Screen flicker / backlight / general badness (hardware issue) - Samsung Galaxy S Relay 4G

So, I managed to get my phone wet. Only very briefly, dried it, opened up everything and set it somewhere warm, dry and with good airflow for many hours (and then later a day) and while its issues have improved, it's still sometimes flicking, having colors drop out (weirdly reminiscent of old crts) and occasionally having the backlight very low or not on at all. So, badness.
My next step is probably to decase it and dry out the boards (somewhat inhibited by the thermostat on my roomate's reflow over being broken). My intuition, though, which is entirely suspect, is that there's a poor connection somewhere on there that's likely gotten worse. (It often had a similar though less severe flicker when attached to the charger and fully charged up.)
So. I'm entirely comfortable with decasing. I'm fine with surface mount. I have a lovely hot air rework station in the basement.
What I don't have is a) a good sense of what components are failing and, more to the point, b) where they are on the dratted board. I have found the one teardown, and need to go over it more carefully, but atm I'm doubting I can pull enough info out of it.
Any clues? This may well turn into "I buy another phone, and then if I fix this one give it to my sister..."

These phones are OLED. That means there's no backlight. The screen itself is simply not displaying correctly.
Did you open the screen section to dry the panel?
OLEDs are highly susceptible to water damage. It eats them up.

Jax184 said:
These phones are OLED. That means there's no backlight. The screen itself is simply not displaying correctly.
Did you open the screen section to dry the panel?
OLEDs are highly susceptible to water damage. It eats them up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, not yet. Will as soon as I figure out where my roommate has put the electronics screwdrivers, as none of my multitools are fine enough.
Any pointers on opening the screen panel? I'm happy enough winging it once I find the tools, but the slider looks a bit tricky.
ETA: Okay, opened up the screen panel on one side, have airflow directed towards the interior now. Not sure if this is the ideal means, but it was quick and will be running while I explore other options. Comments welcomed.

No change in symptoms. If I have time, I'll open things up to the main board and check all the connections - corrosion or cruft there seems the next most likely.

...and then I decide to full reassemble it again, as a flickering phone is better than no phone. One of the clips to the screen casing hadn't been fulling seated, and snapped in, and it's been fine ever since. Not sure quite what the contributors were, but I'm just going to go with it for the time being.
Thanks.

