Why should you not touch the built-in maintenance mode on OLED TVs?

Behind the sleek bezel and beautiful screen, your OLED Smart TV  is quietly doing some important cleaning work. That's right! While you may not see it or interact with it, this behind-the-scenes work keeps your OLED screen looking great and is vital to the panel's long-term health - which is why you shouldn't mess with it!

Compensation Cycle in OLED TV

Every OLED TV faces an inevitable reality: pixel aging. Because each pixel emits its own light, they wear out at different rates depending on how often and how bright they're used. Over time, that uneven aging can cause burn-in—or worse, permanent image retention. That's where the compensation cycle (also known as pixel refresh, pixel cleaning, or panel refresh) comes in.

The compensation cycle is a built-in feature that helps level out pixel wear across the entire screen. It's essentially how your TV recalibrates itself to prevent image blur. TVs like LG's OLED lineup (including but not limited to the C1, C2, C3, C4, G4, and B4) will automatically run a "short" cycle after every 4 hours of cumulative use. There's also a more intensive "long" cycle that kicks in every 2,000 hours.

This process typically takes anywhere from a few minutes to over an hour, depending on the level of calibration required. During this time, the TV's power light may flash or change color, and the screen may show moving lines or remain completely black.

Best of all, it's automatic. You don't have to remember when it's due or manually schedule it; your TV will monitor your usage in the background.

Should I run maintenance mode manually?

Short answer: Probably not, unless you have a specific reason. OLED TV engineers spend a lot of time calibrate when and how often these cycles run. The automated system takes into account factors like total viewing time, the brightness level of the content, and the specific wear patterns of the display.

Many new OLED owners regularly run manual compensation cycles, believing that this will help keep their TV in good condition. However, some Reddit users have pointed out that running these cycles too early or too often can do more harm than good. Rather than protecting the panel, frequent cycles can actually accelerate pixel wear. Each cycle puts stress on the organic materials, potentially shortening the lifespan of the TV rather than extending it.

However, there are valid cases where running a manual pixel refresh makes sense. For example, if you've just unboxed a new OLED and are noticing visible banding or uniformity issues, a manual cycle can significantly reduce those issues. Some users report that dark lines or banding improve significantly after the first automatic cycle, especially on newer panels that aren't yet fully stabilized.

Manual intervention can also be useful if you play a lot of games with static HUD elements, watch news channels with fixed logos, or if some automatic cycles are interrupted by power outages or other issues.

You might be wondering, 'If your TV is already doing some pixel cleaning every 4 hours, why not run it manually every once in a while?' And that's a reasonable thought. After all, that automatic thing sounds a lot more frequent than anything you'd trigger manually.

The key difference, however, is that the automatic refresh after 4 hours of use is a light maintenance rather than a full compensation cycle. It's much less aggressive and is designed to gently maintain the panel without putting it under stress. Manual pixel refresh, on the other hand, is more intensive and should only be run when absolutely necessary.

Most OLED TVs have this setting hidden in their menus. For example, on recent LG models running webOS (i.e. 22, 23, 24), it's under Settings > General > OLED Care > OLED Panel Care > Pixel Cleaning . Sony offers a similar feature, although the name and menu path may be slightly different.

You can support the compensation cycle without doing too much.

The easiest way to help your OLED screen maintain itself is to leave it plugged in. Use the TV's power button or remote to turn it off, but don't unplug it. If you see the power indicator light acting strangely — blinking or changing color — resist the urge to unplug anything. Your TV is working hard to maintain itself.

Here are some other helpful habits:

1. Turn on a screensaver or 'logo fader' feature. For games, modern consoles (like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X) have a screensaver option (in the Power Saving settings menu) that turns off the display after a period of inactivity. These features are specifically designed to protect OLED displays.
2. Avoid leaving static images (e.g., paused YouTube videos, game menus, and news feeds) on the screen for long periods of time.
3. If you're a hardcore gamer or news watcher, try switching up your content every once in a while. Watch a movie between gaming sessions or switch to full-screen content after watching a channel with constant graphics. This gives different pixels a chance to work and prevents uneven wear patterns.
4. Leave the TV alone for 10 – 15 minutes after viewing, especially if it prompts you with a pixel refresh message.
5. Check your TV settings menu for any power-saving features that you suspect might be interfering with background processes.
6. If you must use a power strip for surge protection, choose a smart power strip that can detect when devices (with a "master" or "always on" outlet) need power, or simply leave the TV outlet on.

OLEDs have made significant strides in panel longevity, and burn-in is no longer as much of a concern as it once was. But let the TV handle its own maintenance.

Lesley Montoya

Update 30 June 2025