Search This thread

Erethnor

Member
Nov 30, 2008
16
15
Just got my new SGS2 3 days ago, really liking it but stumbled into a screen problem and would like to know if it's just me/it's normal/I need to change a setting to fix the problem.

Just like the title says, the left side (about 1/3) of my screen changes the colour of the image to a more yellowish tint. This seems to happen just when the brightness is quite low, and tends to disappear when close to 100%.
It is rather subtle, but can be seen where there's white text on a darker background (white characters become darker the closer they are to the left border), or when looking at an uniform colour.

I created this test page to make the problem more apparent: http://fiddle.jshell.net/qFxsC/1/show/
When visiting it on the S2 browser and setting browser brightness to around 20%, it becomes quite visible.
Anybody else with the same problem?

EDIT:
We still DO NOT have pictures of a phone WITHOUT the problem described above!
If you believe your SGS2 has a perfect screen, please post pics of the notification area taken in the dark at both 0-20% brightness and 100% brightness!

UPDATE
Various websites have started to talk about this problem, linking to this thread:
- http://mobile.engadget.com/2011/05/30/is-your-galaxy-s-iis-display-yellow-on-the-left/
- http://pocketnow.com/android/samsung-galaxy-s-ii-screen-problems-trouble-in-paradise
- http://www.onlinesocialmedia.net/20...2-s-ii-screen-problems-users-en-masse-report/
- http://gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_...y_uneven_brightness_yellow_tint-news-2719.php

I have just sent an email to GSMarena asking if they could check the unit they reviewed to see if it has the same problem. Of all the phone reviews I have seen, theirs seems to be the most focused on image quality, I'm sure that if their unit doesn't have this problem, they would be able to take clear shots of a flawless screen.

EDIT:
GSMarena took screens of their unit using the above test link, and while so far I believe theirs is the best looking display that we have seen so far, it *STILL* has the problem.
I am going to link this thread to samsung UK next, in the hopes they will give an official answer acknowledging the problem.

EDIT:
latest firmwares seem to fix this problem or at least make it much less noticeable.
 
Last edited:

BuboBriff

Senior Member
Aug 15, 2009
60
2
Take it straight back and swap it. Seems to be a growing amount of people on here, including myself, with various dodgy screen issues.

B
 

SBS_

Senior Member
Jul 13, 2007
506
19
Bergen
The screen doesn't look perfect if you look at a uniform color on the whole screen + low brightness, but... well I don't tend to use it much for that. Could be a limitation in OLED production-technology getting all the pixels to have exactly the same brightness/color etc.

edit:

To answer directly to the question here, no I don't have a yellowish left side. It's just not completely uniform across the whole screen.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Alien987

Quist

Senior Member
May 23, 2007
174
11
I've got this same thing. I first noticed it when using Estrongs file explorer. I always have my screen turned down to 0% to save battery, but didn't notice this anywhere else yet (at least I didn't think about it).

Your posted image does show it clear.

What to do? Could you others comment whether you've seen this? Go to the OP's posted link and set your brightness down to 0%.
 

Erethnor

Member
Nov 30, 2008
16
15
I've got this same thing. I first noticed it when using Estrongs file explorer. I always have my screen turned down to 0% to save battery, but didn't notice this anywhere else yet (at least I didn't think about it).

Your posted image does show it clear.

What to do? Could you others comment whether you've seen this? Go to the OP's posted link and set your brightness down to 0%.

I tried to mess around with settings such as auto adjust screen power etc, but the only thing that seems to fix it is crank up the brightness.
We obviously can't keep it anywhere close to 100% tho, this phone sucks battery down quickly already at 0%!

Another thing you can do to check if you have this screen problem is call *#*#0*#*#*
This will make the phone go in the diagnostic program, and if you try the white diagnostic, you can somewhat see the problem, although not quite as clearly as in the test web page I posted above.

I'm considering to return the phone, as it doesn't seem to be getting better, despite having read that some screen problems might go away after a few days.
 

Seabass1

Member
May 13, 2011
39
0
Mine is exactly the same. It's noticeable at the lowest brightness setting, however if I increase the brightness even slightly it pretty much disappears for general use. It's still there but not really enough to bother me.

