How Long Monitors Last – How to Improve Lifespan of Monitor

Monitors are no more cheaper electronics that can be replaced every year. Before investing in any new monitor, any rational consumer will like to know how long monitors last. The lifespan of any monitor, be it a gaming monitor or work-related office monitor, depends on how it is being handled by its user.

However, there are ways to improve the lifespan of a monitor but instead, one should use the monitor will due diligence so that they can get the longest lifespan of a monitor and better value for money over a period of time.

Here in this article, you will find how long monitors last, things that directly affect the longevity of a monitor and how you can improve the lifespan of a monitor.

Also See: Best Monitor size for Gaming

How Long Monitor Last – Average Lifespan of a Monitor

First of all, there is no one number that can define the average lifespan of a monitor. There could be a manufacturing defect, handling mistake, accident, fluctuation in power supply etc that can affect the lifespan of a monitor. But to give you an idea, here is how long monitors last.

The majority of monitors available in the market right now are LED monitors. However OLED monitors are also getting popular these days and you can check some of the best OLED monitors.

Under normal circumstances, the average lifespan of these monitors ranges from somewhere around 50,000-100,000 hours. So if you use your monitor for 10 hours per day, the average lifespan would be 12-25 years which is not bad at all.

So if you get a good monitor for $500, you use it with utmost care for 8-10 hours per day and there is no manufacturing defect in it, in that case, it will work for at least 12 years. That will basically cost you $40/per year. This is just a hypothetical situation and the monitor can work for more than 12 years. In that case, the cost will come down which will give you even better value for money.

Factors Affecting Lifespan of a Monitor

The average life of a monitor ultimately depends on how its user uses it over a long period of time. Here we are going to talk about things that directly or indirectly affect the lifespan of a monitor.

1. Daily Usage Limit

The average life span number of 50,000-100,000 hours we talked about above directly depends on the number of hours a monitor is being used per day. If you are using the monitor for 8-10 hours, you can expect the same lifespan but if you are using a monitor for 15 hours or 20 hours a day, the lifespan will drastically decrease to a lower number.

Similarly, if the monitor is used just for 2-4 hours a day, the average lifespan of the monitor will be much improved. Basically, it depends on how long the monitor is used every day.

2. Environmental Conditions & Placement

It is a crucial thing that will definitely impact the life of a monitor. Extremely hot or cold weather will negatively impact the display and the internal components. Heat, humidity, dust, direct exposure of sunlight, poor ventilation will negatively affect the lifespan of a monitor.

3. Quality of Internal Components

At the time of buying a monitor, we usually compare the features and price of shortlisted monitors and in most cases, a buyer will choose the monitor with less price but with similar features. But no one talks about the durability of the internal components of the monitor which includes electrical circuits, panel quality and much more.

Also See: Best Gaming Monitor under $300

A cheap monitor that is coming up with a dirt cheap price tag might not be able to stand strong for that long duration of time simply because internal components are made of cheap materials that allow the manufacturer to sell at a dirt cheap price. Such monitors are not able to handle the stress for a long period of time.

4. Power Surges

Although most monitor comes with an inbuilt adapter but if your area has sudden and major fluctuations in the power, this is not good news for your monitor because these power surges will negatively impact the life of your monitor.

5. Maintenance

Everything that exists on the face of the earth asks for timely maintenance. The same thing goes for monitors. If you are someone who actually takes care of your monitor, properly cleans the ventilation vents, takes care of power surges and does timely repair to fix malfunctioning, the chances are, your monitor will live for a long period of time.

Also See: Best Monitor for RTX 4080

Tips to Improve Lifespan of a Monitor

There is no thumb of rules or rocket science to improve the lifespan of your monitor. It’s just basic things that you need to do over a long period of time and your monitor will never give you a headache.

1. Proper Placement

The first thing you can do for your monitor is to give it a proper, ventilated space. There must be enough space to throw the heat out from the vents. Also, don’t place the monitor under direct sunlight and in an extremely hot or cold place. If you are using high-end, high refresh rate monitors for gaming, temperature control is necessary to protect the monitor from overheating and to provide better performance and a longer lifespan.

Portable monitors, however, are different from full-fledged monitors and you don’t need to stress much about their placement and ventilation.

2. Control Power Surges

Giving less or more power to the monitor will ruin the efficiency of the electrical component. Sometimes it can just blow the electrical components and lead to total shutdown. To improve the lifespan of your monitor, make sure the power outlet is controlled by a stabilizer or surge protector. Minor fluctuations can be handled by the monitor’s adapter itself but if your place has huge power fluctuations, you seriously need to fix those power surges.

3. Adjust Brightness & Contrast

You don’t need to use your monitor’s 1000nits of brightness and extremely high contrast. The 100% brightness means LEDs are working at their peak and they will lose their efficiency faster. Using a 50%-60% brightness level is the most comfortable brightness level which not only improves the lifespan of your monitor but also protects your eyes from extreme exposure to LEDs.

See Also: Best White Gaming Monitors

4. Use Screen Saver

The whole purpose of introducing screensavers in CRT monitors was to protect the display from pixel burn and ghosting. Screensavers are very important especially on OLED displays because OLEDs get pixel burn if the same images stay on screen for a long duration of time. Sometimes it leaves the permanent imprint of the last image that stayed on the screen for a long duration of time.

The latest OLED panels are coming up with pixel-saver mode that keeps on refreshing the screen to clear the pixels. To keep the monitor running for a long, use a solid black screensaver that activates after 3-5 minutes of inactivity. That will keep the display safe from pixel burn and also save some power for you.

5. Avoid Sudden Impacts

If your monitors keep on getting sudden bumps or drops, you should try to move the monitor to a safer place where chances of direct & sudden impact get almost zero. Such minor bumps can lead to irreparable damage to the display which is not desirable at all.

6. Fix the Loose connection

There must be HDMI, DisplayPort and a power cable attached to the monitor. If any of the cables is loose and you are seeing some flickering on the screen, make sure you fix the loose connection. It will not only fix the minor issues of the monitor but also improve the lifespan of your monitor. Here is more about how to connect monitor to laptop.

Also See: Best Monitors for RTX 4070Ti

How long Monitor Lasts – Frequently Asked Questions

Here are answers to some frequently asked questions related to the lifespan of monitors and how to improve it.