Ever since the Samsung Galaxy S4 was released, several users were complaining about the handset having some very unusual screen flickering issues. Initially, it was believed that this was an isolated issue, as just one lot of phone had this problem, but it continued…
Newer models, like the Galaxy J7 or even Galaxy S8, are dealing with the same problem. And this can be very frustrating, after spending some money on a new phone and seeing that it has a problem like this.
Before calling the manufacturer and complain, there are a few things you can do if your Samsung phone’s screen is flickering. Here you can find a guide with an explanation of this phenomenon, as well as some solutions you can try.
Why is my screen flickering?
Most users assume that this is a hardware problem because it is believed that the flickering is caused by a faulty LCD panel or contacts. The truth is that this can also be caused by a software issue. Specifically, it could be an app that requires a higher resolution, so the phone is trying to complete this request.
After investigating a few forums, we were able to identify the following phases which allow you to say that your Samsung phone’s screen is flickering:
- When you are touching the screen and there are flickering pixels all over the place
- You have a Galaxy S4, S5 or J7 on low display brightness
- A random black and white line shows up absolutely random on the display
- Half of the screen turns white or black or blinks
If you noticed these issues on your phone, the following solutions could come in handy and even help you solve them.
How can I fix my Samsung’s phone screen flickering?
There are a couple of very quick potential fixes, but also a few of them who require a bit of technical knowledge. Don’t worry, we have step-by-step instructions for each of them.
Make sure that your apps are up-to-date
As mentioned above, it could be an app causing this. The good news is that developers are – in most cases – aware when this is happening, so they release an update for the handset.
Open the Google Play Store > My Apps and see if there is an update available for the apps you have installed. If there is, update all of them.
Additionally, go to Settings > About phone and see if there is a software update for your phone as well. A new variant could also fix the problem. However, if the screen is still flickering, move on to the next solution.
Boot the phone in Safe Mode
If you are not patient enough to update all apps, you can actually find the exact app which causes the issue. In order to do this, you can boot the phone in Safe Mode, which disables all third-party apps.
For most Samsung models, putting it in Safe Mode is a relatively similar procedure:
- Power off the phone
- Press and hold the Power button until the Samsung logo appears
- Let go of the Power button and hold down the Volume Down button until the phone boots up again
After this, you should see ‘Safe Mode’ written in the bottom left corner. Now, you can check if your Samsung phone’s screen is flickering again. Presuming that one of the third-party apps you have installed is causing this, try remembering if you installed something recently and the flickering began occurring immediately after. If there is one, you should terminate it.
Go to Settings > Apps and look for the suspicious app. Then tap on it > Storage > Clear Cache > Clear Data. If the flickering is present even after resetting the app, simply uninstall it.
Deactivate Hardware Overlays
If you’re among those users whose phones have displays that flicker when the brightness is low, it could be caused by a setting.
- Go to Settings > System > About device
- Look for the Build Number and tap on it seven times, until you activate the Developer Options menu. You should see the “You are a developer now” message.
- Go back to Settings > System and enter the Developer options menu.
- Look for Turn off Hardware Overlays and tap it.
After doing this, see if the phone’s issue persists.
Clear the phone’s cache partition
According to some users, this glitch can also be fixed by wiping the partition of the internal memory on which the cache is stored, in Recovery Mode.
- Turn off the phone
- Press and hold both the Power button, Volume up and Home button, until you see the Android logo. If you own a Galaxy S8, which doesn’t have a home button, press and hold the Power button, Volume up and the Bixby button
- You should see the Recovery Mode menu. Using the Volume Up key, choose Wipe Cache Partition and confirm with the Power button
- After wiping the cache data, choose the Reboot System Now option, navigating with the Volume Up key and confirming with the Power button
See if the glitch is gone after doing this.
Perform a hard reset on the phone
If none of the above worked and your Samsung phone’s screen is flickering again, you can try one last thing: a hard reset. This will reboot the device to its factory state and it should
- Backup all your data and remove your Google account
- Turn off the phone
- Power it up in Recovery Mode, by pressing Power, Volume Up and the Home button at the same time. If you have a Galaxy S8 or S8 Plus, press the Bixby button instead of the Home button
- After seeing the Recovery Mode menu, navigate through it using the Volume Up button, until you reach Wipe Data/Factory Reset, then confirm the option with the Power button
- Wait for a few moments, until the phone reboots to its factory state
The screen flickering should be gone after this
Contact the manufacturer
If none of the above work, it’s very probably to have a hardware issue. In this case, the only solution remains to contact Samsung or an authorized service and see how they can help you. It’s not so unusual for smartphones to come with hardware issues out of the box and Samsung is no stranger to this. Just think about the Galaxy Note 7’s faulty battery or the Galaxy S3’s motherboard issues, which caused the ‘sudden death of the device’.
If your phone is still covered by a warranty, you should get it fixed for free or even receive a new one, depending on how complicated its actual problem is.
Wrap-up
Which one of these potential fixes worked for you? Also, do you know other solutions which can be applied, in case your Samsung phone’s screen is flickering? Let us know, by dropping a few lines in the comments section below!
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