Screen burn already?

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AdmanAbou

Member
Sep 7, 2013
29
9
Last night I noticed that my soft keys and notification bar have already started to burn into my phone. I was planning on keeping this phone for years. Is this happening to anyone else? Should I try to get a replacement? It is still a pretty brand new phone.
 

TurboBot247

Senior Member
Dec 3, 2015
101
56
This is pretty normal, actually. The biggest disadvantage with AMOLED-screen phones is that the screens degenerate before you get rid of the phone. My Turbo 2 started getting screen burn-in about 5 months after I purchased it, but I exchanged that one for a new one. The On-screen buttons on an AMOLED display only makes the problem worse; AMOLED-screen phones with capacitive keys will only get burn in at the status bar, in typical conditions. Another thing: since the AMOLED screen is primarily made of a multitude of LEDs, these LEDs are driven very hard when white is displayed on the screen, and the LEDs turn themselves off when black is displayed on the screen, so that contrast between the black bar and the white buttons causes the bar to "reverse burn", where the bar will show colors the way the entire screen did when the phone was new, the other parts of the screen will be darker and dingier than the bar (and the status bar), and the on-screen buttons will be the dingiest part of the screen. Also, by "dingy", I mean the AMOLED, over time, will take a noticeable shift to yellow, where every color will have a yellowish cast, due to the Organic Decomposition of AMOLED screens (they are made of organic material) as well as the fact that the blue subpixels are the first to decompose, because they shine the brightest. The yellow shift over time cannot be changed or reversed. The on-screen keys and bar burn in can be slowed/ counteracted by downloading an app called GMD Immersive, which allows you to put your phone in Fullscreen mode in most situations you are using it. You do have to bring up the on-screen keys when you are using the keyboard, but in most other cases when the screen will be on for extended periods of time, the on-screen keys and black bar will not burn in as quicky and this app is a good thing to use to counteract this. However, the GMD Immersive app also allows you to take the status bar out of view, as well. This is a very good app for any AMOLED-screen phone to counteract the eventual burn-in that you will receive. *Side note* I know this is unrelated to what I just said, but the belief that AMOLED screens are more efficient than LCDs is not always true. It largely depends on the content you put on the screen. An AMOLED screen will be more efficient than the LCD when colors displayed on the screen are darker/closer to black, where the AMOLED's LEDs are not driven as hard or are not turned on at all, whereas the LCD's backlight is still active when displaying dark colors/blacks (It is a good idea to surf the web in invert cors on an AMOLED-screen phone if you want to save a lot of power). An LCD display is more efficient displaying lighter colors/whites, because the AMOLED's LEDs are driven very hard when displaying whites/lighter colors, and are shining brighter and using more power to do so, whereas the LCD's backlight is working no harder to display whites than it is to display darker colors. For my usage, LCDs would be more efficient than AMOLEDs due to the fact that most content I display on-screen is usually white or a lighter color.
 
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Last night I noticed that my soft keys and notification bar have already started to burn into my phone. I was planning on keeping this phone for years. Is this happening to anyone else? Should I try to get a replacement? It is still a pretty brand new phone.
It's usually not permanent, it's more image retention than burn-in. If you're worried about it, just run this program, or one like it regularly-

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.blasterbyte.burn_infix

CRT's and Plasma screens, however, are very prone to burn-in, especially Plasma. Screen Savers help on CRT's, and most newer Plasma displays have tools built-in to help keep the screen free of that. LCD and OLED screens are much less prone to burn-in, it can happen, it's just pretty rare.
 
Last edited:

AdmanAbou

Member
Sep 7, 2013
29
9
It's usually not permanent, it's more image retention than burn-in. If you're worried about it, just run this program, or one like it regularly-

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.blasterbyte.burn_infix

CRT's and Plasma screens, however, are very prone to burn-in, especially Plasma. Screen Savers help on CRT's, and most newer Plasma displays have tools built-in to help keep the screen free of that. LCD and OLED screens are much less prone to burn-in, it can happen, it's just pretty rare.

It is permanent, and running that app for hours and a bit each day didn't fix it. After using another phone for a few minutes, I noticed just how yellow the screen on my Z Force had become in just a month. I'm so sad. I really wanted to love this phone but now I just see yellow sadness.
 
Last edited:

bignazpwns

Senior Member
Oct 27, 2009
426
240
I haven't had any screen burn since my Galaxy S4. And i just checked my Z and nothing. I have about 5 hours of OST a day and have been using this since launch.
 