Related

Distortion on Fuze LCD screen

I just noticed today a rectangular area on my lcd screen where it looks like oil on water. It's basically a rectangle w/ a half inch border of the "Normal" screen. I can see it from any angle as well as when the phone is turned off. The phone and the touch screen both appear to be working fine. The distortion will react to pressure on the distored part of the screen as well. I'm thinking some moisture got in my phone some how (although I can't for the life of me think when I could've gotten moisture in there). Is there an easy way to fix this or should I call up ATT support to see about sending it in to have them fix it? What's the general next step? I'll post a pic when I get home to my camera. I've had the phone since the first of the year and am currently using EnergyROM 2.0.
Thanks a ton,
Patrick
I haven't seen anything like this before but if it it was you say its probably moisture inside or even oil. Wait a little and see if it clears up, failing that give AT&T a call.
Holy Crap
Dude i have the same problem with mine sometimes, and i thought i was the only one!!
Its almost like the LCD screen is getting some burn-in. Even on a black screen you can see the shadow of an image, using touch flow 3d/2d its about half of the slider bar on the bottom of the screen. Did you also notice that the screen is flickering VERY slightly in the same area, but not on the rest of the screen? You have to try REALLY hard to see it. Almost like when you use a camcorder to see a CRT monitor's refresh rate. I had a feeling from the beginning that it was moisture causing this, because i do have the bad habit of taking my phone in the bathroom when I shower. My LID has turned pink because of the steam.
What makes me think it could be screen burn-in, is that I always keep my backlight as bright as possible, and once i see this start happening, i can turn my phone off for a few minutes, turn it back on and it works just fine with no image shadow.
I actually have been thinking about using my insurance to get a new phone because of this, and making sure i don't shower with the new one.
It's a known issue of the phone. I was able to get mine replaced, but I had it less than 30 days. You should be able to manage to get them to replace it if you make them look up known issues with the phone.
Sorry for the inactivity, I've been spending my days pulling Cat 5e in attics and haven't had much computer time at work / energy at home - I'm going to get in touch w/ ATT sometime this week and see about arranging a replacement, I'll post my results.
i have the same problem. near the corners i see very slight flickering as if the refreshrate can't handle the tf3d.
it most likely because of the themes. when using all of those non-original themes, it' shaving to load all the images, causing it to have very very slight lag. maybe?
it's rediculous, with the price of this phone, you'd expect higher technology for the screen.
Your digitizer is touching the LCD because too much pressure has been applied to it, probably in your pocket.
What you are seeing are Newton's rings http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newton%27s_rings
I think we're talking about two different problems here.
First, you have the rectangular area like the topic starter described and may indeed be what bubble said. However, they are not rings... its a true square (at least for me).
Second, you have the flickering issue. I have this myself sometime at the position of the menu bar. Opera seems to be the only app that triggers this for me though - then i get flickering Opera 'burn in' like effect. This will eventually disappear again after keeping the phone off for a few hours, then on with the screen off. This effect does survive soft-reset and such.
Newton's rings is the name of the observed optical phenomenon. It has nothing to do with it's shape.
I know that in this case it appears on a square section of the screen (I face the same issue and I already ordered a replacement screen).
Is there a solution to the flickering and screen burn problem? I didn't notice it until I had loaded a 6.5 rom and was using the light colored R&R theme. I could then see flickering in the bottom portion of the screen. Then I notice the screen burn of both soft keys.
It went away overnight with the phone off, but came back by the end of the day. It's really upsetting as I love this phone, but hate having something that isn't working right. Any suggestions?
I've had the same issue a couple of times although it wasn't nearly the entire screen. It was just a small blob in the very center of the screen. It happened because it was in my pocket. When it occurred initially it was summer (30-40 degrees celcius here in Perth) and would fix itself after about 5 minutes of being in my hot car (temperature hot, not awesome hot =D ). However (more recently - it's colder now) it stayed for half a day or so and only fixed itself after I sat it in front of the cars heating vents with the heater on for about 10 minutes (not too hot). I'm wondering if the digitiser separates from the LCD when heat is applied. It makes sense to me but I'm not sure I'd recommend anyone trying my solution ... especially if you've got the big square issue.
You also have to be aware that this phenomenon is only visible under artificial light.
That's why some people report it to disappear/reappear.
True ... but when the "phenomenon" disappears (i.e. as the lcd seperates from digitiser) it makes a clicking noise and the screen behind the blob flickers (like when you push on a normal LCD with your finger) indicating that the pressure of the digitiser pulling the screen upwards has been released. Once this has happened the blob has gone. It's not visible under ANY light.
If it happens again ... I'll get some footage.
I found another thread regarding the "Oil Spot" that comes and goes on the LCD that I'm experiencing if others are interested:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=475294
Oops - double post
Hi guys, I have the solution for you! I see burn-ins on my screen and I was able to get rid of them with a simple video that switches fast the main colors (Red Green Blue). Here is the link to the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liMySLZkF5o
I have the video pulled from youtube as mp4, and 5 minutes of playing on full screen, the display got back to normal, clear and without any burn-ins.
If you need the mp4 vid, let me know so I can send it over (email)
Regards to All

[Q] Semi-Broken Digitizer, but wondering if software can mitigate?

