Database Develop

Screen lighting issue.

XDA-Dev:
I hope this finds you in high spirits and good health. Just a day ago my phone started acting peculiar regarding the lighting of the touchscreen.
Firmware: 1.6 // Build: DRC83 // Rooted: No
Damage: Slightly scratched hard plastic from dropping 2-3 times. Otherwise, outwardly pristine
Upon purchasing the phone, I immediately noticed that the screen would creak if it was pressed on the bottom right hand side (by the send button). The right side of the screen also protrudes slightly higher than the left when in the open position. I have owned the device for about 7-8 months now and have noticed that on the rear, when in open position, there is a scratch where the sliding mechanism moves. The paint is stripped and the underlying metal is displayed in those areas. And now on to the issue at hand:
When the phone is closed (touchscreen only):
- When pressing MENU, or any key that would normally illuminate the screen, this does not happen. The screen stays dim, yet the lights on the buttons bellow it brighten.
- If I slide out the keyboard while the screen is supposed to be on (meaning the buttons are lit up), nothing happens.
When the phone is open (keyboard presented):
- And the screen is off, if I press MENU, the screen comes right up with no brightness issues.
- At this point, if I close the keyboard, the backlight disables itself. The screen is NOT completely blank. If I reflect the light of the room off of it, I can just barely make out that it is indeed displaying whatever task it was that was open, but if I were in a dark room, there would be no chance of recognising what is being presented.
- Continuing from above, once the screen's backlight is disabled and I reopen the keyboard, it does not turn back on. I must turn off the screen and turn it back on for the backlight to resume normal functioning.
One would think that if the issue lies in a loose wire that once the keyboard is extended that the backlight would regain normal functioning. Because this is not happening and that it is only working under certain circumstances, I cannot accurately ascertain whether this is a software or hardware problem.
Attempted remedies:
- Soft reset (both rebooting the phone by powering off and on and by going into the reset menu)
- Hard reset (by going into the reset menu and hitting ALT+W, etc)
Neither of these attempts succeeded in restoring functionality of the backlight. I've also search high and low through the settings, but see nothing other than 'Brightness' under 'Sound & Display.'
It may be noteworthy that I have the paid application 'Power Manager' installed. Though, perhaps not since this issue was still occurring AFTER the factory reset when no foreign applications were installed.
If you require any additional details, feel free to give a reply with any questions. I'm sincerely hoping I don't have to deal with T-Mobile or HTC to have this repaired. Any tips, ideas or possible solutions would be greatly appreciated!
Regards,
Ian

Update on issue:
On the way home from work, as the battery was on it's last leg (less than 10%), I turned off the screen while the device was in the open position after finishing a text. Upon attempting to re-activate the screen, it would not do so. As always, the side buttons lit up, but the screen was blank no matter what I did. I could hear the vibration from receiving texts and the red 'omg I\'m dying LED' was still flashing, so the device had not died.
Returning home, I gave it a reboot by removing and replacing the battery. I've kept it in the open position since it has been plugged in and am quite afraid of manipulating the slide mechanism any further.
I'll be calling t-mobile to get their opinion on any further troubleshooting momentarily and report back.

Sorry for opening an older thread. do you remember what t-mobile said was the problem? i am having the same issue.

simplewhite said:
Sorry for opening an older thread. do you remember what t-mobile said was the problem? i am having the same issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The ribbon wire in the slide mechanism is either broken or pulled out of socket.

Power button doesn't turn screen off properly

Hi,
On my wife's Xperia, she dropped it, which obviously didn't help, but it seems to have made it work strangely.
a) Pressing the power button does not turn the screen off, it just makes the screen dark however, in a dark room you can see it's still lit up faintly, so it drains the battery as though it's on all the time.
b) The LEDs when charging do not come on, however it is charging properly
c) When booting, the screen does nothing until you pull out the keyboard, then it comes on fine.
Any ideas, mainly it's point a) which is causing the problems. I've got insurance, so I can get it replaced, just didn't want to go through the hassle if there was a solution out there anyone can think of. Could something have got corrupted which is meaning it's not turning off the screen properly, which a hard-reset would help?
Cheers

[Q] Droid 4 backlight failure on automatic brightness.

