Screen going black randomly on Z1 - Xperia Z1 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I've gotten my Xperia z1 black Friday. Since then the screen has gone black on me about 6 times already... Mind u only had it 1 week.
The screen will go black with no image showing but the black light stays on. Pressing power or any button does nothing. I have to press the red power button near the sim card to have it reset.
Today I its done it 4 times in a row. I did notice that the screen flickered a few times on the image then it went to black image with back light on.
I rebooted it. It showed Sony then just the black screen with no image. I rest the phone again and still nothing. I brought it to the store I bought it from and when I went to show him the back light on but no image and no response from the power it worked Ok. Besides when I turned it off the back light stayed on and the phone was hot.
He turned on the optimized back light option as I turned it off to see if that caused the issues. Now after leaving the store as I had him order a replacement I went to turn my phone on after 20min and I got no back light but the image was there... Extremely hard to see I must add. I went in the settings and turned off the auto dimmer option and my screen was fine since then.
Anyone run into this issue?
I hope if I replace this one for another I won't have the same issue again as this phone is very powerful but this issue is a pain!
Sent from my C6906 using xda app-developers app

andyid said:
I've gotten my Xperia z1 black Friday. Since then the screen has gone black on me about 6 times already... Mind u only had it 1 week.
The screen will go black with no image showing but the black light stays on. Pressing power or any button does nothing. I have to press the red power button near the sim card to have it reset.
Today I its done it 4 times in a row. I did notice that the screen flickered a few times on the image then it went to black image with back light on.
I rebooted it. It showed Sony then just the black screen with no image. I rest the phone again and still nothing. I brought it to the store I bought it from and when I went to show him the back light on but no image and no response from the power it worked Ok. Besides when I turned it off the back light stayed on and the phone was hot.
He turned on the optimized back light option as I turned it off to see if that caused the issues. Now after leaving the store as I had him order a replacement I went to turn my phone on after 20min and I got no back light but the image was there... Extremely hard to see I must add. I went in the settings and turned off the auto dimmer option and my screen was fine since then.
Anyone run into this issue?
I hope if I replace this one for another I won't have the same issue again as this phone is very powerful but this issue is a pain!
Sent from my C6906 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You will have exactly the same issue, it's a known Xperia bug. You would know it if you goolde it first!

Go to sony forums and that issue is a hot topic, same with the touchscreen issue. I'll never buy a ****ty xperia again.

Yes, this is an Android Bug, not the Device. Before Adroid will work well on the device have to past weeks. I had no backlight but the phone was working because when I was touching the screen he also vibrate because that option was abilitate. I had to reboot the phone few times too and disabilitate Adapt to lighting condition, for me that was making black screen. So I did this few times, abilitate and disabilitate and now no matter what is running well even with all the options abilitate. So I will give it time.

Thanks guys.
I have searched on Google and other sources but the way they describe it is a bit different then what I was seeing. Plus many stated they where not able to get it working till they did the power + vol up and down. I just pushed the reset button inside the sim cover and I was fine.
So far by disabling the auto screen brightness I have not had this issue again.
Hope this is more software then hardware issue and can be fixed by next update. I'm on firmware: 14.1.G1.534.
Bell has not pushed the new update people are talking about when I did searches for it.
Could it be bell is waiting for the 4.4 update instead of pushing a small jellybean update?
Hope it's fixable. I love this phone way more than my slow galaxy note I had before.

andyid said:
...the auto screen brightness....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"Adapt to lighting condition" and "Auto Screen Brightness" is the same thing.

Yes I know.. I just did not know the name at the time... That was the first name that came to mind...

So far with the Adapt to lighting condition off, My phone has not acted in anyway described above.
Just wanted to give heads up and report of my findings even thought others may have found it also.

Update your phone to 2.257 firmware, it seems the problem caused by "optimized backlight" thing, since on the 257 firmware the optimized backlight check was gone. I only used the 1.534 firmware for a few hours and flashed 2.257 via flashtool and i never experienced any problem until now for like a month and half
Sent from my C6903 using Tapatalk

My provider, Bell Canada states that the most current firmware is X.X.1.543...
I used sony's update tool and it also stated I had most recent update
This flash tool u are talking about... It states an unlocked device. Do they mean that the device is not carrier locked?
I believe mine is Bell Canada locked but there are no branding on the phone.
Also the software shows a list of compatible phones but the z1 is not in the list...
I think I'm sol if mine is not bootloader unlocked correct?

* Update *
I was able to flash stock unbranded android 4.2.2 and then I was able to update ota to 4.3!
Phone runs great now and I no longer have the screen going black issue when I have the auto screen brightness on!
Phone is super smooth!
Thanks for the tips and help guys!
Can't wait to see the 4.4 when it comes out next yr!
Happy new year to all of you!

