ChromeOS
Dead Pixels on a Chromebook
A dead pixel on a Chromebook is the same panel fault as on any other laptop. ChromeOS only changes how you fill the screen, and who you ask about a warranty. Google did not make every Chromebook, and there is not one pixel allowance for all of them.
Full screen in ChromeOS, then the colours
You do not need a Google account. A guest session can open the page. The test runs in the browser. Nothing is installed.
- Open the test in Chrome. You do not need to sign in. A guest session can open the page. Turn off Night Light if the display settings have it on, and raise the brightness with the sun keys on the top row.
- Make Chrome full screen. Press Start test. If the shelf or the tab strip is still visible, press the fullscreen key on the top row (the rectangle icon) or use the fullscreen control in the Chrome menu. Full screen is what hides the shelf. Maximised is not the same thing.
- Step through the colours on the Chromebook panel. Check red, green, blue, white, black and grey on the built-in screen. Unplug an external display first, or you may be inspecting the wrong panel.
- Try the fixer only if the pixel is stuck on an LCD. A dark dot on every colour is dead, and flashing will not repair it. A coloured dot on black that vanishes on its own colour can be tried with the stuck-pixel fixer after the epilepsy warning. Do not press or heat the panel.
- Ask the company that made that Chromebook. The panel warranty belongs to the company that made that Chromebook, not to one Google pixel policy for every device. Google's manufacturer-support page lists that company. Read the warranty for the model. Diagnostics, on Google's hardware help, is described for the battery, processor and memory, not as a dead-pixel count.
Search the settings for Night Light and turn it off for the check, so the white screen is actually white. The brightness keys are the sun icons on the top row.
Pressing Start test asks Chrome for fullscreen. On a Chromebook that usually works. If the shelf along the bottom, or the tab strip, is still visible, you are not in fullscreen yet. Maximised is not enough: the shelf still covers a strip of the panel. Press the fullscreen key on the top row. It shows a rectangle, and on many keyboards it sits where F4 would be. The same control is in the Chrome menu, under the three dots. Esc, or the Close control on the test, leaves.
If the browser refuses fullscreen, the colour still covers the page and a note asks you to hide the surrounding bars. The dot you care about can sit under the shelf, so it is worth getting the shelf out of the way.
Dead or stuck, on this panel
White shows a dead pixel: a sharp dark dot that stays dark on red, green, blue and grey. Black shows a stuck pixel as a red, green or blue point, and a hot pixel as a bright point. Dust wipes off with a dry microfibre cloth. A line or a band is not one pixel. The dead versus stuck page goes through each colour. The longer repair cautions, including hinges and display cables, are on the laptop page. They apply here too. Do not flex the lid to chase a line.
Unplug any external monitor before you decide the Chromebook panel is at fault. A single dead pixel does not appear on two different screens at once. If both show a blocky or torn picture, you are looking at the signal or the resolution. ChromeOS can mirror or extend. Testing the wrong display is an easy mistake.
What the fixer will and will not do
The stuck-pixel fixer is for a stuck liquid crystal on an LCD. It flashes a small box. Nothing starts until you read the epilepsy warning and press “I understand, start”. If the Chromebook is set to reduced motion, you confirm a second time. Choose a short time. Stop stays on screen. If the dot is unchanged after a couple of minutes, stop.
A dead pixel will not start lighting. A hot pixel will not switch off. Do not massage the glass, and do not aim a hair dryer at it. Heat and pressure crack panels. They are not a fix this site recommends.
ChromeOS includes a Diagnostics app. On Google’s hardware help, the tips that name Diagnostics are for the battery, the processor and memory. The page then says to contact the manufacturer. It does not describe a dead-pixel test. The dot is something you judge on a flat colour.
Who warrants the panel
The warranty for the panel is the warranty of the company that made that Chromebook, for that model. There is not one Google pixel allowance for every device. Google’s manufacturer-support page lists makers, including Google for a Google-branded Chromebook, and tells you to contact that maker if Diagnostics does not solve a battery, processor or memory problem. A dead pixel is not one of those checks. You still read the warranty for your model. This site does not quote it.
Do not assume a quota you read for a Dell monitor, or for a different Chromebook, applies to yours. The warranty guide explains ISO 9241-307 classes and how to photograph the fault before you write to anyone. If you bought in the UK, the shop still has duties under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, separate from the maker’s chart.
Common questions
How do I make a dead pixel test full screen on a Chromebook?
Press Start test so the page can request fullscreen. If the shelf is still showing, press the fullscreen key on the top row. It is marked with a rectangle, and it sits where F4 would be on many older keyboards. You can also open the Chrome menu, the three dots, and use the fullscreen control there. Maximising the window leaves the shelf and the tab strip in the way. The colour still covers the page if fullscreen is refused, and a note on the test tells you so.
Does Google replace a Chromebook for dead pixels?
Only if Google made that Chromebook, and only under the warranty for that model. Most Chromebooks are made by another company. Google's manufacturer-support page lists the maker, including Google for a Google-branded device, and tells you to contact them if Diagnostics does not solve a battery, processor or memory problem. A dead pixel is not one of those checks. There is not a single pixel allowance that covers every Chromebook. Read the warranty for that model. This site does not quote one.
Can I fix dead pixels on a Chromebook myself?
A stuck pixel on an LCD Chromebook is sometimes freed by the stuck-pixel fixer, after you read the epilepsy warning and keep the box small. A dead pixel, a hot pixel and a line of bad pixels will not be fixed by flashing. Do not massage the screen, and do not use a hair dryer. Google's hardware help points the built-in Diagnostics app at parts such as the battery, the processor and memory, and then tells you to contact the manufacturer. A dead pixel is still something you judge by eye on a flat colour.
The dot shows on an external monitor as well. What does that mean?
A single dead pixel does not copy itself onto a second screen. If both displays show the same broken, blocky or repeated image, you are looking at the signal, the cable or the resolution. Unplug the external monitor and test the Chromebook panel on its own. A sharp dot that exists only on the built-in panel is that panel.