iPhone 15 Pro Max SEVERE Burn-in on my iPhone 15 Pro Max

[Mohrilla]

Does Apple Care+ include burn in? Can anybody please provide a list of to-do, not to-do to avoid burn in? Before purchase, I spoke with Genius and he said that it was just an iOS bug and it got fixed last Fall.

Yea they fixed that software issue with the ghosting, but this is a physical OLED faulty panel suffering image burn in after 5 months of staying on AOD. My iPhone 14 Pro Max didn't have this issue and I used the same widgets and wallpaper for over a year on that device with no burn in.
Only way to avoid this is to leave AOD on with no widgets and no wallpaper with any text in white font.
I am using default white widgets color and my wallpaper said "PS5" in a white font that also burned into the screen.

Otherwise just do what I did and use the phone and if the burn in becomes visible you're unlucky like me and got a device with a faulty panel. TVs typically don't have burn in issues for at least 2+ years, so I don't know what the issue is with the iPhone OLED screen.

 

[JCCL]

These pictures don’t show anything that I can see.

I can see it quite clearly - there's the battery circle widget burned it right there.

 

[Mohrilla]

I can see it quite clearly - there's the battery circle widget burned it right there.

It's way more visible with the eyes too. The pixel and Galaxy are having trouble taking a picture of the bright iPhone 15 Pro Max screen with enough clarity to see the burn in. It's crystal clear when looking at it in person, just the pics aren't coming out good.

 

[hajime]

The guy at the Genius Bar said there is no problem with burn in. I don't believe in him. I heard that LG has some utilities to reduce the risk of burn in such as shifting the pixels. Are there iPhone apps to do that effectively?

 

[Mohrilla]

The guy at the Genius Bar said there is no problem with burn in. I don't believe in him. I heard that LG has some utilities to reduce the risk of burn in such as shifting the pixels. Are there iPhone apps to do that effectively?

Yes they are lying or just didn't know yet. It's getting worse I can notice the burn in while using anything with a light enough background. Going to get my device replaced for sure and after replacement I'll never use widgets or a wallpaper again with AOD. Default bright white color for widgets caused the burn in too, thanks Apple.

 

[hajime]

I found that a lot of people in Apple Tech support have no idea what they are talking about.

Is it better to use Dark Mode all the time? I am not a fan of Dark Mode but maybe I need to do that. I was considering to use AOD but I just have the entire phone going to sleep when unused with nothing showing on display.

 

[Mohrilla]

Is it better to use Dark Mode all the time? I am not a fan of Dark Mode but maybe I need to do that. I was considering to use AOD but I just have the entire phone going to sleep when unused with nothing showing on display.

I have always been using dark mode. The issue isn't using dark mode or light mode. The issue is that during aod the screen is not dimming the font. The default bright white font that Apple has set for the widgets and everything that you see on the lock screen. I guess the only way to avoid this would be to not use the default bright white color, but I still can't confirm that a burn-in will not occur with a different color. I am using dark mode and I am using lock screen widgets in the default white color and I noticed that when you are using aod and your screen brightness dims the widgets and everything that's displaying the time and date do not dim as much as the screen does and this is what's causing the burn in. Apples own faulty design, it's a failure.

 

[Mohrilla]

How tf does this cause a burn in?
I see the two middle circle widgets and the wallpaper "PS5" and PlayStation logo are visible too. Same exact lock screen on my iPhone 14 Pro Max for over a year no issue, but the iPhone 15 Pro Max I got has a faulty screen hopefully and isn't a common issue with all of them. Replacement on Tuesday via Apple Store.

I just spoke with Apple over the phone for about 30 minutes and I submitted feedback that they sent to me via a email link to be able to send them photos as well and they said I'm the first person to bring this issue up to them and that they were not aware that the iPhone 15 Pro Max was suffering from this unique burn-in issue relating to the always on display widget default color being a solid white instead of being a default transparent color option that it should be set to in order to stop burn-ins, but also regardless of the widget burn in I also suffered burn-in from the wallpaper I was using so I'm the first person who reached out to them in regards to this. They had no idea and they assured me I'll be getting a brand new device on Tuesday and if the problem persists I won't get stuck with the device that has burn-in issues. I don't have Apple care either just the limited warranty that expires a year from purchase date.