Oh and my bootloader is still locked. I found the diy to do it with out unlocking my bootloader.
My phone was rooted when I changed to the unbranded firmware.
It's no longer rooted on the now 4.3

Related

[Q] Phone works, screen does not yet sometimes it does

Hello
One night I was using the phone without doing anything special , some video watching . Phone went dark, tried to reboot. Blank Screen and the capacitive buttons flash. Left it to charge all night, in the morning it started but after I pressed the lock button blank screen but phone still working and receiving input.
Took the battery and SD card out left it for 30 seconds then started it again, Stuck at LG logo. Repeat , phone started ... Pressed lock button once then again to unlock , screen wouldn't start.
Used LG Mobile Update recovery tool to restore it ... Didn't solve problem. Sometimes it does not even start , just flashes buttons, other times it does without screen and last all works even the screen until first time goes dark , in the last two cases I can use LG On-Screen Phone without trouble, in doing so I installed a proximity sensor test app to see if it was causing my screen to not come back on , the sensor looked fine.
Facts:
1. Two day old Optimus Black p970, worked like a charm until stated problem
2. The app that checked proximity sensor showed the sensor to be free when my hand wasn't on it
3. The warranty laws in my country are idiotic so I would do or buy anything rather than send it so they can give me a new one in 3 months.
4. Tried another battery from another Optimus, fully charged nothing different.
5. Stock rom.
Do any of you fine people have some ideas on how to fix this? Thanks in advance
Hi there...
Sometime ago [1 year and a half or so~] I worked at a cell refurbishing facility [there were samsung, motorola and palm devices from sprint] and that problem you have was quite usual. Blank screen, still the phone is somehow usable like reciving calls...
There's this thing called "flex" which is the connector between board and display and that is what we fix, most of the time not even "fix it" just getting it in the right place...
This happen because of excesive use in those sliding or clamshell devices, in OB could be for overheating, you could try to fix it yourself or pay $20 usd [that's what it cost here]
Would that connector explain the fact that sometimes it doesn't start at all? hmm I am thinking now and I guess if it moves and somehow the phone feels it has not display connected it could fail to start... Anyhow thank you
actually yes, it could be only for the flex [some devices don't start at all when not having display or keyboard if there's any] but since our OB is not sliding nor clamshell type probably was overheating.
you say you have stock rom, well now I'm using CM7 but when I was at stock and after using the phone a few minutes it felt warm and some more minutes [like playing gunbros where you need to use both hands and a lot of movement] it was really hot and had to stop playing for a while.
what I'm trying to say is that because of overheating flex could have moved, but because of overheating too may have move something else, you couldn't belive the huge number of micro-things that reside in the board.
so if it's only the flex, it's an easy task to do, just unplug and plug again, but if it's something else it's quite hard to know just looking at it, you need to do some electric measures and stuff, the recomendation is to take it to a tech center or something
Hi. I Have same issue. Two times when i press power buton, butons flashing and screen still black. Phone not responding. I must remove baterry.
Sent from my LG-P970 using Tapatalk
Hi there, got the same problem too with my optimus black. Screen goes flickering, shut down don't do any good, and the phone temperature is kinda hot. But in my case it work after I clean some cache and data in the phone storage through LG OSP. After that, the phone temperature back to normal and the phone screen back to normal also. I believe that in my case the phone is overheated.

[Q] Screen off during call

Yesterday I made a call on the XZ and whilst I had the phone against my ear the screen switched off - this I fully expected - what I did not expect was that at some point during the call I had to press a number to get through and when I went to press the number the screen refused to switch on!! Obviously I could not press the necessary number or indeed end the call. It took me almost ten minutes of hearing the automated message trying to reset the phone (I pressed all the button combinations I knew of and even invented a few myself just in case...) without any luck! I had an idea and removed the SIM from the phone, the bl%%dy automated message still continued, I then inserted the SIM and the screen went on and the phone finally rebooted without me pressing any keys!
I had noticed before this, that the screen did remain off after my calls, but as the other person usually hung up I never really took much issue with this behaviour.
Has anybody had this problem before? My phone is rooted, with the 434 stock firmware and locked bootloader.
Do not have this issue on .434. Didn't have it on .350.
Did you install a screen protector because some of them can mess with the light sensor
Press thanks if I helped
Same issue here...very annoying!
Sent from my C6603 using xda app-developers app
Screen protector. Issue comes up a lot. Screen protector.
I had the same issue, I even tried to test the proximity sensor via service menu: it turned on when I got my hand near the phone, but it wouldn't turn off. I removed the screen protector, now it works just fine.
After a while I suddenly got a similar issue where my screen would not turn on when calls came in.
In the beginning i could push vol+ or powerbutton and it would turn on.
Then nothing worked. Call came in and I had to wait for the call to end before the screen could be turned on.
Tinkered around with apps to find the culprit, aaand zilch.
this was on .350
After updating to .434 (global), everything was back to normal
-C6603
-Unlocked bl and root
-No screenprotector, or anti-shatter film for that matter