Hello!
I wonder if anyone had this issue. Yesterday suddenly the backlight of my XT894 started to act weirdly. When i pressed the unlock button, the screen would go very bright and then shut off after 2-3 seconds, but I still could swype the unlock screen and hear the unlock click, even with the dark screen. With a little bit of external light I could see the image was there, but the backlight of the screen was not on. I went on to the power shortcuts and disabled the Automatic brightness control, and as soon as I did that the display turned on, very dimly but it turned on. When I set the brightness control to maximum, it still is very low. If i set the brightness to minimum, its almost impossible to see anything. In display settings, the automatic brightness is unchecked and the brightness fader is set to maximum.
I started suspecting the light sensor, so I went ahead and downlaoded a sensor tester app, and the light sensor appeared to be reporting the light levels correctly - low readings in the dark, and much higher readings in direct light.
Is my phone backlight dying? Any idea if this might be due to defective mainboard, or the display itself?
I already did some repairing on the phone myself, so I am comfortable dissassembling it and changing parts. Few months ago I changed the main board because my old one had a broken usb connector, and it worked fine until now.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you in advance!
Best regards,
Konstantin

If I remember right, by default, the maximum auto-brightness is still lower than actual maximum, so if the screen can barely be seen at manual max, it makes sense that the screen is pretty much unviewable with auto on.
Idea:
If you have it installed, boot into Safestrap and see if your brightness is normal.
If not, pull up the diagnostic menu (hold Vol - while powering on iirc, might be Vol - and +).
If your brightness is normal in those, it's probably something gone wonky in Android. If not, your screen backlight might be going and needs replaced. I don't think there's anything on the mainboard that would cause it, aside from the circuitry actually supplying power to the backlight...
Screen replacement actually isn't terrible for the D4, if it comes to that, since it's not fused to the glass (like certain single-piece phones for example...*sideways glance at the S3*).

Hello!
Thank you for your reply!
Effectively something is very wrong with the device. Today I woke up to find it completely unresponsive, had to turn it off by holding the power button for a while. When it turned on again, the whole screen was white with glitchy color lines since the very reboot, and nothing else happens, couldnt even turn it off without unscrewing the battery.
I will put the old main board to see if the other one died.
Thank you again!
Best regards,
Konstantin

Screen stops responding during call

I've had this problem with 2 different roms now (PureNexus, Chroma) on a few kernels (stock, ElementalX) so I'm not sure whats causing it but I need a fix. In a call, many times the screen just stops responding. Sometimes I can turn the screen on/off using power button and its fixed. Other times nothing works and I have to do a hard reboot by holding down power key since nothing else works on screen.
This is on latest version of the rom/kernels. Any ideas?

When you say its stops responding, do you mean it goes dark and nothing displays on screen? Or that its on with everything displaying but tapping it does nothing?

Only when in contact with ears?

akholicc said:
When you say its stops responding, do you mean it goes dark and nothing displays on screen? Or that its on with everything displaying but tapping it does nothing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its on, touch doesn't do anything. The phone is working since volume keys bring up the UI but you can't do anything. Also proximity sensor works, it turns on/off as I bring near ear. I don't have a screen protector.

ECrispy said:
Its on, touch doesn't do anything. The phone is working since volume keys bring up the UI but you can't do anything. Also proximity sensor works, it turns on/off as I bring near ear. I don't have a screen protector.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm having a similar issue from the last month.. I'm on DP5
when i get a call most times the screen is off.
To answer the call i've to put on the screen, unlock the phone and then go to the heads up notification and choose answer there..
waiting for nougat final hoping it'll fix this.
Tried fiddling around with notifications importance setting.. it helped a little but then there was the annoying heads up showing along with the regular incoming call screen.
Sometimes (very rarely, has happened twice) the screen just remains black and will only work normally after a reboot.
Anybody have any suggestions?

I was having similar issues, also on the Developer Preview and I ended up noticing that the phone app was blocked from showing any notifications despite the fact that I never set it that way. I would hear the call ringing but would never see the screen to answer. Just changed that setting and everything was back to normal. Perhaps something is causing the phone app to fail to show notifications for you as well.

Weirdest black screen issue, tried everything ....

Non rooted, T mobile branded 3 month old note 8. No water damange, no drops etc.
Using chrome one miniute, set the phone down to watch a movie on my tablet, picked up the phone to check messages and boom. Screen is off. The phone works, I can even answer calls because I know where the answer button is on the screen, haptic feedback works, all indicator lights work. The phone screen remains off.
Tried a soft reset (tried hard reset too the best I could being I cant see the screen) and the phone seems to reset based on the vibration and indicator light patters but the screen remains off. It's as if a physical connection between the screen and the brains of the phone has been severed. Literaraly the weirdest thing that has happened to me in a decade of Android phone ownership.
Googled all the black screen issues with these phones and most of them are resolved with just a soft reset... some said that the phone is in it's lowest dimmed state and go to a dark room and i'll see it faintly and then can increase brightness... no luck...
Has anyone experienced this?

