• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Help Scren flickering

hobomotel

Lurker
Sep 10, 2009
5
0
My Screen flickers slightly on the home screen. When I use 2g data it flickers alot and is really noticeable. Has anyone else experienced this problem with their Galaxy?
Is it a software or hardware issue.

P.S Its like horizontal lines are going down the screen. Really annoying.
 
Just a statistical counterpoint ...I have used plenty of bandwidth (edge and wifi, at least) but have never seen any screen flickering, so I guess it's not something that happens on every device.
turn off wifi, make it 2g only and browse a site, the screen doesnt flicker but has a low level pulse.
its common with this device, its been reported on the o2 uk forums and ive seen it on my own.
ive also seen it on live demos from samsung prior to me purchasing myself

its not a big issue though imo
 
Upvote 0
turn off wifi, make it 2g only and browse a site, the screen doesnt flicker but has a low level pulse.
its common with this device, its been reported on the o2 uk forums and ive seen it on my own.
ive also seen it on live demos from samsung prior to me purchasing myself

My Galaxy suffers from the same issue - screen shimmer. I definitely notice it, even on white backgrounds, and it's annoying. The easiest way to see it is to look at a dark background (e.g. a note app like Note Everything with no notes) and have some data transfer in the background. In my case, 3G seems to cause it, while Edge not.
 
Upvote 0
I am having an issue that one might call flicker, but it isn't so much flicker as it is random or periodic brightness changes. For example, when I first start the phone by pressing "menu", the screen is bright for a moment and then it throttles back to a more subdued level of brightness. That is likely the power settings settling in, but I am not sure After waiting the configured time for the screen to shut off (which I think is 30 seconds), the screen will become noticeably brighter for a second or two and then shut down.

The above is subjective and anecdotal. But, something that is not is the behavior of the screen with two separate "flashlight" programs: One simply called "FlashLight" by "flash-in-the-brain" and "Color Flashlight" by "Social and Mobile". I an not inferring that either of these two applications are buggy or causing the issue, I am merely pointing out the behavior in question is exhibited consistently and in a way that can be reproduced while using both apps. If you invoke either app and then attempt to set the brightness toward the maximum side of the spectrum, it will display momentarily, but then fade or reduce in intensity once you move your finger away from the screen or stop moving your finger. For example, if I run "Color Flashlight" and then invoke the "brightness" setting, the screen does become brighter once I begin moving my fingers across the selection bar at the bottom of the screen, but once I stop moving my finger or if I remove my finger from the screen, the display becomes dimmer.

This is the sort of thing I notice and it is troublesome to me. It simply may be a power setting change that is required, but it is no less annoying. Any other "flickers" or fades I have noticed are too anecdotal to mention, but they are there. If anyone has noticed this or has solved it with a setting, let me know. If I figure it out I will post the solution.
 
Upvote 0
Re screen flicker - Its caused by a harmonic of the busts of data sent on GSM. Although the data is sent at 900Mhz or 1800Mhz (or 850 or 1900 in the US), it is sent in bursts and not in one continuous wave. The frequency of the bursts has harmonics in the Hz spectrum, which is the same range as the refresh rate of the screen.
Primarily this results from poor shielding in the phone, or a shared ground plane between Hz sensative components and the radio baseband. Its not something that can be corected by software, and a design fault.

You would expect to see this with bot EDGE and GPRS as they both use GSM. Its unlikely you would see this with UMTS tho.

RE brightness issue - it might be causes by a faulty light sensor on your phone. If you look carefully under a bright light you'll see that there is a light sensor just to the right of the ear speaker. You should keep your finger over this, or hold the phone under a bright light and see if there is any difference. You should also turn off auto brightness from the settings menu in android and see if the same repeats.

If it does the same with auto brightness off, then its not the sensor, and could be a charge pump issue with the screen. If it doesnt then either its probably that sensor. Covering and testing with a bright light will offer more proof or disproof to that tho.
 
Upvote 0

BEST TECH IN 2023

We've been tracking upcoming products and ranking the best tech since 2007. Thanks for trusting our opinion: we get rewarded through affiliate links that earn us a commission and we invite you to learn more about us.

Smartphones