Severe brightness issue (screen largely unusable) - Samsung Galaxy S9 Questions & Answers

Hi all, I have a problem with my stock T-Mobile US S9. A few months ago this weird thing happened where if I turned on my screen immediately after it turned itself off, only the top few lines would be visible. The whole screen would take input, but you could only see a little below the status bar, maybe. If I waited a bit and then turned the screen on, it would work normally, with the whole screen visible and looking fine.
It's gotten progressively worse to the point where this happens most of the time I turn the screen on. However, I've found two workarounds:
1) My Always On Display is set to turn on when I tap the phone. If I do that, the AOD works as normal, and if I then turn on the phone screen the phone screen works fine. This only works when Always on display is set to turn on on tap. It does not work if AOD is set to always be on.
2) If, when my screen is glitching out I hold the screen up to a reeaally bright light (like inches from a lightbulb), the rest of the screen turns on. It's weirdly green tinted and kind of stuttery.
Turning off automatic brightness does not fix this issue. If tried booting in safe mode and even factory resetting the phone. Issue still persists, including on screens like when the phone enters recovery mode.
The fact that I can get the screen working normally using workaround #1 makes me think this is a software issue, but the fact that it happens on the recovery screen makes me think it's pretty low-level. Any ideas? Anyone else had a similar issue?

I gave Samsung tech support a call and the level 1 tech I spoke with seemed to think that it was a software issue and that I should bring it in to be looked at by a technician. I'm in Maine at the moment and there's no Samsung or UBreakIFix stores within two hours, so she suggested taking it to Best Buy to look at. Not amazingly helpful or surprising.
If it's a software issue though... I mean this is my fourth Android phone and I've rooted and flashed ROMs on all the previous phones anyway. I don't want to lose Samsung Pay, so I'd rather not unlock the bootloader, but is there a way to flash the stock operating system or something? The exact model number is SM-G960U

It's a firmware or hardware issue not software as a reload* would have fixed it.
The firmware has been corrupted (needs reflashed) or there's been a hardware failure.
Best to send it in for repair or take it the a Samsung Experience Center as they can reflash the stock rom and have advanced diagnostic tools.
*make sure all system apks are running on factory load and have not been updated after the reload.
Updates, destroyers of worlds...

blackhawk said:
It's a firmware or hardware issue not software as a reload* would have fixed it.
The firmware has been corrupted (needs reflashed) or there's been a hardware failure.
Best to send it in for repair or take it the a Samsung Experience Center as they can reflash the stock rom and have advanced diagnostic tools.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If that’s really necessary I’ll do it. But the closest place is out of state and when I called them said it would take 4 hours just to do a diagnostic. That plus the round trip... if there’s a way I can save some time, I’d like to.
For example, if one possibility is a stock firmware reflash, that’s something I’ve never done before on a Samsung device, but not very different from things I feel comfortable doing. I've flashed roms and rooted many android devices in the past. From a preliminary search , it looks like there's even a leaked tool online to do so from Samsung called Odin and that I just need to find the latest SM-G960U image with the right "csc" code for my carrier (I think TMB for T Mobile US). What would be even better is if one of those diagnostic tools you mentioned leaked the same way that Odin did.
Any recommendations on either diagnostic software or firmware reflashing? Or would you strongly advise leaving that kind of thing alone? I would like to still use things like Samsung Pay at the end of all this.

jptiger said:
If that’s really necessary I’ll do it. But the closest place is out of state and when I called them said it would take 4 hours just to do a diagnostic. That plus the round trip... if there’s a way I can save some time, I’d like to.
For example, if one possibility is a stock firmware reflash, that’s something I’ve never done before on a Samsung device, but not very different from things I feel comfortable doing. I've flashed roms and rooted many android devices in the past. From a preliminary search , it looks like there's even a leaked tool online to do so from Samsung called Odin and that I just need to find the latest SM-G960U image with the right "csc" code for my carrier (I think TMB for T Mobile US). What would be even better is if one of those diagnostic tools you mentioned leaked the same way that Odin did.
Any recommendations on either diagnostic software or firmware reflashing? Or would you strongly advise leaving that kind of thing alone? I would like to still use things like Samsung Pay at the end of all this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it's under warranty let Samsung deal with it. A good tech with experience is invaluable.
Rather then waste time the extra ride might end up being the easiest solution. You could also next or 2nd day it to the center and back, make sure it's insured and packaged well.

