Nintendo says dead Switch pixels are "normal," which isn't wrong

Industry standards and LCD makers' warranties generally allow for some leeway.

Some early Nintendo Switch buyers are complaining of dead or stuck pixels on the tablet's display, according to a report in The Guardian about a fairly active Reddit thread. A pixel is considered "dead" if all or part of it never lights up at all, while a pixel or subpixel is considered "stuck" if it's always lit up no matter what's being displayed onscreen. Pixel defects can be annoying and distracting, but Nintendo indicates that it won't be replacing these tablets under warranty any time soon.

"Small numbers of stuck or dead pixels are a characteristic of LCD screens," the company said in a statement. "These are normal and should not be considered a defect."

This is a classic case of "two things can be true." Dead or stuck pixels are a manufacturing defect, but what is "normal" is that most LCD manufacturers allow for an "acceptable" number of dead or stuck pixels before they'll replace screens. The ISO 13406-2 standard defines different Pixel Fault Classes and how many pixel defects are allowed for each class; Class I displays aren't allowed to have any defects at all, but the more common Class II displays allow for as many as two dead or stuck pixels and as many as five subpixel defects.

Complying with these standards isn't mandatory, but individual companies' pixel policies suggest that they mostly try to adhere to the Class II guidelines. HP will accept up to five total subpixel defects, but zero full-pixel defects. Dell's fancier monitors can't have any bright sub-pixels but up to six dark subpixels are acceptable, while their lower-end displays can have between three and six bright subpixel defects. Apple encourages "concerned" customers to bring their computers in for evaluation, but doesn't define an acceptable maximum number of stuck pixels. Asus, Acer, AOC (PDF), ViewSonic, and others all have slightly different policies based on what monitor you buy and how old it is, but they all stick close to the Class II guidelines.

This is also broadly true of phone and tablet makers like Samsung, which will take a device with pixel or subpixel defects back if you exchange it in within the first seven days after purchase but otherwise allows for between one and four pixel defects depending on the kind of screen you're using and its resolution.

In short, Nintendo isn't wrong—a couple of dead or stuck pixels or subpixels is completely normal, and Nintendo isn't alone in shipping screens that have a small defect or two. So if you're a perfectionist looking for in-warranty relief, you may not have a leg to stand on unless your screen has a large number of pixel or subpixel defects; you'll just have to hope that Nintendo eventually offers to fix any and all pixel defects, as it did for the original Nintendo DS back in 2004.