Screen Burn-In Test — Check OLED & LCD Displays

Display a uniform gray screen to reveal ghost images from burn-in. Works on phones, monitors, laptops, and TVs — no download required.

100% Free OLED & LCD 5 Gray Levels

Choose a gray level to test, or start the full cycle:

How to use: Click a gray swatch or the Start button to enter full screen. Look carefully for faint ghost images of status bars, keyboards, or app layouts. 50% gray is optimal for detecting burn-in. Press Space or Arrow keys to cycle levels. Press Esc to exit.

What Is Screen Burn-In?

Screen burn-in is a form of permanent image retention where ghost images become etched into the display. It happens when static elements — like a phone’s status bar, navigation buttons, or a news channel’s logo — are displayed in the same position for hundreds or thousands of hours.

On OLED screens, burn-in occurs because each pixel produces its own light using organic compounds. Pixels that display bright, static content degrade faster than surrounding pixels, creating a visible brightness imbalance. The affected area appears as a faint ghost image even when displaying completely different content.

Burn-in is most noticeable on uniform mid-tone backgrounds, which is why gray screens at 40–60% brightness are the most effective way to detect it. The ghost images are often invisible during normal use but become obvious on a solid gray field.

Burn-In Detection Ghost image

OLED vs LCD Burn-In

Not all displays experience burn-in the same way. OLED and LCD panels use fundamentally different technology, which affects whether the damage is permanent or temporary.

OLED LCD
Type Permanent burn-in Temporary image retention
Cause Organic compound degradation from uneven pixel usage Liquid crystal alignment gets temporarily stuck
Reversible? No — damage is permanent Yes — usually fades within hours
Common on Phones, high-end TVs, newer laptops Desktop monitors, budget TVs, older laptops
Time to appear Hundreds of hours of static content Minutes to hours of static content
Fix Lower brightness, use dark mode to reduce visibility Display white screen or varied content for a few hours

How to Prevent Burn-In

Prevention is far more effective than any fix, especially on OLED displays where burn-in is irreversible. These five habits significantly reduce the risk.

Auto-Brightness

Enable adaptive brightness to reduce peak luminance. Lower brightness means slower organic compound degradation on OLED panels.

Screen Timeout

Set your screen timeout to 30 seconds or less. Every minute of unnecessary display time contributes to uneven pixel wear.

Vary Content

Avoid leaving the same app, game, or channel on screen for hours. Rotating content ensures all pixels degrade evenly.

Dark Mode

On OLED screens, dark mode turns off pixels displaying black. This reduces overall pixel wear and dramatically lowers burn-in risk on status bars and navigation elements.

Pixel Shift

Most modern OLED TVs and phones include a built-in pixel shift feature that subtly moves the image by a few pixels at intervals. Make sure it is enabled in your display settings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Screen burn-in is a permanent form of image retention where ghost images become visible on the display. It occurs when static elements — such as a phone’s status bar, a TV channel logo, or a game’s HUD — are displayed in the same position for hundreds of hours. On OLED screens, the organic compounds in heavily used pixels degrade faster than surrounding pixels, creating a visible brightness imbalance. On LCD screens, what appears to be burn-in is usually temporary image retention that fades on its own.

It depends on the display type. On LCD screens, image retention is almost always temporary and will fade within a few hours. Displaying a white screen or running varied content speeds up recovery. On OLED screens, true burn-in is permanent because the organic compounds have physically degraded. You can reduce its visibility by lowering screen brightness and using dark mode, but the underlying damage cannot be reversed. This is why prevention — auto-brightness, screen timeout, dark mode, and pixel shift — is essential for OLED devices.