What a full black screen is useful for
- Finding stuck or hot pixels. A stuck pixel shows up as a bright colored dot on black. For a full check, use our dead pixel test, which also has a stuck pixel fixer.
- Checking light bleed. In a dark room, a black screen reveals light leaking around the edges of LCD monitors and laptops. See the backlight bleed test for how to judge it.
- Spotting OLED burn-in. Switch between black and a gray screen to see faint ghost images left by status bars or logos.
- A "screen off" look while something keeps running. Show black on a second monitor or TV without switching it off, for example during a presentation break.
- Cleaning. Smudges and streaks show up well on black under a light at an angle.
How to open the black screen
- Tap Pure black above (or Near black / Dark gray).
- The display fills with black and switches to full screen where the browser allows it.
- Press Esc or tap the ✕ in the corner to go back.
Black screen wallpaper
The download button makes a plain black PNG in your browser at the size you pick, including your device's exact resolution. On OLED phones a pure black wallpaper looks seamless with the edges of the display and can slightly reduce power use on the home and lock screen.
Pure black vs near black
Pure black (#000000) switches OLED pixels off completely. Near black and dark gray keep the pixels slightly lit, which is useful for checking how evenly a screen handles very dark shades, and for spotting "black crush" where dark details disappear.
Frequently asked questions
How do I make my screen completely black?
Tap Pure black on this page. It fills the display with black (#000000) and switches to full screen where your browser allows it. Press Esc or tap the ✕ button to go back.
Does a black screen save battery?
On OLED and AMOLED screens, yes: black pixels are switched off and use almost no power. On LCD screens the backlight stays on, so a black screen saves little; lowering the brightness matters more.
Why does my black screen look gray or glow at the edges?
LCD panels can't fully block their backlight, so black looks dark gray, and light can leak around the edges. That is called backlight bleed or IPS glow. Our backlight bleed test explains how to tell them apart.
What if my computer shows a black screen on its own?
This page only shows black on purpose. If your computer or phone shows a black screen on its own and won't respond, that's a system or hardware problem and needs a restart or troubleshooting.