Screen burn on Android devices

[gray2018]

So my device has a bit of screen burn. It's not really bothersome for me much other then the fact that I know it's there.
But, I am assuming it will get worse in the future. When is the time to either fix the screen, or get a new device?

I've seen much worse cases of screen burn. It's one of the unfortunate downsides that I've experienced of buying a device used/refurbished, depending on who you buy it from and who has worked on it, of course.

 

[mustang7757]

If it's not bothering you wait and see when the time comes if it gets worse.

 

[gray2018]

Oh, I'm sure it will. Lol.

 

[Mooncatt]

It's one of the unfortunate downsides that I've experienced of buying a device used/refurbished, depending on who you buy it from and who has worked on it, of course.

It's one of the downsides of OLED in general, as you can still get it pretty easily on new phones.

As for the timing of fixing or replacing the entire phone, that all depends on when it gets to the point of distraction, part availability, your budget, and whether or not you are simply wanting to upgrade anyway.

 

[gray2018]

Well, the phone isn't "new." It was released nearly 5 years ago. So, it would make sense that it might be more partial to getting screen burn.

I'm not entirely sure what I would do. I suppose if I could get the screen replaced at some point for a decent price, I would consider that. I don't really like throwing around money towards new phones like 800, 900 or 1000 dollars personally if I can use a device that's older and still gets the job done.

 

[Mooncatt]

Well, the phone isn't "new." It was released nearly 5 years ago. So, it would make sense that it might be more partial to getting screen burn.

You emphasized that it was an issue more prevalent to used phones, which my point is that it's not the case. My two factory new OLED phones started getting noticable burn in within the first year despite taking all the precautions. I would still happily be using an IPS screen phone if they still made any with higher end specs.

If your phone is 5 years old (relative to initial release date), then it's probably getting long in the tooth anyway, and I would consider upgrading outright.

 

[B. Diddy]

FYI, I moved this from The Android Central Lounge (which is intended more for casual non-tech related chatting) to the General Help forum.

 

[gray2018]

It has been in my scenario. I have purchased three devices in the past three years that were used. All of them within less of a years time all had screen burn.

Now, it's funny, any device I've had that I've bought new or actually certified refurbished did not have this problem. Or, should I say, they didn't have this problem within such a small time frame. It took two plus years for any noticeable burn to develop. When I bought a Note 9 from Swappa in 2022, it literally had screen burn one month later. A month.

You can't tell me there isn't some kind of correlation there. Whatever it is, I'm unsure.

Also, I haven't had the device for 5 years. I've only had it since last year. But it was released 5 years ago.

 

[Laura Knotek]

Now, it's funny, any device I've had that I've bought new or actually certified refurbished did not have this problem. Or, should I say, they didn't have this problem within such a small time frame. It took two plus years for any noticeable burn to develop. When I bought a Note 9 from Swappa in 2022, it literally had screen burn one month later. A month.

You can't tell me there isn't some kind of correlation there. Whatever it is, I'm unsure.

I think you just answered your own question. That's the result of buying used devices that aren't certified refurbished. You're getting somebody else's defective devices that they wanted to get rid of.

 

[gray2018]

I suppose this makes sense. I was thrilled to get my Note 20 Ultra last year for only around 330 bucks. Just a bummer that not even a year later it has screen burn.

Like Mustang said, though, I suppose I could just wait and see what happens and see if it gets any worse.

 

[B. Diddy]

Burn-in can also have a lot to do with a user's screen habits. Make sure the display is set to time out after a relatively short period (like 30 seconds to 1 minute), rather than a long period like 5 minutes.

 

[Laura Knotek]

Burn-in can also have a lot to do with a user's screen habits. Make sure the display is set to time out after a relatively short period (like 30 seconds to 1 minute), rather than a long period like 5 minutes.

I've always set mine to 30 seconds.

 

[mustang7757]

I've always set mine to 30 seconds.

Mines set at 1 minute

 

[gray2018]

I'm not sure what mine is set to. But generally, when I'm not using the screen, I have it black anyways.
My son, though, can watch youtube videos for hours on end at full brightness. This is where I got the screen burn from.

And like Mooncatt suggested, it seems to be more likely to happen when you have a device that isn't previously refurbished/used and certified. This is the last purchase I will make of buying Amazon renewed and devices that aren't sold as such. I've been burned (literally) too many times.

 

[Laura Knotek]

I'm not sure what mine is set to. But generally, when I'm not using the screen, I have it black anyways.
My son, though, can watch youtube videos for hours on end at full brightness. This is where I got the screen burn from.

And like Mooncatt suggested, it seems to be more likely to happen when you have a device that isn't previously refurbished/used and certified. This is the last purchase I will make of buying Amazon renewed and devices that aren't sold as such. I've been burned (literally) too many times.

YouTube videos shouldn't cause screen burn because the images aren't static when watching videos. I watch videos (YouTube, Netflix, and Hulu) regularly but haven't experienced screen burn.

 

[gray2018]

Well, something did. And when I look at the screen burn where the lines are at, it lines up exactly where youtube would be playing.

 

[Mooncatt]

And like Mooncatt suggested, it seems to be more likely to happen when you have a device that isn't previously refurbished/used and certified. This is the last purchase I will make of buying Amazon renewed and devices that aren't sold as such. I've been burned (literally) too many times.

I think that was Laura that said that, because I was relating my experience with new phones still being prone to it.

As for the YouTube related burn in, that does happen, and had started to become noticable on mine (in addition to the notification and navigation bars). A lot of phones have a more narrow aspect ratio, so a regular 16x9 video will have black bars on the sides, or top and bottom in portrait mode. That's actually one of the reasons I dislike these non-standard formats. Watching a lot of videos in full screen will cause the center to dim quicker even though it's moving images.

 

[gray2018]

Ah, yes. My apologies. It was her.

 

[B. Diddy]

YouTube videos shouldn't cause screen burn because the images aren't static when watching videos. I watch videos (YouTube, Netflix, and Hulu) regularly but haven't experienced screen burn.

If the user isn't habitually changing to fullscreen, that could cause burn-in (i.e. from the typical YouTube interface under the video that's playing).

 

[spARTacus]

I didn't think burn in was even possible anymore, with the manufacturers also incorporating "slight screen saver features" like periodically shifting things over by a pixel here and there as required.

So screen burn in is still an issue? I have my phone setup for screen always on at night, lock screen clock (orange/red font colour and very dim brightness, I think 2%) as part of a "bedtime mode", for essentially a bedside clock. Anyone know if that has risk of burn in? This was never an issue for my old Blackberry Z10 as a bedside clock.