Pic related.

 

[Mohrilla]

Better picture showing the burn in issue.

 

[Populus]

Does Apple Care+ include burn in? Can anybody please provide a list of to-do, not to-do to avoid burn in? Before purchase, I spoke with Genius and he said that it was just an iOS bug and it got fixed last Fall.

I don’t have a device with AOD, so I cannot check it, but I think after n hours of inactivity, or during the sleep mode in the night, the display just turns off. If there is a setting to specify when to allow the display to turn off, like, after 1h, 2h, 3h of inactivity, it would be pretty helpful to set it at a short time.

Or, you know, just turn off this feature.

Android devices, what they do IIRC, is to move the displayed information around the screen. That way, it never activates the same pixels for too long.

 

[Mohrilla]

I don’t have a device with AOD, so I cannot check it, but I think after n hours of inactivity, or during the sleep mode in the night, the display just turns off. If there is a setting to specify when to allow the display to turn off, like, after 1h, 2h, 3h of inactivity, it would be pretty helpful to set it at a short time.

Or, you know, just turn off this feature.

Android devices, what they do IIRC, is to move the displayed information around the screen. That way, it never activates the same pixels for too long.

exactly if Apple had used Pixel Shifting found on OLED tvs from 2018 to present and found on Androids I wouldn't have suffered burn in from Apples static battery widgets or my wallpaper. The aod Pixel 8 Pro, the aod Galaxy S24 Ultra and aod iPhone 15 Pro Max never shut down the screens unless pocketed or placed screen down.

 

[hajime]

Why there is no app to do the Pixel Shifting? I recall when I asked about burn in few months ago, somebody in the forum said that Apple implemented "something" inside iOS to reduce the risk of burn in. Where are those "something"? Obviously it is not working.

 

[RRC]

Why there is no app to do the Pixel Shifting? I recall when I asked about burn in few months ago, somebody in the forum said that Apple implemented "something" inside iOS to reduce the risk of burn in. Where are those "something"? Obviously it is not working.

How do you know it isn’t working? Because of one (at most a few) burn in posts? It’s not a widespread issue.

 

[hajime]

How do you know it isn’t working? Because of one (at most a few) burn in posts? It’s not a widespread issue.

Do you know what that "something" is? I want to learn more about what Apple has done to reduce the risk of burn in. Perhaps there are some settings that we could change to make it more effective.

 

[Mohrilla]

Why there is no app to do the Pixel Shifting? I recall when I asked about burn in few months ago, somebody in the forum said that Apple implemented "something" inside iOS to reduce the risk of burn in. Where are those "something"? Obviously it is not working.

Only thing apple did was make aod have a dim setting after a few seconds of no use. that stupid dim setting left the widgets and wallpaper bright enough to cause burn in. they didn't even use pixel shifting which was around since 2018 and is on all androids with OLED and all oled tvs after 2018. Apple is just playing it's customers as single digit iq consumers now.

 

[RRC]

Do you know what that "something" is? I want to learn more about what Apple has done to reduce the risk of burn in. Perhaps there are some settings that we could change to make it more effective.

Not a clue… it’s not settings based though.

 

[Mohrilla]

How do you know it isn’t working? Because of one (at most a few) burn in posts? It’s not a widespread issue.

check Apples forum and the amount of people complaining about iPhone 15 models with burn in is very telling and it's not just a few. Apple isn't even helping some people after restoring the iOS proves its a physical hardware issue.

 

[hajime]

This is my first OLED device. I don't know much but from what I heard, at least for OLED TV/monitors, lowering the brightness level helps. Users should not really adjust their behaviors for the products though.

 

[Mohrilla]

This is my first OLED device. I don't know much but from what I heard, at least for OLED TV/monitors, lowering the brightness level helps. Users should not really adjust their behaviors for the products though.

the issue is static images and font causing burn in. only way to avoid this is to not use aod or risk burn in possibly. its rare, but does happen and apple has refused to repair some peoples phones over this claiming its natural OLED wear and tare.

