Contents
- What we checked ourselves, and how
- Which brands cover burn-in, and for how long?
- Asus: 36 months, except 11 older models
- MSI: 3 years, exclusions unverified
- Alienware / Dell: 3 years, and a phone diagnosis is the gate
- LG US: 2 years, at home only
- Who decides it is burn-in?
- Is an OLED monitor worth it, given the warranty?
- FAQ
- What is still unknown
Buying an OLED monitor and wondering if the warranty covers burn-in? Yes, at all four brands, but the terms differ. Asus (most models), MSI and Alienware/Dell give 3 years. LG’s US warranty gives 2 years after sale. My view: the length is the easy part. The conditions attached to it decide whether a claim goes through.
Everything here is US-based. Other regions may differ.
What we checked ourselves, and how
We checked this on 2026-09-24 at 08:57. We opened Asus’s official OLED warranty FAQ and Dell’s official Alienware monitor support page directly. That is 2 of the 4 primary warranty pages.
MSI’s own announcement page returned a 403. The TechRadar piece sat behind a paywall stub. So MSI’s and LG’s terms come from secondary reports that quote them: How-To Geek, BGR, HDTVTest and PCWorld. Treat those two rows as second-hand.
| Brand | Burn-in covered? | Term | Source read | Stated conditions / exclusions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asus (ROG Swift, PG32UCDM and unlisted OLED models) | Yes | 36 months | Asus FAQ, opened directly | FAQ states none; claims routed to customer service |
| Asus (PQ22UC, MQ13AH, MQ16AH, PA27DCE, PA27DCE-K, PA32DC, PG27AQDM, PG34WCDM, PG42UQ, PG48UQ, PG49WCD) | Listed under the warranty policy; the FAQ does not explicitly mention burn-in for these | 24 months | Asus FAQ, opened directly | FAQ says packaging that shows ‘two-year’ is still covered by 3-year service for affected models; check the model list |
| MSI (all OLED monitors, per reports) | Yes | 3 years | Secondary reports only (MSI page blocked) | Exclusions NOT verified; reportedly tied to OLED Care 2.0 |
| Alienware / Dell (QD-OLED) | Yes | 3 years (‘maximum warranty term, includes burn-in’) | Dell support page, opened directly | Page states no exclusions; Premium Panel Exchange is ‘not offered as a standard or add-on service’ |
| LG UltraGear (US, 27-inch 27GR95QE-B and later models) | Yes | 2 years after sale | HDTVTest and BGR reports of LG’s statement | Only ‘normal and proper use’; excludes ‘improper usage’, ‘misuse or abuse’, and commercial use such as retail signage; residential personal PC use only |
| Corsair (for context only) | Yes | 3 years | BGR report | Requires using its Orbit and Image Retention Refresh features |
Two cautions on that table. Asus’s FAQ lists no exclusions, which more likely means the FAQ is short than that none exist. And Corsair sits outside the four brands. It is there for context only.
Which brands cover burn-in, and for how long?
Short answer: 3 years at Asus (most models), MSI and Alienware/Dell. 2 years at LG in the US.
- 3 years: Asus for most models, MSI (reported), Alienware/Dell.
- 2 years: LG US, counted from the sale.
- 24 months: 11 older Asus models, covered below.
- Read directly: Asus and Dell. Second-hand: MSI and LG.
LG is the outlier. Reports from BGR and HDTVTest put its US term at 2 years. We found no official word on whether the term still holds.
Asus: 36 months, except 11 older models
Asus’s FAQ says the newer PG32UCDM has “3 years warranty (including panel burn-in)”. Other OLED models not on the exception list also get 36 months.
The exception list has 11 models: PQ22UC, MQ13AH, MQ16AH, PA27DCE, PA27DCE-K, PA32DC, PG27AQDM, PG34WCDM, PG42UQ, PG48UQ and PG49WCD. They carry 24 months. The FAQ does not explicitly mention burn-in for them.
Here is the part that trips people up. If your box or warranty card says “two-year,” Asus says that is still covered by 3-year service for affected models. It tells you to check the model list. So read the list, not the box.
The history is messy. In February 2024, PCWorld reported that Asus had stretched its default 1-year warranty to 2 years for burn-in. The FAQ we opened shows a last-updated date of 2024/10/07.
Reports also disagree on the exception list. How-To Geek says some older Asus models get 2 years. BGR names four: PQ22UC, MQ13AH, MQ16AH and PA27DCE. Asus’s own FAQ lists all 11. Go with Asus.
MSI: 3 years, exclusions unverified
How-To Geek reports 3 years of burn-in coverage on all MSI OLED monitors. BGR and PCWorld also say 3 years. We could not read MSI’s own page, so its exclusions are unverified. The coverage is reportedly tied to OLED Care 2.0, but we could not confirm the exact conditions. Ask MSI for the written terms before you buy.
Alienware / Dell: 3 years, and a phone diagnosis is the gate
Dell’s page is direct: “QD–OLED panel technology is limited to a 3-year maximum warranty term, includes burn-in.” The page carries no date. It states no exclusions.
The catch is in how you get a fix. Advanced Exchange means Dell “will send you a replacement display often within one to two business days, if deemed necessary after phone/online diagnosis.” Note the last clause. Someone on the phone decides whether you get a replacement. If you do not send the defective unit back, a fee applies.
