Thread: What is the cause of rainbow bands on a handheld touch screen?

I have a Archos 43 with a 4.3" resistive touch screen. I have reason to believe that there is a cheap screen in this thing from things I have heard. I recently found a small dot in the middle section of the screen with rainbow bands. If pressure is applied (not excessive, normal amount you would use for doing anything else on the device) I can see the bands expand to cover more of the screen dictated by how the pressure is applied. Unfortunately customer service is horrible in my opinion (no phone and they didn't respond to my email). Best I will be able to get is return for repair. What I need to know is what the cause of this behavior is. Is this caused by the screen, the plastic over the screen, or some other factor?

I suspect it is from the screen or plastic over it not being level, but I would like another opinion.
I'd also like to note that the screen is fully visible as far as all the pixels. You have to look at it at the right way with good lighting to see the bands.

They can be seen without the device being on

Sorry to tell you, but it sounds like your screen is broken. the inner screen sounds like it has a hole in it(that would be the small dot), and that is what caused the rainbow bands. That same thing happened to my phone.