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Captivate Screen - Burned In Image

gary1949

Well-Known Member
Sep 1, 2010
110
16
Geneseo, NY
I purchased the Samsung Desk Dock and use my Captivate as a clock next to my bed while it charges overnight. After several hours of charging (usually after I'm asleep), the display changes from clock to "Battery Fully Charged-Unplug", or words to that effect. That screen can stay on for several hours, every night. The program for clock display moves the display occassionally so the image does not burn into the screen. When the display changes to Battery Charged-Unplug it does not move (the way pc screensavers do).

This "Battery Charged- Unplug" display screen has begun to burn into my Captivate screen - it's quite visible on a plain white background - the entire message and the dark blue "OK" box can be seen clearly in amber or yellow. :eek: At this point during daily use with normal static or live wallpapers the defect isn't noticeable.

There have been other threads where owners have complained about the Battery Charged-Unplug screen (as being annoying and defeating the clock display) and wanted to get rid of it but I don't believe anyone has found a solution to eliminate this display.

Be aware the constant use of the Samsung Desk Dock for overnight phone charging could eventually permanently damage your screen. Anyone else seen this defect?
 
I also have burn in but from a different source. It's not bad at all tho. I got burn in from the clock it in the upper right side of the screen. I have a theory about how to fix it. i just installed the flashlight app. I'm going to leave it in the strobe light effect for a few hours and then maybe the strobe light effect for a couple hours. This is similar to how people fix burn in on HDTVs. There are some programs that use static or strobe effects to fix burn in.
 
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I also have burn in but from a different source. It's not bad at all tho. I got burn in from the clock it in the upper right side of the screen. I have a theory about how to fix it. i just installed the flashlight app. I'm going to leave it in the strobe light effect for a few hours and then maybe the strobe light effect for a couple hours. This is similar to how people fix burn in on HDTVs. There are some programs that use static or strobe effects to fix burn in.

Let us know if strobing the screen eliminates or reduces the burn in, and if so - which program and how long did it take to "heal" the burn-in.

I like using the Captivate as a clock 'cause it shows me when emails come in, etc . . . . but not if it's going to ruin my display. :(
 
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I use the app "alarm clock plus" from the market for my clock/alarm app. It floats the time around the screen (in either a bright or dulled led green color, depending on your settings) so there's no burn-in from that. The app also (not surprisingly) works phenomenally as an alarm clock - there's all sorts of options you can set.

I'm using the same app that you are . . . no problem with the app itself. The problem is in the Samsung charging software which changes the screen from the Alarm Clock Display to the "Battery Fully Charged - Unplug" display. This display does not float around the screen - it's static, and it remains on the screen until you press the "OK" box. Because this screen can be on for several hours per night it eventually burns into the display. :(
 
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I'm using the same app that you are . . . no problem with the app itself. The problem is in the Samsung charging software which changes the screen from the Alarm Clock Display to the "Battery Fully Charged - Unplug" display. This display does not float around the screen - it's static, and it remains on the screen until you press the "OK" box. Because this screen can be on for several hours per night it eventually burns into the display. :(

There's a little button you can press to make the clock float around the screen. I'll take a screenshot and show you the two views if necessary, but I can tell you I have had my phone since July, used that app nearly as long, and don't have the "Batter Fully Charged - Unplug" burned into my screen because the clock is always bouncing/floating around at night time.
 
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There's a little button you can press to make the clock float around the screen. I'll take a screenshot and show you the two views if necessary, but I can tell you I have had my phone since July, used that app nearly as long, and don't have the "Batter Fully Charged - Unplug" burned into my screen because the clock is always bouncing/floating around at night time.

I understand that when using Alarm Clock + that the time display DOES move around the screen so that it won't burn the screen. That's not the problem. As my phone is recharging when it's in the Samsung desk dock and running the Alarm Clock + app, when the battery reaches 100% the display automatically LEAVES the Alarm Clock + app and displays "Battery Fully Charged-Unplug" with a blue "OK" box. When you press "OK", the display goes back to the alarm clock. BUT, that Battery Charged display can be on for hours while you're sleeping, and that's what has burned into my screen.