blackhawk said:
If it's under warranty let Samsung deal with it. A good tech with experience is invaluable.
Rather then waste time the extra ride might end up being the easiest solution. You could also next or 2nd day it to the center and back, make sure it's insured and packaged well.
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Click to collapse
That makes complete sense for something under warranty, but unfortunately my phone isn't. The S9 is about three years old now, and the Samsung rep was quick to tell me that the device was no longer covered. It looks like a mail-in repair service would cost about $175, which I'm theoretically willing to pay, but not if I can just handle on my own for free.

jptiger said:
That makes complete sense for something under warranty, but unfortunately my phone isn't. The S9 is about three years old now, and the Samsung rep was quick to tell me that the device was no longer covered. It looks like a mail-in repair service would cost about $175, which I'm theoretically willing to pay, but not if I can just handle on my own for free.
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Click to collapse
In that case you have nothing to lose by reflashing it. Hopefully that gets it.
Otherwise it be hardware... probably a good chance this actually the cause.
The good news is the 9's are available for a couple hundred in good condition if need be.
I was considering getting the 9 as a second phone (have the 10+) as the 10+'s haven't come down much in price.
Samsung current lineup sucks.

Huh. Well, before reflashing, I tried something I found other people suggesting for a related problem: https://eu.community.samsung.com/t5...t-bars-black-screen-issue/td-p/1745470/page/7
It's an app called OLED Saver. It's not perfect, the screen still has an odd green tint to it unless I use one of the tricks I was describing above. But I no longer have the issue where most of the screen isn't visible.
I might try reflashing anyway, will post results if I do.

Yeah, no joy. Reflashed by downloading the latest firmware using Frija for SM-G960U with TMB as the CSC, and flashed using Odin v3.13.3. If anything the problem is slightly worse now, but OLED Saver still mostly seems to fix it. I guess it's just a hardware issue with a weird software workaround...

Same type of brightness problem here as you describe, on my new S9 (G960U) - - Model starqltesq - CSS XAA
The product is under guarantee, but as it is imported from Hongkong to France, I don't have accesss to the Samsung local representatives and have probably to send it back to Hongkong ...
I will keep you updated if I learn something about the problem and the solution ....

Wiping the cache partition stopped this happening for me for around 24 hours but it came back this morning. On the Note9 forums someone posted that setting animations to .5 in dev options fixes this. I will try it.

Bhonka said:
Wiping the cache partition stopped this happening for me for around 24 hours but it came back this morning. On the Note9 forums someone posted that setting animations to .5 in dev options fixes this. I will try it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Disable animations instead. It wastes resources. Personally I like seeing a fast, snappy OS do it's thing with no middle man needed. Lol, you end up waiting for the animations rather than the OS.

I've heard of people flashing custom roms and that resolved the issue permenetly, but can't find anyone willing to give some real feedback. I posted a topic asking this question, but haven't gotten any replies..

Not very helpful, but a work around could be to use Screen Filter

I temporary fixing my S9+ green screen issue by uninstalling the NFC module.
Unfortunately, this option make us cant charging the phone.
Maybe some one expert in hardware mod can do better.

Eve&Me said:
I temporary fixing my S9+ green screen issue by uninstalling the NFC module.
Unfortunately, this option make us cant charging the phone.
Maybe some one expert in hardware mod can do better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey could you explain what exactly did you uninstall and how?
After uninstalling it wireless charing stopped working or what did you mean by cant charge the phone?
Did it fully resolve the green screen issue?

Some people noticed that problem after upgrade Android 9 to 10.
At this moment we have some facts:
1) OLED saver temporary solves problem
2) disconnect NFC module solves problem, some people on xda and on the yt confirm that
3) heating back cover using heat gun can help - I Discovered that some weeks ago
Interesting comment from the yt:
Sour Words
Sorry to say this, but green screen issue is a hardware fault not something an update can fix. One of the updates from Samsung is causing the CPU to over heat and in return permanently damaging the oled screen. Not only that but also compromising the battery as well. The only fix is the replacement of both the oled screen and battery. This repair is entirely the fault of Samsung due to a faulty update that over works the CPU capacity. Therefore my advice is for you to return your device back to Samsung and lodge an assessment request. They charge a small fee for the assessment, but the entire repair should be compensated by Samsung. Be firm and keep the pressure via emailing them to insist on Samsung covering the repair costs. My Note 9 is almost 3 years old when green screen issue happened. They fixed the entire thing free of charge. But I kept firm and didn't let them bully me into charging me for the repairs, which was their fault in the first place. I must admit, my phone despite its age, is in perfect condition. Not a scratch on it. Which I know contributed winning my argument for the repairs. So if you have psychical damage, I doubt you will have a chance. Good luck to all who will give this successful method a go.
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Click to collapse

mreminemfan4ewver said:
Hey could you explain what exactly did you uninstall and how?
After uninstalling it wireless charing stopped working or what did you mean by cant charge the phone?
Did it fully resolve the green screen issue?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When we disassembly NFC Module, the phone will give LOW TEMPERATURE warning. And make us cant charge the phone

Related

3 button download/recovery mode saved my butt.

