Why does my LG G3 screen flicker and fades to darkness?

[dancing-bass]

Re: HELP - LG G3 Screen Flickers and fades to darkness

Or you'll burn everything up lol.

Update on mine: It faded a few times but the rom i was using kept having issues so I formatted everything and installed CM13 and haven't had an issue since. Can't imagine it's related at all but interesting none the less.

I'm on CM nightlies. Maybe I should roll back a few days to see if it makes a difference. Pretty sure it won't, it's gotta be hardware (motherboard) not software.

 

[Tony Thomas5]

I hav the same problem(im from india,d855) When playing the game ,mini militia I find the screen not fading much.But when doing other operations ,the problem returns.Also during video playback ,this problem occurs very less.

 

[Eyeballeater]

So far so good. Been on holidays in Mexico the last 5 days (+30C /86F ) everyday. Phone is working perfectly. I left processes at default and screen brightness on auto. I'll keep you updated. Here's to hoping!!

 

[kaigreenfc]

Just spoke to LG over chat after multiple phone conversations that went no where due to warranty being past.

1st call:
Me: My phone flickers and the screen turns off right after a android update
LG: The phone's screen is adapting to the new android update, it needs 24hrs to fully adapt.
...... that sounds completely ridiculous

2nd call:
Me: its been over 24hrs, the phone is completely unusable.
LG: well it's out of warranty, we could have a assessment of the problem, and you could have it fixed out of pocket.

I have the same issue with the flicker and fade, happened right after a android update, (about 15mins). First few days the screen was almost usable for emergencies. now it just flickers soon as you turn it on.

So the LG G4 got a petition for their problems. Not sure if there is as many users experience the blackout issue compared to the boot issue of the G4, but might be worth it to create a petition of our own.

 

[dancing-bass]

So the LG G4 got a petition for their problems. Not sure if there is as many users experience the blackout issue compared to the boot issue of the G4, but might be worth it to create a petition of our own.

I doubt it. The G4 is already year old, G3 is almost 2 years old. They won't touch it with a 10 foot pole.

Unfortunately

 

[Broken LG G3]

Just started experiencing this last week. Sent mine in to LG USA for repair. It's out of warranty. Here's what the diagnostic results said:

Symptom/Cause: Main Display-Line/Segment. Out of Warranty by Date code, LCD (LCD, connector, cable) problem

I called LG, informed the rep it was the motherboard, but the rep couldn't tell me anything beyond what was written by the technician. She claimed the technician was not taking calls and she couldn't send the tech a link to this thread. As we've discovered, it's definitely not the LCD. It's the motherboard.

Regardless, was $153 for a full refurb, so that should cover the mobo. Comes with a 90 day warranty, so if the problem persists, back to LG it goes.

Hope the rest of you have better luck with LG.

Welp, just got the phone back from LG. Screen immediately faded to black upon power up. Seems like they didn't even test it. The receipt says the LCD was "Repaired" as opposed to the full refurbishment I paid for. Pretty pissed. Sent an email to LG. Will update as the saga continues.

 

[Franjozen]

I've had the same experience as @Broken LG G3. Screen started flickering like all other phones in this thread. I still had warranty so it was sent to service. Phone came back "front module" changed. Within moments, I think I got as far as logging in to my google account, the problem started again. Funny as how the receipt said the phone was tested. It was sent away again, came back even faster. Now the motherboard was changed, no mention of testing. That was probably why the screen was working perfectly, it just didn't register me touching it. Using a mouse it worked perfectly. The phone was sent away a third time. We'll see if third time is a charm.

IMHO this would suggest that it indeed is a hardware problem. And to me it kind of suggests that this isn't a widely known problem, otherwise I would have thought that they would have replaced the motherboard the first time around. Although it may also suggest that there are no real investigation at the service shop, just trial and error. Throwing solutions at the problem till it goes away. The only positive thing is that LG seems to have quite a liberal warranty policy. I would encourage everybody that has a phone still covered by warranty to try that route before rooting. I hope everybody here finds a solution that works for them.

 

[dancing-bass]

Re: HELP - LG G3 Screen Flickers and fades to darkness

Update. My last bake lasted 7 days. Re-baking again tonight. 395F for 9 minutes, so we'll see what happens. Hope it's enough to flow the solder without damaging anything else on the board.

 

[bishopx26]

Re: HELP - LG G3 Screen Flickers and fades to darkness

Update. My last bake lasted 7 days. Re-baking again tonight. 395F for 9 minutes, so we'll see what happens. Hope it's enough to flow the solder without damaging anything else on the board.

can u make a video how u bake it bro.. like 1 min or less pls just to have a better idea how its done ?

 

[dancing-bass]

Re: HELP - LG G3 Screen Flickers and fades to darkness

Take the phone apart and remove the motherboard. Set your oven for whatever temperature you choose. 390F seems right. Once the oven is at the right temperature, put the board in for 9 minutes. I bent a wire cost hanger to set the motherboard on, just because I didn't want it right on the oven rack. That's it. When the time is up, take it out (remember to use oven mitts or something so you don't burn your fingers) and let it cool for at least 30 minutes. Put the phone back to together. Done.

If I have to redo it I'll try to remember to do a video

 

[walrusjax]

After doing the paper trick multiple times, arguing with LG, resetting profiles and PRNs, I finally tried something yesterday that is giving me cautious optimism. Yesterday, after the paper trick started failing again, i unscrewed both the top and bottom covers and used a clean eraser to clean off the "gold" contacts on the plastic pieces. Now, its been working for a day with no problems and no paper. I don't know if this will work long term, but it seems to be working now.

