[Q] Yellow Tint & Brightness issues (again!) - Why?? - Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I know there are other threads that discuss this topic (somewhat) but I wanted to post this separately because what I'm asking is very specific.
I've had about 8 separate Nexus devices from Google Play in the UK and every one of them has had the same issue:
The display has had a noticeably yellow but admittedly slight (possibly slightly brighter) tint on the bottom and left edges, while the right edge has been dull/dark.
This is specific because there are other and numerous reports of a yellow "tint" across the whole screen. This is not the whole screen, this is very clearly just the bottom third and left edge of the screen.
Some think that this is a "glue" issue that will resolve itself. Some think it won't get better. Some think that it's an issue they can live with. Some can't stand the lack of uniformity.
Well I can't stand the lack of uniformity because in my opinion, on a 4.7 inch screen, I find it distracting to be reading text on a solid background or white and the "white" or background colour changes as I read right to left or top to bottom. I consider a decent amount of uniformity to be a minimum requirement for devices which will be used in the way most of us use our phones and tablets. Manufacturers, seemingly, don't care at all except in the most extreme of cases. It looks like they are churning out whatever they can get away with. In all other aspects, the N4's screen is fantastic.
There's nothing anyone here can really do to help directly but it leads me to a question I haven't been able to find the answer to anywhere by Googling or searching other forums:
What is the cause of this lack of uniformity on these LCD panels? It seems to be LCD specific. As mentioned, some think it's "glue" but then others say not and in my experience the tint issues haven't gotten any better in the time I've had the devices that have passed through my hands.
I don't think it's the LED backlighting but could it be something to do with that?
Does anyone know, from a technical point of view why LCD panels are so prone to this issue with the yellow tints across *part* of the display. It's a very widespread thing as it's been noted on most of the iPhone range and a lot of other handsets too. Is there something inherently difficult for panel manufacturers (in the N4's case, LG) to do to make the panel evenly toned and lit? Surely it can't be that hard at this stage in the development of LCD tech once the manufacturing process is "calibrated" at the factory and underway? I assume these handsets are assembled by robots, not by hand. Is that right? Why is it so widespread? Is it a cost issue? Would I have a better chance of a quality panel by buying a more expensive handset? (Although I've seen many HTC One X's with the same problem - I did see one which was almost literally "perfect" in uniformity and brightness). I'd really appreciate any feedback on this. I know that because it's the "norm", sadly, the common response is to now "accept" the panels and handsets that are out there. There doesn't even seem to be a "higher end" manufacturer where high quality uniformity is more likely - or is there?
Anyone with a good/strong knowledge of LCD tech or the manufacturing process out there that can explain this?
Thanks!
***UPDATE***
I've now attached an illustration to show what I mean. ***It's exaggerated a bit*** to show the effect but illustrates the problem clearly.

Have you tried using a custom kernel to tweak the colors of the screen? The Nexus 4 is known for it's washed out colors so using a custom kernel like Trinity or Franco kernel allows you to tweak the color of the screen to your desire. Of course you will need an application to tweak the colors.

LG is known for light bleeding and or panel uniformity issues, I had to swap 4 LG tvs before I decided to go with Panasonic , my LG ips monitor that im typing on right now for my pc has light bleeding in some areas which results in low contrast. I saw about 13 different optimus g devices before I got the nexus 4 and the screens are beautiful with good contrast, punchy colors and good black levels with no light bleeding or weird tints while my nexus 4 has slight light bleeding right where the signal bar is located. I love this phone and its seems to get the " perfect " one you maybe have to swap a few times and to me the price kind of fits the quality of the phone but then I almost have enough spare cash to buy another one lol can't complain about that.

demorik said:
LG is known for light bleeding and or panel uniformity issues, I had to swap 4 LG tvs before I decided to go with Panasonic , my LG ips monitor that im typing on right now for my pc has light bleeding in some areas which results in low contrast. I saw about 13 different optimus g devices before I got the nexus 4 and the screens are beautiful with good contrast, punchy colors and good black levels with no light bleeding or weird tints while my nexus 4 has slight light bleeding right where the signal bar is located. I love this phone and its seems to get the " perfect " one you maybe have to swap a few times and to me the price kind of fits the quality of the phone but then I almost have enough spare cash to buy another one lol can't complain about that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply. I've heard elsewhere that LG specifically seems to have poor quality panel uniformity. I think LG panels are used by Apple who have had many, many reports of panel yellow "tint" issues on both their iPhone and iMac range. It seems to affect screens big or small. Having said that, HTC had similar problems and their panels were manufactured by Sony. I would *love* to know what's causing this or what is the reason for the yellow "tint" issue on part of the screen.

scream4cheese said:
Have you tried using a custom kernel to tweak the colors of the screen? The Nexus 4 is known for it's washed out colors so using a custom kernel like Trinity or Franco kernel allows you to tweak the color of the screen to your desire. Of course you will need an application to tweak the colors.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have done all of that and with some success with all of the handsets I've had but because the tint affects only part of the screen in a sort of gradient - the calibration cannot fix it.
I'd much prefer a screen that had a yellow "tint" evenly across the whole screen then of course I could calibrate accordingly.

alsheron said:
I've had about 8 separate Nexus devices from Google Play in the UK and every one of them has had the same issue:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You've had 8 different Nexus 4's?

yellow patches is from the glue used in the optical lamination process, yellow tint is from the display calibration which is often used to reduce banding and gives more saturated/warm look to colors
if your device is affected by by visible yellow patches the only cure is to re-calibrate the display to reduce the effect and don't get the device too hot as it may increase it

DynamicRam said:
yellow patches is from the glue used in the optical lamination process
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not that I don't believe you, but could you link me to the source of this theory?