It is permanent, and running that app for hours and a bit each day didn't fix it. After using another phone for a few minutes, I noticed just how yellow the screen on my Z Force had become in just a month. I'm so sad. I really wanted to love this phone but now I just see yellow sadness.
No, it isn't always permanent.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk
 

TurboBot247

Senior Member
Dec 3, 2015
101
56
It is permanent, and running that app for hours and a bit each day didn't fix it. After using another phone for a few minutes, I noticed just how yellow the screen on my Z Force had become in just a month. I'm so sad. I really wanted to love this phone but now I just see yellow sadness.
What I would do is simply get a replacement Z force, and when u do get your replacement, I would use an app called GMD Immersive (look it up on the play store), which will allow you to slide your on-screen keys in and out of view, and/or your status bar as well. My turbo 2 got burn in after 3 months of using it, but ever since I started using GMD Immersive on my replacement Turbo 2 (the other had battery issues) I have little to no burn in even after 2 1/2 months of use.
 

cpufrost

Senior Member
Feb 26, 2012
1,657
616
Big Country
I know this sounds silly but are you sure you don't have some shift enabled that makes the color temp plummet in the evening?
Since Apple came out with night shift there are people taking their phones in because they are yellow at night! LOL
 

Shah1989

Senior Member
Mar 1, 2016
129
12
London
Really hope mine dosnt get screen burn. Im using the gmd app as suggested but I find the keyboard gets buggy. My Moto XF also got burns after few months. Really hope this isn't the case for this beauty of a phone.
 

trav473

Member
Jun 11, 2009
17
1
Waiting on a warranty replacement from Moto. Had to take pictures showing the burned in images and email them. Going to try the app from day one and hope for the best.

Sent from my XT1650 using XDA-Developers mobile app
 

sonofevil77

Senior Member
Apr 19, 2011
985
227
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
Yup just noticed mine has a highly visible burn. That's just crazy. My 3 year old nexus 6 has no burn at all. I would request a warranty but I do not want a refurbished phone.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk
 

Jesus_Saves

New member
Nov 23, 2017
1
0
Workaround And Alternative Explanation

This is pretty normal, actually. The biggest disadvantage with AMOLED-screen phones is that the screens degenerate before you get rid of the phone. My Turbo 2 started getting screen burn-in about 5 months after I purchased it, but I exchanged that one for a new one. The On-screen buttons on an AMOLED display only makes the problem worse; AMOLED-screen phones with capacitive keys will only get burn in at the status bar, in typical conditions. Another thing: since the AMOLED screen is primarily made of a multitude of LEDs, these LEDs are driven very hard when white is displayed on the screen, and the LEDs turn themselves off when black is displayed on the screen, so that contrast between the black bar and the white buttons causes the bar to "reverse burn", where the bar will show colors the way the entire screen did when the phone was new, the other parts of the screen will be darker and dingier than the bar (and the status bar), and the on-screen buttons will be the dingiest part of the screen. Also, by "dingy", I mean the AMOLED, over time, will take a noticeable shift to yellow, where every color will have a yellowish cast, due to the Organic Decomposition of AMOLED screens (they are made of organic material) as well as the fact that the blue subpixels are the first to decompose, because they shine the brightest. The yellow shift over time cannot be changed or reversed. The on-screen keys and bar burn in can be slowed/ counteracted by downloading an app called GMD Immersive, which allows you to put your phone in Fullscreen mode in most situations you are using it. You do have to bring up the on-screen keys when you are using the keyboard, but in most other cases when the screen will be on for extended periods of time, the on-screen keys and black bar will not burn in as quicky and this app is a good thing to use to counteract this. However, the GMD Immersive app also allows you to take the status bar out of view, as well. This is a very good app for any AMOLED-screen phone to counteract the eventual burn-in that you will receive. *Side note* I know this is unrelated to what I just said, but the belief that AMOLED screens are more efficient than LCDs is not always true. It largely depends on the content you put on the screen. An AMOLED screen will be more efficient than the LCD when colors displayed on the screen are darker/closer to black, where the AMOLED's LEDs are not driven as hard or are not turned on at all, whereas the LCD's backlight is still active when displaying dark colors/blacks (It is a good idea to surf the web in invert cors on an AMOLED-screen phone if you want to save a lot of power). An LCD display is more efficient displaying lighter colors/whites, because the AMOLED's LEDs are driven very hard when displaying whites/lighter colors, and are shining brighter and using more power to do so, whereas the LCD's backlight is working no harder to display whites than it is to display darker colors. For my usage, LCDs would be more efficient than AMOLEDs due to the fact that most content I display on-screen is usually white or a lighter color.

I have/had burn issues with my Moto G4 (IPS LCD Display). The problem is in the pure whites on screen, those are the objects which burn in. Since pure Android Marshmallow or Nougat don't provide a different colour tone setting, I worked around it by downloading a Bluelight Filter app (I recommend Hardy-Infinity's filter). I select the neutral black filter and put the intensity to 11%. that resolves all the burn ins, while used.