Within the 14 days return policy I took my Galaxy back after it bricked for no reason. I was almost stock other than unlocking it and running ADW. Too many things wrong with them so I gave it one more chance with a replacement. The new one has a working recovery/download mode so that's the biggie for me. The lag seems better and the GPS actually works. Great, I feel better. But I decided that I won't root it yet since 2.2 is coming soon. I'll let it flash as designed before digging deep.
Yeah, right. After noticing that the WiFI is still flaky at random times I turned it off again today when it wasn't passing any data. 3G still working so fine. But then the Market started to FC which I've not seen at all. I shut it down and rebooted again which is the fix for my WiFI. Well, it once again decided to brick just like the last one. I get past the logos and then just a black screen. She's bricked and I didn't even root it this time. Only thing not stock was ADW launcher instead of the Samsung thing that I don't like.
So I put her into recovery mode and did a factory reset. That fixed it and I setup all over again. Luckily with 2.1 you get a list of all your previously installed apps in Market the first time you enter so if you don't leve the app you can quickly install everything again. 20 minutes later I'm back in business except this time I'll stick with the launcher it came with, can't think of anything else that would cause this sudden bricking other than the wonder phone might be a piece of crap. I just don't know yet.
By reading the title I thought you meant that Samsungs new update to activate the 3 button combo had saved you. Having a phone with download mode enabled is quite hard to brick, you can always just put it into download mode and reflash with Odin.
That's the point, my replacement phone came with the update that Samsung is pointing people to. Labeled the same as the previous update but indeed has the button thing fixed. Until the next update comes along I'm not touching Odin or anything else, these phones have enough troubles as it is. I'm still concerned that mine bricked again simply by turning it on.
3rdcoast said:
That's the point, my replacement phone came with the update that Samsung is pointing people to. Labeled the same as the previous update but indeed has the button thing fixed. Until the next update comes along I'm not touching Odin or anything else, these phones have enough troubles as it is. I'm still concerned that mine bricked again simply by turning it on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is just my opinion but I don't think the phone would have come with the update, it would have just been an untainted unit that didn't exhibit this problem. Only a subset of new units were lacking the download and recovery modes and the fix released a couple of days ago was designed to correct that problem.
These modes are a standard feature of pretty much any Android device.
At any rate, good to hear that you have a fully functioning unit out of the box. I had to go to some length explaining and demonstrating the issue to the store from which I got my unit lacking these modes as well as my carrier until the fix came out and I fixed it myself.
I don't know either. I based my guess on the fact that Sam's fix happened to be an update that version matches what mine now shows. And my situation is a prime example why all phones need this mode. Not everyone would fix it the way I did but it only cost me 30 minutes and a few curse words because my pictures are all gone before I could get them off but I'm back up and running and that had to save somebody a few hundred dollars.
I'm still very nervous though, it did brick this morning without me doing anything. This time I don't even have NoLED or ADW but I can't leave it that way forever. My trusty Magic is way more tolerant of OS abuse.

What do i do now that HTC has screwed me over?