I would say it's a warranty job, just tried turning my brightness to zero and you can still see the screen.
I did have a similar problem on an old note that had root and custom rom though but I had somehow set the volume rocker to control brightness and it had lowered itself to minimum in my pocket

KEVIN88GT said:
Non rooted, T mobile branded 3 month old note 8. No water damange, no drops etc.
Using chrome one miniute, set the phone down to watch a movie on my tablet, picked up the phone to check messages and boom. Screen is off. The phone works, I can even answer calls because I know where the answer button is on the screen, haptic feedback works, all indicator lights work. The phone screen remains off.
Tried a soft reset (tried hard reset too the best I could being I cant see the screen) and the phone seems to reset based on the vibration and indicator light patters but the screen remains off. It's as if a physical connection between the screen and the brains of the phone has been severed. Literaraly the weirdest thing that has happened to me in a decade of Android phone ownership.
Googled all the black screen issues with these phones and most of them are resolved with just a soft reset... some said that the phone is in it's lowest dimmed state and go to a dark room and i'll see it faintly and then can increase brightness... no luck...
Has anyone experienced this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try pressing and holding Volume down and power button for 5 to 7 seconds to force power off, then try to boot to download mode Volume Down + Bixby + Power button and see if the download mode screen shows......if not then probably a bad screen.
Sent from my God Mode 8

Tried it......nothing.....warranty job it is.... Bummed to have some refurnished phone in exchange for a Brand new 900 dollar phone just a few months back?

KEVIN88GT said:
Tried it......nothing.....warranty job it is.... Bummed to have some refurnished phone in exchange for a Brand new 900 dollar phone just a few months back?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah that sucks, i can imagine..... i too hate the idea of refurbished units being swapped for warranty....bs, should be brand new unit!
Sent from my God Mode 8

so I had it replaced under warranty through T mobile. Refurb phone will come in today. One quesion. Should I let the Tmobile techs do the data/settings transfer from old phone to new one or just do everything myself from scratch (which will obviously take longer).

This happened to my phone twice for the past month or so. (both in Nougat and Oreo - Non rooted) Black screen but phone seems to be responding -- I can receive calls and notifications etc -- And force reboot doesn't fix it. I've also tried drainging the phone when it first happened to me but doesn't work. HOWEVER, it gets okay so randomly. Like I just left it for couple of hours and it just worked when I hit the power button.
I did tried bringing the device to Samsung but what they did is to just manually upgrade/reset the software in their end which I could have done in my part but I just let them do it. They told me to come back if it happens again which is kinda BS.
I can conveniently say this is a Hardware issue. I will wait for it to happen again on my phone and request for a replacement. Phone is 4 months old when it first happened.

I have the same issue with blank screen but phone is working.
It started couple of weeks after i dropped my phone on the ground. There is black dot on my screen and broken glass but phone was working ok and was still pretty usable. But then it started:
Display works fine but when i switch display of, lock the phone or display switched because of its timer it didn come switch on... But phone works, i can use it with blank (black) screen.
I had to do force restart so the display will turn on with samsung logo and booting screen, and keep on till another switch of.
I was trying every setting (but no hard reset) and then i found a little hack:
When you turn on the "Always On Display" (AOD) function you can let the screen switch off or do it manually, wait for 1-2 sec and always on display will come up to the screen. Then when you press home button or lock button screen will swtich on normally. YOu can type pin and use phone witch screen working. But when you try to unlock from "AOD" with your finger or your eyes it unlock but with screen black.
So i was using it like this. everytime you need to wait second untill AOD comes up, but it was working fine.
Problem nu 2 is that now it stop working, AOD is working but when i want to switch screen on from AOD it shows black screen and phone is working on blind.
So everytime after my screen goes black or to AOD i have to unlock the phone blindly and "Force restart" it and have to keep waiting until boot, and then have to never let phone to screen of.
Its not usuable.
¨
Now what do you think? Is it hardware problem or software problem? Because screen is working but randomly. The black dot of dead pixels on the screen is getting slightly bigger in time (about 1 year) but its like 1.5cm round. Maybe this cause the problem? And why hack with AOD was working for half a year and then stoped working? There wasnt any updates right before, but i tried to install some apps (non display related) so ill try to uninstall them.
Hawe you got any idea if i can repair it on my own even if i loose the waterproofability?
Or can it be replaced for free if i have a warranty? (I dont have insurance)
Thanks for your tips guys.

