You find that something is wrong with the monitor of your favorite computer, laptop, smartphone, TV or tablet. Namely, one or several white, green, red or blue dots appeared. What is it? You see broken pixels. The problem is small, but still unpleasant. Even a couple of such points are not happy, especially if the screen is small. The way out of the situation is the restoration of dead pixels with the help of certain programs or mechanical. How exactly to "cure" the screen, we will share with you further.
A bit about pixels
Before we begin to analyze the recovery of broken pixels, we will figure out what it is. First, the basic concept. A pixel is a small part that makes up an image on a liquid crystal screen. It consists of three components (subpixels) of red, green and blue.
Bad pixels come in two forms:
- Broken (hot, stuck). One or two subpixels are defective. What does a broken pixel look like? A dot can glow red, green, turquoise, yellow, magenta, or blue. It may look black on some images. Less often, all three subpixels do not work, then the square glows white. Recovery of dead pixels is possible!
- The dead. This is a kind of defective pixels, which, unfortunately, can no longer be restored. Dots do not burn in any color; they look black on any background. The solution is to replace the screen.
Reasons for the appearance
What causes dead pixels on the screen? Experts believe that the root of their appearance - in the technology of manufacturing matrices for LCD screens. The pixel is small and unstable, so any defect in production can lead to its inoperability in the future. The reason may be accidental ingress of dust, exposure to the substrate with crystals - washing, heating, lithography.
Hence, no microprocessor technology can guarantee the release of completely non-rejected crystals. We can say that absolutely free from poor-quality pixels matrices do not exist. One or two broken pixels is the norm for almost any screen. A problem is considered when their number continues to increase.
The appearance of dead pixels on the monitor may provoke the following:
- Excessive heating of the device.
- Excessive cooling of the device.
- Being close to powerful sources of electromagnetic fields.
- Physical effects on the screen - blows, tapping, falling, pressing, etc.
Sites to check
How to check your monitor for broken pixels? The easiest way is to go to a specialized site, which can be found by a search engine by request. All resources of this type act in the same way: the screen is filled with a certain color, a group of shades, gradients, which easily allow you to find a faulty pixel on the monitor.
Let's share examples of such sites:
- Monteon.ru. The advantage of the resource is that the check is available both for computers, and for smartphones, tablets. You need to go to the resource, click on the "Start" button. The screen is covered with 7 color bars. Using the arrows, you can change their position to search for dead pixels. There is one drawback: the lower part of the window is used under the menu, so it is impossible to find broken pixels using the site.
- Tft.vanity.dk. This site is more convenient than the previous one, since the menu in it pops up. It contains a large number of images that help to detect broken pixels.
- Video on YouTube. On a popular video hosting, users uploaded a lot of video files to search for dead pixels. You only need to turn on the video and expand the full-screen view.
Programs for checking
How to check for broken pixels TV, computer? We suggest using the following testing programs:
- IsMyLcdOk. Easy to use utility that does not require installation. You only need to download and run it. A hotkey menu will appear in the window, which will explain how to control the color change on the screen to find bad pixels.
- DPT The utility starts from the official site. Here you can change the colors by scrolling the mouse wheel, or by putting their change on the self-timer. It is possible to play with the color scheme for a better search for faulty points.
Recovery on TV: method number 1
We pass to actions. How is the recovery of dead pixels on the TV? The first way is a massage! That is, the physical effect on the faulty pixel:
- Turn off the TV.
- Take a soft cotton swab and gently punch a few times in the area of the broken pixel.
- After a couple of minutes, turn on the TV to check.
- If the procedure did not bring a satisfactory effect, you can repeat it several times.
Remember that the display is extremely fragile, so sharp, piercing or scratching parts should not be used for a “massage”.
Recovery on TV: method number 2
Safer Pixel Recovery on TV - Remote. That is, using specialized applications. One of the most popular is JScreenFix. The developers claim that this utility helps to cope with the problem after half an hour of exposure. If the first procedure has not had an effect, then it is worth repeating it several times every four hours.
Recovery on TV: method number 3
What is the easiest way to recover broken pixels on a TV? This is the delivery of the device for warranty repair or writing an application for its replacement.
Is it possible? Not everyone knows, but even such a small defect (one faulty box on the monitor) is already a reason for warranty service or replacing the device with a working one.