Just to give you a brief rundown of everything that's happened..
I'm 17 and saved up for a few months to buy a HTC One X. Needless to say, it's probably the most expensive phone i've ever owned, since all my other phones were hand-me-downs and old phones from eBay.
This morning i wake up and go to work as usual. Just to find my phone's display won't switch on. As you can imagine, I'm tirelessly panicking and try the 3 button combo.. to no avail.
Using Fastboot to reboot didn't work either.
This phone turned into a brick overnight, and i have no idea what happened??
Just before i left for work, i did check my phone and it was working alright.. Then five minutes later, it won't display anything.
The thing is, I can't take it back to HTC either because this is my 5th replacement phone!
First one had black glue smudged on the LCD it's self,
Second one had the screen not glued down and wasn't aligned,
Third one didn't even have any glue applied and the case wasn't even attached properly,
Forth one had this problem where the screen's LCD would dilate if i touched it - even lightly,
and this one is my 5th, the antenna wasn't properly connected and now the screen doesn't work.
I've had terrible luck, and i don't know what i can do?
If you can give me any information to get me out of this, it would be much appreciated.
Although i still can receive text's and calls fine, it's just the display..
Since you’re unlocked and running a non-stock kernel and ROM, maybe some of the dev-ish folks can help you resuscitate it if it’s indeed a s/w problem.
If it’s a h/w problem, what to do depends on where you bought the phone and how old it is. If it’s within the remorse/DOA period maybe you can exchange it. It’ll be hard for whoever you bought it from to see you’ve unlocked it if nothing’s showing on the display.
If it’s outside of the exchange period you’ll have to send it in for repair. If you can’t bring it back to life to flash it back to stock you’ll have to throw yourself on the mercy of HTC Asia in getting it fixed unlocked. HTC's different repair centers seem to all have different policies related to warranty coverage for h/w faults on unlocked phones. If it is a dead display maybe you’ll get lucky.
You might want to put a note in with it telling your “I’m 17” story and how devastated you are something you’ve worked so hard for has failed. Repair techs are people too. Good luck.
BarryH_GEG said:
Since you’re unlocked and running a non-stock kernel and ROM, maybe some of the dev-ish folks can help you resuscitate it if it’s indeed a s/w problem.
If it’s a h/w problem, what to do depends on where you bought the phone and how old it is. If it’s within the remorse/DOA period maybe you can exchange it. It’ll be hard for whoever you bought it from to see you’ve unlocked it if nothing’s showing on the display.
If it’s outside of the exchange period you’ll have to send it in for repair. If you can’t bring it back to life to flash it back to stock you’ll have to throw yourself on the mercy of HTC Asia in getting it fixed unlocked. HTC's different repair centers seem to all have different policies related to warranty coverage for h/w faults on unlocked phones. If it is a dead display maybe you’ll get lucky.
You might want to put a note in with it telling your “I’m 17” story and how devastated you are something you’ve worked so hard for has failed. Repair techs are people too. Good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I shook the device out of frustration.. and it started working for a few seconds.
What's going on here? Is it a faulty display/connection? Is there a way to possibly just send it to a nearby phone shop and get it fixed?
Sorry about all the questions, I'm shocked, happy, and devastated all at the same time.
Are HTC refusing then? That seems a bit off/ illegal... Surely under the faulty goods act (I assume the law isn't THAT different in Australia to UK) they have to take it back as it CAN'T be a year old and they can't prove the issue was caused by your mistreatment. It doesn't matter how many phones you've had... Also, where did you buy the phone from? I think you should be able to return it through the shop as THEY sold you the phone, not HTC... They are still under an obligation as they sold you the thing.
Plus, the 'I'm a 17 year old and saved up for ages thing' might work too! I'd try not to get too technical with the law if you go down this route though!
Best of luck sorting this out. It's within your rights to get a replacement (you bought the phone new, I assume?) so I'm sure this will eventually work out. Don't give up! You just need to speak/ write to the right person...
sent from my internet
What rom were you on?
I remember my One X not charging at all while it was turned off completely although it showed Orange charging led.
It could be that you ran out of battery and phone not turning on. Due to no charging effect.
@Op,
Reading your story there's one thing that's crossing my mind.
Could it be possible the battery run dry during the night?
It sounds stupid but those things you forget easy when you're in a hurry or stressed.
I don't read anything in your post you tried to charge.
Atrixx said:
Just to give you a brief rundown of everything that's happened..
I'm 17 and saved up for a few months to buy a HTC One X. Needless to say, it's probably the most expensive phone i've ever owned, since all my other phones were hand-me-downs and old phones from eBay.
This morning i wake up and go to work as usual. Just to find my phone's display won't switch on. As you can imagine, I'm tirelessly panicking and try the 3 button combo.. to no avail.
Using Fastboot to reboot didn't work either.
This phone turned into a brick overnight, and i have no idea what happened??
Just before i left for work, i did check my phone and it was working alright.. Then five minutes later, it won't display anything.
The thing is, I can't take it back to HTC either because this is my 5th replacement phone!
First one had black glue smudged on the LCD it's self,
Second one had the screen not glued down and wasn't aligned,
Third one didn't even have any glue applied and the case wasn't even attached properly,
Forth one had this problem where the screen's LCD would dilate if i touched it - even lightly,
and this one is my 5th, the antenna wasn't properly connected and now the screen doesn't work.
I've had terrible luck, and i don't know what i can do?
If you can give me any information to get me out of this, it would be much appreciated.
Although i still can receive text's and calls fine, it's just the display..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
privatetrousers said:
Are HTC refusing then?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. But not in every region (yet). Do a search. It's been disucssed. Also, it appears Samsung's going down the same path.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1745834
BarryH_GEG said:
Yes. But not in every region (yet). Do a search. It's been disucssed. Also, it appears Samsung's going down the same path.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1745834
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aware of the discussion... Using the xda app and didn't pick up that the phone's been 'HTCdev'd (my fault for not reading properly - sorry, folks!). Still not sure HTC/ Samsung can legally 'sign your rights away' though. Still, not a discussion for here...
Hope you got the phone sorted anyway.
sent from my internet
Atrixx said:
I shook the device out of frustration.. and it started working for a few seconds.
What's going on here? Is it a faulty display/connection? Is there a way to possibly just send it to a nearby phone shop and get it fixed?
Sorry about all the questions, I'm shocked, happy, and devastated all at the same time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How or who fixed ur antenna problem, could be related if handset wasnt but back together properly.