It's quite an annoying problem, and the only reason why I refrain from buying anymore pure Android phones, until the OS comes with an integrated screen tone setting.
 

xdabubba14

Member
Dec 28, 2016
23
4
This "issue" is totally normal with an OLED display, and there's really nothing that can be done to stop it, or "correct" it, other than not use the display!

The menu bar will be the most noticeable artifact in the early going, but with years of use you'll see the entire screen, with the exception of the typically-black menu-bar area(!), will no longer be as bright. The whites will be more grayish and the colours will be more muted.

All-in-all, you'll probably never really notice or care about it, but that said, no magical app is going to restore what is a natural, unavoidable, process for these screens.
 

Guyinlaca

Senior Member
Sep 13, 2010
648
407
Google Pixel 6 Pro
Well, a relative of mine got the Z Force for Christmas last year, and the screen had severe burn in and the shattershield was fuzzy from discoloration and hairline scratches. The burn in was so severe that the navigation bar, the notification bar and home screen icons were all visible on solid backgrounds. Fortunately, Verizon replaced it under warranty. I've loved Motorola since the StarTac days and have recommended them to everyone, but seeing the burn in issues on the Z and the lack of innovation in the Z2 Force, I can't recommend them anymore.
 

Fromptious

New member
Feb 5, 2019
1
0
That late reply you weren't expecting..

Last night I noticed that my soft keys and notification bar have already started to burn into my phone. I was planning on keeping this phone for years. Is this happening to anyone else? Should I try to get a replacement? It is still a pretty brand new phone.

Yes, the screen burn issue is real, very real. Among other user + upside down port-a-potty issues constantly popping up.

I had experimental high contrast text on for minimal time but think it likely had more to do with me leaving vibrant colors mode set on for a couple months before I noticed the burn-in of Google emblem and notification bar.. yep, the same notification bar that always is wasting scarce screen space instead of scrolling up and away like on every decent phone on the market.

I enjoyed my Droid X as a more user friendly and functional device than the MOTO Z, which has been an ongoing hate-hate dysfunctional relationship.
 

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    This is pretty normal, actually. The biggest disadvantage with AMOLED-screen phones is that the screens degenerate before you get rid of the phone. My Turbo 2 started getting screen burn-in about 5 months after I purchased it, but I exchanged that one for a new one. The On-screen buttons on an AMOLED display only makes the problem worse; AMOLED-screen phones with capacitive keys will only get burn in at the status bar, in typical conditions. Another thing: since the AMOLED screen is primarily made of a multitude of LEDs, these LEDs are driven very hard when white is displayed on the screen, and the LEDs turn themselves off when black is displayed on the screen, so that contrast between the black bar and the white buttons causes the bar to "reverse burn", where the bar will show colors the way the entire screen did when the phone was new, the other parts of the screen will be darker and dingier than the bar (and the status bar), and the on-screen buttons will be the dingiest part of the screen. Also, by "dingy", I mean the AMOLED, over time, will take a noticeable shift to yellow, where every color will have a yellowish cast, due to the Organic Decomposition of AMOLED screens (they are made of organic material) as well as the fact that the blue subpixels are the first to decompose, because they shine the brightest. The yellow shift over time cannot be changed or reversed. The on-screen keys and bar burn in can be slowed/ counteracted by downloading an app called GMD Immersive, which allows you to put your phone in Fullscreen mode in most situations you are using it. You do have to bring up the on-screen keys when you are using the keyboard, but in most other cases when the screen will be on for extended periods of time, the on-screen keys and black bar will not burn in as quicky and this app is a good thing to use to counteract this. However, the GMD Immersive app also allows you to take the status bar out of view, as well. This is a very good app for any AMOLED-screen phone to counteract the eventual burn-in that you will receive. *Side note* I know this is unrelated to what I just said, but the belief that AMOLED screens are more efficient than LCDs is not always true. It largely depends on the content you put on the screen. An AMOLED screen will be more efficient than the LCD when colors displayed on the screen are darker/closer to black, where the AMOLED's LEDs are not driven as hard or are not turned on at all, whereas the LCD's backlight is still active when displaying dark colors/blacks (It is a good idea to surf the web in invert cors on an AMOLED-screen phone if you want to save a lot of power). An LCD display is more efficient displaying lighter colors/whites, because the AMOLED's LEDs are driven very hard when displaying whites/lighter colors, and are shining brighter and using more power to do so, whereas the LCD's backlight is working no harder to display whites than it is to display darker colors. For my usage, LCDs would be more efficient than AMOLEDs due to the fact that most content I display on-screen is usually white or a lighter color.