Is Your OLED TV Getting Edge Rot? The Affected LG and Sony Models and a 2-Minute Check

A long-term test found dead pixels creeping in from the edges on 14 of 16 older OLED TVs - here are the models it hit and how to check yours in two minutes.

TV testing site RTINGS calls it "edge rot", because it looks like mould spreading in from the sides of the screen.

It showed up on OLED TVs from 2020 to 2022 that use LG Display panels, sold by LG, Sony and Vizio.

Your TV still works while it happens, and a simple solid-colour test shows whether yours has it.

What RTINGS Found

RTINGS ran 16 OLED TVs with LG-made "WOLED" panels for about 18,000 hours. It says that is roughly ten years of normal home viewing.

By the end, 14 of the 16 had dead pixels or dark patches along the outer edges. On some it is a few hard-to-spot dots, and on others a damaged strip you can see in normal TV.

• It is not burn-in. Burn-in comes from static images like news tickers, while edge rot happened no matter what was on screen.
• Two staff TVs had it too. A 2020 LG GX and a 2021 LG C1, used at home, showed clear edge rot.
• Samsung's QD-OLED sets were clean. The three tested (Samsung S95B, S95C and Sony A95K) showed none, though RTINGS says three TVs is too few to call them immune.

Which TVs Were Affected

These are single test units, so your own TV may do better or worse. RTINGS stresses its results are not a prediction for any one set.

How to Check Your TV in Two Minutes

Dead pixels hide in normal pictures, so you need a plain, even colour filling the whole screen. The easiest way is a few solid-colour images on a USB stick.

1. Make the test images. On your PC, open Paint, fill a blank picture with white and save it as a PNG, then repeat with mid grey, red, green and blue.
2. Turn off pixel shift. In your TV's OLED or panel care menu, switch off Screen Shift or Pixel Shift for now, so the picture's edges sit fully on screen.
3. Open the images full screen. Plug the USB stick into the TV and open the pictures in its media player, or play them from a laptop over HDMI.
4. Look along all four edges and the corners. Stand close - dark dots, clusters or a jagged dim band at the border are the signs, and turn pixel shift back on when you are done.

What Causes It, and What LG Says

Nobody has proven the cause yet. The leading suspect is moisture slowly getting past the seal at the panel's edges, but contamination at the factory or a seal that ages badly are also possible.

LG says it may happen on "a very small number" of OLED products in prolonged heat, high humidity or other harsh conditions, and that it is "not expected" in normal viewing. Samsung says its own panel seal blocks moisture at the edge.

If Your TV Has It

• Check your warranty first. Most 2020 to 2022 sets are out of standard cover, but some premium LG models carried longer panel warranties - your receipt and LG's support site will tell you.
• Note where it is and take photos. If it spreads, dated photos help any claim with the maker or the shop.
• Keep using it. Edge rot doesn't stop the TV working, and there is no setting that reverses it.
• Buying used or new? Run the same solid-colour test on a second-hand OLED before paying, and lean towards 2024 or newer models.

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