Help Screen problem - colors too saturated and bright

[pfreire]

Hello, everyone.

Here's my problem with my Galaxy S3 I9300: I was using the camera app when the screen suddenly got weird colors (too saturated and too bright). I tried to change the color scheme, the brightness settings and even hard reset the phone (through Settings > Back up and reset > Factory data reset), but nothing has worked so far. The screen is still weird. All the other functions are working just fine. I'm currently using Android 4.1.2.

Also, in some desperate attempts to figure out the problem, I've changed the battery and removed the external SD card and the SIM card. Unfortunately, no luck.

So, my question is: does this screen problem sound like a hardware problem or can it be solved by software? If it can be done through software, what can I do? If I downgrade the OS to, say, 4.1.1, will the screen get normal colors again?

Thanks in advance!

 

[funkylogik]

Ive never heard of this mate.
the fact that factory reset hasnt fixed it makes it sound like a hardware problem.
Can u post a screenshot demonstrating it then, if the problem isnt visible in the screenshot, it must be the display (hardware).
Is the colour saturated even in homescreen etc or just in pics etc?

 

[pfreire]

First of all, thanks for your reply!

I took a screenshot and the problem wasn't visible. So, as you said, this must be a hardware problem (unfortunately). Do you know if there's any way to fix it? I mean, is the screen interchangeable or something like that? Samsung doesn't seem to have a support on this matter.

And yes, the color is saturated everywhere. I also noticed some sort of lag happening after this problem. I don't know, but I guess there's something wrong with the graphical hardware. Does that sound about right?

[Edit]
I'm sorry, but I forgot to say that for brief moments, randomly, the screen gets back to normal. But then, after just a few seconds, the screen gets saturated again. I don't know if this will help pin down the problem, but I thought it was worth mentioning it.

 

[funkylogik]

Did the screenshot look ok on your phone or on a different screen?
I hope its not the screen.. theyre really expensive but the warranty should cover it. The fact that its intermittant is strange though.. if its software, ive no idea how youd fix it.. maybe flashing the firmware again?

 

[pfreire]

The screenshot looked OK on a different screen. It remains saturated on the phone.

I'll try to flash the firmware again before going through the warranty process. If you have any other idea on how to fix the problem, please let me know.

Once again, thank you very much for your help!

 

[DimeGOD]

i've got the same problem sometimes it get back. anyone can solve this? :S

 

[pfreire]

i've got the same problem sometimes it get back. anyone can solve this? :S

Well, mate, I solved this problem, but it wasn't through an easy way: I had to replace my screen. I had some problems with my warranty (I bought my S3 in a country different from the one I live in, so unfortunately I wasn't covered by the warranty - at least that's what the guys at Samsung told me) and so I had to buy another screen and replace it. I gotta be honest, the replacement process is not complicated. Also, a bunch of Youtube videos can guide you through.

But please, before replacing your screen, try other solutions. For example, have you tried to hard reset your phone? Maybe it can solve the problem. In my case, I did everything I could before actually replacing the screen. And even before replacing it, I made sure it was REALLY the screen (a friend of mine borrowed me his S3, and then I connected his screen to my phone and turned it on. The screen was normal, so I narrowed the problem down to MY screen). So, what have you tried so far to solve your screen problem?

 

[funkylogik]

Good idea man, tryin your mates display. How much did u pay for the new one? Is everything fine now.. battery use etc?

 

[pfreire]

Well, I paid around 300 dollars for it (screen + touch + housing). Yep, it wasn't cheap.

The battery is working fine so far, and so are the other components. Despite the problem I had with my screen, I gotta say that Samsung did a very good job with S3 hardware, especially because the parts are somewhat easy to assemble and disassemble (much easier than the iPhone, for example).

 

[DimeGOD]

Thanks for the tips bro.I've tried some other solutions and my screen gets back to normal but sometimes it went too bright. i've just on and off my auto brightness from the settings and after i turned it into auto brightness mode, i've turned it off my phone then turn it on after few minutes then it get back to normal brightness. i dunno what is really the problem, but i think it can be bug on its brightness. good for you bro but if this still happens, maybe i would buy a new screen replacement.

 

[pfreire]

Is it just the brightness or the saturation is also problematic? Because if it is just the brightness, it doesn't look like a hardware problem. As I said, please try other alternatives before replacing your screen, since it is a rather radical solution. Best of luck to ya!

