The 12 Pro Max is my first OLED iPhone, and I’m just curious. I mean, I know that it is a thing theoretically, but is this something that is inevitable that all users eventually experience, like battery wear? I’m sure that some of you have rocked an OLED iPhone for multiple years.
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iPhone 12 Is screen burn in (image retention) really a thing?
- Thread starter joeblow7777
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Never seen it on any of my iPhone’s. My wife works for AT&T and sees old iPhones all day, every day and has told me she has never seen it. I have seen it on a Samsung I briefly owned. I had to have it replaced after only a month. Not putting down android phones in any way but it was the only time I ever saw burn in.
I unfortunately have both image retention and slight burn in on my 12 Pro Max, which was bought on December.
Never had a similar thing on my 11 Pro Max and my XS Max which were bought on day one and have now been given to family members, who also continue to have no issues.
I have the bottom Instagram buttons appear slightly if I use the app for too long.
But they do disappear if I don't use Instagram let's say for 12 hours or so.
The thing that appears permanently, is the shade of the thin horizontal line that's on the very bottom of the screen whenever any app is open.
So whenever I'm not in an app and I am let's say, in the multitasking mode, I can see the shade of that line.
Since I noticed it around two months ago, it has never disappeared completely, so I suppose it's a permanent burn in.
I never really got why this line is necessary in the software, maybe it's to let people know that they can trigger multitasking when pushing up on that spot.
But if there is a spot in the screen that is prone to burn in, it's this line that always appears whenever any app is open.
I have made a research about this problem and apparently, image retention and burn in is possible to happen whether you use light mode or dark mode.
Personally, I use light mode, but I have found other people's posts on Reddit, Apple Discussions etc, that have image retention/burn in issues on dark mode.
It would possibly help if I switched to dark mode, because then, the line would become white instead of black, so maybe, it would disappear after a few days of constant dark mode use, or maybe not, who knows.
I'm not planning to switch up my use because of this, because I hate dark mode.
Also, probably the screen is faulty, so no matter what I do, the problem will probably resurface whether on dark mode or light mode.
I have also read that someone has taken his phone to the service and they put it to the test, but the software found no issues so they did not change his screen for free, instead they returned it untouched.
So maybe I'm screwed this year.
I will attempt to change the screen at the service while the phone is still under warrant and when I already have my 13 Pro Max in hand.
I have posted a photo of the issue, but be warned that if you try to see it through Tapatalk, it does a terrible compression, you will need a computer in order to see it clearly.
![9d9c9661c7a57e552088a70bd9ba88ea.jpg]()
Never had a similar thing on my 11 Pro Max and my XS Max which were bought on day one and have now been given to family members, who also continue to have no issues.
I have the bottom Instagram buttons appear slightly if I use the app for too long.
But they do disappear if I don't use Instagram let's say for 12 hours or so.
The thing that appears permanently, is the shade of the thin horizontal line that's on the very bottom of the screen whenever any app is open.
So whenever I'm not in an app and I am let's say, in the multitasking mode, I can see the shade of that line.
Since I noticed it around two months ago, it has never disappeared completely, so I suppose it's a permanent burn in.
I never really got why this line is necessary in the software, maybe it's to let people know that they can trigger multitasking when pushing up on that spot.
But if there is a spot in the screen that is prone to burn in, it's this line that always appears whenever any app is open.
I have made a research about this problem and apparently, image retention and burn in is possible to happen whether you use light mode or dark mode.
Personally, I use light mode, but I have found other people's posts on Reddit, Apple Discussions etc, that have image retention/burn in issues on dark mode.
It would possibly help if I switched to dark mode, because then, the line would become white instead of black, so maybe, it would disappear after a few days of constant dark mode use, or maybe not, who knows.
I'm not planning to switch up my use because of this, because I hate dark mode.
Also, probably the screen is faulty, so no matter what I do, the problem will probably resurface whether on dark mode or light mode.
I have also read that someone has taken his phone to the service and they put it to the test, but the software found no issues so they did not change his screen for free, instead they returned it untouched.
So maybe I'm screwed this year.
I will attempt to change the screen at the service while the phone is still under warrant and when I already have my 13 Pro Max in hand.
I have posted a photo of the issue, but be warned that if you try to see it through Tapatalk, it does a terrible compression, you will need a computer in order to see it clearly.
That’s actually really odd, because a dark/black image/shape shouldn’t burn in, which is why dark mode is supposed to be better with regards to burn in. In an OLED display, black colour is achieved by NOT activating pixels.I unfortunately have both image retention and slight burn in on my 12 Pro Max, which was bought on December.
Never had a similar thing on my 11 Pro Max and my XS Max which were bought on day one and have now been given to family members, who also continue to have no issues.
I have the bottom Instagram buttons appear slightly if I use the app for too long.
