I have a Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G SM-G988U1 and I always see shadows/grains/artifacts in dark areas of the screen especially when the brigthness is very low. It was purchased in September of this year (2024) labelled as a new model.
Grains:
With the default wallpaper out of the box, the black and white one with the big silver bubbles, when I touch the Recent Apps soft key I see a lot of grains in the background, however I must admit the icons and so forth all have proper colour accuracy and they are all clear.
Shawdows/Artifacts:
Photos - When viewing photos in the gallery eg. black hair on someones head, I can see shadows, black patches, artifacts (whatever you want to call it) in some parts of the hair.
Video: When watching a video, eg. someone in black clothing walking, shadows can clearly be seen every step of the way.
I have tried a few suggestions but nothing completely works. For the shadows in hairs, clothing, screen corners etc. I switched the display from Natural to Vivid and adjusted the lever to cool and vice versa...that didn't work.
For the Recent Apps situation with the background grain, going to Accessibility>Visibility>Reduce Transparency and Blur works even though it makes the background look dull but at least the grain is gone once that toggle is on BUT it still doesn't remove the shadow from people's hair etc. so something is still amiss. The fact that the Accessibility method works to an extent, this tells me these issues are more likely software related than hardware related.
Can anybody give me solid suggestions to make my Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra screen look the way it is supposed to? I never had these problems with my previous Galaxy S series like the S2, S5 etc. Thank you all for reading.
The graininess, shadows, and artifacts you're seeing, especially in low-brightness settings, are common with some OLED displays and can be attributed to a few factors, both software and hardware related. The Galaxy S20 Ultra's display may exhibit these issues due to pixel structure, display calibration, or even processing techniques Samsung uses in their software. Here are some suggestions to improve your experience:
1. Adjust Brightness and Screen Modes:
Keep the brightness above a minimum level, especially when viewing darker content. Low brightness often enhances the visibility of graininess and shadowing due to the nature of OLED displays.
Experiment with Natural and Vivid screen modes, as you already did. Try keeping it on Natural and make small adjustments to Screen Mode > White Balance and Advanced Settings (where available). These settings can slightly change how the display processes color gradients.
2. Disable Video Enhancer (if available):
Go to Settings > Advanced Features and look for Video Enhancer or similar options. If it's enabled, disable it. Sometimes, Samsungās enhancement software can cause these artifacts, especially with darker tones.
3. Enable Dark Mode and Reduce Transparency:
Dark mode reduces brightness in certain areas, which can help mitigate the appearance of grain in darker portions of the screen.
You mentioned that Reduce Transparency and Blur helps, so itās worth keeping this enabled, even if it makes the background look slightly dull.
4. Turn Off Adaptive Brightness:
Some users find that adaptive brightness can introduce subtle shifts in color processing that increase the visibility of grains and shadows. Try keeping adaptive brightness off and manually setting a comfortable brightness level.
5. Clear the Cache Partition:
Restart your device into Recovery Mode and clear the cache partition. This can help if there are any leftover system files affecting display processing.
Power off your phone.
Press and hold the Volume Up and Power buttons simultaneously until the Samsung logo appears, then release.
Use the Volume buttons to navigate to "Wipe cache partition" and select it with the Power button.
Confirm and reboot.
6. Check for Software Updates:
Since some users have reported that software updates can help reduce this issue, ensure your device has the latest firmware. Samsung occasionally releases display-related updates to address color accuracy or artifact issues.
7. Adjust Developer Options:
Enable Developer Options (if not already enabled, go to Settings > About phone > Software information and tap Build number seven times).
In Developer Options, try disabling Hardware overlays by selecting "Disable HW overlays" under the Drawing section. This setting can reduce processing artifacts on some displays, although it may slightly impact performance.
8. Consider Using a Dark Wallpaper:
For OLED screens, using a wallpaper with deeper blacks and fewer gradients can help minimize visible grain and artifacts, especially when brightness is low. Avoid highly detailed dark wallpapers, as they may amplify these issues.
If none of these steps fully resolve the issue, itās possible the OLED panel on this device has limitations in how it displays shadows and darker tones. Unfortunately, artifacts in low brightness are a known drawback with OLED screens on some Samsung devices.
Thank very much for your useful tips. This is my first OLED panel that has exhibited this issue. I even had a Huawei P9 Plus which had a Samsung Super AMOLED and that's a perfect panel. I would like to know if this is common with the S20 family.
The Huawei P9 Plus you had with the Samsung Super AMOLED panel might have had different calibration or manufacturing characteristics that made it look "perfect" to you. Samsung has made significant advancements in display technology, so there could be some differences in panel quality or settings between that and the Galaxy S20 series, leading to the issues youāre noticing now.
While this isn't a widespread issue with all Galaxy S20 devices, it does seem to occur in some units, and itās primarily related to OLED technology and Samsung's display calibration. By adjusting your settings or following the suggestions I gave earlier, you should be able to minimize the artifacts. If the problem is severe, it may be worth reaching out to Samsung for a more thorough investigation, especially if it's under warranty.
I agree with everything you said. As GSMArena stated during their review of the Huawei P9 Plus...Huawei would have calibrated and fine tuned it to their liking. I understand what you mean when you said my panel could be one of the odd ones that are affected. However, it leaves me to wonder what happen to Samsung quality control? Aren't all their devices tested and has to pass the QC test before they hit the market?
While Samsung has a robust quality control system, OLED technology is inherently complex, and sometimes small production or software issues can lead to anomalies like the ones you're seeing. However, this doesn't mean all units are affected, and it doesn't indicate a massive problem with Samsungās overall QC process. If the issue is still problematic, contacting Samsung may help resolve the situation, either through software updates or, in rare cases, device replacement.
Good morning. The software update won't work out because it has reached its end off cycle. My phone is on Android 13 which is the last update for the S20 series and I'm sure the monthly security patches which are still forthcoming will not solve that issue. Taking it back to Samsung is out of the question. I will just follow some of the tips that you gave me and hope that there's a huge difference. Please, if you can think of any more tips feel free to share them with me. I thank you and appreciate all the assistance you have given me.