 

[funkylogik]

Yeah definately explore everything. Would hate if u bought a screen and that wasnt the problem lol :thumbup:

 

[HellDae]

I know that this thread is old but i have same problem. I have attached pictures of how my screen looks vs the screenshot of how it should really look and also attached the Black box image test found here.
Black level - Lagom LCD test

and how it looks on my S3 and what happens when i pinch to zoom out.

So anyone found a software fix for this or do i have to replace my screen ??

 

[pfreire]

Hi! Well, my screen used to get this washed out aspect of yours and, as you may have read here in this thread, my solution was to replace it. Have you tried resetting your phone? I think it would be interesting to do that before actually replacing anything. In my case, it was really a hardware problem, so I had no other choice but to replace the screen.

And just out of curiosity, did your screen gradually got washed out or was it out of the blue?

 

[HellDae]

I got my S3 last week from someone i know in this condition. he said it happened out of the blue i think when he once dropped it. the day i got this set, i tried to tweak some contrast settings with help of some different apps but nothing made it better so i let the phone rest for a bit and later when i picked up the phone, the colours were perfect and all fixed. The display was flawless for a couple of days until today the issue came back out of the blue when i unlocked the screen in the afternoon. i tried restart, taking out battery. I even opened the set and tried cleaning the LCD Contact on the motherboard but nothing worked. I'll try factory reset tomorrow. I'd like to know even if there is a temporary fix.

 

[pfreire]

I'm sorry, but I couldn't find a temporary fix for this. I do remember that the colors on my screen used to get randomly perfect, only to get washed out a few hours later.

Please try the factory reset and then come back here to report if it worked. I really hope it does!

 

[HellDae]

Firstly, Thanks for the help.
However, Factory Reset didn't work either. My friend said the LCD must be pressed out for this to happen.
Also, u said your colours got randomly perfect. How often did that happen??

 

[pfreire]

First of all, I'm sorry factory reset didn't work.

About the colors getting randomly perfect, sometimes they would stay that way for hours, sometimes for minutes. As to how often it happened, as I mentioned, it was random. But the bottom line is that after a period of time, the colors didn't get back to normal at all. At this point, I made a few tests on my screen to make sure it was really the problem and then replaced it.

 

[FATRIEY17]

Hello Guys..
Actually,i have the same problem as yours on my Samsung s3 smartphone..and i found a solution to fix this problems..simply do this step:

Step 1: On the Home screen, tap Apps.

Step 2: On the Apps screen, tap Settings.

Step 3: Under Settings, tap Accessibility.

Step 4: Under Vision, look for Negative Colours. Uncheck the box to revert the screen to its original appearance.

Do these steps and your Samsung s3 screen will be back to normal..

Good Luck!!

 

[Monirom Southakakoumar]

Your problem is not with your software, it's your hardware. And not much can be done about it depending on which device you own. It's got to do with the screen itself. As a designer for Android this has always bothered me and the culprit seems to be the Pentile Matrix Family.

PenTile matrix is a family of patented subpixel matrix schemes used in electronic device displays. PenTile is a trademark of Samsung. This wikipedia article explains this in more detail and lists all the devices affected (growing list)

http://www.wikiwand.com/en/PenTile_matrix_family#/PenTile_RGBW

Of course if your results are that your screen is even more saturated/neon than normal it may be another problem compounding the way colors appear on your screen.

 

[Silencerr]

Hi everyone.

As I've read posts on this forum, I realized my problem was hardware as well, though a bit different.

I am using S3 Neo. One day my display just started to gradually dim. Colors became too dark and the white balance and the contrast are off. I need to max out the brightness on the phone in order to see anything at all.

Now the plot twist. The screen sometimes flashes in full brightness and colour, and / or is quickly flickering and there seems to be no pattern i can follow to figure out how that happens. Sometimes it just goes back to full colour and lasts like that for a couple of hours and then it goes back to black.

Are there any tricks to fix this problem and avoid changing the screen? Like openning it, cleaning it, promising it better handling or whatever... It would save me a lot of trouble.

Thanks!

 

[AZgl1500]

on the surface of what I think I read here, it sounds like the screen is bad.
Is the phone worth the approx $200 cost to have the screen replaced?

 

[Silencerr]

on the surface of what I think I read here, it sounds like the screen is bad.
Is the phone worth the approx $200 cost to have the screen replaced?

It is. I just want to evade unnecessary expenses if there is a way to work around the problem.

 

[ungooglable]

I had a same problem on my Samsung Galaxy Note 4. Though it totally looks like a hardware problem, but FATRIEY17's solution above works for me (switch to Negative Colors and back)!