Potential Brick, Unsure How To Proceed

Hello all.
I am an HTC guy through and through and have never owned a Samsung device. I'm familiar with HTC's S-OFF/HBOOT/bootloader stuff, but I'm not really all that clear on how it works for Samsung devices. I promise I've tried to do some reading before hand before coming to you, including looking at other threads, but they don't seem to be the issue I'm having.
I'm trying to help a friend out who has an AT&T GS3 that I unlocked for him and put an AOSP ROM on it a few months ago (don't worry, I made damn sure it was the AT&T version and no other carrier/international ROM).
He came to me today telling me that his phone suddenly turned off, and was not turning on again. I figure it's probably just a corrupted partition, something that I could fix with a reflash or something like that.
However, when I look at it, it seems to be something potentially worse. The phone did nothing with the battery in, so I took it out and put it back in. The phone very briefly vibrates, the Samsung logo shows for about 1.5 - 2 seconds at most, and then the screen goes dark.
When I try to enter Download Mode, I'm able to get to the custom software "warning" page, where I press Volume Up, and it shows me Download Mode and "Waiting" (as I expect it to) but then the screen just goes black again after about a second or two.
It's roughly the same with Recovery Mode, I can catch a glimpse of what looks like CWM (but I'm not entirely sure) and then the screen goes black.
If I choose to forgo the battery altogether, and I plug it in straight to the wall, the red LED on the top right lights up for again maybe 3 - 4 seconds at most, the light goes away, and the phone briefly vibrates, shows me the Samsung logo, and then goes dark.
I'm confused. I don't know if it's a brick, but then again, to me as an HTC user, "brick" means Qualcomm USB Download mode. I've also read about this infamous Samsung Sudden Death Syndrome that struck some of the 16 GB models that Samsung sold (and yes, you guessed it, this is the white 16GB model).
I don't really know what other troubleshooting options there are (but as I said before, I'm an HTC guy). If any of you have any sort of advice I would love to hear it.
Thank you for your time.
I've seen several users on here in the last few months with this issue. I worked with one of them for awhile trying to get it straightened out but couldn't resolve the problem. Some of that was due to the nature of the problem and some was probably due to the fact I didn't have the phone in my hands to help the new user better. I believe the user was able to get an exchange at an at&t service center. Sorry I can't offer more assistance. Keep us posted if you get a fix.
xBeerdroiDx said:
I've seen several users on here in the last few months with this issue. I worked with one of them for awhile trying to get it straightened out but couldn't resolve the problem. Some of that was due to the nature of the problem and some was probably due to the fact I didn't have the phone in my hands to help the new user better. I believe the user was able to get an exchange at an at&t service center. Sorry I can't offer more assistance. Keep us posted if you get a fix.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I appreciate you trying. I know it's such an odd issue that it's really hard to diagnose. I thought perhaps it might have to do with the battery somehow being "bad", but then the problem would be gone when I go AC only.
He's not against the idea of going to AT&T, but I feel bad; I convinced him to unlock and let me flash a new ROM so I feel that I should at least put in a good effort to make sure there's nothing more I can do.
Yeah, the biggest problem is that once you get into recovery or download mode, the device reboots/loops. This eliminates the possibility of any kind of flashing or wiping.
You might have a bad motherboard. If I was you I'd take it to att for a replacement. BTW if he doesn't have insurance for the phone they do have open enrollment , I'd wait a day or two after enrolling to submit a claim.
Wish you the best.
Sent from my SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app
LiquidSolstice said:
I appreciate you trying. I know it's such an odd issue that it's really hard to diagnose. I thought perhaps it might have to do with the battery somehow being "bad", but then the problem would be gone when I go AC only.
He's not against the idea of going to AT&T, but I feel bad; I convinced him to unlock and let me flash a new ROM so I feel that I should at least put in a good effort to make sure there's nothing more I can do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a realllly long shot but he could contact mobile tech videos and tell them his issue and see if a jtag repair would help. If it's hardware of course he is out of luck but it's worth a shot and a lot cheaper.

