LCD DeadPixel Test. This is a simple test designed to make it easier to detect LCD 'dead pixels' (pixels that are either stuck-ON or stuck-OFF) by displaying a series of solid background color pages for contrast. How to test: Put your webbrowser in fullscreen mode (Usually the F11 key); Use Alt+RightArrow to go to the next background page, and Alt+LeftArrow to go back.
A dead or stuck pixel on a TFT, OLED, or LCD screen is incredibly annoying. You can’t help but stare at it for days on end, wondering how long a repair or exchange might take. All that grieve over something as unimportant, yet highly irritating as a “dead” pixel, that might be easy to fix.
Before you run the item back to the store though, try whether you can fix the dead pixel yourself! This, if done carefully, will not hamper your warranty and might save you a lot of time and worries.
So, let’s see how you can possibly fix dead pixels on your screen.
Test New Screens for Stuck or Dead Pixels
Yes, you should test any new LCD, OLED, or TFT screen for dead or stuck pixels. You can simply run your monitor through a palette of basic colors, as well as black and white in full-screen mode. We’ll show you tools to do that below.
Is It a Stuck or Dead Pixel?
So what if you spot an odd pixel? Is what you’re seeing just a stuck pixel or is it, in fact, a dead pixel?
A stuck pixel will appear in any of the colors that its three sub-pixels can form, i.e. red, green, or blue. In a dead pixel, all sub-pixels are permanently off, which will make the pixel appear black.
The cause could be a broken transistor. In rare cases, however, even a black pixel may just be stuck.
So if you’re seeing a colored or white pixel, you might be able to fix it. And if you see a black pixel, chances are low, but there is still hope.
Let’s turn to the methods to fix a stuck pixel.
How to Fix Dead or Stuck Pixels
Unfortunately, you can’t fix a dead pixel. You can, however, fix a stuck pixel. And as I explained above, it’s hard to tell the two apart. Either way, these are the methods you can try:
- First, identify dead or stuck pixels by viewing your monitor in different color palettes.
- To fix a stuck or dead-looking pixel, use a third-party tool to flash the pixel with multiple colors. We recommend UDPixel (Windows) or LCD (online).
- Finally, you can try a manual method that involves rubbing the stuck pixel with a damp cloth or a pointy, but soft item, like the rubber/eraser at the end of a pencil.
Let’s look at these methods and tools in detail.
![Dead Dead](https://static.makeuseof.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/StuckPixel01.png)
1. UDPixel
UDPixel, also known as UndeadPixel, is a Windows tool. It can help you identify and fix pixels using a single tool. The program requires the Microsoft .NET Framework. If you’re not on Windows or don’t want to install any software, scroll down for the online tools below.
With the Dead pixel locator on the left, you can easily detect any screen irregularity that may have escaped your vision until now.
Should you spot a suspicious pixel, switch to the Undead pixel side of things, create sufficient amounts of flash windows (one per stuck pixel) and hit Start. You can drag the tiny flashing windows to where you found odd pixels.
Let them run for a while and eventually change the Flash interval.
2. LCD
LCD is an online tool that lets you find and eventually fix stuck pixels. It packs many options into a single tiny window, but once you have an overview it’s easy to use.
Note: This website requires Flash. If you’re on Chrome, click the Get Adobe Flash Player button and when Chrome asks you to Run Flash, click Allow.
To test your screen, go through all of the colors—green, blue, and red — and check our screen. Additionally, you should check white and black. Press the ? and i button for background information.
Should you discover a stuck pixel, click the Fix My Screen button and let the color flashing graphic run for a minute or two.
By triggering each pixel’s different sub-pixels, the graphic may massage a stuck pixel back into life.
3. Dead Pixel Buddy
The online tool Dead Pixel Buddy can help you run a quick dead pixel test, but it can’t fix an affected pixel.
Dead Pixel Buddy offers 12 colorful tiles to test for dead or stuck pixels. Click one of the tiles to fill the entire browser window with the respective color. Press F11 to go full screen, then cycle through the colors using the left and right arrow keys. When you’ve tested all 12 colors, press F11 again to leave full-screen mode.
