Stuck pixel massage - how does the science work?

[74HC04]

Like many(?) people I seem to be constantly plagued by stuck sub-pixels on just about every TFT equipped product I ever buy. This usually leads to arguments, resentment and lasting disappointment    (don't get me wrong though - I don't expect the panel manufacturers to reject panels with one or two faults. It just drives me mad that I always seem to be down on my luck!)

One of the techniques that many seem to advise as a last resort is the "pixel massage" - applying pressure to the area of the defect - something I consider quite risky and wouldn't recommend - attempt it at your own risk, be prepared to kiss goodby to your warranty and possibly TFT panel too and do your research first!

There are plenty of results from google so I won't link a specific tutorial just yet. What irritates me, however, is that there is little explanation as to how the science behind this "works". Any ideas?

Edit: perhaps I should just stop wearing my glasses! 

[Kiriakos-GR]

I am experienced about CCD issues, and thanks to OLYMPUS digital, and to one Russian programmer,
I can clean the CCD of my cameras.

The cleaning or cure would be to set the camera , so to ignore and to not record the information from the specific ( Lets call it) Pixel area.   

About TFT , if there is similar tools, the most that it can do is to turn off the stacked pixel,
but then, even if this works out, you will have one black dot in there, instead of one bright one.

The damaged pixel could be permanent damaged, or half damaged.
If the pixel does not respond in changes of the environmental temperature ( Cold - Hot  )  15C - 30C then it is permanently damaged.
 

[Hypernova]

Had a stuck pixel on my LCD, I was lucky that you can find simple web pages that provide a flashing pattern that push and pull the pixels and loosened it. Before that I tried to physically massage it too but it didn't work.

[74HC04]

Thanks Kiriakos. I too have troubles with my Canon's sensor but that's another story! Whilst I know that CCDs give lower noise levels at reduced temperatures, I didn't know about the hot-cold transition test  .

Thanks Hypernova - you're lucky. I've tried several of those programs on all of my (applicable)  "faulty" TFTs to no avail.

[ndictu]

Just so you know, some manufacturers will give you a replacement if you get a dead pixel in your warranty timespan. I don't remember which ones, and it also applies only to specific models etc but if you can go with them. I just heard of people finding a single bad pixel, calling the customer service and a courier came the next day with a replacement one and took the old one back. This probably only works in US, in the rest of the world you probably have to send it to them or go to a service center or something.

I only got one dead pixel so far and that one got away with the flashing patterns so I was lucky. This thread actually got me a little paranoid so I had to check my monitors

[74HC04]

Just so you know, some manufacturers will give you a replacement if you get a dead pixel in your warranty timespan. I don't remember which ones, and it also applies only to specific models etc but if you can go with them. I just heard of people finding a single bad pixel, calling the customer service and a courier came the next day with a replacement one and took the old one back. This probably only works in US, in the rest of the world you probably have to send it to them or go to a service center or something.

I only got one dead pixel so far and that one got away with the flashing patterns so I was lucky. This thread actually got me a little paranoid so I had to check my monitors

Thanks. Unfortunately - in my experience here in the UK -you usually just end up having a protracted argument and the store refusing to take the goods back!

Sorry if I fuelled your pixel paranoia!

[Zero999]

An old laptop of mine (made in 1996) developed a missing line which I managed to temporally repair by pressing down on the edge of the screen. Unfortunately the fix was only temporary and the line soon returned. I imagine pixel massage only works when the pixel damaged due to a loose or bad connection as was the case with my laptop but I don't know about modern TFT screens.

I don't think manufacturers should throw out displays with bad pixels but they should sell them with a discount and make the consumer aware of why they're getting it so cheaply.

[scrat]

As we're talking about strange LCD repairing, my tiny old phone Nokia 6030 fell many times to the ground, but once this was "fatal". The screen developed some permanently blue segments along the horizontal lines, in something like a "spot" boundary.
Since the screen was still readable, I continued using the phone as usual. I did nothing for trying to repair it, maye I jsut tried to press a bit, but with no immediate result. Slowly, the lines started to disappear, and in a couple of months the screen returned as when it was new.

Is there anyone who could explain this phenomenon?

BTW, I hope your stuck pixel will decide to move on!

[Zero999]

As we're talking about strange LCD repairing, my tiny old phone Nokia 6030 fell many times to the ground, but once this was "fatal". The screen developed some permanently blue segments along the horizontal lines, in something like a "spot" boundary.
Since the screen was still readable, I continued using the phone as usual. I did nothing for trying to repair it, maye I jsut tried to press a bit, but with no immediate result. Slowly, the lines started to disappear, and in a couple of months the screen returned as when it was new.

Is there anyone who could explain this phenomenon?

The pixels on LCDs are connected by thin flexible PCBs which are just glued to the edge of the display. The knock caused one the connections to a row of pixels to be disconnected. It got better because over time the connection was remade by mechanical vibration causing the flexible PCB to return to the original position.

[Mechatrommer]

i got funny story (at least its funny for me ) my wife's handphone frequently got thrown by my kids, and one day the lcd broke to pieces inside, its like tree branch shape, and there's black marks along the broken lines everywhere is like got poured by water, my wife asked me to open up and wipe away all the "liquid" to fix it. the fact is, today i'm expecting for the replacement part lcd to arrive in post office. the broken lcd is already for months and see has been keep using that like that. she got broken lcd on previous hp, i tried to fix earlier and then my kids got the flexi cable lost, and then i got fed up until recently.

and recently i got my camera lcd peculiar symptom. when looking straight from the front everything fine, but when looking from some angle from the side, i saw a diagonal whitey thick lines going across from left corner to the bottom, still a mystery but since its ok from the front view, i'll just let it be like that. i wont fix it if its still usable. i have no luck with pixel massage unless if i want to broke more pixels by pushing so hard, in the end i just live with my 1 pixel dead of cheap price acer pc lcd monitor.

[scrat]

As we're talking about strange LCD repairing, my tiny old phone Nokia 6030 fell many times to the ground, but once this was "fatal". The screen developed some permanently blue segments along the horizontal lines, in something like a "spot" boundary.
Since the screen was still readable, I continued using the phone as usual. I did nothing for trying to repair it, maye I jsut tried to press a bit, but with no immediate result. Slowly, the lines started to disappear, and in a couple of months the screen returned as when it was new.

Is there anyone who could explain this phenomenon?

The pixels on LCDs are connected by thin flexible PCBs which are just glued to the edge of the display. The knock caused one the connections to a row of pixels to be disconnected. It got better because over time the connection was remade by mechanical vibration causing the flexible PCB to return to the original position.

Maybe your explanation is still good, but I think I was not able to describe very well the fact... The damaged rows were not completely blue, just some segments, and moreover there were pixels which were only partially more blue than the others. It was something like a liquid spead on the internal glass layer, making a spot on which "boundary" the blue segments were laying. If I could draw it, it would be a lot more easy to explain...

[Fraser]

I can report that I have had success massaging a stuck pixel on my NEC Multisync LCD1750. I wasn't even aware of the technique but got fed up with a constant red dot in my line of sight. I pressed on the area directly over the stuck pixel and after a few presses it came good and has worked fine for the past 3 years without any re-occurance. As has been stated, I believe this to have been a case of a poor connection to a TFT cell that was remedied by physical movement (the pressure from my finger).