The oleophobic coating on the screen of my S9 seems to be incomplete and uneven. I put my palm all over the screen and you can see the distinct boundary where the coating is missing. Is anyone else having this problem?
Samsung Galaxy S9 Uneven Oleophobic Coating
- Thread starter hot_soup
- Start date
It does seem like a manufacturing defect. I would get it changed right away.
I returned mine after a couple of days, the warranty covered it so I'm waiting for a new batch of s9+ to arrive so I can get a new one...
Exchanged
I returned it to the T-Mo store tonight and they gave me a new one and a shipping label to send back my defective one. The Samsung rep just happened to be in the store at the time and at first he said he'd seen all the weird defects, then when I showed him mine he admitted that was a new one to him, lol.
I returned it to the T-Mo store tonight and they gave me a new one and a shipping label to send back my defective one. The Samsung rep just happened to be in the store at the time and at first he said he'd seen all the weird defects, then when I showed him mine he admitted that was a new one to him, lol.
Ooooohhhh it so did... Sadly, I did not make a photo, but it was terrible. Two thick straight lines stretching from the middle of the left bezel all the way down to the middle of the bottom bezel. Not even the front desk of the service point knew what the oleophobic coating was (don't ask), luckily i had some connections so, they acted on it really fast. A funny thing happened after the replacement was approved. No store had it, so I had to wait another week for a new batch of s9+
Just wanted to give a heads up, I am returning my second S9+ unit, oleophobic issues are even worse on this one!
Check out the video, i posted it on yt. It is in my profile as my personal url, too
https://youtu.be/qtDf53wcgmc
Noticed this too, and just wondering if you ever got one that never got this problem? As you say/imply in your YouTube comment, it's actually not obvious at all in real-world use - the coating seems to only be affected on the sides and not the actual screen. However, I'm wondering whether the coating will continue "peeling" into the actual screen over time?
Those who got the units with this issue, where was your phone made?
The quick way to do is to download this app from play store. All the info will be on first page itself.
App Link : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.vndnguyen.phoneinfo&hl=en
I have seen this happen on other phones, couple of moto phones, one xiaomi phone. Never on Samsung. But because it has happened to me in past, I always check it on every new phone as one of the items on checklist. That is unacceptable defect. I wonder if this is coming from one specific factory or totally random issue. Thankfully, my unit is perfect.
The quick way to do is to download this app from play store. All the info will be on first page itself.
App Link : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.vndnguyen.phoneinfo&hl=en
I have seen this happen on other phones, couple of moto phones, one xiaomi phone. Never on Samsung. But because it has happened to me in past, I always check it on every new phone as one of the items on checklist. That is unacceptable defect. I wonder if this is coming from one specific factory or totally random issue. Thankfully, my unit is perfect.
Washed it with soap or had it in water with chlorine? Like a pool, if so... that's getting rid of your coating.The oleophobic coating on the screen of my S9 seems to be incomplete and uneven. I put my palm all over the screen and you can see the distinct boundary where the coating is missing. Is anyone else having this problem?
For me, I'm pretty sure it wasn't there when it was brand new, but who knows. It's actually really hard to see in most lighting conditions, and even then, it's only noticeable if you're actively looking for it. And even if it's present, for it to show up more obviously, you really need to rub some oil/water/fingerprint on those specific areas for it to show up more clearly. I'm sure most people have this to some extent, but >90% of people wouldn't notice it.Those who got the units with this issue, where was your phone made?
The quick way to do is to download this app from play store. All the info will be on first page itself.
App Link : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.vndnguyen.phoneinfo&hl=en
I have seen this happen on other phones, couple of moto phones, one xiaomi phone. Never on Samsung. But because it has happened to me in past, I always check it on every new phone as one of the items on checklist. That is unacceptable defect. I wonder if this is coming from one specific factory or totally random issue. Thankfully, my unit is perfect.
My phone doesn't have it, tried to return it but they said "Samsung Galaxy S9 isn't supposed to have it". Have I been tricked???
You will only notice it when you get some skin oil or fingerprints on the screen.
I have had this happen on my 2 previous phones. Moto X and Mi 4i. Here is the picture i quickly found in my google photos.
As you can see, the oleophobic coating is missing from the middle part of the screen. This is a defect. It probably happened because some sheet of plastic flew and got stuck on the top glass in factory when the screen underwent the oleophobic coating process or some chemical spilled on the screen in factory and this went unnoticed during QC as it will be hard to detect this without actually touching screen with bare hands. (WIth some skin oil )
At the end of the day, this is unacceptable defect if you have it. The oleophobic coating is sensitive to heat and chlorinated water, but chlorinated water will take long time and multiple exposures to it to cause this damage. It wont happen with single dip in chlorinated water.
My suggestion is to get your phones replaced or at least screen replaced under warranty if you are out of return period.
The original poster (I think) and I only notice this on the sides of the phone (where it curves), and not on the actual part of the screen where pixels light up. I've seen one person replace his S9 several times (and even got the store manager I think to open like 5-6 phones at a store) and all of them had it to some extent. Because it's only at the sides, a lot of cases would actually (mostly) cover this up, so again, it explains why most people wouldn't notice it.You will only notice it when you get some skin oil or fingerprints on the screen.
I have had this happen on my 2 previous phones. Moto X and Mi 4i. Here is the picture i quickly found in my google photos.
As you can see, the oleophobic coating is missing from the middle part of the screen. This is a defect. It probably happened because some sheet of plastic flew and got stuck on the top glass in factory when the screen underwent the oleophobic coating process or some chemical spilled on the screen in factory and this went unnoticed during QC as it will be hard to detect this without actually touching screen with bare hands. (WIth some skin oil )
At the end of the day, this is unacceptable defect if you have it. The oleophobic coating is sensitive to heat and chlorinated water, but chlorinated water will take long time and multiple exposures to it to cause this damage. It wont happen with single dip in chlorinated water.
My suggestion is to get your phones replaced or at least screen replaced under warranty if you are out of return period.
The third one is ok for now. But hey, now I hate Samsung anyway, so this pretty much no longer matters. I am waiting for smudges to keep sticking and will return this one at some point, I'd say... Btw, this one was made in Vietnam.
Thanks for the feedback. I think we're some of the unlucky ones, otherwise we'd hear more about this oleophobic issue - not many posts on it? I'm not getting mine exchanged, as this is purely cosmetic (and rather minor), and I'd probably run the risk of coming across another "defect", if not the same one. The rest of the phone is functioning very well for me. And that's the keyword - it's actually "functioning" well, which is all that really matters when push comes to shove.
How do you mean you're "waiting for smudges to keep sticking"?
Definitely should've written 'waiting for the smudges to stick'
Because that's basically what happens when the oleophobic coating is messed up. They stick really hard to the glass and it is much more difficult to clean it up.
So if your screen shows residue from normal use, it would qualify for a warranty exchange? That seems a bit unrealistic when many other factors come into play. Use of skin lotion, body sweat are couple first thought of. My whole screen shows signs of use, and has since day one. It's never been exposed to chlorine or any other chemical.
Hi guys, try this out for checking. Tried mine and noticed I still have an even coating. My device is made from Vietnam.
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I never thought I'd say this, but I'm almost glad my phone was made in China.
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