DynamicRam said:
yellow patches is from the glue used in the optical lamination process, yellow tint is from the display calibration which is often used to reduce banding and gives more saturated/warm look to colors
if your device is affected by by visible yellow patches the only cure is to re-calibrate the display to reduce the effect and don't get the device too hot as it may increase it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry but this is not what my OP is about. I do not have a uniform tint and therefore it cannot be to do with "calibration" of some sort unless I am mistaken. Neither do I have "patches" or "spots". This is very specifically about a gradient yellow "tint" that only affects part of the screen and trying to find out the technical reason(s) for its prevalence in a wide range of LCD screens used in mobile phones and of course the Nexus 4 in particular. I've updated my original post to include an illustration of the effect I'm asking about. Thanks!

I am pretty sure its a hardware fault and i assumed you tried to return it otherwise there is nothing else you can do so i suggested calibration to reduce the effect

I had the same issue, then flashed custom ROM and it was fixed. Go figure :silly:

stevenhw8 said:
I had the same issue, then flashed custom ROM and it was fixed. Go figure :silly:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi stevenhw8, can U give me name and link to download your custom ROM? thank you.

Related

Screen Adjuster

Guyz I bought a galaxy note last week...just out of the box i saw a yellowish tint all over the display basicaly from the bottom left.....
so i got an app screen adjuster
i installed then adjusted the blue at +5 and now 90% of the yellowish tint is gone..
soo i have to ask is it safe to use this app????
heres the link to the app Here!
Sure its safe to use but if your note is flawed from the factory then take it back ??
Sent from my GT-N7000 using XDA Premium App
I use it to lower the contract to -40 as it fixes some of the black rendering issues. I also set the overall brightness down to 75% as it is just set too bright (I turn it off when outside).
I have never fiddled with the colour as my colour renders perfectly. I agree that if it is not rendering correctly, send it back for a replacement. It will likely only get worse.
jeromepearce said:
I use it to lower the contract to -40 as it fixes some of the black rendering issues. I also set the overall brightness down to 75% as it is just set too bright (I turn it off when outside).
I have never fiddled with the colour as my colour renders perfectly. I agree that if it is not rendering correctly, send it back for a replacement. It will likely only get worse.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
interesting how it helps you to solve some black rendering issues, but not at all for me.
Yeah its awesome but lags my ICS ROM down
its awesome app ... removes black blocks completely on videos .... is it factory issue with my note .. as i think it should work correctly be default .... isnt it ? ....
For sure is a very good and safe app but better now that is brand new it s better to take it back....
I have observed the similar thing.
I have now bought 4 Notes for myself and my family members (Yeah I know, 4 people in family with Note ). My personal one manufactured in October and those bought recently (3 of them, all made in January 2012) have different colour reproduction.
The new ones have slightly warmer colours when you look dead on (with slight shift to blue when you look at it from bottom at extreme angles which is to be expected).
But straight on, the new Note has colour reproduction similar to my Galaxy Nexus. ITs slightly warm. Its definitely not the colour calibration as it remains same regardless the ROM I use. Its definitely not like traditional SAMOLED blueish display like my old Note or SGS2 which I had before that.
All 3 which are manufactured in Jan 2012 have same colours. All 3 bought from different stores few days apart. But I dont think its bad thing. It actually little warmer like Nexus and is more closer to real life colours. I know that many people prefer artificial looking, eye popping SAMOLED colours, but I am definitely not complaining.
Funkym0nkey said:
I have observed the similar thing.
I have now bought 4 Notes for myself and my family members (Yeah I know, 4 people in family with Note ). My personal one manufactured in October and those bought recently (3 of them, all made in January 2012) have different colour reproduction.
The new ones have slightly warmer colours when you look dead on (with slight shift to blue when you look at it from bottom at extreme angles which is to be expected).
But straight on, the new Note has colour reproduction similar to my Galaxy Nexus. ITs slightly warm. Its definitely not the colour calibration as it remains same regardless the ROM I use. Its definitely not like traditional SAMOLED blueish display like my old Note or SGS2 which I had before that.
All 3 which are manufactured in Jan 2012 have same colours. All 3 bought from different stores few days apart. But I dont think its bad thing. It actually little warmer like Nexus and is more closer to real life colours. I know that many people prefer artificial looking, eye popping SAMOLED colours, but I am definitely not complaining.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My Note has Black Color Blocking in videos ... so its faulty ? should i send it back in warranty ?
arsalan_qamar said:
My Note has Black Color Blocking in videos ... so its faulty ? should i send it back in warranty ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Black colour blocking is universal as far as I know. All of the Notes I have seen have it with hardware accelerated video playback. Using software decoding using players like MX video player or MoboPlayer or BSPlayer solves the issue for now and there is already work under way to fix this issue. I dont think you need to return your phone for this as new one will most likely have same issue.
What I mentioned was regarding general colour reproduction of the screen. The new Notes have slightly warmer colours everywhere. Be it in home screen, browser, gallery or video.
arsalan_qamar said:
My Note has Black Color Blocking in videos ... so its faulty ? should i send it back in warranty ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, it's not faulty. Color banding or black blocks are just artifacts introduced by developers or the video encoding process for the most part - the issue is generally not apparent on TFT display types since the LCD layer isn't able to block 100% of the light to show you a true 'black' pixel.
Good dithering can hide the problem somewhat, but on OLED displays it's more difficult since they are far better with contrast.
You could look at it one of two ways...
You have a superior display technology that the world just needs to catch up with.
Or you have a worse screen because it doesn't hide what other display types are incapable of rendering.
Take your pick : )
dtchky said:
No, it's not faulty. Color banding or black blocks are just artifacts introduced by developers or the video encoding process for the most part - the issue is generally not apparent on TFT display types since the LCD layer isn't able to block 100% of the light to show you a true 'black' pixel.
Good dithering can hide the problem somewhat, but on OLED displays it's more difficult since they are far better with contrast.
You could look at it one of two ways...
You have a superior display technology that the world just needs to catch up with.
Or you have a worse screen because it doesn't hide what other display types are incapable of rendering.
Take your pick : )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats a relief ... i was also thinking the same thing as , other colors looks quite nice on my note ... only issue is the blocky blacks which on less resolution videos are more visible .... however i was able to solve the issue using screen adjuster app by setting contrast to 55% ... at that it displays no blocky blacks at all ... just the screen gets an overlay of grey for pure blacks..... i can live with it ...

