What Makers Allow, in Their Own Words
Every figure here is quoted from the manufacturer's own page, with the date it was read. Where a maker publishes no number, this guide says so instead of filling the gap.
There is no industry number. Dell publishes allowance tables that depend on the product line, and on monitors with Premium Panel Exchange it allows zero bright pixels and up to five dark subpixels. ASUS offers a Zero Bright Dot guarantee on select displays, and says dark dots are not part of it. LG says policies differ by model and points you at its service center. Apple publishes no count at all. Read your own maker's page, and note the date you read it.
The first thing to know is that there is no single answer. “How many dead pixels are allowed” has as many answers as there are product lines, and a figure from a forum is worth nothing in a support conversation. What follows is what four manufacturers publish, quoted from their own pages, each with the date it was read.
These figures were read on September 23, 2026. Policies change, and they differ by region. Before you rely on any of them, open the maker's own page — each one is linked at the foot of this guide — and check the number against your own product line.
Dell: published tables, by product line
Dell publishes the most detailed policy of the four, and splits it by whether the display carries Premium Panel Exchange.
| Product | Bright pixels or subpixels | Dark subpixels |
|---|---|---|
| UltraSharp, Gaming (G), Dell Pro P and most Alienware, with Premium Panel Exchange | 0 allowed | Up to 5 |
| Alienware AW5520QF and AW3926QW, with Premium Panel Exchange | 0 allowed | Up to 12 |
| SE, IN and Dell Pro E series, without Premium Panel Exchange | Up to 5 | Up to 5 |
| Laptops, HD+ (1600 × 900) or higher | 0 allowed | Up to 5 |
| Laptops, HD (1366 × 768) or lower | Up to 2 | Up to 5 |
A summary of Dell's published table, read on September 23, 2026. The full table covers more lines, including large format displays and all-in-one computers.
Two details matter as much as the numbers. Dell’s table counts dark subpixels, not dark pixels, and it gives a combined total as well as the separate figures. And Dell assesses faults at normal viewing distance, which it puts at about 35 to 50 cm for a standard monitor, and around 100 to 150 cm for large format monitors of 43 inches and larger.
On the lines Dell covers with Premium Panel Exchange, a single bright pixel is one too many; five dark subpixels are not.
ASUS: a guarantee about bright dots only
ASUS backs select LCD displays with a Zero Bright Dot guarantee. Its definitions are precise: “A bright dot is a sub-pixel defect that is permanently ‘on’, displaying a colored (red, green or blue) spot on the display at all times,” and “A dark dot is a sub-pixel defect that is permanently ‘off’.”
The important limit is stated just as plainly: “Please note that dark dots are not included in the ZBD program.” ASUS adds that exclusions apply and are subject to verification, and directs owners to the product warranty card for the full detail, which is where the numbers for a display outside the program live.
LG: policies differ by model
LG’s support page defines the two faults the same way everyone else does — a dark dot defect is a “colored or black dot in an RGB background”, and a bright dot defect is a “white or colored dot in a black background” — and then makes the point this guide keeps returning to: “Different dead pixel policies apply to different models.”
The page also says there can be inactive pixels of about 1 PPM, one per million, and that this does not affect performance or reliability, and it recommends contacting the customer center or visiting a service center for inspection rather than quoting a threshold you can check yourself.
Apple: no number at all
Apple’s page on LCD display pixel anomalies explains the cause — “a transistor may not work perfectly, which results in the affected subpixel remaining off (dark) or on (bright)” — and notes that dust or foreign material can look like a pixel anomaly.
What it does not do is publish a count. There is no “up to five” on that page. Apple’s instruction is to take the product in for closer examination at an Apple Store, an Apple Authorized Service Provider or an Independent Repair Provider, and the judgment is made there.
What this means for you
- 1
Find the fault properly first. Run the Dead Pixel Test full screen, on white, black and each primary, and note where each fault sits. One pixel can appear on several fields.
- 2
Photograph it from your normal distance, straight on, not with the camera against the glass. That is the distance the maker uses.
- 3
Read your own maker's page, for your own product line, and note the date. A figure for an UltraSharp says nothing about an SE, and a figure from last year may have moved.
- 4
Check the retailer too. A shop's return window is often simpler than any pixel policy, and it does not care how many subpixels are involved.
ScreenTail does not offer a stuck-pixel fixer, and does not describe one: the usual method flashes colors rapidly, which can trigger seizures in people with photosensitive epilepsy. Nothing displayed on a screen repairs a transistor.
What this guide is not
It is not a warranty, an entitlement or legal advice, and it is not exhaustive: four makers are quoted here, and there are many more. It is a snapshot of what those four published on one day, with the date attached so you can tell how old it is.
If a figure here matters to a decision you are about to make, open the linked page and read it yourself. That takes two minutes, and it is the only version that counts.
Questions
Is there an industry standard number of dead pixels?
Not one that makers apply uniformly. The figures below differ between manufacturers and between product lines from the same manufacturer, which is why this guide quotes each policy rather than giving a single number.
Why does a bright dot count for less than a dark one?
In the policies quoted here it counts for more, not less: Dell allows zero bright pixels on the lines covered by Premium Panel Exchange while allowing up to five dark subpixels, and ASUS's Zero Bright Dot guarantee covers bright dots only. A bright dot is visible on almost anything you display; a dark one usually is not.
My display has one dead pixel. Can I return it?
That depends on your maker, your product line, your region and often your retailer, whose own return window may be more generous than the maker's pixel policy. Check the retailer first if the display is new.
How should I document a fault before contacting support?
Open the fault on a full-screen field with the Dead Pixel Test, note which field shows it and where it sits on screen, and photograph it straight on from a normal distance. Dell, for example, assesses pixel faults at about 35 to 50 cm for a standard monitor.
Do these numbers change?
Yes, and that is why each line here carries the date it was read. Check the maker's own page before you rely on a figure from any guide, including this one.
How this guide was made
Every figure on this page was read from the manufacturer's own published page on the date shown against it, and is quoted rather than summarized. Nothing was taken from a second-hand list, and no policy from one maker was applied to another.
Samsung is missing on purpose. No published Samsung pixel threshold for monitors could be found on Samsung's own support pages, and the numbers circulating in forums and buying guides are not a published policy, so none is quoted here. Retailer return policies are also left out: they change constantly and are specific to the shop.
- 01Pixel-defect allowances by product line, and the definitions and viewing distance used to assess them: Dell, Display Pixel Guidelines — retrieved Sep 23, 2026.
- 02The Zero Bright Dot guarantee, the definitions of a bright dot and a dark dot, and the exclusion of dark dots from the program: ASUS, Zero Bright Dot — retrieved Sep 23, 2026.
- 03Definitions of bright and dark dot defects, the statement that policies differ by model, and the advice to contact a service center: LG, Troubleshooting dots on the screen — retrieved Sep 23, 2026.
- 04That pixel anomalies can occur, and that the recommended step is examination rather than a published count: Apple, About LCD display pixel anomalies — retrieved Sep 23, 2026.