Is there a way to Disable Moisture Sensor by adb/terminal?

I'm getting the moisture popup all the time....
I've read and confirmed that the oldBatteryWaterConnector value is returning True when the error happens and False when I can charge normally....
I know the risks of forcing if, but is there a way to force it always be False or something like that?
Or a way to disable the sensor, or anything... It's maddening and I'm positive the port is not obstructed nor wet.... I never get near water with the phone...
It's a oversensitive sensor and there should be a way to disable.....
Please, an idea that do not involve "Dry it" 50 times a day or reboot it all the time I want to get fast charging working again [which works every time without complaints of moisture btw]
SM-A720F, HadesRom v6, MagiskRooted
Thanks in advance
This problem is bugging a lot of people like you and me. I am also still waiting for some genius mind to come up with a fix or work around.
I'll contribute $50 to a bounty to someone who can disable this. It is obviously a software limitation, especially since they programmed in a bypass to allow charging by restarting and plugging in the cable upon the splash screen. I hope someone finds a software bypass.
scarletwahoo said:
I'll contribute $50 to a bounty to someone who can disable this. It is obviously a software limitation, especially since they programmed in a bypass to allow charging by restarting and plugging in the cable upon the splash screen. I hope someone finds a software bypass.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think there is a dedicated sensor. I am guessing that power is fed into one more contacts and it detects when there is slight voltage coming back in another contact. So it should be pretty simple if someone knew where to look for the code.
SnowFuhrer said:
I don't think there is a dedicated sensor. I am guessing that power is fed into one more contacts and it detects when there is slight voltage coming back in another contact. So it should be pretty simple if someone knew where to look for the code.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Running into more Samsung issues. They put restrictions onto WiFi tethering with the latest on the go update. I have the international Exynos version, so the bootloader is unlocked and I can downgrade until I find a suitable replacement.. I predicted Samsung will turn into Apple; this is the last Samsung phone I will purchase and I will shoot it in the plinking range. It's sad, just like Apple, they had superb hardware, but some of the most restrictive software.
scarletwahoo said:
Running into more Samsung issues. They put restrictions onto WiFi tethering with the latest on the go update. I have the international Exynos version, so the bootloader is unlocked and I can downgrade until I find a suitable replacement.. I predicted Samsung will turn into Apple; this is the last Samsung phone I will purchase and I will shoot it in the plinking range. It's sad, just like Apple, they had superb hardware, but some of the most restrictive software.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are sure that isn't the carrier restricting tethering?

