Every iPhone since the iPhone X and every Apple Watch uses an OLED screen, where each pixel makes its own light. That delivers perfect blacks — but over years, pixels that display the same thing constantly (a keyboard, a status bar, a game’s HUD) can age unevenly and leave a faint permanent ghost. This is burn-in, and a burn-in test makes it visible.
The test walks your screen through flat fields of grey, white and primary colours, the conditions under which retention and burn-in stand out most. If you see a faint outline that shouldn’t be there, the built-in fixer cycles colours and moving patterns across the whole display to exercise the pixels evenly, which can reduce mild, recent image retention. Severe, aged burn-in is permanent, but catching it early — and knowing it’s there before you buy a used device — is exactly what this tool is for.
How to use it
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1Maximise brightness
Turn screen brightness all the way up and disable auto-lock first — burn-in shows most clearly on a bright, steady screen.
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2Start the test
Tap “Start burn-in test”. Step through the solid colour and grey slides by tapping. Grey and white reveal retention best.
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3Look for ghosts
Watch for faint shapes that don’t belong — an outline of the keyboard, status bar icons, or app elements lingering over the flat colour.
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4Run the fixer
If you spot mild retention, exit and tap “Run fixer”. Let the moving colour patterns run for 10–30 minutes. Repeat over a few days for the best chance of improvement.
Frequently asked questions
How can I tell if my iPhone screen has burn-in?
Run the test and study the flat grey and white slides. Genuine burn-in appears as a faint, fixed ghost of something you use constantly — the keyboard, the status bar, a navigation bar — that stays in place regardless of what colour is shown. If it only lingers briefly and then fades, it’s temporary image retention, not permanent burn-in.
Can burn-in actually be fixed?
Mild, recent image retention can sometimes be reduced by the fixer, which cycles colours to age the surrounding pixels more evenly. Permanent burn-in that has developed over years cannot be removed in software — but the fixer is still worth running, and catching retention early gives the best odds.
Is the burn-in fixer safe for my OLED screen?
Yes. Cycling colours and patterns is normal display activity and won’t harm the panel. Run it at comfortable brightness; there’s no benefit to running it for hours on end in one sitting — several shorter sessions work better.
Do LCD iPhones and iPads get burn-in?
True burn-in is an OLED phenomenon, so it mainly affects iPhone X and later, all Pro iPads with OLED or mini-LED behaviour differs, and Apple Watch. LCD screens (older iPhones, most standard iPads) can show brief image retention but essentially never permanent burn-in.