If you do find a stuck or dead pixel, use UDPixel (above) or JScreenFix (below); those are tools that can fix a stuck pixel.
![Laptop Laptop](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ldTZVMx3aS8/maxresdefault.jpg)
4. Online Monitor Test
This is a very thorough test not only meant to identify bad pixels but also powerful enough to test the quality of your monitorMonitor Calibration Made Easy With These 5 Online ToolsMonitor Calibration Made Easy With These 5 Online ToolsYou should calibrate your monitor regularly so your screen displays colors correctly. These are the best sites for monitor calibration.Read More.
You can choose between three different modes to test your screen. This tool either requires flash (online version) or you can install it in the executable mode.
What you will need to just test for stuck pixels is the HTML window. Again, you’ll need to allow Chrome to run Flash. Toggle full-screen by hitting F11. Here is what you should see:
Move the mouse to the top of the test window and a menu will appear. There is an info window that you can turn off with a button in the top right corner of the menu. Then click on the Homogenuity test point and move through the three colors as well as black and white.
Fingers crossed you won’t discover anything out of the ordinary. In the unfortunate case that you do, you may find the following online tool helpful.
5. JScreenFix
JScreenFix won’t help you find a stuck pixel, but it can help you fix it. Just click the Launch JScreenFix button at the bottom of the page.
The tool will load a black browser window with a square of flashing pixels. Press the green button in the bottom right to go full-screen. Drag the flashing square to where you found the stuck pixel and leave it there for at least 10 minutes.
Manually Fix Stuck Pixels
Should none of these tools resolve your stuck or dead pixel issue, here is one last chance. You can combine any of the tools and the magic power of your own hands. There is a very good description of all available techniques on wikiHow. Another great step by step guide can be found on Instructables.
But let’s go through one technique real quick:
- Turn off your monitor.
- Get yourself a damp cloth, so that you won’t scratch the screen.
- Apply pressure to the area where the stuck pixel is. Try not to put pressure anywhere else, as this may trigger the creation of more stuck pixels.
- While applying pressure, turn on your computer and screen.
- Remove pressure and the stuck pixel should be gone.
This works because, in a stuck pixel, the liquid in one or more of its sub-pixels has not spread equally. When the backlight of your screen turns on, different amounts of the liquid pass through the pixel, to create the different colors.
All Pixels Report to the Screen
Should all of these approaches fail to fix your dead pixel warrior, at least you’ll now know it’s not simple to fix and the screen may indeed need to be replaced.
Don’t know what to do with your old monitor now or even an old router7 Useful Ways to Reuse an Old Router: Don't Throw It Away!7 Useful Ways to Reuse an Old Router: Don't Throw It Away!Old router cluttering up your drawers? Instead of throwing it away, here's how to repurpose your old router and save some money.Read More tucked away on a shelf? We have some ideas for you!
Explore more about: Computer Maintenance, Computer Monitor, Touchscreen, Troubleshooting.
In my laptop there is a black spot but when I apply pressure on it it's gone and there is something pink in colour which is left out can you tell me it is a dead pixel or or a stuck pixel
I apply pressure on those spots
and then they are gone but after a few days the are backI am like: This can't be true.... Come on.... I have a brand new pixelbook and I was ready to return it but by turning it off and press gently with a cloth while starting it up.... made it actually go away. I can not believe this just happened in front of my eye. And I know it was only one stuck or dead pixel.... You know it looks like a big freaking black blodge on the screen with someone as OCD as me and having paid 1100 dollars for a laptop...
i have a massive stuck pixels on 60% of taskbar portion ... i really don't know what to do .... please help me out .... as i tried your technique but when i put to stuck pixel it spreads there ...
If it helps anyone, I found that gently pushing my finger against the screen a few cm from the stuck pixel sent it away. Pushing on the pixel made it stuck again, and pushing in between made it varying degrees of stuck brightness.
