Burn-in — faint permanent ghosting of icons or the status bar — is common on older OLED phones and a frequent customer complaint. Here’s how to diagnose it and quote the fix.
What burn-in is (and isn’t)
OLED/AMOLED pixels age unevenly; static elements like the navigation bar “burn” a permanent shadow. That’s different from temporary image retention, which fades. If a full-screen color test still shows ghosting, it’s true burn-in.
How to diagnose
Run solid red, green, blue, and grey full-screen images. Burn-in shows as persistent patterns in the same spot regardless of content. Retention will clear after a few minutes of varied content.
The only real fix: replace the display
Burn-in is physical pixel wear — no software fixes it. The repair is a screen replacement. For flagship phones, fit a premium OLED assembly for color accuracy; see the guide on service pack vs aftermarket OLED and our iPhone screen buying guide.
Shops replacing displays at volume can buy wholesale iPhone screens by the batch instead of sourcing one unit at a time.
Order by model
Match the exact model — for example Galaxy S22, Galaxy S21, or iPhone 13. Browse everything on the Repair Parts by Model index.