On the OP's link I changed the brightness through several settings and at certain brightness levels the whole screen gets a yellow tint. Not necessarily related to the left side of the screen having a yellow tint, apart from I guess a lack of brightness of the blue subpixels relative to the red and green.

I'm not sure if I'm imagining it but I think it has improved slightly on mine over the past week. However if it gets any worse I think a warranty claim will be in order.
 

Quist

Senior Member
May 23, 2007
174
11
Hhrrmm, I'm in a catch-22 here. There's generally a grace period for any manufacturing errors like this where you can quickly get a replacement just by returning it to the vendor. Problem is, my vendor won't be getting any new units in for another two weeks.
 

r_a_c

Senior Member
May 16, 2011
191
15
I've got this same thing. I first noticed it when using Estrongs file explorer. I always have my screen turned down to 0% to save battery, but didn't notice this anywhere else yet (at least I didn't think about it).

Your posted image does show it clear.

What to do? Could you others comment whether you've seen this? Go to the OP's posted link and set your brightness down to 0%.

I don't see it clearly on the link he posted.

But i do see it in the notification screen. The grey area is slightly darker/yellow tint on the left site. Even when i put it on maximum brightness you could see it. Especially when you first concentrate your eyes on the right side for 5 seconds and than on the left side.
I do seem to notice it on the notification grey slider where your finger is on when you pull it down, on the left side the grey is a little bit "darker" than on the right side of mt finger.

I tend to think I can also see it on the keyboard, whereas the Q has different grey than P on the opposite of the screen...


Anybody could check this out on their phone??

Thanks in advance!
 

Quist

Senior Member
May 23, 2007
174
11
As time goes by, it feels like my problem is getting worse, although it may only be due to me being aware of it.

Also began noticing it in the pull-down message field. Now I see it against white backgrounds as well, almost like a faint green-grey shadow.

I've contacted my vendor and requested an RMA and replacement. They're sending me a shipping slip to send it to them "for control" then they'll contact me on my options from there. Can only hope they see it as clearly as I do and that they send me a new phone as a replacement rather than repair/refurb crap.

Think this is the last time I buy electronics online. I saved 20% off retail on this one, but having the option to do a walk-in replacement at a brick-n-mortar store would have been worth the higher price. <sigh>
 

TechNoir

Senior Member
Oct 24, 2010
151
25
I've got the same thing aswell, a slightly yellow/brown-tinted shade towards the left side of the display. Also visible for example in the market menues, the white areas seem to be very slightly darker towards the left side.

Not sure I am bothered about it enough to return it, doesn't bother me unless I specifically look for it. Also it really is very slight.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: luke05dee

r_a_c

Senior Member
May 16, 2011
191
15
I've got the same thing aswell, a slightly yellow/brown-tinted shade towards the left side of the display. Also visible for example in the market menues, the white areas seem to be very slightly darker towards the left side.

Not sure I am bothered about it enough to return it, doesn't bother me unless I specifically look for it. Also it really is very slight.

If everybody has it, no problem for me.
But if the majority does not have it, I would like to have one without it. Do you think Samsung knows abouth it?

When you have a full grey pictuere or just the notification screen and you go into a perfect dark room. Can you also see, some white vertical en horizontal lines? Looks like hardware where the screen is build on?
 

Quist

Senior Member
May 23, 2007
174
11
Here is a photo I took of my screen with a grey background (see below - click on it to enlarge).

For me, its visibility seems to vary depending on the ambient light, but I'm definitely seeing more effects of it now.

Really hope I'm able to get a good replacement. Am reading quite a bit about this, banding, lines and dead/lit pixels.
 

Attachments

  • 20110517383a.jpg
    20110517383a.jpg
    94.6 KB · Views: 6,916

TechNoir

Senior Member
Oct 24, 2010
151
25
If everybody has it, no problem for me.
But if the majority does not have it, I would like to have one without it. Do you think Samsung knows abouth it?

When you have a full grey pictuere or just the notification screen and you go into a perfect dark room. Can you also see, some white vertical en horizontal lines? Looks like hardware where the screen is build on?