Reprocrastinator said:
I have the same issue with blank screen but phone is working.
It started couple of weeks after i dropped my phone on the ground. There is black dot on my screen and broken glass but phone was working ok and was still pretty usable. But then it started:
Display works fine but when i switch display of, lock the phone or display switched because of its timer it didn come switch on... But phone works, i can use it with blank (black) screen.
I had to do force restart so the display will turn on with samsung logo and booting screen, and keep on till another switch of.
I was trying every setting (but no hard reset) and then i found a little hack:
When you turn on the "Always On Display" (AOD) function you can let the screen switch off or do it manually, wait for 1-2 sec and always on display will come up to the screen. Then when you press home button or lock button screen will swtich on normally. YOu can type pin and use phone witch screen working. But when you try to unlock from "AOD" with your finger or your eyes it unlock but with screen black.
So i was using it like this. everytime you need to wait second untill AOD comes up, but it was working fine.
Problem nu 2 is that now it stop working, AOD is working but when i want to switch screen on from AOD it shows black screen and phone is working on blind.
So everytime after my screen goes black or to AOD i have to unlock the phone blindly and "Force restart" it and have to keep waiting until boot, and then have to never let phone to screen of.
Its not usuable.
¨
Now what do you think? Is it hardware problem or software problem? Because screen is working but randomly. The black dot of dead pixels on the screen is getting slightly bigger in time (about 1 year) but its like 1.5cm round. Maybe this cause the problem? And why hack with AOD was working for half a year and then stoped working? There wasnt any updates right before, but i tried to install some apps (non display related) so ill try to uninstall them.
Hawe you got any idea if i can repair it on my own even if i loose the waterproofability?
Or can it be replaced for free if i have a warranty? (I dont have insurance)
Thanks for your tips guys.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're under warranty it will likely be a free repair, unless they find other damage. Like moisture damage.
As far as fixing it yourself, it's just about as cheap to have Samsung do it than it is to buy the parts yourself. It's $229 for Samsung to do it, and you'll maintain the water resistance rating.

same has happened to me
KEVIN88GT said:
Non rooted, T mobile branded 3 month old note 8. No water damange, no drops etc.
Using chrome one miniute, set the phone down to watch a movie on my tablet, picked up the phone to check messages and boom. Screen is off. The phone works, I can even answer calls because I know where the answer button is on the screen, haptic feedback works, all indicator lights work. The phone screen remains off.
Tried a soft reset (tried hard reset too the best I could being I cant see the screen) and the phone seems to reset based on the vibration and indicator light patters but the screen remains off. It's as if a physical connection between the screen and the brains of the phone has been severed. Literaraly the weirdest thing that has happened to me in a decade of Android phone ownership.
Googled all the black screen issues with these phones and most of them are resolved with just a soft reset... some said that the phone is in it's lowest dimmed state and go to a dark room and i'll see it faintly and then can increase brightness... no luck...
Has anyone experienced this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This has just happened to my note 8 too. I was about to update it and had started it. set my phone down and picked it up and phone screen is black but can hear the haptic feedback.

I can only see the lock screen and the notifications. Everytime I try to unlock my phone I only get to see a glimpse of the notescreen and then the screen turns black. Even when I try to go to camera through the lock screen the screen goes black too. When I charge my phone it heats up so I haven't really charged it as well. Has this also happened to anyone? It seems as if the phone's sensitivity still works in all places but when I unlock it the screen just goes black.

I also have problem of freezings and always rebooting. Tried soft and hard resets/factory reset. Still same problem. This phone has hardware issue. Do not buy.

I realize this thread is quite old but I have this exact same issue now. I have managed to discover some other information by playing around with various settings which are noted below. To begin with, I was able to used the AOD hack posted above for a while but it no longer works. The only way I can get my screen to come back is with a soft reset - but as soon as the screen times out or i turn it off, it goes black, with or without AOD enable. All the on screen buttons still work as well as the haptic feedback - I just can't see anything.
Now on to what I have found:
One thing I have found is if I turn off adaptive screen brightness and crank the brightness slider to the right, when it goes black I can faintly see some of the buttons - enough that I can turn the phone off or restart it from the power menu (If I switch the default setting to night that also helps to see the buttons a bit better). Also, if I enable night mode I can also see the brightness slider faintly but when I slide it left, it just makes the screen completely black and when I slide it right, it only returns it to the very faint brightness level.
So at this point I am stuck. To summarize the issue:
1. When the screen either times out or turns off, it is still "alive" but goes black. It will not return to normal brightness.
2. Turning off adaptive brightness and cranking brightness slider to right allows you to see faint buttons after screen times out but won't return to normal brightness.
3. Enabling night mode helps to see the faint buttons, in particular the brightness slider a bit better. However the screen still cannot return to normal brightness.
4. The only way to get the screen back to full brightness (albeit temporarily until the next timeout) is to turn off the phone or reset from the power menu; or soft reset holding volume down + power simultaneously.
Hopefully someone else has figured out a way to recover this. I am on Android 9 with Samsung UI 1.0
Phone is completely stock, never rooted and completely out of warranty.