 

[SumYoungGai]

This is just a matter of how OLED works, if you display the same thing 24/7 on a screen then the areas constantly on will burn in faster than the areas that aren't on. You should try to get it fixed from Apple but consider not having AOD on in the future if this kind of burn in is unacceptable for you. I've had it off on my iPhone ever since the feature came out in 2022.

 

[mjs916]

I found that a lot of people in Apple Tech support have no idea what they are talking about.

Is it better to use Dark Mode all the time? I am not a fan of Dark Mode but maybe I need to do that. I was considering to use AOD but I just have the entire phone going to sleep when unused with nothing showing on display.

I can’t stand when people (in any line of work just say “this thing you’re complaining about isn’t a thing”, instead of being curious and getting info from the person making the claim to investigate/fix the issue.

Dark mode all day every day for me but I’m not sure that would help. AOD is essentially Dark Mode and the small white rings of the widgets is what burned in.

My question is how do you use AOD? I never got any use out of it except for the rare glance over at the time. I also don’t use a screen saver on my computer. I prefer the screen to time out when not in use.

 

[Mohrilla]

*UPDATE*

I'm the the person with the iPhone 15 Pro Max widgets burn in. I went to the Apple Store this past Tuesday.

At the Apple Store in Roosevelt Field Mall and the first supervisor was trying to tell me I will only get a panel replacement and I told them I don't trust other issues happening with the device that came with a faulty panel. I had to get a different customer service supervisor here at the store and call Apple Support again and now I'm here for a hour still waiting to see if I get a new phone...... They basically are saying "yea our always on display and operating system doesn't have pixel shifting and we don't design any preventative measures from OLED burn in" also my Apple Genius representative didn't even know what pixel shifting is and it's been out since 2018. LMAO

So after a hour the Apple Store gave me a brand new iPhone 15 Pro Max. Had to argue for the replacement and wasn't easy. I'm not using widgets or a wallpaper this time and leaving my AOD on. The Apple Genius said not to worry since it's very rare for the OLED panel to get burn in so fast. I had no Apple Care either, just my limited warranty.

 

[JPack]

*UPDATE*

I'm the the person with the iPhone 15 Pro Max widgets burn in. I went to the Apple Store this past Tuesday.

At the Apple Store in Roosevelt Field Mall and the first supervisor was trying to tell me I will only get a panel replacement and I told them I don't trust other issues happening with the device that came with a faulty panel. I had to get a different customer service supervisor here at the store and call Apple Support again and now I'm here for a hour still waiting to see if I get a new phone...... They basically are saying "yea our always on display and operating system doesn't have pixel shifting and we don't design any preventative measures from OLED burn in" also my Apple Genius representative didn't even know what pixel shifting is and it's been out since 2018. LMAO

So after a hour the Apple Store gave me a brand new iPhone 15 Pro Max. Had to argue for the replacement and wasn't easy. I'm not using widgets or a wallpaper this time and leaving my AOD on. The Apple Genius said not to worry since it's very rare for the OLED panel to get burn in so fast. I had no Apple Care either, just my limited warranty.

I would have opted for a replacement panel. At least you know only the panel has been replaced.

A replacement iPhone is a refurb device which means many of the parts can be used/salvaged. Only the chassis and battery are guaranteed new.

 

[Mohrilla]

I would have opted for a replacement panel. At least you know only the panel has been replaced.

A replacement iPhone is a refurb device which means many of the parts can be used/salvaged. Only the chassis and battery are guaranteed new.

Apple Genius confirmed it's a brand new iPhone 15 Pro Max and not a refurbished unit. I have the receipt to confirm. My unit starts with a M. Refurbished units by Apple start with a N. This was confirmed in the store. Apple gives these same new units for Apple Care replacements too. LOL!

 

[Helmsley]

Better picture showing the burn in issue.

I haven't been following this thread much, but have you tried running a burn-in fix on maximum brightness? There's loads on YouTube.