Question Pixel 6 refurbish check

I'd like to know is there any possibility to check if pixel 6 phone is repaired/refurbished?! I've bought p6 pro today but can't make fingerprint to work (FOTO in attachment). I saw that other people have same problems when phone turns off by self (battery goes to 0% and buy) but after hard restart everything works again...not in my case. Seller told me that his wife used telephone for just few days and decided to stay on iPhone, but I'm start to thinking that I'm scammed; under display on small plastics antenna line I see just a little scratch so I'd like to ask is there a chances that screen is replaced. All other looks like 100% new phone.
Sounds like it may have been opened. During factory assembly it's very unlikely for this to happen.
It may actually be a mark from a plastic pick used to disassemble it and not a scratch.
The display is replaced as are internal components from the front I believe.
blackhawk said:
Sounds like it may have been opened. During factory assembly it's very unlikely for this to happen.
It may actually be a mark from a plastic pick used to disassemble it and not a scratch.
The display is replaced as are internal components from the front I believe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since the OP states that he bought the phone used, it's more likely that the person previously in charge of keeping the phone, damaged it/scratched it. Plastic is ridiculously easy to scratch, even a grain of sand in your pocket can be enough.
Proday said:
I'd like to know is there any possibility to check if pixel 6 phone is repaired/refurbished?! I've bought p6 pro today but can't make fingerprint to work (FOTO in attachment). I saw that other people have same problems when phone turns off by self (battery goes to 0% and buy) but after hard restart everything works again...not in my case. Seller told me that his wife used telephone for just few days and decided to stay on iPhone, but I'm start to thinking that I'm scammed; under display on small plastics antenna line I see just a little scratch so I'd like to ask is there a chances that screen is replaced. All other looks like 100% new phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the phone was properly cleaned and re-packaged and not damaged, there is no way for you to find out if you received a refurbished phone (phone that was sent back by the original customer without damage, return window or something). At least not from a "software" perspective. You as a perceptive human can always try to see if there is dust residue, fingerprint signs or anything "physical" like that on the phone/inside the package, but there is not much more than can help you to decide that (except asking Google, you could hit them up with the phone IMEI and tell them that you bought it used and want to know if it ever got officially repaired/replaced, but I have no idea if Google would even bother giving you a decent answer).
Concerning repair (phone being opened by a repair technician to fix stuff inside) - other than physical markers (prying a phone open can cause damage to the chassie), there is not much that you can find out about that. There is no way to get the specific part IDs with software and even if that was possible, it wouldn't help your cause since Google would only use genuine original parts to repair a phone.
Concerning the "plastic under display" part, I do not follow here. What plastic under display? The display is not transparent, you can't see the phones interior through it. Can you make a photo of your observation?
Proday said:
I'd like to know is there any possibility to check if pixel 6 phone is repaired/refurbished?! I've bought p6 pro today but can't make fingerprint to work (FOTO in attachment). I saw that other people have same problems when phone turns off by self (battery goes to 0% and buy) but after hard restart everything works again...not in my case. Seller told me that his wife used telephone for just few days and decided to stay on iPhone, but I'm start to thinking that I'm scammed; under display on small plastics antenna line I see just a little scratch so I'd like to ask is there a chances that screen is replaced. All other looks like 100% new phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most likely the battery died resulting in the FP Sensor getting disabled. A Factory reset and/or full flash to latest image should always be done when buying a phone (especially when it's used). This will fix your issue also (using the flash.android.com tool) along with the calibration tool at the bottom of this page: pixelrepair.withgoogle.com/carrier_selection -- 99% a factory reset/wipe, flashing to the lastest build and using the fingerprint calibration tool will fix your issue. If not, you can get a replacement by telling google you did all of these things and they'll send you a phone (usually an advanced RMA if you show you've done everything previously mentioned).
The "Flash Tool" will update your Pixel to the latest Android version, along with an option to "Wipe" the device (make sure to hit the edit pencil and pick "Wipe Device" & "flash all partitions" ; if its a VZW model, updating in Android System in settings and factory reset in Recovery will be good enough, along with the calibration tool): flash.android.com/back-to-public
If it was refurbished by Google, you can put your IMEI# in the official Pixel Repair link below, and it will tell you some information (for example if its Unlocked, "Pristine or Refurbished" etc - it's a pretty great way to find out some info about a pixel (didn't know about it until recently). If the screen was replaced by UbreakiFixit for example, it probably won't show up as refurbished. it has to go through Google to probably be changed in the system, but I am just speculating.
Code:
https://store.google.com/repair
@Proday Can you return it? That would be the way I'd go initially. You got sold a phone that is defective hopefully it was through either ebay or Swappa with some guarantees.
At first, thank you all for helping.
@Alekos Last night i did install last (Dec) update with adb fastboot; found it here on xda (because google pull it back from servers) but as i sad, problem is still here/same. From some reason repairmypixel with google doesnt work; I put telephone in right mode, google chrome finds it, but when I start procedure it goes and goes and ~5min later Telefon restarts by self and Im getting disconnect error/try again msg. Ill try this link now to see what happens with imei, thanks one more time.