Cliq (original) running most recent stock update.
To start, it is not cracked, shattered, or fully unresponsive. Only the right 25% of the screen does not respond. (Making some letters useless, and unable to press "Clear" on status bar among the obvious feature losses.)
While I have not taken it apart to verify that the ribbon is fully seated, (possible cause, along with it is just broken) I figure if I am going to take 3 hours to disassemble, I might as well have a spare digitizer to put into it...
My question is this:
Is there a way to calibrate the screen's display (by app, or ROM) to shrink the screen to where I can actually get to all the keys? [Calibrate the screen edge, as with the old style monitors.]
[I will root/flash ROMs/kernels if there is a viable method. Good with computers, new to Android, but I'm game to risk my $30 to get a working backup!]
I figure take out 25% of the top and right side and then even when the phone shifts I can still touch everything... Would turn the phone into a viable replacement.
The replacement is $25, after 3 hours of dealing with T3+T5 screws... on a phone worth $50-75.
Thanks in advance, new poster for the most part, but I frequently use you all as my Android Rolodex.
---
JustUnicycle
[PS. should I feel like worst case this is a few command lines that skip a pixel every a few lines on both output and input. This may be more complicated than I think it is, as there are always bugs when you think of it like that, but feel like this is close to method the fix must use, but perhaps less precise.]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52ai9q2d4A4
Granted this is sped up and all, but the process will not take 3 hours. I did this ony my hero cdma (essentially the same process) and it only took me ten minutes (i was being very slow and cautious). I'd say just go for it because it is worth it. My screen was not cracked, i only took it apart because i am painting it....not done yet but definitely getting there. I also noticed that after taking apart the phone and putting everything back the phone was actually more responsive. I guess over time of use, things start to move ever so slightly and this tends to make parts of the screen unresponsive. I'd try taking apart the phone then putting it back together and see if that helps (sorta like recalibrating it) and if not well then buy your screen and put it in. Hope this helps
v=XtuBdloT3ek
But yes... OK will I will look for my microscopic set and see if I can't knock it out before bed. (My deconstruction experience is usually limited to replacing springs in Nerf guns!)
[Edit:]
Meh, my dad's set has disappeared (but smallest was T4 anyways). Tried the melted BIC pen that worked for the tri-tip, but T3 has too much detail. I ordered the tips I need from China. I'll update with my results in a few weeks.

