How to Fix a Broken TV Screen (Cracked and Dented!)

Television has been a major source of mass communication and entertainment since it first came out in 1927. Since then, we have moved from CRT screens to LCDs, LEDs, Plasma, and QD-OLED. But, like every gadget, your TV might be susceptible to considerable damage, and a cracked/ broken screen is just one of them. 

Most TV screens are made with a layer of thin reinforced glass which makes them susceptible to cracks and dents. 

A broken screen can frequently entail an expensive expert repair, new components, or even a replacement. In most cases, a damaged screen clearly indicates that your TV will never return to its former glory. Unlike other electronic devices, manufacturers don’t usually sell screen replacements for TVs. Even if you get your hands on one, it’s going to cost nearly 60% of what you originally paid for it. 

You may also want to read our pick on how to turn on your tv if you lose the remote.

So, it all comes down to the degree of damage. If your TV screen has minute cracks or dents, partial discolouration, or dead pixels on a specific corner, then you might be able to salvage it. And today, we are going to tell you how you can do that…

Cracked or Dented Screen

This is the most common form of damage that your TV might face.

Now, cracks can range anywhere from small hairline cracks to deeper grooved cracks. In case of hairline cracks or Spiderweb cracks your TV screen has taken minimal damage and can be readily fixed with some basic DIY tricks. But, whenever you see deeper cracks with visible shards of glass and complete blackness of pixels in the cracked area, it means the time has come to say goodbye.

Dents on the other hand are a more serious issue. Some old-school LCDs are CRT displays are built in such a way that they can take a heavy hit and still survive. But, they incur a permanent dent, which will most assuredly be accompanied by flatlines and discoloration over the whole screen. 

If the display works fine with minimal to partial flatlines and discoloration the issue is fixable but, if the screen doesn’t show any sign of life when powered up then it obviously means the dent has damaged internal circuits. 

Bringing Back “Dead” Pixels

“Dead” Pixels are a relatively minor issue when considering a broken TV screen. But, nevertheless, it should be treated with utmost care and delicacy if you want to salvage your TV. 

First, we will have to figure out where the dead pixels are showing up:

• Plug in your TV with a power outlet and look carefully at every nook and cranny of the screen to identify areas of damage. 
• Take a non-permanent/ temporary marker and circle around the areas that show Dead Pixels and turn off the TV. 
• Take a pencil or any similar dull object and cover one end tightly with a damp, soft cloth, any microfiber cloth can also be taken but make sure it’s soft-touch. 
• Rub each pixel in the marked area with the cloth so, the pixels can “wake up” be sure to be gentle since vigorous rubbing can permanently harm pixels.
• If the “Dead” pixels are accompanied by cracks then make sure you are extra gentle and thorough with the wiping. 
• Continue the same for every spot where pixels are dead, one to two minutes per spot is enough.
• Once done turn on the TV and check the pixel recovery, if some patches haven’t been fixed yet they repeat the process and try again. 

If this DIY method doesn’t work, you can try this software. It’s specially designed to locate dead pixels on your screen and wake them up.   

A Quick fix for to Minor TV Cracks

Minor cracks are easily fixable with a pencil eraser but, often the depth of the crack is hard to determine by the naked eye. 

So, we recommend you first power up your TV screen to look out for any dead pixels, as they are often accompanied by hairline cracks. No matter whether dead pixels show up or not be sure to look extensively at every corner for cracks. 

If the cracks are not visible to the naked eye then take a microfiber cloth(not the soft-touch ones) and run it through the whole display and check anywhere you find irregularities. If you feel any broken shards of glass or rough edges along the perimeter of the crack it means the repair will not be possible. 

Now, if you find no glass shards or rough edges:

• Take a good-quality pencil eraser and ensure it’s soft to the touch. We personally recommend using a used eraser for this quick fix, as it provides more usable surface area to work on. 
• Take the eraser and gently rub over the hairline/ spiderweb cracks and let all the minute particles collect into the residue of the eraser. 
• Clean the eraser as it collects any residue and continue the same motion 3-4 times, be gentle with your motion. 
• Check whether the irregularity has faded away or not. If no, repeat the same motion. 

An LCD scratch repair kit can also be used if the eraser method is not working for you. Normal scratch repair kits contain a clear gel that works very much like epoxy, just apply it on the cracks and let it dry. Within minutes the crack will be barely noticeable. 

Recovery from Dents

In most cases, a dent means there’s little to no chance of your TV screen ever working again. But, if the screen is functional even after the dent, here are a few things you can do.

Power up the TV and look at the discolouration. If the discolouration is spread evenly throughout the screen, then it’s a software issue: 

• Go to the settings section on your TV and adjust the colour settings until it is black and white. 
• Ensure that both the whites and the blacks are distinct by calibrating the contrasts and brightness. 
• Increase the sharpness to the maximum setting, then decrease it before adding color.

If the discoloration has spread around the dent like a ripple then there’s nothing to be done. It means the pixels have taken significant damage over that area and got switched into the polarizer. You can try to wake up the pixels by rubbing them with a  soft-touch cloth but, in most cases, a rippled discoloration is permanent. 

If none of these hacks work out for you then it’s safe to assume that your TV is long gone and there’s nothing that you can do about it. If you still want to fix it you might look for an external display panel of the same model number or buy a new TV altogether. Whatever suits you best

Can we use nail polish or superglue on cracks?

Two of the most unconventional methods of fixing a broken screen (or small cracks to be more precise) are using super glue or nail polish. 

Both of these fluids may have a similar composition to an LCD repair kit’s epoxy but, using them directly on a cracked screen is very dangerous. Firstly, superglue is extremely potent, and cleaning it up after it’s dried is next to impossible. Plus, its chemicals can seep into the screen if the cracks and deeper and destroy the polarizer permanently.

So, it’s a bit of a NO! No for Superglue.  

Some people might also advise you to use clear nail polish over the cracks and shave off the excess when it dried up with a razor. But, we honestly do not encourage this practice as working with sharp objects near a broken cracked screen is extremely risky, and clear nail polish is more translucent than transparent, which means the pixels will appear distorted in the part you apply nail polish. 

How does our DIY hack work on different kinds of TV screens?

Different screens have different chemical and structural buildup. The older CRT displays have screens attached to a cathode ray tube that stimulates the display, which is repairable with DIY but not everyone should risk it. Plus, they are heavy and more sturdy. Thus, they dent or crack less. But, fixing them should best be left to trained professionals. 

On the other hand, newer TVs have Plasma, Curved UHD, and Q-OLED screens which are thinner and more fragile. Those things can crack up pretty easily, and once they do they are nearly impossible to get back in working condition. Curved displays are especially never meant for DIY fixes.  

This DIY will work best for most of our houses’ LED and LCD screens. Just be sure to be extra careful when you try them out because one small step and you can lose a couple of hundred dollars.