Fixing a stuck pixel on a laptop screen
Unfortunately laptop screen manufacturers will not warrant dead and stuck pixels, and therefore the retailers of the screens also cannot pass on a guarantee. This isn't a great situation for the end user or re seller buying wholesale screens, but is part and parcel of the laptop screen industry for these reasons. However there are some things you can do to try and repair a pixel anomaly. A stuck pixel is simply a pixel that is in a "stuck" state. Temperature changes that can occur whilst the screen is in storage can cause a pixel to be "stuck."
Laptop screens use a matrix of dots or pixels to display an image on your laptop screen. A typical laptop screen may comprise of millions of these minute pixels, each pixel then being subdivided into 3 sub pixels of red, green and blue. Like any other kind of pallete system, the mixture of red, green, blue or pixel off (black), at a distance away from the display make up the image you see.
Example 1:
This particular laptop screen has more than one stuck pixel. These pixels are stuck in the off position (black), however stuck pixels can show as black, white, red, green or blue.
How to unstick a dead pixel
There are two main methods of unsticking a dead pixel, both work very well with excellent results.
1) The software method
Jscreenfix (recommended)
http://www.jscreenfix.com/
This software will repair 80% of stuck pixels in less than 20 minutes. The download is free for the basic edition. We like this software as it runs under Java (via your web browser), and so is not limited to any particular version of Windows, in fact it should run on any system that supports Java based web browsing.
UDPIX
http://udpix.free.fr/
This software is also a free laptop screen stuck pixel repair tool, also excellent. We recommend using this software if the first option does not work for you.
LCD (online)
http://flexcode.org/lcd2.html
This software runs straight from the website and is great for support engineers on the move, simply bookmark the link. There are many options available to identify and repair laptop screen stuck pixels.
2) The physical method
If the software methods fail, you can also try a physical method similar to "massaging" the pixel back to life. To apply the physical method you will need to follow the instructions below to unstick your laptop screen´s dead pixel.
You will need a soft pencil eraser.
a) Holding the soft pencil eraser, rub firmly in a circular motion directly above the stuck pixel.
b) Massage the area in a circular motion pressing firmly. Note: do not apply enough pressure to fracture the glass of the display.
c) Repeat for up to 2 minutes then restart the laptop, you must completely power off the laptop for the restart.
What do I do if none of the above solutions work?
A stuck pixel that won't budge
If the methods described above do not resolve your problem, you will have to seek a replacement from the laptop screen supplier, please note that usually you need multiple stuck or dead pixels to warrant a replacement screen. More information on Dead Pixels and warranty cover can be found here.