[Q] Circle of dead pixels suddenly appeared

Hi Guys
I've seen a couple of posts about this on forums but, I've had a similar thing to a few users now, where I have 2 circles of "Dead" pixels appear on the phone.
Seemed to appear suddenly today at work. I've not dropped the phone (today) but, I have had it in my pocket when getting out the car and, it might have been caught between my leg and steering wheel of the car.
I know there's been some suggestions of placing the phone in a carrier bag and, then in the fridge for a couple of hours (well, couple of hours to a weekend). I'm a bit nervous of this but willing to give it a try.
Just wondering though, does anyone have any explanation for why this happens? I can't see it being physical damage to the screen, as otherwise there would be whole columns of dead pixels or spider patterns with a crack. In the middle of the circles, it seems to be sub-pixels that are out (Blue / Red - Green seems to be OK). Also, has anyone else had the same experience and tried putting the phone into the fridge and, does this work? Annoying though it is, I'd rather live with it than knacker the phone totally lol.
I've attached some pictures to demonstrate what I mean... Note, on the blue one, it looks as though there's a pentagram dotted in the lower circle... Satanic Possession? lol
Kind Regards
Daryl
Well,Nothing of those homemade methods will help
maybe the screen got pressed too hard..got hitted by something..
take it to a lab
Probably just enough pressure and maybe battery and body heat, did the same with my Acer and a till reciept scrunched up so now have a multi-coloured circle in centre of screen... doubt there's a fix except replacing it
Rooted Xakep E320/C6 EUU Hacked Update
Thanks for the feedback on this. I think you're both right. The screen is slowly getting worse. The sub-pixels in the middle of the circles have repaired themselves but, the horizontal lines of dead pixels are slowly expanding horizontally across the screen.
I think I'm going to have to face the fact that its broke and see about getting a new screen fitted. I'd normally do it myself but, I've seen how well the digitizer and LCD are glued together, and to the case lol (HTC Sensation).
Am thinking it has to be a pressure 'injury' when getting out the car and, maybe it got trapped between my leg and the steering wheel.
The good news though, at least I have an excuse to nick my tablet back off my son lol
Well... bugger me rigid lol. As I was typing my last message, I thought "sod it, I may as well try putting the phone in the fridge to see if it does any good" After all, I had nothing to lose (as long as I was careful of condensation on the warm up) and... it does actually seem to be having a positive effect!!
Attached 2 more pics... One was taken at work at 3pm, one was taken after 80 minutes in the fridge at 11:30pm (note, the screen had gotten a little worse between 3pm and 10pm).
I've put it back in the fridge for another couple of hours and, will post an update on progress.
Ever the optimist once more
lol at the pentagram. Yeah it's probably because of pressure or some other physical damage. Do you have warranty?
Nope, the phone is 18 months old, I rang 3UK and, apparently the warranty is only 12 months so, bummed out there.
Have got the phone back in the fridge after noticing how much of an improvement the first blast of cold air made to it lol. Fingers crossed. I can't believe such a simple thing might actually make it better again
Bummer. Have a hard time seeing the fridge as a permanent solution, yeah you could always try ifixit if you think it's worth a shot.
This is true, I cant see it being permanent either. I did take a look at replacing the screen on YouTube and, it seemed like a straightforward enough task but, not sure about the whole glue thing between motherboard and screen, and screen / digitizer. I know it'll need heating to melt the glue a little but, the video I saw indicated that his heat gun was at 420 degrees Celcius... the psycho!!
Am hoping I can get another 6 months out of the phone, so that I can get an upgrade to a One X / Galaxy S3. I've really loved the phone and, will be sad when it eventually goes.
Just to give anyone interested a bit of a status update... Just about to go to bed and, need the phone for my alarm in the morning so, pulled it out of the fridge again lol.
As you can see from the attached though, it does seem to be still improving.
Going to run the dead pixel fix app overnight (not that I believe this will do anything spectacular) and, may do another round in the fridge tomorrow night. Of course, I will keep you posted.
For now though, the latest comparison - between 11:30PM (the improvement I posted earlier) and 1:30AM. Once again, you can see that the dead pixels do seem to be returning to life.
Well from the pics I'm gonna try it myself not looked up how the screens are made up but the cold could be doing several things as shrinking membranes (those touching may separate) and crystallizing the LCD (expanding the Liquid Crystal) to fill the gaps made at the pressure point, that's my guess so throwing it in the freezer tonight
Thanks for continued updates
Rooted Xakep E320/C6 EUU Hacked Update
I probably wouldn't recommend throwing it into the freezer. Just a gut feeling but, as the temperature in there is well below freezing, I think it would do more damage than good. At least in the fridge, it's only around 4 degrees C so, technically still within the operating temperature range of the device.
Also, when you do take it out, make sure you don't just throw the battery straight back in. As soon as it comes out, it gets quite a hefty amount of condensation on it. The last thing I would want is for something to short on the device when it gets its power back and fry your logic board :s
Not much improvement on last night in running the LCD fixing application (as I thought) so, thrown it back into the works fridge - much to the amusement of works colleagues lol. I'll take it back out around lunch time, see how it is, and post the comparison between 1:30AM last night and lunchtime today...
Fingers X'd
Latest on phone: My director at work advised I should check on operating temperatures of the phone to see how cold I could take it safely. Turns out that they are electronically safe at temperatures of up to -40 degrees C (although there's no way I would actually test this and wouldn't recommend testing it to anyone).
Following from this, I put it in the freezer at work for an hour (after being in the fridge at work for 2).
Not posted the before picture but, here's three pictures of how it looks at the moment. One on a pure white screen then, to demonstrate that it's not just the pixels being stuck white instead of not working, I have also done a shot of my home page, and a shot from a game.
I have a doubter at work who stated quite daringly that he would eat his underpants if the cooling of the phone worked... Now... All I need to do is prove why it's worked, then find some recipe's for Underpant Madras... any suggestions as to both would be appreciated lmao
Googling now and second post gives this http://forum.xda-developers.com/archive/index.php/t-687247.html I'll see what else pops up and add to this posting here
Wiki lol -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touchscreen <- I guess from this and type of screens now being used it's an adhesive layer between the back and front glass that is 'spread out' so no separation between back and front conductors, freezing may crystallize the adhesive and on warming the original surface pressure may force the adhesive back and conductors are separated again ;-)
Rooted Xakep E320/C6 EUU Hacked Update
Just noticed my own screen (or rather noticed it less lol) my spot has gone, although not as bad as your own screen only colour swirls on screen pressure no black/white pixels, I did have my phone slide and bounce off my knee that may have been enough for mine lol was looking forward to fridging it this I will be remembering though
As for a recipe for the grundigs i'd serve them raw .... 3 days worn .... why make it easy lol
Rooted Xakep E320/C6 EUU Hacked Update
Right it came back not as bad so I'd recommend a hard front cover, bit of a bind if they don't flip but it's that or faulty screens
Rooted Xakep E320/C6 EUU Hacked Update
Hi
Been a little while since my last update so, checking in. I don't have any extra pictures at the moment but, the cold is really starting to make a big difference.
I took it out the ice-making compartment at work at lunchtime and, the screen is mostly repaired. I would say about 5 - 6 dead pixels in a line now, around where the "beak" was on my satanic chicken (lol)
It's still in the fridge at home at the moment and, will probably stay there most of the weekend. This last bit is being quite stubborn to shift but hoping that it does shift and, when it does, it goes for good.
I'll let you know how it goes anyhow. I'm simply stunned by the improvement so far though
Yayyyyyyyy!!!
Well, the great news is the phone is now completely 100%
I've attached a photo of the screen with my home wallpaper on it... The trouble is, I can't remember exactly where the fault was so I can't get the exact same screen so, I've taken a wider shot which still demonstrates that there are no dead pixels.
I did have a bit of trouble getting Wifi and the SD card to read when I first powered back up from the latest (4 hour) stint in the freezer but, whipped the battery straight out and let it settle back to room temperature some more, then used a hairdryer just to ensure that any last bits of condensation had cleared up.
Fully working phone once again. I think I'll serve underpant soup at work on Monday lmao.
Thanks for following this little thread that I'd done and thanks for your input too. It's certainly been an interesting journey and, hopefully someone else with a similar problem can benefit from my experience too.
Kind Regards
D
What a cool way to fix your phone I have a Nokia 6303 classic with dead pixels. I will place in the fridge overnight and wait for the results next morning.
Good to hear it's running again, bear in mind it wont take as much to bring the fault back if pressure is applied again but from my own phone it does wear off so repeating the damage is repairable but will probably shorten it's life.
And please by all means post the pics of the garnished garment meal
Rooted Xakep E320/C6 EUU Hacked Update