Stuck pixels on my screen are caused by a crack in the pixel layer of the lcd, resulting in vertical, and now even horizontal lines of stuck pixels, the pressure method helped, but did not fix it.
My 2 year old asus laptop got a huge amount of dead pixels on the screen and most of them are thick and horizontal there are two long big scratch-like lines that are just horrific to see with dead pixels spread between them and stuck pixels inside of them it is an eyesore to see even as i am typing this please help me it distracts me when i'm working
Thank you for the article! I was able to fix a stuck pixel by applying pressure with a blunt pencil after all the software fixes failed.
Hi all
Have a question that puzzles my mind.
I realized a dot on my Sony TV in the upper right corner. It´s nor visible in blue, red or black. I really can't find it on red or blue background and if it´s dead shouldent i be able to see it with red and blue background?
Is there any color that's is better to flash with or is a random pattern better to try?
Pressure method worked for me- Thanks so much!
THAT PRESSURE WORKED FOR ME THANKS! NOW I DONT HAVE DISTRACTIONS
pressure worked for me too
how can i upload my screen picture
Worked for me.... Had to press around the dead pixel area and it just disappeared
My screen has white clouds, what is the problem?
me too have of dame types..
Hi! I have a green/ grey bar on the bottom of my iPhone screen. I tried using your method and it wouldn't work :( should l try taking the plastic screen protector off and trying it again? Or apply more pressure
Thanks!
Mine is just one single pixel and it's pink. Not red, blue, green, white or black, but pink. Anyone know why this is?
It didn't work for me. :(
but i try pressing method with jscreen
but a long black line is spread out on the screen
i used eraser method toocan any one tell me proper method
This weekend a horizontal one-pixel white line appeared across my new ASUS laptop-screen. And today a bright red pixel was also visible. I called in for support. They advised I reinstalled my video-drivers. And if that didn't work, reinstall Windows. And as a last resort return it for a new one. As I googled my problem I came across this article. Even if it is many years old, I gave the rubbing-tip plus JScreenFix.com a go. And it worked!
I used my thumb to apply pressure while I ran JScreen in the background for about 30sec. Nothing happened. Darn. So I applied more pressure until I started too see these rainbow-colors pulsating out, still with JScreen in the background. After another 30sec the white horizontal line had disappeared, but the red dot was still visible. After another 30sec the red dot started blinking. And after yet another 30sec of trying out the combined methods it was all gone :-D Restarted Windows. Still gone! Thank you so much for this article :-D
Kind regards,
'From The Future' ;-)
I tried all of the things in this article to no avail but when I saw your comment I tried it. It worked perfectly and now to dot is gone. Thank you so much :D.
Thanks Bro It works,i'm so happy LOL
I have a horizontal white stuck line as well. Where have you applied pressure? To both ends of the stuck line or within the Jscreenfix window?
Regards,
ruzMy white line seemed to appear from the same spot as from where that red pixel originated. So I only needed to apply pressure with JScreen running over that specific spot. I don't know anything about these sort of problems really, so don't take my word for anything. But if you rub your thumb across the white line you might find a point of origin. Somewhere across the line, when pressuring at the right spot, the hole line should start blinking or change color at that point of origin. Then you know you have found it. At least that was the case for me.
Anyway, it seems my ASUS-screen can take quite a lot of pressure, so I soon realized I didn't need to worry at all about pressing my thumb quite hard at that spot. But I guess this might not be the case with all screens, so be cautious in the beginning. After 5-10 seconds after applying hard pressure all the rainbow colors are gone on my screen.
Update: my problem with the red pixel has appeared from time to time the past year. But rubbing it while using JScreen in the background always helps.
Thank you for your great kindness and consideration Steve! Cheers.
Just another technique that helped to me is spraying stucked pixels with cleaning kit for LCDs and then drying it off using massage with a cloth.
