Samsung screen problem

#1

The screen on my Samsung Galaxy has a permanent imprint of my home page. It’s pretty distracting on light pages. For example, check out this screenshot. Is this normal? Should I ask for a replacement? I’ve only owned it for about a year.

Screenshot_20160831-121430.png1440×2560 161 KB

#2

Which model Samsung Galaxy do you have? The Galaxy S4?

#3

S6, Model number SM-G920T

#4

The Samsung Galaxy S6 utilizes an AMOLED display, which is short for Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode. The pixels in your display are susceptible to burn-in after long periods of inactivity with the screen left on. This leaves you with an imprint — technically called “burn-in” or a “ghost” — of whatever you were viewing when you left your phone on. This “ghost” is purely a hardware problem and is not an Android glitch or easter egg.

To fix the existing “ghosting” effect, I would recommend you install this burn-in repair app. I have not had these issues myself; however, these apps have reportedly reduced or even completely negated any and all burn-in on displays like yours.

To prevent this from appearing in the future, I recommend you follow these steps:

  1. Turn off your device’s screen when you are done using it, or set a short (~10-second) display timeout.
  2. If you have a phone case that covers your screen when closed, make sure your phone automatically turns off when you close your case. Not all cover cases support this feature, but the ones that do generally enable this automatically.
  3. Try not to leave your phone on the same screen for extended periods of time; even if you are actively using your phone, this can contribute to burn-in.

If you follow these steps and your phone is not restored to a satisfactory state, you may need to replace the screen. Keep in mind that AMOLED displays like yours deteriorate over time, so a certain amount of image noise is to be expected.

#5

Thank you for explaining it, Muz. I do tend to keep the screen on for a long time. It’s never been a problem before, but I’ve probably never had this type of screen before. I have a case, but it isn’t connected in any way. I need to get in the habit of turning the screen off manually when I close it. I did try the app - based on the reviews, it seemed to work for about half, so I gave it a shot overnight. Unfortunately, at some point, it froze on the green screen and know the ghosting is just a little worse! I’ll try again tonight. I think it’s because someone sent me a message via fb messenger and that froze the app. Thanks again!

#6

Tapping your screen while that app is cycling through colors will pause the cycle on whichever color is currently present — in your case, green.

Keep in mind that there is no guarantee that this will completely solve your burn-in issue; however, if it does help you, please make sure to mark that answer as “solved” by clicking the ••• button and then the :ballot_box_with_check: button.

Thanks.

#7

I must have bumped it during the night at some point.

#8

An update: I’ve deduced that the burn-in app treats Facebook Messenger Chat Heads as an instruction to pause the color cycle. The app directions didn’t mention this, so I’ll give them feedback. My phone is probably too far gone for it to have been any help anyway. But thank you for the information, Muz! :slight_smile: And I’ve taken your advice about shortening my screen timeout setting which has been at a ridiculous 5 minutes since I got it…