Computer recovery
The "treatment" of dead pixels on computers and laptops also occurs in two ways: mechanical and software. How do utilities help? The program quickly changes the colors of adjacent pixels. This process leads to the fact that more energy comes to the damaged subpixels, as a result of which they "come to life".
As practice shows, programs are effective in 50-90% of cases. However, not always helping a defective pixel is obtained the first time. You need to experiment with the application’s runtime and color change speed to achieve the fastest effect.
It is not necessary to assume that "treatment" will help once and for all. The problem may come back, especially in hot weather. Then the restoration of dead pixels on the monitor will have to be repeated.
Below we will present the most popular programs for "treatment".
Undeadpixel
Experts advise not using a portable variation, but a version for installation. After starting, the program will prompt you to check the screen for broken pixels. The monitor will be completely filled with blue, red, yellow, white, black colors. If you know the location of the dead pixels, then you can skip the step.
UndeadPixel is a special square in which colors alternate quickly. It should be moved with the cursor to the problem place - where the broken pixel is detected. The number of squares, their sizes, speed of color change can be adjusted in the program menu.
Has the problem pixel flickered? You are close to solving the problem. Otherwise, increase the speed of the change of pictures, leave the square to work for a long time. Maximum - 10 hours. If this does not help, then there is no point in waiting longer.
Jscreenfix
Pixel recovery on the monitor is successfully obtained through this free virtual service. Its advantage is that it is available on any device with Internet access - not only on a PC and laptop, but also on a smartphone, TV, e-book or tablet.
JScreenFix operates similarly to the previous program. There is only one difference - recovery parameters (frame rate, impact size) cannot be adjusted here independently. In addition, during the "treatment" JScreenFix will not work with the device. If the problem does not enter the browser window, then the service can be expanded to full screen.
The creators of JScreenFix also recommend periodically launching their product to prevent problems.
Bad crystal
On the official website you can download both the "advanced" paid version and the free one, available within 30 days after download. However, if you search well on the Internet, you can find a fully-functional free Bad Crystal.
Recovery of dead pixels on the monitor begins with the choice of device for the "treatment" - you need to know the screen resolution. Great for computers, laptops, game consoles, smartphones and plasma screens.
For computer monitors, four recovery modes are available. Only two of them are free. The remaining paid, according to the creators, guarantee a higher percentage of recovery. A special video file is generated for phones and tablets, which should be played on the device in a repeating mode. For a TV, video is recorded to a disc or flash drive. You can also connect to a computer as a second monitor.
On the computer, the working window moves to the area of the broken pixel. After 10 minutes, the effect is checked. If it is not, then it is worth increasing the frame rate. According to the developers, this way it is possible to cure not only broken pixels, but also spots, stripes on the monitor. Of course, if they are areas of broken pixels. The program can also be used to prevent problems.
"Massage" monitor
Many users note that the most effective way to restore dead points is mechanical. Imagine a pixel massage algorithm:
- Take a dull soft object - a cotton swab, a pencil with an eraser on the end and so on.
- Lightly press on the broken pixel until the first stains appear.
- If there is no effect, then apply more pressure.
- Did not help? We make circular movements of the object along the point - to the right and left sides. Repeat several times.
- The following procedure: click on the broken pixel, then drag the tool up and then back. Repeat down, left and right.
- In case of failure, many turn to a risky step: they repeat all the above actions with a sharpened pencil through a cloth, so as not to scratch the screen.
- Sometimes the combination of mechanical and software methods helps a lot. The simultaneous operation of Bad Crystal and massage with a cotton bud of a problem point for 15 minutes will be effective. Then the program is left to function independently for 10 hours.
Fix dead pixels on a smartphone
The solution to the problem on the gadget may be as follows:
- Launch JScreenFix in the mobile browser according to the scheme that we indicated above.
- For devices based on Android in Google Market, you can download the Dead Pixel Detect and Fix application, which works in the same way.
- Mechanical "massage". Turn off the device and, using a lint-free cloth, massage the problem area with your finger with your fingers for 10 minutes. Turn on the gadget and repeat the same operation with the active display.
- Make a heating pad by pouring it into a tight package of hot water, wrapping it with a dense, lint-free cloth. This device should massage the problem area on the screen for 5 minutes.
Now you know how to deal with dead pixels on the screen of your device. Today, not only mechanical, but also software recovery methods are available.