[Q] Poor screen uniformity (+yellow tint) - brightness and colour - Feedback Please!

So the Nexus 4’s potentially quality screen has crappy screen issues. There. I said it.
What I mean is that it’s a GREAT screen in some ways (resolution mainly) but it’s let down by what seems to be noticeably poor quality/manufacturing.
Why do I say this? Well, it’s been my experience that the Nexus 4 (in general) has a chronic problem with significantly poor screen uniformity for both colour and brightness. I ordered my first phone on the 13th December 2012 and as soon as it arrived I was pretty excited at finally getting a new phone (upgrading from Galaxy S1 the N4 is a beautiful beast).
When I booted it up and started using it I immediately got a sinking feeling as I realised that the bottom third of the phone had a slight but easily noticeable yellow gradient tint to it along with the left edge and the right edge was grey/dingy about a half a centimetre in. The left side and bottom third were also noticeably brighter than the right side of the phone. I’ve illustrated this in the attached pic. It’s all fairly subtle – but it’s definitely there and is easy to see.
Since I use (like most people I guess) quite a few apps that have white or solid colour backgrounds (gmail, currents, google books, email, messaging, chrome etc) – this lack of uniformity really made things look crappy in a not spectacular but just “sub-par” way unless I was viewing something which was a picture or video or filled the screen where it wasn’t noticeable.
So I called Google Play and told them about the problem and they arranged for a return.
When I got my replacement I booted it up and immediately, even before getting past the X logo animation noticed a big spot of light bleed at the top right. *Very* easy to see and my heart sank.
There on in I opened up the Mail app and closed the keyboard so I got a nice, mainly white screen. Again I noticed the same issue with the yellowing tint to the bottom and left but this time it was *more* noticeable.
To cut this long story short I’ve now sent back 3 devices for this issue, about to send back my 4th and my 5th should arrive tomorrow. I’m not holding out much hope.
I’ve seen this exact same issue on about 4 other Nexus 4’s in shops in the UK (Carphone Warehouse, O2) and while there looked at the HTC One X, iPhone 5 and the new Lumia phones from Nokia running Windows Phone 8. Those phones in particular (with LCD screen tech too) didn’t have these issues *at all* as far as I could tell. In fact the HTC One X screen looked to me to be flawless, as did the Lumia 820 and 920. If I could put the screen from the One X into the N4, I would. Sadly, not gonna happen. Sadly I don’t want the One X but do want an N4. P.S. I know LG manufacture their own displays.
Now I’m NOT claiming to speak for ALL N4’s (why I’ve started this thread) but I do believe that it cannot be a coincidence that ALL the N4’s *except one* showed this issue. I believe that LG simply manufacture the screens in such a way that they invariably have these tinting and brightness uniformity inconsistencies and that because most people don’t care, they don’t care.
********What I’d like is to ask if people with an N4 they’re happy with could do the following and provide the following info:
*Open the Mail app and close the keyboard (press down arrow at bottom). Look at the white of the screen and see if there is any edge or part of the screen that is noticeably *brighter* or *more yellow*. Are there any areas of the screen that are noticeably darker or duller? Do this for different brightnesses (low and fairly high). What do you see? Any yellow tint? Any inconsistency in brightness? All ok? Perfectly even?********
TL;DR: I’ve had 4 Nexus 4’s from Google Play all with the same yellow tint and brightness uniformity issues. Very noticeable. Not acceptable to me for a device that displays a lot of white “pages” and solid colours. Other phones (that I don’t want) do not have this issue (annoying). Please can you give feedback from your phone.
PLEASE NOTE:
Other threads discussing the “yellow tint” issue invariably attract trolls in their varying forms.
DO NOT reply to this thread if you simply want to say any of the following:
1) I don’t see a problem with mine therefore I don’t understand what you’re talking about.
2) I don’t see a problem with mine therefore you’re imagining a problem with yours.
3) I don’t see a problem with mine therefore you’re expecting a “perfect” screen and they don’t exist.
4) There are more important things in life to worry about. (A: I’m not “worried”, screen uniformity is important to me, get over it.)
5) I see a slight yellowing but I don’t care therefore you shouldn’t care. There are more important things in life to worry about.) [see above]
The attached illustration is slightly "exaggerated" to make sure the effect is reproduced for all screens. Not by all that much though.
UPDATE: 31/01/2013: Well I've received *another* N4 replacement today and lo and behold the exact *same issue*. With this one I'm going to wait it out at least a week and see if it improves. I *really* want an N4 as in every other way it's truly a great piece of tech. Pray for me guys!
Re: [Q] General poor screen uniformity - brightness and colour - Feedback Please!
My screen has no discolorations or brightness unevenness that I can see.
Sent from my Paranoid Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
I've had tint issues with all three handsets. First two it didn't disappear after use. This third handset SEEMS to have gotten a little better after a week.
All three had light bleed. First one was least noticeable, last two including the current have two blobs of light bleed in the exact same places along the top of the LCD.
It's almost as if something during manufacturing (screw tightness?) has caused it on both handsets. They are both 212K and revision 11.
It's annoying me and I may do one final RMA once I see what this new wave of devices brings.
mine's fine.
I did what you asked, OP and I'm not seeing and unevenness, yellow tint, or brightness issues (aside from auto-brightness being stupidly low).
The only issue I have with my screen is poor colors. I have a One X and an iPhone 5 that I sometimes compare with my N4's screen and it's shockingly apparent that the N4's screen has colors that just aren't worthy of a top-tier device. The resolution is nice and all, but I like it when the colors are nice and accurate. It's most easy to tell when comparing images of people and looking at their skin. Now I'm no anthropologist, but I have a pretty solid grasp of what skin looks like. The One X is probably the best at representing things the way they look IRL, followed by the iPhone 5. I don't know if it's just my N4 or other people have the same issue. I've tried using apps to adjust the color (FauxClock with Faux's kernel, to be specific), but nothing makes it look quite as nice as my other phones.
I guess you never asked about the second part, but there it is.
I had that issue when I received my device, Used kernel setting to rectify the problem but after 4-5 days of use it gone away. Now device is perfect.
I recommend you to stay with it for 3-4 days before returning it and check.
blackplague1347 said:
I did what you asked, OP and I'm not seeing and unevenness, yellow tint, or brightness issues (aside from auto-brightness being stupidly low).
