Troubleshooting
On LCD/IPS/VA panels, what looks like burn-in is often temporary image retention or backlight uniformity artifacts. Run fullscreen solid colors to verify whether a shadow stays fixed across fills and whether it changes after a few minutes of varied content. If the mark never changes, it may be a panel issue rather than something software can fix.
Pro tip
Lower brightness for daily use and avoid leaving static UI elements on-screen for long periods.
Common symptoms
- Shadowy afterimage after static UI
- Uneven patches on solid colors
- Retention that changes after content switches
IPS panels are usually described as resistant to burn-in, but people still look up a burn in fix ips when they notice a faint UI outline after long use. What most users are seeing on IPS is temporary image retention or uneven backlight behavior, not the kind of permanent pixel wear you hear about with OLED.
Here is a common scenario: you work with a fixed toolbar all day, then open a blank document and a ghost of the top bar seems to linger. On IPS, this can be more noticeable on light gray backgrounds. The good news is that it often changes or fades as you display different colors, which is a strong sign it is not permanent.
Run this page in fullscreen and cycle through solid fills and simple patterns. Pay attention to two things: does the mark move or change with different shades, and does it fade after a few minutes. If it improves, that burn in fix ips search probably led you to the right place because retention is the problem you can manage.
If you keep seeing it, try a few low effort adjustments instead of chasing a miracle fix: lower brightness, disable aggressive contrast modes, and avoid leaving the same window pinned for hours. If the panel has an overdrive setting, an extreme value can exaggerate artifacts on motion and make you think something is burned in.
When you are done testing, keep the tool bookmarked at Burn In Fixer and rerun it after your next long session to compare. For related checks like uniform colors and pixel issues, the display tools hub is the fastest path. If the mark is perfectly identical across every color and never changes over days, treat it as a panel characteristic, but still use a burn in fix ips test to document what you are seeing.