But they do disappear if I don't use Instagram let's say for 12 hours or so.
The thing that appears permanently, is the shade of the thin horizontal line that's on the very bottom of the screen whenever any app is open.
So whenever I'm not in an app and I am let's say, in the multitasking mode, I can see the shade of that line.
Since I noticed it around two months ago, it has never disappeared completely, so I suppose it's a permanent burn in.
I never really got why this line is necessary in the software, maybe it's to let people know that they can trigger multitasking when pushing up on that spot.
But if there is a spot in the screen that is prone to burn in, it's this line that always appears whenever any app is open.
I have made a research about this problem and apparently, image retention and burn in is possible to happen whether you use light mode or dark mode.
Personally, I use light mode, but I have found other people's posts on Reddit, Apple Discussions etc, that have image retention/burn in issues on dark mode.
It would possibly help if I switched to dark mode, because then, the line would become white instead of black, so maybe, it would disappear after a few days of constant dark mode use, or maybe not, who knows.
I'm not planning to switch up my use because of this, because I hate dark mode.
Also, probably the screen is faulty, so no matter what I do, the problem will probably resurface whether on dark mode or light mode.
I have also read that someone has taken his phone to the service and they put it to the test, but the software found no issues so they did not change his screen for free, instead they returned it untouched.
So maybe I'm screwed this year.
I will attempt to change the screen at the service while the phone is still under warrant and when I already have my 13 Pro Max in hand.
I have posted a photo of the issue, but be warned that if you try to see it through Tapatalk, it does a terrible compression, you will need a computer in order to see it clearly.
![9d9c9661c7a57e552088a70bd9ba88ea.jpg]()
But with this year's huge issue, where the pixels are not really turned off (resulting in the blacks not being true blacks, but greys instead) that might be the reason why this problem only happened this year and not the previous years.
On my device, the problem with greys got fixed with the current latest update, but I've had the issue for months prior to that, so maybe that's the problem.
Even so, I wasn't expecting people to have experienced burn in on any of the 12 models yet, in just like 6 months! I was thinking more of people with the X or Xs.
I've seen pictures of image retention/burn-in on the internet on different phones. I have an xs max bought on release year (11/18) and do not have either image retention or burn-in.
I surely did not expect it either, it's probably some kind of defect and not the norm...
I've had one phone that had an OLED screen and that was my Pixel 3a XL. I used that from May 2019 to February 2021. It was subject to the same routine I put every smartphone I've owned through since 2009. Mainly, a bedside clock with the screen on from the time I go to bed to the time I get up. There was no burn in.
I'm doing the same thing with my 11 Pro Max, which I understand is also OLED. So far no issues.
I'm doing the same thing with my 11 Pro Max, which I understand is also OLED. So far no issues.
The problem was more prevalent several years ago. It's not really something to worry about with today's phone.
Not long, though I can mostly fix it by using an app with the opposite light theme for a while. Happens if I’ve been outside, I assume the screen boosts past max brightness and that’s never good on OLED.
I’ve been using OLED phones since the Samsung Galaxy S2 days and none of my phones had it. As long as you don’t leave your phone on a static screen you’ll be fine. LCD screens can do it as well. I work with these handheld scanners and I’ve seen it on those.
So far my 12 PM is ok. I did have screen burn develop on my Xs Max after a year though. The green Phone and green messages, both were in my dock left the darkest "mark."
I could notice light outlines of all icons against a white screen, webpages.
I could notice light outlines of all icons against a white screen, webpages.
I have rocked OLED phones for over a decade now, from the early Nokia phones with OLED back in the late 2000s, the only phone that gave me burn-in was the Samsung Galaxy S2 back in 2011/2012, never seen it again though.
Unless you are leaving your iPhone with the screen on for many hours on the same exact image daily, I doubt you will ever see burn-in, OLEDS have come far. You may see burn-in on Display models as they sit turned on the same image/screen endlessly, but a phone that is used regularly for a multitude of things using a modern OLED should not have burn-in, not for a few years.
I can assure you, I baby my phone too much, I always set as low brightness as possible and I have always set my phone to lock at 30 seconds...
I still got burn in and image retention, as I mentioned above.
I just think that there are faulty phones out there and this is not the norm, but do check these links as well, if you are interested.
I found them with a quick search and I did not include all the results found.
They are all about this year's phones:
Screen Retention iPhone 12 Pro Max - Apple Community
iPhone 12 pro max image retention - Apple Community
OLED image retention - Apple Community
iPhone 12 Pro Max OLED Burn-in at Status Bar
Guys? Am I the only person who noticed that the quality of OLED panel this year on iPhone 12 Lineup are worst compare to iPhone 11 Pro series? Because I noticed that my phone has burn-in on the home button and status bar. P.S I used my phone less than 7 hours per day and I just used it less...
forums.macrumors.com
I can assure you, I baby my phone too much, I always set as low brightness as possible and I have always set my phone to lock at 30 seconds...