The only issue I have with my screen is poor colors. I have a One X and an iPhone 5 that I sometimes compare with my N4's screen and it's shockingly apparent that the N4's screen has colors that just aren't worthy of a top-tier device. The resolution is nice and all, but I like it when the colors are nice and accurate. It's most easy to tell when comparing images of people and looking at their skin. Now I'm no anthropologist, but I have a pretty solid grasp of what skin looks like. The One X is probably the best at representing things the way they look IRL, followed by the iPhone 5. I don't know if it's just my N4 or other people have the same issue. I've tried using apps to adjust the color (FauxClock with Faux's kernel, to be specific), but nothing makes it look quite as nice as my other phones.
I guess you never asked about the second part, but there it is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the feedback - very helpful. I got *another* one through today and it seems "better" by a bit than the previous one at least. I think I'll see how it goes. Good to know that it's not only me sho can see the difference.
Audioboxer said:
I've had tint issues with all three handsets. First two it didn't disappear after use. This third handset SEEMS to have gotten a little better after a week.
All three had light bleed. First one was least noticeable, last two including the current have two blobs of light bleed in the exact same places along the top of the LCD.
It's almost as if something during manufacturing (screw tightness?) has caused it on both handsets. They are both 212K and revision 11.
It's annoying me and I may do one final RMA once I see what this new wave of devices brings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All the phones I've had have been 301K and they've all had the same issue with yellow tint/backlight inconsistency in a very similar way. I'll have sent back 4 N4's if I decide to keep the current one! I think you're probably right about the screw tightness or some such other minor thing during manufacturing. It's not like a viewing angle problem. It does look like something to do with assembly in particular. Please do let me/us know how you get on and how things work out.
ksavai said:
I had that issue when I received my device, Used kernel setting to rectify the problem but after 4-5 days of use it gone away. Now device is perfect.
I recommend you to stay with it for 3-4 days before returning it and check.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used FauxClock on my previous device (sat here waiting to go back) and it did seem to improve the situation slightly - but then since the screen isn't uniform, it reduced the yellow where it was yellow but then made it too "blue" on the rest of the screen. I really hope that this yellow tint is a "glue" issue or something that will even out through repeated use due to heating/cooling - i.e. expanding and contracting which somehow settles things down. I'll keep this one about a week and see what happens. Fingers crossed!
Thanks for your feedback guys!
Re: [Q] General poor screen uniformity - brightness and colour - Feedback Please!
alsheron said:
5) I see a slight yellowing but I don’t care therefore you shouldn’t care. There are more important things in life to worry about.) [see above]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
^ this is pretty much all I can say.
Every nexus 4 phone I handled had a slightly yellower screen at the bottom. For me its barely noticeable, not as yellow as it is in your illustration.
They all seem to have that same issue, along with light bleeding across the top edge.
You can keep RMAing if you're not tired of that .. But you will not receive a fully uniform no matter what.
If screen uniformity is important for you get one of the above phones you mentioned.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda
beegbear said:
^ this is pretty much all I can say.
Every nexus 4 phone I handled had a slightly yellower screen at the bottom. For me its barely noticeable, not as yellow as it is in your illustration.
They all seem to have that same issue, along with light bleeding across the top edge.
You can keep RMAing if you're not tired of that .. But you will not receive a fully uniform no matter what.
If screen uniformity is important for you get one of the above phones you mentioned.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info, that's interesting to know. Out of interest, how many have you handled? Going by some comments on XDA and around the web regarding this issue, you'd think that the yellow tint was only on a handful of handsets and an isolated quirk, not as I suspect and you seem to suggest, a common trait of the N4.
alsheron said:
Thanks for the info, that's interesting to know. Out of interest, how many have you handled? Going by some comments on XDA and around the web regarding this issue, you'd think that the yellow tint was only on a handful of handsets and an isolated quirk, not as I suspect and you seem to suggest, a common trait of the N4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well,
I ordered three of them, all screens looked identical with the exact same issues: some yellowing at the bottom with a light bleed over the top edge (especially top right corner). I had to RMA 2 out of the 3 due to severe screen issues (screen flickering and dead pixels). Received 2 new units, screens have the exact same issue. I have 2 friends with N4s and their screens are like that too. It's almost not noticeable.
beegbear said:
Well,
I ordered three of them, all screens looked identical with the exact same issues: some yellowing at the bottom with a light bleed over the top edge (especially top right corner). I had to RMA 2 out of the 3 due to severe screen issues (screen flickering and dead pixels). Received 2 new units, screens have the exact same issue. I have 2 friends with N4s and their screens are like that too. It's almost not noticeable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does the light bleed appear like small blobs from the top edge?
My worst is the top left, about an inch in. Then there's another smaller blob nearer the right hand side. Little bit leakage top right and top left, but its worst along the actual taskbar.
I will take a picture tomorrow.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2
My first nexus 4 (rev 10) has perfect whites except the bottom of the screen would turn yellow after warming. All of the 4 RMA devices I've recieved (rev 11) don't have this issue EXCEPT all the rev 11s are calibrated horribly leading to the entire screen being yellower than my rev 10 unit. The screens are uniform, however, I just wish they calibrated the phones like they did with the rev 10.
The new rev 11s have a calibration problem while my rev 10 has a glue problem.
The new rev 11s also have a dimmer screen than my rev 10. I kinda just want them to send a perfect rev 10 to me.
Interesting because calibration issues affect the whole screen. If any part of the screen isn't the same "tint" as another part and its noticeable then this isn't something that can be fixed with calibration. Calibration can only save a uniformly "yellow" or "blue" tinted screen. To that end I wish mine was uniformly yellow. Mine is a rev 11 and I'm on my second day with it and hoping the bottom and left yellow tint fades soon and that it's just glue. I've tried Fauxclock and applying various screen tweaks with a previous similar phone and it helped somewhat but there's nothing can be done about unevenness in the tint really unless its glue and it dries.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium

Screen tint and viewing angles questions and opinions please

Ok well I would like to get peoples feedback and opinions on their screens.
My story. Broke my GNote II instead of paying to replace LCD decided to upgrade with my carrier.
First Note 3 I bought was bright with nice whites and great viewing angles. But it has the dreaded pinkinsh purple screen tint issue in the lower 3rd of the screen more so on the right side. This is subtle and is less evident in brighter conditions or higher screen brightness. At low brightness and in dark environments it is particularly visible on white and grey backgrounds. Went to store to exchange and they refused given they could not see the defect. I came online here searched around and it seems this has been an issue on the GS4 and people have mentioned it on the new Note 3.
Convinced my carrier to send me a replacement and I will return the original to them. Well got the replacement 3-4 days ago. The unit seems quite different. First off the screen is overall a bit more yellow at face on viewing angles and perhaps a hair less bright at similar settings though hard to tell. The bottom is not color shifted puple. The screen color is more homogenous. However the viewing angles are completely different. Here while the brightness stays goo dlike the first when angling the screen, the colors shift to a more aqua color with minor angle variation. (guessing 20-30*) whereas the original unit has virtually no color shift at almost 90*.
I probably have to send back a unit in the coming day or 2 and make a final decision. In theory I could try to ask for a third model, however it was with a lot of difficulty and threats to leave my carrier that they relented in the first replacement. SO I likely will have to stick with one of these or return both and use my somewhat broken note 2 and wait for something else.
I am wondering if any of you out here have similar pink/purple tint issues at one end of your screen. Or if you have issues with significant white color shift when angling your screen more than 30* in either portrait or landscape. Also if good or bad can you check build date on your phone (should be under battery). FInally did you or will you replace it? Was replacement better or worse?
Also if in my shoes would you go for the better looking screen with the pink issue or the more consistent looking screen that is a bit more blue yellow.
Thanks!
lots of postings about this, i even made a thread regarding this:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2463786
some people call it nitpicking, but as you can see i'm feeling with you...
TML1504 said:
lots of postings about this, i even made a thread regarding this:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2463786
some people call it nitpicking, but as you can see i'm feeling with you...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know you did and I posted some long posts there and the thread kind of died.
I have some specific questions here as well as asking what I should do in my case.
I had a note 2 and remember there being perseus kernel and with STweaks one could shift color etc and make it how you like. I am thinking going with the more uniform color model as I am sure the slight yellow tint can be corrected and the blue tint on viewing angles is no worse than my note 2 looking back so I will get used to it I imagine. That said the first screen really has great screen but the purplish pink right bottom corner bugs me on white and grey screens ( not noticeable on high brightness though) and often reading on websites etc indoors I notice it enough that it bugs me.....
So for anyone who cares here is an update on my plan. The more uniform note 3 is more yellow/green tinted whites compared to the other one that is whiter/redder. That said if I use one of these screen filter style apps that exist in the play store, I can modify the overall screen into however I like.
Downside is that it means a persistently running app to do it with whatever effect on screen longevity and battery.
Now on my Note 2 which is also yellower, I was running perseus kernel and the s tweaks app and was able at the kernel level to modify the color to get better whites. I imagine it is only a matter of time before someone can do that for our note 3. I can handle the viewing angle color shift as the device is in my hand and not on a table when i use it where it might be off angle viewing by a large amount. And even then, the tinting of white has a bluish shift and now worse than a yellowing shift my wifes iphone has off angle or my note 2 did.
Would love tohear from others and what their screens are like and or developers who might have the means of modifying color at kernel level the way Andreilux did on the note 2
I checked almost 10 note 3s bkack n white as well..and found only 1 set.it has no yellow tint and no gray lining.
nabilsweet007 said:
I checked almost 10 note 3s bkack n white as well..and found only 1 set.it has no yellow tint and no gray lining.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You checked 13 notes and 12 of them were either yellow tint or what gray lining issue?
How did you manage to check so many.
Can you check the following. Look at the phone screen face on the tilt either up down or side to side about 30 degrees and tell me if the white on the screen turns bluish.
One of my phones does this and has the yellower whites. The other does not and has better whites but has some purplish discoloration in the lower right part of the phone.
Any one here try a new kernel from the android development sections?
Some of them talk about being able to modify screen color. Am wondering if this can be a fix for my issues.