Flip camera slight play

I just recently gotten my Zenfone 6 and I've noticed that the flip-up camera has some play when touching it or placing it on a table. Every time it touches something it makes a very faint click sound. I'm wondering if this is normal or if only my smartphone has this issue.
Yeah, this is normal. The hinge moves a bit but it doesn't affect its durability. If you can stand this type of movement in a phone, you will kinda get used to it after a while.
I've noticed this as well, especially after I've had in a loose fitting pocket and it can swing around a bit while walking. There is a retract camera icon on the tool shade, tap this and it will tighten it up again.
Sent from my ASUS_I01WDX using Tapatalk
^^ What they said. It seems to be normal until Asus states it isn't. Seems to be fine and isn't causing any issues other than my own "Whatwasthat!?" whenever I hear some kind of noise from the phone when putting it down or anything.
I did just find out that dropping the phone outside in a parking lot and catching it about 3" from the ground can cause the camera to go from closed to slightly open. Assuming the inertia of my grabbing the phone during the fall snapped it open a bit. The phone gave me an alert saying I should not try to force the camera open, and clicking the retract camera icon put it back where it should be (flips like normal).
Glad to hear it isn't just mine. So far the only thing I would knock this phone for is that wiggle, that causes a rattle when vibrating, setting it down or a sharp tap on the screen. Otherwise couldn't be happier with the beast.
ASUS's employees told that having a lock or braking mechanism would decrease lifespan of a hinge and could eventually break. If they say that those movements are safer that tight positioning I can handle that.
aleksander002 said:
ASUS's employees told that having a lock or braking mechanism would decrease lifespan of a hinge and could eventually break. If they say that those movements are safer that tight positioning I can handle that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep same here, minor issue, however it is good to get it out there. I'm sure for some that would bother them more than say you or I.
On a side note, I was looking through the settings and saw the flip camera calibration, went ahead and calibrated it and it definitely seemed to tighten it up a bit atm.
According to some posts on reddit, using the calibration tool fixes/improves the problem.

