Wipe with a dry microfiber cloth. Dust and smudges are often mistaken for dead pixels.
Each solid color reveals different defects — a dead pixel is black on every color; a stuck pixel holds one hue.
Press F11 or tap Full Screen — a larger test area catches subtle defects a small preview misses.
Check top-to-bottom, left-to-right across all seven colors before concluding.
Every pixel is driven by its own transistor. When it fails, the pixel goes permanently dark — a black dot that never changes, on any content or color.
White is the easiest test color — even a single dark pixel stands out immediately. For a deeper dive, read what is a dead pixel and dead vs stuck pixel.
| Type | Appearance | Fixable |
|---|---|---|
| Dead pixel | Always black | Rarely |
| Stuck pixel | Fixed color | Sometimes |
A dead pixel is a pixel on a display screen that has permanently stopped functioning. It appears as a small black dot that remains dark regardless of what color the screen is showing, because the transistor powering that pixel has failed.
A dead pixel looks like a tiny, consistently black dot on your screen. It stands out most against white or bright backgrounds. Unlike dust, it does not move when you touch the screen. Use the white and yellow test colors to spot it clearly.
A dead pixel is always black — the transistor is permanently off and the pixel receives no power. A stuck pixel is always colored — red, green, blue, or white — because the transistor is stuck in an on state. Stuck pixels can sometimes be fixed with rapid color cycling; dead pixels generally cannot.
True dead pixels cannot be repaired with software — the underlying transistor has physically failed. Stuck pixels sometimes respond to rapid color cycling using a pixel fix tool. If your pixel is truly dead, your options are a warranty claim or professional panel replacement.
No. Dead pixels do not spread to adjacent pixels. Each pixel has its own independent transistor, so one failure does not affect neighboring pixels. If multiple new dead pixels appear over time, this may indicate a broader hardware issue rather than spread.
It depends on the manufacturer. Most brands follow the ISO 13406-2 standard, under which one or two dead pixels is considered acceptable. However, Dell's Premium Panel Guarantee and LG's OLED zero-defect policy cover even a single dead pixel. Check your brand's specific dead pixel policy before filing a claim.