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iPad iPad 2 screen burn-in/image retention

xraydoc

xraydoc

Contributor
Original poster
Oct 9, 2005
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My release-day iPad 2, which has been otherwise working perfectly, is now showing signs of screen image retention and burn in. Static items like the Safari URL bar and bright image boxes on grey backgrounds (eBay app) are causing - temporary so far - image ghosting on the display.

Anyone else see this on their iPads? Two original iPads we have aren't showing anything of the sort.

Think AppleCare would authorize a replacement? I may take it in this week to see if they will.
 
I see nothing on my launch day iPad 2. Just checked it.

Either you're doing some weird things to your iPad, or there is something wrong with it. Do you leave the screen on for days at a time?
 
xraydoc said:
My release-day iPad 2, which has been otherwise working perfectly, is now showing signs of screen image retention and burn in. Static items like the Safari URL bar and bright image boxes on grey backgrounds (eBay app) are causing - temporary so far - image ghosting on the display.

Anyone else see this on their iPads? Two original iPads we have aren't showing anything of the sort.

Think AppleCare would authorize a replacement? I may take it in this week to see if they will.
Click to expand...

Traditional "burn in" is due to phosphor wear in CTR televisions. Obviously, LCD's do not have phosphor, so burn in as you're thinking about it is impossible.

In fringe cases, however, LCDs have been known to have some slight image retention. Image retention, as a rule, is not permanent. If your iPad is suffering from image retention, which I doubt, keeping it off for 24-48 hours should solve the problem.

Unless you're keeping the iPad on a static screen for days/weeks at a time, my guess is that you're experiencing a defect with the panel. I personally keep my iPhone on for 12+ hours as a time because I use it every night as a bedside clock. Never have I experienced even the faintest image retention.

I'd take it back to Apple. They'll replace it for you.
 
Alucardx03 said:
Traditional "burn in" is due to phosphor wear in CTR televisions. Obviously, LCD's do not have phosphor, so burn in as you're thinking about it is impossible.

In fringe cases, however, LCDs have been known to have some slight image retention. Image retention, as a rule, is not permanent. If your iPad is suffering from image retention, which I doubt, keeping it off for 24-48 hours should solve the problem.

Unless you're keeping the iPad on a static screen for days/weeks at a time, my guess is that you're experiencing a defect with the panel. I personally keep my iPhone on for 12+ hours as a time because I use it every night as a bedside clock. Never have I experienced even the faintest image retention.

I'd take it back to Apple. They'll replace it for you.
Click to expand...

I agree. This wear is not typical. Take it to Apple.
 
I had the same thing with a Nokia E65, took it twice to the service center and I had to show this to the guy and only then they replaced the screen. It seems that back then the whole E65 series had the same problem. Most people don't see this though so its hard for them to believe.
I even had a bad pixel on my iPhone 4 which no one noticed and I did right away :) and this was only one pixel :D

You have to take into account that two companies make LCD's for the iPads, one is better than the other and depending on some circumstances you can have some faults on the displays.... I say take the iPad and get it fixed :)
 
iPad 1 does this

My iPad 1 does this all the time with Browsers Safari and Maven when i have a lot of tabs open.
I googled it a while back and found 1 other person with the same exact issiue on the iPad 1. Had some fb's on the apple forum saying it was a hardware problem. Dude said he took it to the gb and got a replacement.

i just keep no more than 3 tabs open at a time. Everything else works fine.

Shame the iPad 2 might suffer from the same thing.
 
xraydoc said:
My release-day iPad 2, which has been otherwise working perfectly, is now showing signs of screen image retention and burn in. Static items like the Safari URL bar and bright image boxes on grey backgrounds (eBay app) are causing - temporary so far - image ghosting on the display.

Anyone else see this on their iPads? Two original iPads we have aren't showing anything of the sort.

Think AppleCare would authorize a replacement? I may take it in this week to see if they will.
Click to expand...

No image retention here. I use my iPad as a bedside alarm clock. The hours tick away with the screen on and no adverse effects. I think you may have a software issue not burn in.
 
xraytech said:
No image retention here. I use my iPad as a bedside alarm clock. The hours tick away with the screen on and no adverse effects. I think you may have a software issue not burn in.
Click to expand...

the OP's problem has nothing to do with software.

definitely a hardware issue (to call it burn-in is incorrect however) and he needs to contact apple for a replacement, assuming he's not imagining the ghosting effect.
 
I haven't yet taken it in, but I will eventually. Maybe in 7-10 days I'll finally have some time.

I know it's not "burn in" like on old CRTs, but LCDs can suffer from image retention (even Apple's knowledge base for their desktop displays says the fix is to put it on a full white screen and leave it there). But this is the first time I've experienced it with an iPad (or any other Apple handheld).

I can clearly see the image retention (it's very faint, but I'm not imagining it) on things like a medium gray screen with brighter objects. The eBay app is a perfect example. I can see image retention after 10 minutes of use. I also noticed iCab's browser tab bar image retained on the screen after 25 min or so of using the browser in portrait, then turning it landscape. On the slightly gray blank screen I could see some retained tabs.

I'll see if I can get some pictures of it with a camera.

But I've never noticed it on my original iPad, just on the iPad 2 and only in the last 6-8 weeks. Not when it was new.

When I have some down time I'll take it to an Apple genius bar and see what happens.
 
LCD's can suffer burn-in. Just much less often than CRT or Plasma.

The individual pixel just lose some of their 'range of motion' essentially.

(even Apple's knowledge base for their desktop displays says the fix is to put it on a full white screen and leave it there).
Click to expand...