Screen coloring green/blue/etc. at slight angle

There seem to be quite a few Note 4's being sold globally that suffer from serious screen coloring (color shifting) when watched from close to a normal viewing angle. To get an idea of the scale of this problem this topic contains a Poll.
This defect is most easily noted on a bright white screen (www.google.com, "Dead Pixel Test" app). Even at a slight angle (=20"-30" from dead straight) the screen will show a clear blue, green or red colored haze. The screen on a properly built Note 4 stays (close to) white, even at a wide angle.
Please let us know if your Note 4 suffers from this phenomena beyond a trivial degree or if it doesn't.
Also be aware to check for this defect BEFORE you root your Note 4, as Samsung will object or even prohibit you to exchange your device for a better model.
see here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/note-4/general/note4-amoled-screen-quality-t2906365
common problem, since forever with samsung amoled screens...
TML1504 said:
see here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/note-4/general/note4-amoled-screen-quality-t2906365
common problem, since forever with samsung amoled screens...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the link! Was just going to add it in the opening post, but this also seems adequate.
Ettepetje said:
The screen on a normal Note 4 stays white, even at a wide angle.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think there is such a thing as a "normal" Note 4. Every AMOLED phone from Samsung varies from unit to unit. I remember finding exactly the same differences between two Galaxy S3s where one had a tint horizontally and the other had a tint when angled vertically. Interestingly the phones with the greatest colour shift are usually the ones that go brightest when looked straight on. Either Samsung is making these phones in multiple ways from multiple factory plants....or for whatever reason using different materials (such as polarising materials) in the top layers of the screen.
Although I didn't check the tint on a second Note 4 I tried, I did notice that mine was obviously brighter at all points on the brightness settngs bar!
Either way, while bad uniformity is definitely a defect....I think this off-axis viewing tint is not. If it was a defect, it would exist with Note 4 only and not all the Samsung phones I have seen to-date. BTW my Note 3 also tints when viewing at an angle but a bit less than the Note 4.
jonstatt said:
I don't think there is such a thing as a "normal" Note 4. Every AMOLED phone from Samsung varies from unit to unit. I remember finding exactly the same differences between two Galaxy S3s where one had a tint horizontally and the other had a tint when angled vertically. Interestingly the phones with the greatest colour shift are usually the ones that go brightest when looked straight on. Either Samsung is making these phones in multiple ways from multiple factory plants....or for whatever reason using different materials (such as polarising materials) in the top layers of the screen.
Although I didn't check the tint on a second Note 4 I tried, I did notice that mine was obviously brighter at all points on the brightness settngs bar!
Either way, while bad uniformity is definitely a defect....I think this off-axis viewing tint is not. If it was a defect, it would exist with Note 4 only and not all the Samsung phones I have seen to-date. BTW my Note 3 also tints when viewing at an angle but a bit less than the Note 4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I never had this phenomena with my 5 previous Note or Galaxy S phones, nor on my Samsung Tab S 10.5's. I did have multitouch issues on my Note 3 and 2014 Note 10.1. Seeing the screen of the Note 4 is plenty bright I don't care too much for the "more brightness" bonus, if it were applicable here. I compared my unit to a random store unit and in direct comparison I much preferred the store model. The white screen already looked a bit 'off' on mine, and the store model did not have color shifting at all.
Ettepetje said:
I never had this phenomena with my 5 previous Note or Galaxy S phones, nor on my Samsung Tab S 10.5's. I did have multitouch issues on my Note 3 and 2014 Note 10.1. Seeing the screen of the Note 4 is plenty bright I don't care too much for the "more brightness" bonus, if it were applicable here. I compared my unit to a random store unit and in direct comparison I much preferred the store model. The white screen already looked a bit 'off' on mine, and the store model did not have color shifting at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What are the chances of both my Note 3 and Note 4 having the same "fault" though? My Note 3 goes bluish off axis, my note 4 goes greenish. Both screens are still perfectly readable at any angle, and only colours that noticeably shift are white/grey. Orange still looks like orange, red still looks like red.
jonstatt said:
What are the chances of both my Note 3 and Note 4 having the same "fault" though? My Note 3 goes bluish off axis, my note 4 goes greenish. Both screens are still perfectly readable at any angle, and only colours that noticeably shift are white/grey. Orange still looks like orange, red still looks like red.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it depends on the amount of color shift. My Note 4 has a clear blue haze even when looking at it close to dead straight. I watched a snowboard movie/documentary and snow went definitely blue with only a shift of 20-30 degrees.
It's really good news to know that many devices don't have the blue tint when shifting! If mine has it I'll definitely send it to maintenance. I guess repairing is better as I can look at the device at their facility and not accept it if I don't like the results.
Ettepetje said:
I think it depends on the amount of color shift. My Note 4 has a clear blue haze even when looking at it close to dead straight. I watched a snowboard movie/documentary and snow went definitely blue with only a shift of 20-30 degrees.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is really hard to be sure we are all seeing or evaluating this the same way. For example, if I display a photo with many colours, I see no shift at any angle. White is the most obvious and you need "lots" of it like a www.google.com screen to see it. I would say I am fine for 20-30 degrees before it starts shifting. I think you may have been a bit unlucky in happening to choose a snowboard documentary rather than Iron Man 3 or something like that etc! Then you might not have noticed it
I voted "No" because the poll asks whether the screen color changes at a "SLIGHT" angle. While mine does not, at a larger angle the screen does show blue tinge that increases with the angle.
I have this too, its normal?
I have the same "issue" actually it was the first thing I realized when I turned on the phone for the first time. I haven't even realized it with my previous used galaxy S5
It's probably caused by some coating layer. Nothing we can do about it, doesn't distract me much in a phone anyway. The screen is lovely apart from that, the black level made me almost cry when I compared it to my LCD TV. I so want an OLED TV now. Shame they are so expensive.
Mine does this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVrm73sAnUs
Is this a faulty display or is it just the way this display works?
There are several factors involved,
- Amount of Oleophobic Coating which distorts the actual colors discernible by the viewer
- The Digitizer
- The Corning Gorilla Glass
- And the amount of bonding used to keep the AMOLED display adhered to its bottom layer (Remember: Organic by Nature).
Magnesus said:
It's probably caused by some coating layer. Nothing we can do about it, doesn't distract me much in a phone anyway. The screen is lovely apart from that, the black level made me almost cry when I compared it to my LCD TV. I so want an OLED TV now. Shame they are so expensive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get all the colors green a little blue and a little red it actually seems to me like a [email protected] rainbow I don't mind it much because it doesn't distract me much but I will pay more attention in the near future before buying a Samsung phone again...
No solution to this feature?
jvidia said:
No solution to this feature?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is not repearable by software or external means. Well, maybe a heater could do something, but I am not gonna try.
I sold my Note 4 and now have the Note Edge, which luckily has much less issue with color shifting.
While looking directly mine is red at the middle of the screen. While rotating, the red tint is appearing at the top or bottom of the screen according the rotating direction. Also Bottom part of the screen is also less white than top.
Forgive my not reading the entire thread as it's late and time is an unusually precious commodity lately...
My screen does develop an extremely mild hint of a color shift at slight angles, but I don't notice it unless I look for it. However, at extreme angles (at which I never view the screen, like greater than 75 degrees away from dead-on perpendicular to the screen surface) I do see not only greenish/bluish (almost like a faded teal) but also a magentaish hue. I suspect in my case it's a result of the manufacturing and tempering processes of the glass. LCD panels exhibit something similar when viewed through polarized sunglass lenses, but this is not the same: LCD panels have a nearly random-blob appearance where on this Note 4 it appears in bands running along the vertical (when viewed in portrait orientation) axis of the screen. At worst, I can make it greenish on the left side and magentaish on the right by viewing at around 70-80 degrees off perpendicular, so admittedly I have to hold the phone in such an extreme position to see this that I don't consider it a defect per se.
HIH.