The lines you mention are present both on my SGS and my SGS2. It seems to be patterns in the actual OLED pixels, and the patterns and lines are static even when you move pictures. Mostly visible on lower display brightness settings. I've gotten used to them and they don't bother me, and since I have the same thing on two SAMOLED-phones I'd chalk that one up to "just the way it is" aswell. Using anything over 50% brightness has them mostly fade into the display light so only really visible on the lowest brightness settings.
 

drleospaceman

Senior Member
Jun 2, 2010
196
8
The lines you mention are present both on my SGS and my SGS2. It seems to be patterns in the actual OLED pixels, and the patterns and lines are static even when you move pictures. Mostly visible on lower display brightness settings. I've gotten used to them and they don't bother me, and since I have the same thing on two SAMOLED-phones I'd chalk that one up to "just the way it is" aswell. Using anything over 50% brightness has them mostly fade into the display light so only really visible on the lowest brightness settings.
This what you mean?

nexuss6001.jpg


My Samsung focus and Cowon s9 (which I don't even think has a samsung oled screen) have that as well on the lowest brightness, I think its inherent to the tech.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: luke05dee

r_a_c

Senior Member
May 16, 2011
191
15
The lines you mention are present both on my SGS and my SGS2. It seems to be patterns in the actual OLED pixels, and the patterns and lines are static even when you move pictures. Mostly visible on lower display brightness settings. I've gotten used to them and they don't bother me, and since I have the same thing on two SAMOLED-phones I'd chalk that one up to "just the way it is" aswell. Using anything over 50% brightness has them mostly fade into the display light so only really visible on the lowest brightness settings.

Ah ok thank you!
On a grey pick with full birghtness I can see them too.

On the post 2 post above yours(quist his post) you can see the lines, but now they are not white, but darker, can you confirm you see them and this is what you mean?

Do you also have the yellowish tint on the left side?
 

TechNoir

Senior Member
Oct 24, 2010
151
25
Ah ok thank you!
On a grey pick with full birghtness I can see them too.

On the post 2 post above yours(quist his post) you can see the lines, but now they are not white, but darker, can you confirm you see them and this is what you mean?

Do you also have the yellowish tint on the left side?

For both the SGS and SGS2, the dark lines are there for my devices aswell. They can seem a bit "grainy", and don't seem like perfectly defined lines, though they generally are always straight horizontal or vertical lines. I also have the Xperia Arc at hand, and if you look at a grey-ish image on either the SGS/SGS2, or the Xperia Arc (LCD), the Arc generally has a very smooth grey image, while the SGS/SGS2 has almost like a fine overlay of subtle lines or grids, generally darker in color than the image displayed, though not clearly defined and not completely symmetrical across the display.

Doesn't seem symmetrical enough to be a grid fo the digitizer layer or smtn like that, but definitely a pattern in the display itself. I still pick an AMOLED screen anytime of the day, the Arc display, while more uniform and "blemish"-free in this regard, still has that LCD backlight bleed-through which for me makes the display alot more tiring for the eyes.

Also my SGS2 has a very subtle tint towards yellow when viewing some of the grey test-images some people have posted. Never noticed it on my SGS1, so either I didn't look well enough, or it might be either hardware-related (something causing the pixels on the left side to perhaps not get the same amount of control voltage/whatever for the pixels, thus causing less blue/more yellowish color), or software. Either way, it is way too subtle for me to care at all, maybe this is even according to spec for the SAMOLED+ and some use will even the pixels out, not sure if anyone has some inside knowledge about the SAMOLED screens.
 

Erethnor

Member
Nov 30, 2008
16
15
I am definitely seeing this problem getting worse, now it is getting rather obvious as long as phone is lit by artificial light or in the dark, while sunlight seems to make it really hard to spot, even if not direct.
I've been given advice from samsung call center to bring to phone to the closest assistance point, which I'm going to do tomorrow - hope to be able to report back that it is a known problem and they will change my unit.
 

matt310

Senior Member
Jan 7, 2007
285
24
I hate to make an iPhone reference here, since I'm *not* a fanboy, but Engadget reported when the IP4 was released that yellow spots and banding were due to glues that had not completely dissolved/disappeared and were part of the bonding process of the screen:

http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/24/iphone-4s-yellow-spot-issue-goes-away-with-a-bit-of-time/

Now - the picture above showing a completely yellow left-side display - that looks 100% abnormal and I'd RUN back to the store to swap it out. I don't think that's glue related.