Do that, see if you can fix it. Lock it on solid white til battery dead, and do again with black. I'd be curious.
 
My iPad 2 is absolutely exhibiting burn-in/image retention, or whatever you want to call it. After returning to my home screen, I can clearly read text, images, etc from whatever screen I was last viewing in the bg. It's typically the white address bar, or anything of significantly brighter contrast than my wallpaper. It's only temporary, as it goes away after a bit, but I certainly don't think it's normal behavior. And no, myself and the op are not imagining it!
 
Mine does this too... I couldn't believe it at first, because it was two straight lines, but after a game of words with friends, there was no doubt.
Little TW's, dw's etc. Scattered throughout. A good way to check for it, is to go to the search screen, seems to be obvious on the dim grey.
I already have some backlight bleeding and the freaky lines waking from sleep, so it's only a matter of time before I go in for a replacement.
Perhaps all these symptoms are caused by the early bad batch of lg (i think it was lg) screens that apple found below tolerance levels.
 
Yeah, my iPad2 has pretty significant light bleed around one of the edges as well. My warranty expires in March 2012, so between the light bleed and burn-in, I plan on taking it in for replacement. But I'll probably wait it out a bit before taking it in for a possible exchange. I don't want to return it now and risk getting another iPad2 from the same batch with possibly the same screen issues. Unless it worsens to the point I just can't stand it.
 
Just noticed the same thing on my iPad 2. I happened to be on the search screen (I rarely use it on the iPad but use it all the time on the iPhone) and noticed on two edges that there were lines on the background that weren't normally visible (I use the Apple water droplets as my background) and that they stayed on that particular side of the screen regardless of how I rotated the device.

I wondered if it was some side effect of using the Smart Cover. I had had one since I bought the iPad 2 but never used it (generally preferred it in the iPad 1 cover, ugly but feels safer) but have done these last few days as we needed to use the iPad 1 cover on the missus iPad.

I have just left it on full brightness, screen locked in one particular rotation on the search screen. If I turn the lock off and change orientation I get the text momentarily "burnt" to the screen and then it fades away. (Other lines haven't yet but will try the 100% brightness on a white screen and see what happens).

Question is, is it a problem?
 
Take it back immediately. I had exactly the same problem with my original iPad, where the safari box and UI elements would be temporarily "burned in". The Apple Genius here in Sydney had never heard of the issue, and hastily replaced it with another unit.
 
My iPad 1 started doing this after the warranty was up. I haven't noticed it with my iPad 2 yet but it's only a month or two old. You should take it in and get it fixed.
 
It's weird how LCD screens get burnin/retention. A while ago, my OLD Westinghouse LCD TV developed "burned in" black borders, from SD 4:3 broadcasts. I had their repair guy come in, and said I would have to ship it back to them. Few months later, those borders disappeared.

I would take it back to Genius Bar, but I wouldn't expect much. I took mine in for yellow light leak, and they told me that it's like that by design :confused:
 
I notice "ghosting" on my iPad 1 especially after using atomic browser for awhile. Never lasts more than a minute, it has always done it and has never gotten worse. Seems normal to me.
 
xraydoc said:
My release-day iPad 2, which has been otherwise working perfectly, is now showing signs of screen image retention and burn in. Static items like the Safari URL bar and bright image boxes on grey backgrounds (eBay app) are causing - temporary so far - image ghosting on the display.

Anyone else see this on their iPads? Two original iPads we have aren't showing anything of the sort.

Think AppleCare would authorize a replacement? I may take it in this week to see if they will.
Click to expand...

If everything else is working perfect, personally I would keep it. Here is why and my experience playing refurb russian roulette. I had this exact "burn in" problem with my iPad 1. Apple cheerfully swapped it. Big mistake on my part. Every refurb from that point on either had dead pixels, light leak, or other problems, including burn in on one refurb.

After several similar units and conditions, I've come to realize this "burn in" is inherent to the type of panel manufactuer on that particular iPad. I belive the LG panels do this, but exhibit zero or minimal problems with light leak, dead pixels, etc.

Conversely, the Samsung panels I believe have light leak problems and dead pixels. YMMV, but this my experience after going through 5+ iPads for the previously mentioned reasons. I've learned to live and accept the burn in as it is temporary. It is most certainly the lesser of all refurb "evils" I've run into.

I now have an iPad 2. Guess what? :) Same "burn in" problems, but ZERO light leak, ZERO dead pixels and a nice and bight vivid screen, unlike other panels types (i.e. Samung vs. LG, etc.) which horors have been thoroughly vetted on these forums. I'm keeping this one and not risking pixel or light blowout problems.

Hope this helps add some perspective on the topic. :)
 
I've got the same issue as well. Picked up my iPad 2 about two weeks after launch and never had a problem with it. Around September I noticed the image retention/screen burn. It shows up with as little as two minutes of use (yes, I timed it) and will persist for ten minutes or more, if left going longer.

Set up a Genius appointment in early October, drove all the way to Raleigh and was told that "we don't cover screen burn-ins or light leaks on our screens." I argued that a defective display was a major issue and shouldn't be acceptable on any unit less than a year old. He gave me a "sorry, I can't help you" face and walked away.

Seems that Apple is aware of the issue and isn't standing by the one-year warranty on defects. I think the problem has gotten worse since September. It doesn't matter how short of a time I have any kind of static image up, by the time I close the app, you can still see the ghost of whatever I had open on the home screen.

Any suggestions on how to fix it at home, short of replacing the whole display panel?
 
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