The "Battery Fully Charged-Unplug" display has bothered others since you can no longer glance at the phone in the middle of the night and see the time - you have to press the "OK" box to see the time, which fully wakes you up - a PITA for sure. There's a seperate thread in the forum for this problem but I don't believe a solution for preventing the "Battery Fully Charged-Unplug" from appearing was ever presented.

Since this has burned into my display, I'd imagine that ANY constant display on someone's phone could eventually burn into the screen - widgets, the bottom app dock, etc. Normally this isn't a problem 'cause in normal use the display isn't on long enough, but if your phone spends a lot of time in the Samsung Desk Dock or Samsung Car Mount Cradle displaying a constant, unchanging screen - it can (and does) burn in.
 
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I understand that when using Alarm Clock + that the time display DOES move around the screen so that it won't burn the screen. That's not the problem. As my phone is recharging when it's in the Samsung desk dock and running the Alarm Clock + app, when the battery reaches 100% the display automatically LEAVES the Alarm Clock + app and displays "Battery Fully Charged-Unplug" with a blue "OK" box. When you press "OK", the display goes back to the alarm clock. BUT, that Battery Charged display can be on for hours while you're sleeping, and that's what has burned into my screen.

The "Battery Fully Charged-Unplug" display has bothered others since you can no longer glance at the phone in the middle of the night and see the time - you have to press the "OK" box to see the time, which fully wakes you up - a PITA for sure. There's a seperate thread in the forum for this problem but I don't believe a solution for preventing the "Battery Fully Charged-Unplug" from appearing was ever presented.

Since this has burned into my display, I'd imagine that ANY constant display on someone's phone could eventually burn into the screen - widgets, the bottom app dock, etc. Normally this isn't a problem 'cause in normal use the display isn't on long enough, but if your phone spends a lot of time in the Samsung Desk Dock or Samsung Car Mount Cradle displaying a constant, unchanging screen - it can (and does) burn in.

the stopwatch also creates screen burn in (for some reason, my screen cant turn off 50% of the time when using it)
 
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Screen burn in? I did not think burn in was even a possible side effect in LCD/LED screens:thinking: I remember back when LCD first came out that the biggest benefit was that it had no burn in. What makes these screens susceptible to this?

Yup - they certainly can burn in. Those that are old enough . . . picture the Wang word processing terminals that were used 30+ years ago in most corporations. Remember how the log-in screen used to burn in? That's what the Captivate does. I've been using the desk dock with the Alarm Clock plus program for about two months now. That's long enough to burn the display with the "Battery Fully Charged-Unplug" message. :mad:
 
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I purchased the Samsung Desk Dock and use my Captivate as a clock next to my bed while it charges overnight. After several hours of charging (usually after I'm asleep), the display changes from clock to "Battery Fully Charged-Unplug", or words to that effect. That screen can stay on for several hours, every night. The program for clock display moves the display occassionally so the image does not burn into the screen. When the display changes to Battery Charged-Unplug it does not move (the way pc screensavers do).

This "Battery Charged- Unplug" display screen has begun to burn into my Captivate screen - it's quite visible on a plain white background - the entire message and the dark blue "OK" box can be seen clearly in amber or yellow. :eek: At this point during daily use with normal static or live wallpapers the defect isn't noticeable.

There have been other threads where owners have complained about the Battery Charged-Unplug screen (as being annoying and defeating the clock display) and wanted to get rid of it but I don't believe anyone has found a solution to eliminate this display.

Be aware the constant use of the Samsung Desk Dock for overnight phone charging could eventually permanently damage your screen. Anyone else seen this defect?

I've had the exact same burnin problem with the "Battery Charged..." display.
 