Premium Panel Exchange replaces a panel free during the Limited Hardware Warranty period, even for one bright-pixel defect. Dell says it is “not offered as a standard or add-on service.”
Then there is the retailer question. A Dell Community thread quotes Dell’s site as promising “3-year Advanced Exchange Service and Premium Panel Exchange (including coverage for OLED burn-in).” The poster asked whether that applies to an Amazon Germany purchase. Nobody answered. They said Dell support tried to sell them ProSupport instead.
Some Q&A threads claim the coverage applies only to Dell-direct purchases. Dell’s page says nothing like that, so treat the claim as unconfirmed. Buying from Dell directly is the safe route.
LG US: 2 years, at home only
HDTVTest reported on 2023-08-12 that LG covers burn-in for 2 years after sale on US-sold 27-inch UltraGear OLED monitors. That includes the 27GR95QE-B, both existing and new units, and future 27-inch UltraGear OLED models.
The conditions, as reported:
- Covered: burn-in under “normal and proper use,” including ordinary desktop use such as Windows office work.
- Excluded: “improper usage,” “misuse or abuse.”
- Excluded: commercial use, such as retail signage. Residential personal PC use only.
So a monitor running a static dashboard in a shop is out. A monitor on a home desk is in. LG US gets fewer years and a narrower use case.
Who decides it is burn-in?
No brand we checked publishes a definition of burn-in, a way to tell it from temporary image retention, or a test threshold. That means the company decides. On Dell it is the diagnosis call. On Asus it is customer service. Asus tells owners with symptoms to power the monitor off for at least an hour (a full day if possible) or run pixel cleaning up to 3 times. If the image is still there, contact customer service for warranty service. The FAQ does not state what you get: repair, replacement or refund. Outside Dell’s exchange, no brand’s remedy is spelled out.
Some brands make protection features part of the deal:
| Brand | Are protection features a claim condition? |
|---|---|
| MSI | Unverified. Reportedly tied to OLED Care 2.0; exact exclusions not confirmed |
| Corsair | Yes: use Orbit and Image Retention Refresh |
| Asus | Not stated as a condition on the pages opened. Recommends pixel cleaning every 4 hours of normal use |
| Dell / Alienware | Not stated as a condition on the page opened |
| LG | “Normal and proper use” only |
How-To Geek says burn-in shows up over “hundreds, if not thousands of hours,” mostly from static images. My take: run the built-in refresh cycles anyway. It costs nothing and it removes an argument.
Is an OLED monitor worth it, given the warranty?
Going by the warranty terms alone, OLED suits you if the monitor lives on a home desk, you run varied content (games, video, mixed browsing) and you will leave the protection features on. In that case a 3-year term at Asus or Alienware/Dell, or 2 years at LG US, covers burn-in on paper.
Choose IPS or mini-LED if the screen shows static content for long hours (dashboards, office work with fixed toolbars), if it sits in a shop or other commercial setting (LG excludes it), or if you are in the US and want more than 2 years from LG. For those uses, a panel with no burn-in risk avoids the claim question altogether.
Habits that lower the risk:
- Run the monitor’s built-in pixel refresh or cleaning cycles. Asus recommends this every 4 hours of normal use.
- Do not disable the protection features. Corsair requires them for a claim, and MSI’s terms may.
- Do not leave a static image on screen for hours; let the monitor sleep or use a moving wallpaper.
- Power the monitor off for an hour or more if you see retention.
- Keep the receipt and buy from a seller that confirms burn-in coverage in writing.
FAQ
Does an OLED monitor warranty cover burn-in? Yes at Asus, MSI, Alienware/Dell and LG US, per the pages and reports above. MSI’s and LG’s terms are second-hand, and LG’s applies to US-sold 27-inch UltraGear OLED models.
Which brand has the longest burn-in coverage? Asus (most models), MSI and Alienware/Dell each give 3 years. LG US gives 2. Eleven older Asus models carry 24 months.
Do I have to use the monitor’s protection features to keep the warranty? Corsair requires it, per BGR. MSI’s exclusions are unverified. The Asus and Dell pages we opened do not state it as a condition, though that may only mean the pages are short.
Does the Alienware warranty only apply if I buy from Dell? Unconfirmed. Dell’s support page names no purchase-location limit, but some Q&A summaries claim one.
Can I use an LG OLED monitor for a shop display? Not under the reported terms. Commercial use such as retail signage is excluded.
What is still unknown
No brand says how burn-in gets told apart from image retention, and that is the real gap. If a claim fails, I expect it to fail there. Also open: MSI’s full terms, LG’s current US term and how retail purchases are treated at Dell. Before you buy, ask the seller in writing whether burn-in is covered on the exact model, and keep the receipt.
What I will watch next is whether any brand publishes a test threshold. A number like that is what would make a claim predictable.
Sources
- ASUS OLED Monitor Warranty Period and Policy (official FAQ)
- ASUS OLED Monitor Protection Mechanism & Warranty Service (official FAQ)
- Alienware Monitor Support Services, Dell US
- HDTVTest, LG confirms OLED monitor warranty now covers burn-in
- How-To Geek, Worried About OLED Burn-In?
- BGR, 5 Major OLED Monitor Brands That Actually Offer Burn-In Protection
- PCWorld, Asus, MSI add extra burn-in warranty coverage
- Dell Community, Alienware AW2725DF burn-in Warranty
Image credits
- Photo by Ron Lach on Pexels
- Photo by Ataberk Güler on Unsplash