Question Cracked Screen

So long story short, I went to bed last night with my pixel 7 pro on charge woke up this morning and the screen is cracked? has anyone else seen this, i know the older pixel 6 had an issue with screens cracking and looks like this might be introduced into the 7 too.
onintks said:
So long story short, I went to bed last night with my pixel 7 pro on charge woke up this morning and the screen is cracked? has anyone else seen this, i know the older pixel 6 had an issue with screens cracking and looks like this might be introduced into the 7 too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh no, had the same with p6p. Google wont do anything, because they'll gonna say: user error!
t0m2k said:
oh no, had the same with p6p. Google wont do anything, because they'll gonna say: user error!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes already been on phone to them this morning and exactly what you say... user error, obvisouly this is a manufactoring fault where it is now costing me £250 for a replacement screen on top of the nearly £900 for the phone thats a month old.
This is my second pixel, first one was a long time ago, had many phones between and no issues but this has given me doubts now about the pixel 7. My main worry is replacing it and the screen going again.
First and foremost, I'm NOT challenging you with the crack.
But how on earth can a screen crack if it's lying still all night? What physics could be causing that?
I can imagine, however unlikely, that a big temperature drop could cause that, for example when you're camping or sleeping with the window open in extreme winter conditions or something like that.
I can also imagine that charging the phone might have to do with it, maybe there's a hw fault that made the phone charge to fast, heating it up in a cold room. stress on the screen, crack. Could it be a type of vibration that transmitted to the phone somehow? From a heater, air purifier, something like that?
Did you eliminate things like that?
Good questions, I have done exactly the same for the past month put phone on the dressing table plug it in and let it charge, this time however after noticing the crack I also noticed the charge was only at 72%, it had adaptive charing enabled and said it would be fully charged by 6:30 am but was up at 6am.
So no vibrations, no temapture changes (not enough to cause this) strange one, I just know the night sleep cost me £250 arrr just hope it never happens again.
As can see in photo the main crack goes from right to left and has web cracks too.
The photo is a bit blurry but it doesn't look like one crack to me, more like the glass is shattered. Strange...
Not calling you a liar, but that really does look like an impact which occurred at the most vulnerable part of the screen edge. No chance that you unknowingly may have accidently bumped the corner of the night stand when setting it down, or had something on your nightstand which may have gotten knocked over and nicked the screen? Basically, pointed force on a very small surface area. It looks very much like every iPhone screen my wife has shattered.
Could also be that the screen was accidently nicked without a noticeable crack but when the charger was put on the heat made the crack grow and spread, similar to a car windshield crack when the defroster is put on.
Or just plain faulty manufacturing...
Shattered screen means "something" caused it from the outside...or the inside!
If you didn't hit the screen somehow then maybe the battery swelled and internal pressure caused this? I say this because of the aforementioned charging anomaly.
I actually avoided the Pixel 6 Pro because of all the reports of this happening and figured the 7 Pro must be fixed. It's sad to see that may not be the case.
That said, yours definitely looks way more like an impact than the spontaneous cracking pictures I've seen. Those also almost all happened at the corners where the glass would be at its highest tension instead of near the center of the screen like yours plus yours has spread all over which means there was a lot of energy to dissipate. You're sure nothing could have happened to it?
onintks said:
As can see in photo the main crack goes from right to left and has web cracks too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That looks identical to what did for my S21 Ultra. Dropped and landed with an impact right on the edge of the screen in the center, with the crack looking very similar.
As others have said, I'm not saying you're being dishonest for a minute, but that really does look like impact damage to me.

Categories

Resources