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After only having the phone for a few months, I have a burn-in of the entire Pandora "toolbar" which contains the Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down, Play, Pause, etc. Evidently, since I use Pandora all day long in a home office and often had the charger plugged in all day, the combination of the heat from the charger and having the screen never timeout contributed to the problem.

Just the same, I am under one-year warranty and am going soon to an ATT Store to ask about getting a replacement. I really hate "starting over" again since it took months to fine-tune the phone, but I am meticulous about my electronics, especially since I want to get top dollar on eBay when I eventually upgrade to a 4G phone.

Anyone have experience with getting an exchange under warranty for the burn problem? My research online indicates this should NOT happen so soon on these particular screens, but now we know otherwise. It really sucks!
 
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After only having the phone for a few months, I have a burn-in of the entire Pandora "toolbar" which contains the Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down, Play, Pause, etc. Evidently, since I use Pandora all day long in a home office and often had the charger plugged in all day, the combination of the heat from the charger and having the screen never timeout contributed to the problem.

Just the same, I am under one-year warranty and am going soon to an ATT Store to ask about getting a replacement. I really hate "starting over" again since it took months to fine-tune the phone, but I am meticulous about my electronics, especially since I want to get top dollar on eBay when I eventually upgrade to a 4G phone.

Anyone have experience with getting an exchange under warranty for the burn problem? My research online indicates this should NOT happen so soon on these particular screens, but now we know otherwise. It really sucks!

Please post the results of your visit to the AT&T store for the burn in problem. Good luck getting a replacement.
 
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Is there a way to change the settings so that the screen doesn't stay on when charging? Just wondering.


grrr i want to know too! every time my phone boots i get a notification saying "stay awake activated"

i cant figure out how to turn it off! driving me nuts! my phone screen was on for like 6 hours last night. havent noticed if theres any burn or not
 
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The image quality of the Captivate screen is one of the top features of the phone, and combined with the Gorilla Glass, durability can't be beaten . . . . except that the screen DOES burn in. If we're noticing this defect after a few months (or less) of usage, what will the screens look like near the end of the two year contracts? When this defect is added to the GPS problems, random shut-offs, mediocre battery performance, etc., maybe the Samsung Galaxy S line isn't the premier piece of hardware it was thought to be at launch. :(

I'm hoping that when Froyo gets released it'll help the GPS and battery perform better, but it won't fix the burn-in issue.
 
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Thing is, I've heard the burn in is easily remedied by setting up a white screen and letting that sit for awhile. I don't think the burn in is permanent - those who have seen it should try this somehow. Maybe the flashlight program? I'm not sure what they use that is all white.

If I may, I've worked semiconductor reliability and may be able to help shed some light.

Traditional burning is exactly that - phospors hold state until they literally burn into the glass - that's old CRT and some of the new plasma tech.

On an LCD (and from your results also OLED) the burn-in symptoms are due to the transistors in the screen control circuitry hitting a state that we call semiconductor latch-up.

Instead of the control transistors switching pixel elements on/off normally, they get stuck in one state - even when power cycled.

The popular way to unstick that control circuitry is to send a varying signal to the screen. Depending upon the refresh circuitry, just hanging an all-white screen may do that - or it may even stick a few pixels at white.

Here's a copy of the popular pattern to attempt to force switching. On even terribly uncooperative displays, running this more than once may be required. I once had to run it for an hour on an older-tech LCD display - but it worked.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hL5oSJcQEnA

Note well, however, if the unstuck control circuitry is NOT corrected in a timely fashion, then actual chemical changes can eventually occur and then you _will_ be stuck with a modern form of actual burn-in.

Please let me know if this is successful for you.

By the way - here's an alternative if that vid won't go full screen for you:

JScreenFix - Fix stuck pixels - Android Application on the Android market

Hope this helps.
 
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People with Nexus Ones (regular AMOLED) had this problem with the light colored notification/status bar especially the AM/PM. The wiki on OLED says it from the pixel fading. I take it to mean they're no longer able to put out as bright a white (or whatever color combination called up) as some of the others around it leaving a sort of shadow.
 
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