Download an app from the Market called "Dead Pixel Test" and run it with the white setting to see what it looks like. Is it still yellow?
 

eallan

Senior Member
Apr 23, 2010
1,428
113
Have this same issue. Noticed it right away unfortunately. It will always bother me if I deal with it.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA Premium App
 

Top Liked Posts

  • There are no posts matching your filters.
  • 7
    Just got my new SGS2 3 days ago, really liking it but stumbled into a screen problem and would like to know if it's just me/it's normal/I need to change a setting to fix the problem.

    Just like the title says, the left side (about 1/3) of my screen changes the colour of the image to a more yellowish tint. This seems to happen just when the brightness is quite low, and tends to disappear when close to 100%.
    It is rather subtle, but can be seen where there's white text on a darker background (white characters become darker the closer they are to the left border), or when looking at an uniform colour.

    I created this test page to make the problem more apparent: http://fiddle.jshell.net/qFxsC/1/show/
    When visiting it on the S2 browser and setting browser brightness to around 20%, it becomes quite visible.
    Anybody else with the same problem?

    EDIT:
    We still DO NOT have pictures of a phone WITHOUT the problem described above!
    If you believe your SGS2 has a perfect screen, please post pics of the notification area taken in the dark at both 0-20% brightness and 100% brightness!

    UPDATE
    Various websites have started to talk about this problem, linking to this thread:
    - http://mobile.engadget.com/2011/05/30/is-your-galaxy-s-iis-display-yellow-on-the-left/
    - http://pocketnow.com/android/samsung-galaxy-s-ii-screen-problems-trouble-in-paradise
    - http://www.onlinesocialmedia.net/20...2-s-ii-screen-problems-users-en-masse-report/
    - http://gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_...y_uneven_brightness_yellow_tint-news-2719.php

    I have just sent an email to GSMarena asking if they could check the unit they reviewed to see if it has the same problem. Of all the phone reviews I have seen, theirs seems to be the most focused on image quality, I'm sure that if their unit doesn't have this problem, they would be able to take clear shots of a flawless screen.

    EDIT:
    GSMarena took screens of their unit using the above test link, and while so far I believe theirs is the best looking display that we have seen so far, it *STILL* has the problem.
    I am going to link this thread to samsung UK next, in the hopes they will give an official answer acknowledging the problem.

    EDIT:
    latest firmwares seem to fix this problem or at least make it much less noticeable.
    5
    Wow, a lot was covered in the past couple of pages. Some I wish I knew before I bought the phone. Here's what I've taken away:

    1) The variance from screen to screen in SAMOLED is high. The poster who saw 11 phones each with screen variations from each other is pretty telling. I also did a search on "amoled screen problems" and forum posts popped up for pretty much every brand of phone that has the screen. Bottom line is you get brighter colors, blacker blacks, and along with that more risk that individual phones will perform differently. For those seeking perfection it doesn't look like SAMOLED offers any guarantees.

    2) Expectations are different. I think I lucked out as there really isn't anything noticeable to me in everyday use. But because screens vary so much (see #1) it's really luck of the draw and may be that way for a long time unless technology and/or production processes improve. The response to this comment will probably be "but I owned a (insert phone here) and it never had any screen problems." From what I just read I'd ask if you saw them all? There might be something particularly funky with the new 4.3" screen or the SGS2 production process but apparently AMOLED has some drawbacks in every application.

    3) If you accept that AMOLED has inherent flaws, Samsung obviously knows this. I read an interesting article that said the only reason Apple didn't go with SAMOLED in the iP4 was concerns about inventory being sufficient. I'm assuming they did a little research before considering the technology. You guys make it sound as if Samsung has three guys in a rice paddy designing and building their phones. They probably have hundreds of people in R&D, production, and QC with a million dollars of equipment at their disposal. A 95% quality benchmark is relatively easy to hit. Each point beyond that doubles in cost so 98-99% is a likely target. They probably have some sort of allowable flaw rate of "X per 1,000 units." If they're like every other company they continually pull random samples off the line to make sure they're hitting their QC benchmarks and tolerances. In short, they know when there's issues and they're willing to accept them to a prescribed threshold. Because we got phones early in the production process the "X per 1,000" may have been much higher than projected. Regardless, those waiting for some type of massive recall or mia culpa from Samsung are probably going to be waiting for a long time.