@bobby janow I've got a bill brom google store, but im going back in my country in a few day and don't have enough time to "play" with warranty procedures
Btw I've made a Foto of "under display scratch" the best I could; for me it is out of mind that someone opened display on anthena line but who knows
Proday said:
At first, thank you all for helping.
@Alekos Last night i did install last (Dec) update with adb fastboot; found it here on xda (because google pull it back from servers) but as i sad, problem is still here/same. From some reason repairmypixel with google doesnt work; I put telephone in right mode, google chrome finds it, but when I start procedure it goes and goes and ~5min later Telefon restarts by self and Im getting disconnect error/try again msg. Ill try this link now to see what happens with imei, thanks one more time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are two separate things being talked about. @Alekos said to go to https://store.google.com/repair and you might find out if it was refurbished or not (not necessarily). Should look similar the the following once you enter your IMEI in the site:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And then there is Official Google Pixel Update and Software Repair, which I suspect is what you're talking about didn't work for you, but please confirm. I know over the last two months, some others have occasionally checked Official Google Pixel Update and Software Repair and found that they hadn't updated it for the Pixel 6/Pro yet, so maybe that's still the case.
I've understand what he sad. Imei checked, results below...
And attach with pixelrepair that doesnt work (pop up blocker turned off)...
And I can try with Official Google Pixel Update and Software Repair, but I'm certain that it is the same as factory image installed with adb command, that I did (although I've put dec update not nov).
Proday said:
I've understand what he sad. Imei checked, results below...
And attach with pixelrepair that doesnt work (pop up blocker turned off)...
And I can try with Official Google Pixel Update and Software Repair, but I'm certain that it is the same as factory image installed with adb command, that I did (although I've put dec update not nov).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, are you using the OEM USB-C cable? At least half a dozen users in this section didn't have success getting their Pixel 6 Pro working using the factory image zip, but Official Google Pixel Update and Software Repair got their phone restored to stock and fixed their issue. It really seems to have been a lifesaver for some.
Yeah, I'm a little bit experienced
I'm going through this Official Google Pixel Update and Software Repair, see results soon. And I'm thinking that I know where is problem with pixelrepair.withpixel...didn't kill adb command; this flash tool tould me that i have to do first becouse adb is already in use...can be sam problem.
Proday said:
Yeah, I'm a little bit experienced
I'm going through this Official Google Pixel Update and Software Repair, see results soon. And I'm thinking that I know where is problem with pixelrepair.withpixel...didn't kill adb command; this flash tool tould me that i have to do first becouse adb is already in use...can be sam problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah! Hopefully, you'll have the solution soon.
So, I did all as @Alekos sad in another thread:
edit-- sorry, didn't realize you already posted separately. I commented to your post anyhow.
Did you figure this out yet? I would try wiping the phone, installing the latest build from the flash tool website (specifically this link: flash.android.com/back-to-public), on that page, edit the options for "Wipe" and "Flash all partitions". After it's done, run the Calibration tool (bottom of this page: pixelrepair.withgoogle.com/carrier_selection ) - this should work, if not my guess is there's a bigger issue.
Still same problem with fingerprint...now I'm certain that's the hardware problem; or screen is replaced or FP sensor is dead
Anyway, I want to thank you all 9ne more time, I've learned something new yesterday and today!!
Proday said:
I'd like to know is there any possibility to check if pixel 6 phone is repaired/refurbished?! I've bought p6 pro today but can't make fingerprint to work (FOTO in attachment). I saw that other people have same problems when phone turns off by self (battery goes to 0% and buy) but after hard restart everything works again...not in my case. Seller told me that his wife used telephone for just few days and decided to stay on iPhone, but I'm start to thinking that I'm scammed; under display on small plastics antenna line I see just a little scratch so I'd like to ask is there a chances that screen is replaced. All other looks like 100% new phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That message is so familiar to me and i'm frightening of it
For the last month I've been in possession of 3 (three!) p6p. The 1st one was received from my carrier and it burned out while updating to December software being only 2 weeks old, no sign of life, dead while charging etc.
Google shipped another one stating it is Pristine which means Like New condition. It came in a refurbished white box, much smaller than the original one and there was a tiny dent - almost like yours but located on top of the screen. What is the most important - I was getting that message "Enrollment was not complete..." Flashing at flash.android.com did not solve anything but was successful. Google support representative advised to get into safe mode, try to configure fingerprint again and it didn't work as well. Calibration tool was not offered as an option at all.
Now it's on the way back to google. The 3rd one I'm owning now is a new phone with no issues so far.
So my advice is to return your faulty phone to the seller if you are still able to. Getting a replacement from Google is tricky as you may get another pristine p6p with the same or other issues. Or you are lucky and you will get a good one but it's a lottery anyway. So it's up to you.
Good luck!
@asdor I was with seller right now, he brings me my money back...end of (sad) story There are still good people!

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