I still got burn in and image retention, as I mentioned above.
I just think that there are faulty phones out there and this is not the norm, but do check these links as well, if you are interested.
I found them with a quick search and I did not include all the results found.
They are all about this year's phones:
Screen Retention iPhone 12 Pro Max - Apple Community
discussions.apple.com
iPhone 12 pro max image retention - Apple Community
OLED image retention - Apple Community
iPhone 12 Pro Max OLED Burn-in at Status Bar
Guys? Am I the only person who noticed that the quality of OLED panel this year on iPhone 12 Lineup are worst compare to iPhone 11 Pro series? Because I noticed that my phone has burn-in on the home button and status bar. P.S I used my phone less than 7 hours per day and I just used it less...
As you say, it seems that these are likely just faulty phones and this isn't the norm.
That's one possibility, it seems to happen much more often than older models, though.
It could possibly be lower quality panels instead of faulty ones.
The bad thing is that if you end up having a device that has burn in, you won't get a replacement at the service, as this isn't considered a hardware failure, but normal...
Woah, that is pretty worrying, yeah seems there are some lemon displays out there I guess.I can assure you, I baby my phone too much, I always set as low brightness as possible and I have always set my phone to lock at 30 seconds...
I still got burn in and image retention, as I mentioned above.
I just think that there are faulty phones out there and this is not the norm, but do check these links as well, if you are interested.
I found them with a quick search and I did not include all the results found.
They are all about this year's phones:
Screen Retention iPhone 12 Pro Max - Apple Community
iPhone 12 pro max image retention - Apple Community
OLED image retention - Apple Community
iPhone 12 Pro Max OLED Burn-in at Status Bar
Guys? Am I the only person who noticed that the quality of OLED panel this year on iPhone 12 Lineup are worst compare to iPhone 11 Pro series? Because I noticed that my phone has burn-in on the home button and status bar. P.S I used my phone less than 7 hours per day and I just used it less...
Sorry to hear you are experiencing it, you shouldn’t have to baby your phone like that not in 2021
EDIT:
I just opened a white screen on my over 1 year old 11 Pro Max at full brightness in both portrait and landscape and the screen is still immaculate, not a single sign of burn-in or retention, so there is definitely something off about some of these newer screens in the 12 Pro Max, maybe Apple got a bad batch or it’s a larger issue ? Who knows, not good at all though.
Last edited:
I also have the same problem with the 12 pro Max. Is this problem in the 13 pro Max phone? I want to know this before buying 13 pro Max and find out that this problem is in all phones.I unfortunately have both image retention and slight burn in on my 12 Pro Max, which was bought on December.
Never had a similar thing on my 11 Pro Max and my XS Max which were bought on day one and have now been given to family members, who also continue to have no issues.
I have the bottom Instagram buttons appear slightly if I use the app for too long.
But they do disappear if I don't use Instagram let's say for 12 hours or so.
The thing that appears permanently, is the shade of the thin horizontal line that's on the very bottom of the screen whenever any app is open.
So whenever I'm not in an app and I am let's say, in the multitasking mode, I can see the shade of that line.
Since I noticed it around two months ago, it has never disappeared completely, so I suppose it's a permanent burn in.
I never really got why this line is necessary in the software, maybe it's to let people know that they can trigger multitasking when pushing up on that spot.
But if there is a spot in the screen that is prone to burn in, it's this line that always appears whenever any app is open.
I have made a research about this problem and apparently, image retention and burn in is possible to happen whether you use light mode or dark mode.
Personally, I use light mode, but I have found other people's posts on Reddit, Apple Discussions etc, that have image retention/burn in issues on dark mode.
It would possibly help if I switched to dark mode, because then, the line would become white instead of black, so maybe, it would disappear after a few days of constant dark mode use, or maybe not, who knows.
I'm not planning to switch up my use because of this, because I hate dark mode.
Also, probably the screen is faulty, so no matter what I do, the problem will probably resurface whether on dark mode or light mode.
I have also read that someone has taken his phone to the service and they put it to the test, but the software found no issues so they did not change his screen for free, instead they returned it untouched.
So maybe I'm screwed this year.
I will attempt to change the screen at the service while the phone is still under warrant and when I already have my 13 Pro Max in hand.
I have posted a photo of the issue, but be warned that if you try to see it through Tapatalk, it does a terrible compression, you will need a computer in order to see it clearly.
![9d9c9661c7a57e552088a70bd9ba88ea.jpg]()
Ok guys i had the same image retention issue with my 12. I got a free display replacement but the problem still exists. What i did was used instagram on light mode for 10 minutes and voila the retention just vanished. It was at the home button and the battery and signal status icons. Go try it on your device and tell me whether it worked or not.
