# Is Dead Pixels Normal?



## MagicalWingLT (May 12, 2009)

I've had my Kindle Paperwhite for a year now. I never had any dead pixels before. Now tonight I noticed a white dot on the screen. At first I thought it might of been a water dot as I did sneeze at one point. When I wiped off the screen I noticed the dot was still there. Is this something I should be worried about? Or is this thing normal that over time I'd get a few dead pixel dots?


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

It happens.  I have one but it's near the bottom of the screen and I don't even notice it any more.  If it really bothers you, you could contact kindle CS and see what they say. If you're out of warranty they might not do anything. Or they might replace it. Or they might offer a discount on a replacement. Don't know 'till you ask.


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## CAR (Aug 1, 2010)

First the disclaimer we have cats      My wife has a Paperwhite 3 and I also noticed a tiny little bright spot on her screen. 
I am not sure if it a dead pixel or a tiny scratch from one of the disclaimers.


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## WDR (Jan 8, 2014)

Dead pixels are expected in most flatscreen technologies, even the super high end stuff. Sometimes a dead pixel can be revived by hitting it with a bunch of on and off commands.

An e-ink display is actually mechanical! There is a backplane that is the same as an LCD display, but the actual e-Ink layer is composed of tiny spheres that are black on one side and white on the other. Depending on the charge the backplane sets, the sphere will spin and show the appropriate color. Like anything mechanical, sometimes things can get stuck or they reacted too slowly when the last signal went through. This is why e-ink displays "flash" every few page turns: it is to refresh any pixels that may have missed the signal to change and got stuck in one position or another.

And sometimes a pixel simply dies. Could be the backplane or it could be the display itself. But that pixel never works again. I have one pixel on my Kobo that is stuck on and leaves an annoying point of light down at the bottom. But my Kobo has been through heavy use, so I kind of expected something to go wrong eventually. It is often in environments (camping outdoors) that can lead to damage.

As I said, most companies expect some failure over time. If the unit is fairly new, they may possibly replace it under warranty. But if it is out of warranty, you will probably have to buy a new unit.  If the failure is especially egregious, they company might consider that an issue and offer a discount on a newer unit. To replace it completely? I don't want to put words into their mouths. At this point, my ebook readers are about four or five years old, so I'd be happy with a discount on a new unit.


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## stevene9 (Nov 9, 2008)

I have a PW2. t never had any dead pixels until about 2 months ago when I noticed one dead pixel.

Steve


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## barryem (Oct 19, 2010)

I've had several Paperwhites as well as other ereaders.  I began with Wifi Paperwhites and sold those off as I moved to 3G.  I now have 3 of them, one of each model.  I also have a Voyage and 3 Kobo's and a Nook Glowlight Plus, all with front-lit screens.  In addition I live in a retirement home and I help a lot of my neighbors with their Paperwhite's.  I've never seen one with a dead pixel.

I don't think it's normal at all.  Yes, sometimes screens do get dead pixels and the manufacturers usually have policies allowing a few of them.  But I've never heard of anyone getting one with a dead pixel who wasn't able to return it for an exchange.  That's true of laptops and ereaders.  It does happen sometimes but I'd contact Amazon and see if they'll offer you a nice discount on an exchange.  Assuming it bothers you, of course.  It would bother me.

Barry


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

As I said, it can happen, but it's not widespread. Probably depends on how you define "normal". 

That said . . . if it COMES WITH a dead pixel, or develops one within the first year -- while it's still under warranty -- you absolutely have the right to request a replacement; and if it bothers you, I don't know why you wouldn't. They shouldn't give you any trouble about it if you've had it less than a year.

If it's out of warranty, however, they don't HAVE to replace it. Sometimes, in the interest of excellent customer service, they will do -- especially if it's not very _far_ out of warranty. They'll almost always offer a discount on a replacement, whether new or refurbished. . . . because a Kindleer without a happy Kindle is not going to buy as many Kindle BOOKS!


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## Rosemary (Jan 10, 2010)

I'm not sure if I am asking this question in the right section so please forgive me if it should be somewhere else.

I have a Kindle HD, which I have had for years, and for the most part, I really do like it.  The one thing that was different from my first Kindle is this one does not have "Collections" like the first one did........or else I don't know how to find them.  I found these to be so useful just to have a place to separate my books as "Books Read" and "Books to be Read".  

My question is do the newer Kindles have a way to separate your book into different sections?


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## barryem (Oct 19, 2010)

I don't have the answer for you and I'm not a moderator so feel free to ignore me but when you ask a new question it's usually more effective to create a new thread. People who have already decided to stop reading this thread aren't likely to see it and it really has nothing to do with the topic of this thread.

i suggest creating a new thread in this forum to ask your question.  You're much more likely to get answers there.

Barry


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