How to fix iPhone X screen burn after updating to iOS 13.3 [Troubleshooting Guide]

Screen burn is a display issue that’s characterized by discoloration of areas on a smartphone’s touch screen. This could happen due to non-working pixels or cumulative non-uniform use of pixels on an OLED display. 

This issue might be a sign of defective display and has been reported by some iPhone X users that they got this problem after updating to iOS 13.3. Continue reading to learn more about the problem and how you can possibly fix the screen burn issue on your iPhone X. 

 

Troubleshoot screen burn issue or burned screen on iPhone X screen after iOS 13.3 update

Some screen burns on smartphone that uses OLED displays could heal as time goes by if it is not too much marked. Smartphone displays could experience burned screen problem if the compound called phosphor that emit lights to produce an image loses their intensity after an extended usage. While issues on touch screen like screen burn can be blamed on a hardware failure, software issues could also relevant symptoms to occur. You can generally prevent from experience a burned iPhone X screen by lowering your phone’s screen brightness and timeout, changing wallpaper to black, use an immersive full screen mode, install dark themes, change launcher or darken your keyboard theme. Avoiding prolonged usage can also help in preventing your iPhone X from getting a burned screen. 

If you happen to get screen burns on your iPhone X right after installing iOS 13.3 update and you’ve been using your phone on a normal basis, then follow the procedures below to deal with the problem. 

 

First solution: Reboot your iPhone X to fix screen burns. 

Burned screen might have been a minor glitch on your iPhone X’s screen caused by random bugs from the recent software update. Software glitches normally shows up after the installation and could affect certain functions on your device. Restarting your device should be able to remove these minor software glitches and refresh your phone’s system which could stabilize its performance. This has been one of the most effective yet simple methods that could help in resolving smartphone errors. 

If you’re not yet aware, you have two options on how to reboot your device. You can start with a soft reset and here are the steps: 

  1. Press and hold the Power/Side button and either of the Volume buttons simultaneously for a few seconds. 
  2. Release both buttons once Slide to Power off prompt appears on the screen.
  3. Drag the Power off slider to the right to turn off your phone.
  4. After 30 seconds, press and hold the Power/Side button again until you see the Apple logo.

The second option is a force restart. This should handle rogue apps that might have been causing irregularities to some functions due to conflicts. It should increase the chance of resolving the burned screen on your iPhone X. Here’s how: 

  1. Press and release the Volume Up button quickly.
  2. Press and release the Volume Down button quickly. 
  3. Lastly, press and hold the Side button for a few seconds until you see the Apple logo.

After the phone has completed the reboot process, monitor if the screen burn issue has been resolved. 

 

Second solution: Adjust screen brightness and screen timeout on your iPhone X. 

Managing the display on your device might resolve the problem. Adjusting the screen brightness and lowering the screen timeout could lessen the chance of incurring screen burns. You can also change true tone and other relevant options on your device. 

We can start by adjusting the screen brightness to a lower setting. Just follow these steps: 

  1. Access Settings from the Home screen. 
  2. Tap on Display & Brightness
  3. Drag the Brightness slider to the left and adjust it to a lower brightness setting. 

You can also set the automatic brightness option. This should automatically set the screen brightness according to the light on your surroundings. Doing so will preserve battery life and prevents extensive brightness that might be unnecessary. Just go to Settings > General > Accessibility > Display Accommodations to access auto-brightness option. 

After that, activate True tone feature on your device. This will allow your phone to adapt to different lighting conditions and improve the screen’s performance. Here’s how: 

  1. Access Settings from the Home screen. 
  2. Tap on Display & Brightness
  3. Tap on the switch next to True Tone to enable the feature. 

You may also change the wallpaper of your smartphone to a darker or black one. Changing auto-lock system to a lesser timeout can also help in fixing the error. This will lock your device automatically if not being used. To change it, here are the steps: 

  1. Access Settings from the Home screen
  2. Tap on Display & Brightness
  3. Select the Auto-lock menu and then adjust the length of time before your screen will turn off after not using it. 

After changing the display settings, monitor if the issue has been rectified. 

 

Third solution: Perform reset all settings on your iPhone X. 

During iOS updates, some settings may have been altered automatically and might have been invalidated. Reverting all settings to its default values and options might fix the screen burn on your iPhone X. This will remove all invalid or incorrect information due to iOS overrides that may have caused relevant symptoms to occur. To do an all settings reset, perform the steps that are listed below: 

  1. Access Settings from the Home screen
  2. Tap General.
  3. Scroll down to and then select Reset
  4. Tap the Reset All Settings option.
  5. Enter your device passcode once prompted.
  6. Then tap to confirm all settings reset. 

Your iPhone will reboot automatically after the update. If it will not restart on its own, manually reboot your device. After the reboot process, see if the screen burn problem has been resolved. 

 

Fourth solution: Perform a Factory reset (master reset) on your iPhone X. 

Software glitches from the recent update may have escalated to a complex system error. If that’s the reason why you’re having a screen burn on your iPhone X, you’ll need to opt-in for a stronger solution. Performing a factory reset will remove stubborn glitches as it will wipe out all contents on your device and revert it to the default factory configurations. You’ll need to create backups of your important files beforehand via iTunes or iCloud if you want to proceed with this process. If you wish to give this a try, here’s how: 

  1. Access Settings from the Home screen
  2. Tap General.
  3. Scroll down to and then select Reset
  4. Tap the Erase all contents and settings option.
  5. Enter your device passcode once prompted.
  6. Then tap to confirm all settings reset.

After the reset has been completed, your phone will reboot automatically. Set it up like the first time you got your phone and see if the issue persists. 

 

Still having screen burn on your iPhone X? 

If you’re sure that your phone has not been dropped or incurred any physical damage like water damage, you might want to consider performing a recovery mode restore via iTunes. This procedure should clear the deep-seated errors on your iPhone X that might have been causing this problem. 

To carry out this process, you’ll need to prepare a Mac or Windows computer with the latest iTunes installed. Also ensure that your computer runs on the latest operating system that is compatible with your iPhone XS Max. If all requirements are met, connect your device to the computer using the Apple-supplied USB/lightning cable. Then allow iTunes to sync with your iPhone and backup files, if possible. Once the backup is secured, follow these steps to put your iPhone XS Max in recovery mode and then restore iOS in iTunes:

  1. Press and release the Volume Up button quickly.
  2. Press and release the Volume Down button quickly.
  3. Then press and hold the Power/Side button once prompted with Connect to iTunes screen. Do not release the button when Apple logo appears as you will need to enter recovery mode state.
  4. Once you enter the recovery mode, you’ll see either Update or Restore option.
  5. Select Restore if you want to reinstall and download iOS on your device without erasing data. 

Do not disconnect your phone and keep it connected until the entire restore process is finished.

 

The solutions listed above should be good enough in handling software-related error that might have been causing screen problems on your device. If your iPhone is showing excessive screen burns, you’ll need to bring it to the nearest Apple service center in your area. Their onsite technician should be able to determine if you’ll need a repair or a screen replacement to fix the problem on your iPhone X.

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