Well-known hardware reviewers at rtings.com have discovered a new anomaly affecting older LG WOLED displays and named it “Edge Rot”. This phenomenon occurs when pixels at the edge of the screen begin to fail. This condition has been documented with fourteen out of sixteen LG televisions manufactured from 2020 to 20203 in an 18,000-hour longevity test. While most users of OLED technology tend to worry about the possibility of burn-in occurring, most have probably never even heard of edge rot, let alone know what it potentially means for their aging display. Edge rot has become increasingly reported on Reddit, where a number of images showing the condition have been posted. For the most part, edge rot tends to resemble the effect of deteriorating paper edges as commonly seen with older documents but in this scenario it’s mostly witnessed around the edge of the screen.
So far, testing has yet to show edge rot happening on 2024 or newer models, and an LG G3 OLED was the only model from 2023 to have begun showing the condition, so owners of new panels can breathe a sigh of relief, at least for now, but RTINGS says that there’s not enough time passed to fully determine if LG resolved the issue in its newer models. LG responded to RTINGS regarding their testing results and said that “LG Electronics and LG Display are aware of the phenomenon referenced by RTINGS and have found that it may occur in a very small number of OLED products under prolonged exposure to high-temperature, high-humidity, or other harsh environmental conditions.”
QD-OLED seems to be immune to the condition, and Samsung has said that “This proprietary architecture effectively blocks moisture ingress right at the edge of the panel—eliminating the root cause of border degradation and ensuring long-term edge-to-edge uniformity where traditional structures falter.”
It should be noted that RTINGs testings have shown other manufacturers displays experiencing the edge rot. Sony and Vizio panels were also documented with the condition, showing that this phenomenon can affect a number of different OLED panels or, more specifically, WOLED. Nine out of ten WBC WOLED LG displays showed edge rot in testing, as did 5 out of 6 WBE LG WOLEDS. Clearly, the oldest, ranging from 2020 to 2022, appear to be the most vulnerable. Those wanting to know more ought to check the RTINGs report, as there are many more model-specific charts to look at.