wear more slowly.
- Lower brightness, or let adaptive or automatic brightness manage it instead of keeping it at maximum.
- Switch to gesture navigation or hide the navigation bar if your phone offers it, so three fixed buttons aren't on screen all day.
- Set a short screen timeout so the display isn't left on showing a static screen.
- Avoid leaving navigation, video-game HUDs or other fixed layouts on screen for hours at full brightness.
- Change your wallpaper and keyboard theme now and then, and keep an always-on display dim if you use one.
Can burn-in be fixed?
Honestly, no — not by a website or an app. Permanent burn-in is uneven wear in the panel itself. This test only shows you whether it's there. Videos and apps sold as "burn-in fixers" flash colours across the screen; they may help temporary image retention fade, but they can't restore pixels that have already lost brightness. Running them for hours at full brightness simply adds more wear to the whole screen.
If the burn-in bothers you, the real fix is a screen replacement. If the phone is new or still under warranty, check what your manufacturer or retailer covers before paying for a repair, and if you're buying second-hand, run this test before you hand over any money.
Helpful products
Affiliate links — we may earn a commission.
- Microfibre screen cleaning kit
Clean the screen first so smudges aren't mistaken for burn-in.
- Tempered glass screen protector
Protects a new or replacement screen from scratches and cracks.
- Phone screen replacement kit
Permanent burn-in is only fixed by replacing the display; a repair shop is the safer route for most people.
Frequently asked questions
What colour is best for a burn-in test?
Mid grey or dark grey. Burn-in is a small difference in brightness, and even greys make it easiest to see. Then check white and the red, green and blue screens.
How do I tell burn-in from image retention?
Restart the phone and use it normally for a while, then test again. Image retention fades; burn-in stays in exactly the same place.
Can this test fix burn-in?
No. It only displays solid colours so you can see the problem. No website or app can repair permanent burn-in.
Do LCD screens get burn-in?
Not in the same way as OLED. LCDs can show temporary image retention and backlight problems, but the permanent per-pixel wear described here is mainly an OLED and AMOLED issue.
Is this a good screen burn test for Samsung phones?
Yes. It works in any modern browser, including Samsung Internet and Chrome on Galaxy phones, as well as iPhone and other Android phones.
Do burn-in fixer videos work?
They may help short-term image retention fade, but they don't repair permanent burn-in, and long runs at high brightness add wear to the rest of the screen.
Why doesn't the test go fully full-screen on my iPhone?
iPhone browsers limit the Fullscreen API. The test still fills the browser window; scroll or rotate to hide the toolbars, and remember the edges near them still matter.
Does running this test harm my screen?
No. It shows solid colours for as long as you look at them, just like any image.
Related tools
Dead Pixel & Screen Test
Cycle full-screen colours to spot dead, stuck or discoloured pixels.
Touch Screen Test
Swipe over a full-screen grid to find unresponsive areas and count touch points.
Speaker & Stereo Test
Play sound from the left, right or both speakers and check frequency response.