Cycle your screen through full-brightness solid colors and scan for dots that don't change. Works on monitors, laptops, phones, and TVs used as displays. Wipe the screen first — most "dead pixels" are dust.
How this test works
An LCD or OLED pixel is three subpixels — red, green, and blue — each driven by its own transistor. Solid full-screen colors are the diagnostic because each one isolates a failure mode: on pure white, every subpixel should be lit, so a dead (unpowered) pixel appears as a sharp black dot; on pure black, everything should be off, so a stuck subpixel glows as a colored point; and the pure red, green, and blue screens tell you exactly which subpixel is at fault. Gray sits in between and catches partial or dim defects that full-brightness colors can mask.
The fixer mode flashes rapid per-block color noise across the screen. The theory is simple: a stuck subpixel usually means a transistor frozen in one state, and forcing thousands of rapid state changes can jolt it loose. Reported success rates are genuinely mixed — it costs nothing to try for ten or twenty minutes, it cannot make anything worse, and if the dot is truly dead (black on white) no amount of flashing will help.
Before concluding anything, clean the screen and look from straight on. Dust reads as slightly soft and gray and never changes with the background; a real defect is pixel-sharp and color-dependent. If you find defects on a new display, photograph them on contrasting backgrounds and check the manufacturer's pixel policy while you're inside the return window — that photo plus this test is usually all a warranty claim needs.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between a dead pixel and a stuck pixel?
A dead pixel receives no power and stays black on every color — you'll see it most clearly on the white screen. A stuck pixel is frozen with one or more subpixels always on, so it shows as a bright red, green, blue, or white dot, most visible on the black screen. Stuck pixels sometimes recover; dead pixels almost never do.
Could that dot just be dust?
Very often, yes. Dust sits on top of the glass and looks slightly soft or gray, stays the same on every color, and moves or disappears when wiped gently with a microfiber cloth. A true pixel defect is perfectly sharp, exactly one pixel-grid in size, and changes appearance with the background color. Clean the screen before judging.
Does the stuck pixel fixer actually work?
Sometimes. Rapidly cycling a stuck subpixel can free a transistor that is frozen in one state, and users report success after runs of 10 minutes to a few hours. It cannot help a genuinely dead pixel, and there is no guarantee — but it is free and safe to try before pursuing a warranty claim.
Can the fixer or the solid colors damage my screen?
No. Solid colors and rapid color changes are normal operations for a display panel. The one caution is OLED screens, where any static image left for many hours contributes to burn-in — so don't leave a solid color parked on an OLED overnight.
How many dead pixels qualify for a warranty replacement?
It varies by manufacturer and panel class. Many follow ISO 9241-307, under which a small number of defects can be considered within spec for consumer panels, while premium or "zero bright dot" lines replace at a single bright defect. Check your manufacturer's pixel policy and run this test within the return window of any new purchase.