Dot(s) or spot(s) on the screen

If you can drag the dot, then it must be AssistiveTouch, which you or someone else somehow turned on. To close it, follow the steps below:

1. Go to Settings;
2. Tap on General and select Accessibility;
3. Scroll down to AssitiveTouch and turn it off.

If you see odd dots on your screen and you're absolutely sure they're not dirt, the first thing you should do is to check if these dots are stuck or dead pixels. 

A pixel consists of three sub-pixels: red, green and blue, so a stuck pixel will appear in on of these colours. 

In a dead pixel all the sub-pixels are off, so it will be black. Sometimes, however, even a black pixel may just be stuck.

So, a colored or white pixel might be fixed. If you see a black pixel, you should check if you can fix it.

You can use LCD to find and fix stuck pixels. It is an online tool, so you don't need to download it, just click here to access it. It's very easy to use - click ? & i, and you'll find all the needed information.

The dot(s) could have appeared after you used Spotlight Search and highlighted text. If you access the Spotlight Search again, you can see that the dot (or two dots) is (are) the same as the dots at the top and the bottom of the 'handle' that appears when you highlight text. It (they) should've disappeared after you closed the search, but it (they) didn't. A simple restart will help in that case.

If you see odd dots on your screen and you're absolutely sure they're not dirt, the first thing you should consider doing is to check if these dots are stuck or dead pixels. 

A pixel consists of three sub-pixels: red, green and blue, so a stuck pixel will appear in on of these colours. 

In a dead pixel all the sub-pixels are off, therefore the pixel will be black. Sometimes, however, even a black pixel may just be stuck.

So, a colored or white pixel might be fixed. If you see a black pixel, you should check whether you can fix it, anyway.

Use Online Monitor Test - it's a very thorough test that not only identifies bad pixels, but it can also test the quality of your monitor.

There are three different modes to test your monitor into. Click HTML window to test for stuck pixels. Press F11 to toggle full-screen. You'll see a range of different shades of grey. If you move the mouse to the top of the test window, a menu will appear. Click on Homogenuity and go through all the colours from the list.

If you find something out of ordinary, then open JScreenFix and click Launch JScreenFix at the bottom of the page, and it will open a black browser window with a square of flashing pixels. Press the green button in the bottom right corner to go full-screen. Drag the flashing square to where you found the stuck pixel and leave it there for at least 10 minutes.

If updating the drivers didn't help and you ensured that there is nothing wrong with the computer, especially with the graphics card, then the cable connecting the desktop monitor and the computer can be the reason for the dots, as it may be damaged. Before replacing the cable, try using another cable to ensure that your cable is indeed damaged, and then buy a new one.

If the dots appear even in Safe Mode, then you need to try a factory reset, but don't forget to make a backup of your phone data before.

Check out the solutions below to learn:

• How to back up files
• How to reset your device

If you see a white spot where you touch on your phone touch screen, then you should check Developer options settings. There is an option Show touches that shows visual feedback for your touches, as it's said in the option's description. You can turn it off:

Xiaomi: go to Settings --> System & Device --> Additional settings --> Developer options --> Input --> turn Show touches off;

Samsung Galaxy: go to Settings --> System --> Developer options --> Input --> turn Show touches off.

Note: The above-mentioned steps for disabling Show touches may be similar on other mobile devices (Sony, Huawei, etc.).

The dot or dots may be caused by a software/app you've recently downloaded and installed. To check if this is the reason, start your device in Safe Mode, where only the pre-installed software/apps will run. If there aren't any dots on the screen in Safe Mode, then the dots are caused by a software/app you've downloaded. You need to find out which one is responsible for it and uninstall it.

Check out the don't know how to boot in safe mode guide if you are not sure how to boot into Safe Mode.

If nothing helps, it means that this could be a problem with hardware. The display may be damaged or there is a loose connection between the display and the motherboard. All you can do is to go to a service center and have your device checked and repaired.

If your phone got wet, it may be the reason why you have black spot(s) on your screen. Sometimes drying your phone out helps:

1. Go to Settings --> General --> Display & Brightness --> Auto-Lock and select Never;
2. Go to Settings --> Display & Brightness and set Brightness level to maximum;
3. Connect charging cable and put your phone in a bag or container, so your phone is covered with instant rice;
4. Leave your phone there for a day or two, then check if the spots start changing and disappearing.

A screen has hundreds of thousands of tiny pixels, and each pixel consists of three colored subpixels: red, green and blue. If one of the subpixels gets stuck in the 'on' position, you see a solid-colored dot on your screen. You may fix it with gentle pressure on the stuck pixel, but results are not guaranteed. Work slowly and carefully, because too much pressure in too wide of an area can only make it worse.

Try this solution at your own risk!

1. You need to make note of where the stuck pixel is - use a dry erase marker or low-tack painter's tape to mark the exact position where the stuck spot is. This requires precision;
2. Turn your phone off. Put painter's tape over all openings, such as the headphone jack and USB connector;
3. Take a blunt-tipped object (permanent marker cap, pen stylus or the edge of a pencil eraser) and wrap it in a damp, soft cloth. Don't use fabrics that may scratch your screen. Don't dampen the cloth so much - you risk causing water damage to your phone;
4. Apply pressure on the stuck pixel with the wrapped object, then apply gentle pressure on only the stuck pixel for 10 seconds;
5. Wipe up any remaining moisture on the screen and turn your phone on. Check for the stuck pixel. Repeat the procedure if the pixel is still stuck.

If you see odd dots on your screen and you're absolutely sure they're not dirt, the first thing you should do is to check if these dots are stuck or dead pixels. 

A pixel consists of three sub-pixels: red, green and blue, so a stuck pixel will appear in on of these colours. 

In a dead pixel all the sub-pixels are off, so it will be black. Sometimes, however, even a black pixel may just be stuck.

So, a colored or white pixel might be fixed. If you see a black pixel, you should check if you can fix it.

Try to fix stuck pixel(s) with UDPixel. It's a free Windows tool that you can download from its official website. 

Open UDPixel. On the left side you'll see Dead pixel locator. You can easily detect any screen irregularity by clicking colour by colour from the list.

If you spot a suspicious pixel, choose sufficient amounts of flash windows (one per stuck pixel) on the right side, Undead pixel, then click Start. Drag the flashing windows to where you found odd pixels. Let them run for a while and eventually change the Flash interval.

Maybe an outdated video driver is responsible for the issue. What you need to do is to update the driver to the latest version and the dot(s) should fade away.

If you are not sure how to update the video card driver, feel free to consult the don't know how to update drivers guide.

Sometimes, loosely connected VGA/HDMI/DVI cable might be the reason for dots appearing on screen. Double-check how the cable is connected on both ends, and if it was indeed loosely connected, the dot(s) should disappear after reconnecting it.

If none of the other solutions worked, it is possible that the graphics card is damaged (and responsible for the dot(s)), and needs replacement.

Take your computer to an authorised store and have the card replaced.