Verizon LG G2 Screen Issues... NOT the turn on then off issue

I have recently purchased this phone via swappa and haven't had any issues prior to this and that has been three weeks (other than a light leak).
The issue that is happening is the LCD will not turn on. When the phone is unlocked via knock on or power button you can move your finger over where the lock circle would be and feel the vibrations showing that it does register the touch. Then usually I would just hold the power button till it rebooted and this would sometimes fix the problem, on a side note the boot LG logo and boot animation do not show up during this time simply the lock screen would randomly appear.
That is problem, now on to what I tried to fix it. I have put on an entirely different rom and the problem persists, I have also flashed a different kernel on the stock rom with no avail. I at first thought it could be due to a faulty proximity sensor, but the last time the screen was on I checked it with sensor box. One way I have been able to reproduce the problem is after locking it putting it in my pocket and waiting around five minutes, this then will make it so the LCD does not turn on ( Which makes it seem like it has something to do with deep sleep). Also something I just found since I was actually able to find the power off button, the screen also won't turn on when the phone is off and plugged into the charger (this makes it seem like hardware issue). It seems like as long as I keep the phone from going to deep sleep the LCD will turn back on.
Some of this makes it seem like a software issue other things make it seem like a hardware issue. I just was wondering if anyone had any ideas or if I need to buy a new screen, if the mobo is bad, or if I could fix this with software. Any and all ideas are welcome.
Thank you all in advance.

HTC One Display/Software Problem!?

Hi,
Have not posted in here in a while but i'm having a huge problem with my HTC one M7.
Had the phone for a year now and suffered a problem with it once before. The problem before was something to do with the phone locking itself and required me sending it off to HTC to repair. It kept bootlooping and wouldn't allow me to do anything at all.
This problem hasn't occurred since repair however last week the phone was working fine until the next morning when i woke up. My girlfriend used my phone to send herself some photo's and then put the phone on charge as the battery was running low. When i woke up the screen stays black and wont allow me to do anything. If i hold the power button the bottom two lights flash and i can hear the phone booting itself back up. I have a feeling the phone works since everyday at 6:15pm my alarm goes off and i am able to deactivate the alarm by swiping up (i remember the location of the dismiss function) it would appear i'm also able to receive calls and texts since i can hear my message and ring tone going off however cannot see the screen.
I have tried a few things such as holding buttons to reboot, shining a light onto the sensor during a reboot and fully charging etc however nothing.
I should also add i have a slight hairline crack in the screen which occurred about 9 months ago but didn't appear to affect the LCD at all or the digitiser either. Any help would be highly appreciated or any tips on stuff to try.
more information available if needed.
Many Thanks
Kris
MrWain said:
Hi,
Have not posted in here in a while but i'm having a huge problem with my HTC one M7.
Had the phone for a year now and suffered a problem with it once before. The problem before was something to do with the phone locking itself and required me sending it off to HTC to repair. It kept bootlooping and wouldn't allow me to do anything at all.
This problem hasn't occurred since repair however last week the phone was working fine until the next morning when i woke up. My girlfriend used my phone to send herself some photo's and then put the phone on charge as the battery was running low. When i woke up the screen stays black and wont allow me to do anything. If i hold the power button the bottom two lights flash and i can hear the phone booting itself back up. I have a feeling the phone works since everyday at 6:15pm my alarm goes off and i am able to deactivate the alarm by swiping up (i remember the location of the dismiss function) it would appear i'm also able to receive calls and texts since i can hear my message and ring tone going off however cannot see the screen.
I have tried a few things such as holding buttons to reboot, shining a light onto the sensor during a reboot and fully charging etc however nothing.
I should also add i have a slight hairline crack in the screen which occurred about 9 months ago but didn't appear to affect the LCD at all or the digitiser either. Any help would be highly appreciated or any tips on stuff to try.
more information available if needed.
Many Thanks
Kris
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It looks like you tried all of the usual methods, sorry but it might just be the screen is shorted.
majmoz said:
It looks like you tried all of the usual methods, sorry but it might just be the screen is shorted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought as much, i have ordered a new screen and once its delivered i am gonna attempt to fit it and see what happens, thanks for the reply.

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.

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