If your dead/stuck pixel is brand new(or even a few days old), use a new eraser(since they have sharper corners), and gently press the screen where the stuck pixel is, it has helped me nearly every time!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I tried the JScreenFix for about 20 minutes and saw no result, then decided to try the message method. I wrapped the eraser cap on a pencil with a lens cloth and gently rub the pixel (which is bright green) with the JScreenFix flashing in the background. After about a minute I moved the screen to check and saw the pixel blinking, then disappeared! I cannot believe it! Now I have a perfect monitor!
Hi,
I noticed a splotch of dead pixels in my HP G60 last night. It was a little bigger than the head of a pin with a thin line dropping. Then I started to think it was getting bigger, so I marked where it was with one of the desktop icons. Then I started to watch Dexter, when the episode ended, the line that was dropping was like an inch bigger! So I got mad and turned off the laptop thinking it would prevent more damage. It wasn't that bad, I have a 16' screen, and it was about 1' into de left side, it would probably be on top of the photoshop tools, thus not interfering with the images. But this afteroon I turned it on again to get some stuff I wanted to watch on my other pc and it was even bigger! it's thicker now, and almost 3' long!!! what's wrong? How did this happen? I was reading about it and I haven't heard anyone say they spread like this! it's leaking! And I do not have warranty! it was purchased in another country! I can't return it! I'll yell at HP, but I think i'm screwed anyway. Is there a way to stop it from spreading? turning it off didn't seem to help at all.Help me, please!
thanks!btw, I didn't try to fix it, I did not rub any pixel.
it's just leaking, like ink on a napkin.
and it's definitely dead. I can see the black stain even with the computer off.
i tryed everything i have this little red dot on the bottom right of my lcd and i just took the screen out the box but i do not wanna waist gas going to return it its a emachines monitor do you think i should take it back?
i have a question. i believe i have a stuck pixel. i am trying these repairs as we speak (or type). my new laptop shows a tiny red dot on the screen except white yellow or ofcourse red backgrounds...i think it is confused! any suggestions. im usisn ud right now and i tried jscreen fix and no luck
Try running the screen saver 3-d pipes for a few seconds then click the cancel tab. Goes back to None, or the screen saver you used before...Works for me....
I've found that using a pencil eraser to rub the monitor works pretty well.
wat if its in a game consol screen such as a Nintendo DS ,in the case that i have tho oits always a single pixel that is white.... is it likely its a dead pixel that turned white from the backligh?.....
so unfair...seems to work 4 evry1 else but i cant get rid ov myn....it was ther since i first bought the LCD O_o
I want to try some of these as my nice new 20' iMac has a stuck pixel (stays light blue) whic is very annoying but I can't can't do the 'hands on' method as these computers have a glass cover in front of the LCD. What can I do?
How do I fix the dead pixels on a Sony LCD HDTV? They're blue, you can only see them when the screen is black or dark, I tried UDPixels but didn't worked, help.
I have many dead lines running down my screen. White, blue, green, cyan, red. Tons of them.
i have a unibody macbook and there is something over the lcd screen. you can't touch it as you do with normal lcd's. i need to push very hard to to make liquid move, and after a point, i can't push forward. i've tried the java apps and they didn't work, what shall i do?
I seem to have a confused pixel, it doesn't seem dead (Never lighting up), it doesn't seem stuck (Constantly one colour) but it changes colour depending on what colour background its on.
On a Red background its black, on a white its turquoise, blue is blue, yellow is green... I am really confused and so is the pixel,
Can Anyone help?!
Sounds like a stuck (or dead) red subpixel, a pixel is made of red, green, and blue subpixels. Our eyes contain cones that detect these wavelengths. Yellow is made of red + green.
is there anyway I can fix it other than the above suggestions? I have tried changing the pixels colour at a fast rate and rubbed it gently but nothing
I tried the software (Jscreenfix and UDPixel) several times and it didn't help. I have a brand new toshiba a300. However, when I pressed gently against the affected pixel and turned the screen off and on, the pixel was unstuck. It came back to life! Sometimes it gets stuck again, but with a simple tapping on the screen, it can be repaired!
If someone would have told me that before, i would'nt believe it!!