Fix uneven/yellow screen with intentional burn-in

So I was on my 2nd Nexus 6P and like the first it had an uneven screen. Normal/slightly pink at the top and at the bottom it's more yellow. Instead of returning it I've decided to try and fix the yellow tint by intentionally causing a burn-in on the over-enthusiastic green pixels in the bottom half of my screen.
To do this I flashed a kernel which unlocks the high-brightness mode of the display, the awesome EX kernel, set my screen timeout to 15 minutes and left the display turned on for 3x15 minutes in high brightness mode with a black-to-green gradient open full screen in the Photos app (absolutely nothing else on screen). After each of the 15 minutes I checked the progress, after the 3rd time I considered it done. I'm happy to report that this has nearly eliminated my uneven screen problem.
So far I've seen no ill effects, just a nice even screen.
I used this black-to-green gradient that was a close match to where my screen was yellow. My first 6P had a different pattern of yellowness, so that would have required a different gradient, more like black-green-black.
Interesting, the normal slightly pink at the top transitioning to yellow at the bottom describes the screen on my original nexus 6P and it's replacement.
I'll look into giving this a try as well.
I´m not sure if something like this could be considered as a defect. If you look at a very high angle, you might see some sort of "rainbow effect" on the screen. You should be careful about "burning in" Pixels in a Amoled screen. High brightness will wear out the LEDs faster than you think. At least this is how I remember my old Samsung Galaxy S3 but maybe Amoled technology has improved a lot.
Gorgtech said:
I´m not sure if something like this could be considered as a defect. If you look at a very high angle, you might see some sort of "rainbow effect" on the screen. You should be careful about "burning in" Pixels in a Amoled screen. High brightness will wear out the LEDs faster than you think. At least this is how I remember my old Samsung Galaxy S3 but maybe Amoled technology has improved a lot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't really comment on if the OP's method is safe or not, but it is worth noting that the gradient/tint change is noticeable even when viewed straight on under normal use, such as browsing etc.
It could sort of be likened to the old TN based flat screens from a number of years ago where the top and bottom looked slightly different colours, however a lot of this was down to narrow viewing angles. I'm wondering if the same applies to the specific AMOLED display used by the 6P as well.
The AMOLED screens on my Moto X 2nd Gen and Moto X Force don't have the same problem.
I have a slight purple tint too on the screen but it is only visible on a white background. It does not bother me, if you set a higher brightness it is barely visible. Maybe all Nexus 6P have this sort of display and you simply have to live with it.
Azarin said:
I can't really comment on if the OP's method is safe or not, but it is worth noting that the gradient/tint change is noticeable even when viewed straight on under normal use, such as browsing etc.
It could sort of be likened to the old TN based flat screens from a number of years ago where the top and bottom looked slightly different colours, however a lot of this was down to narrow viewing angles. I'm wondering if the same applies to the specific AMOLED display used by the 6P as well.
The AMOLED screens on my Moto X 2nd Gen and Moto X Force don't have the same problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would you happen to have a before image for your screen? I would like to try this on my phone but can't say for sure what exact color the uneven section is. Most of the screen seems to have a pink tint that fades into a green/yellow tint in the bottom left corner. I don't want to stress the wrong color accidentally.
Can you post before and after pics of your screen please?
Gorgtech said:
I have a slight purple tint too on the screen but it is only visible on a white background. It does not bother me, if you set a higher brightness it is barely visible. Maybe all Nexus 6P have this sort of display and you simply have to live with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its a well known characteristic of samsung AMOLED screens. Samsung users have been complaining about this for some time. Its actually worse on the sgs6. But more brightness will make it less noticeable. Honestly, if you forget about it and stop focusing on it, you will stop noticing it.
Yeah I understand some are really bad you should send it back.but if its slight. There's no.point obsessing about it. It takes the joy away from using the phone
android4life92 said:
Yeah I understand some are really bad you should send it back.but if its slight. There's no.point obsessing about it. It takes the joy away from using the phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's impossible not obsessing about it since the display is very thing you look at when using a phone, people wouldnt tolerate if it was an LCD, dead pixels or any other defect at the advertised price, but since it's amoled we should be expected that these errors occur.
The issue on slight displays is that the screen is uneven on white, so its impossible to ignore on web browsing and how dark ui and gapps is not provided by Google, I would prefer it to be slightly pink/blue all over not half so you won't notice it.
Not meaning to rant and whine but consumers shouldn't have to accept this or fix the issue themselves, when I show the phone of friends, they notice the inconsistent white background and are shocked when I say its something you have to live with, the features are not going to outweigh the display issue
The joy of the phone is still there, just wish they implement quality control.
I complained about this on my Nexus 6. Ended up buying and returning a total of about 8 phones from various stores until i found the "perfect" one. Its incredibly irritating when you can notice it and its the first thing you see when the pixels light up. Some people may care more than others but im not willing to compromise anymore. AMOLED displays look great, but LCDs seem to have a better yield or QA. I was of course down voted and flamed about this. Good to see people starting to take action against garbage quality AMOLEDs.
ariekanarienl said:
So I was on my 2nd Nexus 6P and like the first it had an uneven screen. Normal/slightly pink at the top and at the bottom it's more yellow. Instead of returning it I've decided to try and fix the yellow tint by intentionally causing a burn-in on the over-enthusiastic green pixels in the bottom half of my screen.
To do this I flashed a kernel which unlocks the high-brightness mode of the display, the awesome EX kernel, set my screen timeout to 15 minutes and left the display turned on for 3x15 minutes in high brightness mode with a black-to-green gradient open full screen in the Photos app (absolutely nothing else on screen). After each of the 15 minutes I checked the progress, after the 3rd time I considered it done. I'm happy to report that this has nearly eliminated my uneven screen problem.
So far I've seen no ill effects, just a nice even screen.
I used this black-to-green gradient that was a close match to where my screen was yellow. My first 6P had a different pattern of yellowness, so that would have required a different gradient, more like black-green-black.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This post is old but I wanted to try this nonetheless. You can't just burn in or wear out the pixels in such sort of time no matter what. 45 mis is not enough to cause such an effect. I tried it as I have a screen with the same exactly issue but there is no change. And I did it for far more than you. I let it all the night long for 3 days. There was no change. I don't think you can fix this issue this way (or any other way)
You guys keep saying "AMOLED issue". I bought 6p after having OnePlus X - it has AMOLED without any issue, it was perfect screen! Nexus 6p is great phone, but screen really bothers me... I hate, but I need to replace the phone. And I am not sure whether I will get a good phone or not. Support told me that if I would ask for replacement - they could send me a refurbished phone. Only buying new will give a new phone. I can still return it as I have it for few days...
mariojas89 said:
You guys keep saying "AMOLED issue". I bought 6p after having OnePlus X - it has AMOLED without any issue, it was perfect screen! Nexus 6p is great phone, but screen really bothers me... I hate, but I need to replace the phone. And I am not sure whether I will get a good phone or not. Support told me that if I would ask for replacement - they could send me a refurbished phone. Only buying new will give a new phone. I can still return it as I have it for few days...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey,
Seriously, a refurbished device just after a few days? Like you had it for 10 months, lol? Is it Huawei?
Escalate the case to a supervisor and don't give up until you get a "proper" new phone!
Good luck...

Categories

Resources