    4) I posted pics of my phone for everyone to see and given the chance to swap it for a perfect specimen I'd probably avoid the hassle and keep it. It's literally fine for me. If in looking at the pics what's shown doesn't meet your standards, wait a couple months before making a purchase. Apparently mine's a better specimen and there's risk that whatever you get could be worse. Of course, what's good for some is awful for others so without a specific phone in front of you I guess its really hard to see where in the spectrum your expectations may fall.

    So, basically, here are the options:

    1) For those buying now, live with what you get and hope later production runs improve. Then, get your screen replaced under warranty at some point in the future.

    2) Return the phone and re-buy a better specimen at some point in the future should things improve.

    3) If you buy now and get a really crappy specimen, exchange it within the 7-28 day DOA window until you get an example you can live with hoping "perfect" might be available in the future.

    4) For those importing the phone to the U.S., you should really consider the risk that exists. If you get a crappy specimen, you'll either have to ship it back to the UK or have Expansys do it for you. Since each phone seems to vary wildly the next one could be better or worse. Knowing what we know now I probably wouldn't have gotten the phone or waited a few months for things to shake out.

    To those that are happy (I am), enjoy your phone. To those that aren't, pick one of the three options above. While storming the castle with pitchforks and torches makes for great theater, it rarely accomplishes anything. The SGS GPS issue was legend and much worse than this as it effected every phone. It took Samsung six months to react and they never publicly declared it an issue. So this thread can grow to a 1,000 pages and every online site could post a story a month about the SGS2 screen and nothing may ever happen since, like I said above, Samsung was most likely aware of the issue before we were.

    Food for thought.
    4
    Kind of like "if a tree falls in the woods can any one hear?" The only problems I care about are ones I can see. I'll tell the person who calibrates $5K monitors he doesn't know what he's doing because all the pros on this forum said so.

    Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

    Why not cut the attitude and just take a picture of your screen. There is no need for hostility. We are all trying to help each other right?
    And you cant blame people that dont even know you for not trusting your word. So do the most logical thing, snap a picture. That is how science work. Evidence.

    I am not saying i dont trust your word i am just saying that the rabbit is in your hat and you cant just tell people you have a rabbit in the hat without actually pulling out the rabbit and showing people.
    4
    To everyone that went out of his/her way to tell us to get a grip: please drop it, this is clearly not the thread best suited for you.

    I created this thread because I could see the problem even on the homescreen - the webpage came later, so that I could have a test case where it would be reliably absolutely obvious.

    Some of you are happy with a less than perfect product.
    Not me and obviously not a fair few other people, or this problem would've never even hit endgadget and all the other sites otherwise.

    I want a flawless smartphone, and I will either RMA my SGS2 till it gets fixed, or buy another phone.
    If you decided that your SGS2 is good enough, I don't see why you are implying that we should be happy with it as well. Do you see anybody suggesting you should RMA the phone you are happy about?

    Also, I don't see why I should accept a flaw on my phone because your HDTV/LCD monitor/dishwasher display has one as well. My monitors and TVs are absolutely perfect, and I won't settle for anything less than that.
    3
    You don't have to participate if if makes you such a grump.

    Please don't mistake my intentions. From my post and thanks count you should be able to tell I'm not a troll. I don't for a munute doubt that there is an issue with the screen as outlined originally. I think the debate is over the severity of the problem, number of phones impacted, and whether each phone has the problem to the same degree.

    Someone posted a screen shot of their phone a couple of pages back and proudly said, "see, my phone doesn't have it." He was corrected within minutes. He didn't have a problem and now he does. If the actual user of the phone can't detect the problem it can obviously be pretty subtle.

    People that may be looking at purchasing a SGS2 could easily read this thread and think the phone's a disaster. That would be a shame. My counterpoint isn't by any means a personal attack or a denial of the issue. But, as in all discussion boards, exploring different viewpoints and sides of an issue should be healthy and welcome.

    Expectations are personal. If yours haven't been met than by all means pursure any path you choose to rectify the situation. But just as it would be unfair of me to tell you what your expectations should be, the same holds in reverse when I offer a different viewpoint.

    My wit sometimes doesn't translate well though the pen. If I offended anyone I'm sorry. Also, from PMs I've received, I'm not the only one that feels this way.