I have just repaired one (the only) dead pixel on my brandnew monitor.
Only by pressing gently with my fingernail during executing the undeadpixel software.Thanks for the tip!
BertlBertl if u revived a dead pixel i can find a cure for HIV.
If u did revive a 'dead pixel' it was probably a stuck pixel. it also maybe have been dirt, since it was during the software. Just some suggestions, not a dead pixel revived
I have been massaging pixels for years. It has always worked. Stuck pixels always right themselves if pressed firmly enough. You don't need to turn the screen on while doing it. Just get to where you can see it and push -gently at first and move your finger around it to be sure that at some point you hit it properly. You might need to use a finger nail through a cloth for more accuracy. Apply more pressure if you need to, but it usually won't take a lot. Don't be too alarmed at the waves of discoloration at the pressure point. They will disappear when the pressure is released.
Thanks Mystigo, I tried ran UDPixel for over 2 hours trying to get rid of the bright lime green stuck pixel on my lcd tv then I tried what you said and after about 30 seconds of gentle rubbing it disappeared! I'm just so relieved, thanks.
how about some help for the many non-pc devices this happens on, e.g. my ipod
What do you mean
for those really pesky ones, try tapping the screen with your finger
don't rub the LCDs
These techniques are all very practical. I've found that if it can't be fixed with an application or by gently massaging the affected pixel(s), then sometimes you may need to try repeating both processes a few times and be patient. Don't apply too much pressure when touching an LCD and I encourage using a microfiber cloth so you don't scratch it.
Thanks you very much. It's good !
Utilities suggested on this page flashes multiple colors on the screen and can trigger an epilepsy attack. Make sure you or anyone who may be looking at the screen is aware of this before using any of the below utilities.
Determine dead pixel count
There are several programs and services that can help you determine how many bad pixels are on your display. We suggest Dead Pixels Test, an excellent free website with several color patterns that can be used to help locate and identify bad pixels.
Also, a free software utility known as: dead pixel buddy can also be installed and used to help locate dead pixels.
Fixing dead pixels
The small free software utility dead pixel fixer can also be used to fix dead pixels by causing them to become unstuck. The utility works by cycling through each of the RGB colors on the screen or portion of the screen, causing pixels that may be stuck on a single color to become unstuck.
Instructions on using this utility:
- Download the utility. The file is a single .exe file named DeadPixelFixer.exe.
- Once download, run the utility. Use the Minutes scroll bar and move it to five minutes.
- Click the small, medium or large button to determine the size of the window that will be flashing through the RGB colors. If you only have one dead pixel, select small.
- Once the utility is running, move it to the location of the dead pixel.
- After letting it run for five minutes, see if the issue is resolved. If not, let the utility run for a few hours.
Unfortunately, even after running this utility for a few hours, it may not resolve your dead pixel issue. If this does not fix your issues, continue reading for recommendations on what else can be done.
LCD or flat panel with dead pixels
LCDs or flat-panel displays can have internal components fail that, in turn, causes dead pixels. Although most users consider this a defect in the hardware, most manufacturers will not replace the monitor unless it has multiple dead pixels. As a general rule, four or more dead pixels that are at least one-inch away from each other.
If your LCD or flat panel is experiencing dead pixels, refer to your manual or contact the display manufacturer to determine how many dead pixels qualifies for a replacement. If the display meets the requirements for replacement, we suggest you have it replaced.
Dead pixels on CRT monitor
A dead pixel is not a common issue for CRT monitors, but may still occur. When it does, most monitors have an entire row or entire column of pixels to go out. Most monitor manufacturers do not have a policy or warranty for this issue and when this occurs will replace the monitor if in warranty.
Contact the monitor manufacturer for information on their policy and how to get the monitor repaired or serviced.
NoteBecause all manufacturers have different policies regarding dead pixels, Computer Hope cannot tell a user for certain whether or not their display meets the requirements to be replaced.
Additional information
- Additional information about this term can also be found on our dead pixel. definition.