BTW, I need to take a moment to complain about LG (doesn't seem to be any shortage of that here). I called a while ago and they had told me to try having Sprint change the SIM card. I told them I was almost out of my warranty and they said that since I reported it while still under warranty, they'd honor it but first I had to call Sprint to get a new card. After that failed to work, I called LG again and they said that they could see the notes but they couldn't do anything except to put in a complaint against the rep.

 

[dancing-bass]

Re: HELP - LG G3 Screen Flickers and fades to darkness

I've been struck by yet another LG issue. Blue screen of death. Yay?

 

[Big Daddy_G1]

So had the same problem a couple of months ago... tried the paper trick worked for a while and the problem started again. talked to LG as phone is still under warranty ( read the crap people went through so was dreading it). first problem LG had was with my invoice, it didn't look like an invoice to them. Asked them why had no answer, it just looked different. I told them a KIA Sedona looked very different then a Lexus RX350, so KIA is not a car anymore. I got forwarded to the supervisor, she wanted me to send them a picture of the invoice, i send a PDF file first. for some reason a picture will make my invoice look more authentic. Now they are saying that the phone was a refurb or an open box. looks like LG is trying everything to NOT fix the unit now.

Sorry for the rant.... very pissed of right now. they still have the phone, looks like they will charge me to diagnose the problem which was already diagnosed by you guys. I took the comments from here and sent the print outs with the device.

 

[kirnkorner2001]

I just wanted to throw out that I just tried the paper trick yesterday. I put one at the recommended place around the camera sensor, and about 4 small post-it notes on the battery. Closed everything up, kept my fingers crossed. I turned on the phone, and it was up for about 90 minutes with the screen on the whole time before I left for work yesterday. I have just turned the phone back on this morning, and so far so good.

This is not my main phone at this point, so I just have it sitting here on my desk with the screen set to always on. I am hoping that it'll be reliable enough to be a dedicated music player. Time will tell.

 

[kirnkorner2001]

Just throwing out an update. I have had the phone on all day so far. Battery dipped to 10% and still no screen issues. I plugged it in. I opened the Maps app mainly because it usually causes the phone to overheat. It's been at least 4 hours with the Maps app open while plugged in to charge, and still no issues with the screen. Will continue the process tomorrow.

 

[Broken LG G3]

Welp, just got the phone back from LG. Screen immediately faded to black upon power up. Seems like they didn't even test it. The receipt says the LCD was "Repaired" as opposed to the full refurbishment I paid for. Pretty pissed. Sent an email to LG. Will update as the saga continues.

LG completed the repair, for the 2nd time. Repair sheet says "Defect: HDMI failure, Repair Results: HDMI". This is ridiculous.

 

[dancing-bass]

LG completed the repair, for the 2nd time. Repair sheet says "Defect: HDMI failure, Repair Results: HDMI". This is ridiculous.

Look at the bright side. Eventually they'll have replaced EVERYTHING and you'll have a brand new device. But yeah it's a little silly already

 

[bishopx26]

LG completed the repair, for the 2nd time. Repair sheet says "Defect: HDMI failure, Repair Results: HDMI". This is ridiculous.

what does this mean HDMI ? is this a motherboard problem or what ?

 

[troyabed]

I've had my G3 for 1.5 yrs and I've been have an issue with the wifi adapter turning itself off for a couple months, but it wasn't until a few weeks ago that the screen crapped out on me. After a couple weeks of struggling with the screen, I ended up baking my phone as well. I got a Leon for sale at $50, just in case I accidentally bricked it in the process. As hesitant as I was to buy another LG smartphone after this fiasco, the price was good, so I sprung for it anyways. But back to the baking:

Took the motherboard out of the phone (For those of you unsure as to how to remove the motherboard, I'd suggest googling "LG G3 Motherboard Replacement." There's a video on Youtube that shows you how to do it.). Preheated the oven to 325 F for 10 minutes. I placed the motherboard on tinfoil balls on a baking sheet (with the processor facing up) and then placed the sheet into the oven. Took it out after about 9 minutes (wearing gloves, obviously). The solder probably re-solidified after a minute, but I let it sit for about 15 minutes just in case. I didn't use any thermal paste, but have some Arctic Silver in reserve just in case another bake is needed. Popped the motherboard back in the phone, turned it on--and the screen worked great! Wifi manager still has some issues, but at least the screen is working now.

It's been about 8 days and I haven't had any issues with the screen, though I've noticed that the phone lags the slightest bit more than before. So far I haven't had any issues with using things like GPS, texting, browsing the web, getting live updates from apps, checking email, etc. At the same time, I've eased up on my overall usage of the phone and am making darn sure I don't keep the screen on longer than I really need to. I restart my phone on a daily basis (If I remember. One time I went two days without restarting). I want to maximize the life of this temporary fix. I don't have 600 bucks to drop on a new phone, so my long term goal will be to wait until the G5 comes out (rumored to be in 3 weeks or so), which will hopefully drop the price of a new G3 motherboard after a few more weeks, so I can then buy it to replace my current one. I'll keep posting weekly updates until the screen craps out again (which probably will happen eventually--issues like these typically don't stay permanently fixed unless you completely replace it) and/or until I get to buy a new motherboard.

If I had to guess, the issue is probably twofold--software and hardware. Something about the OS update (e.g. compatibility with already installed apps, full compatibility with snapdragon 801, etc.) is making the processor work extra hard and was causing it to overheat quite easily and DRAIN the battery. I noticed these two issues happen almost immediately after the update. I eventually killed/disabled some of the tasks running in the background (e.g. T-Mobile MyAccount, which seemed to be the biggest offender), which eased the overheating/battery drain issue. Over time, though, the soldered connections probably grew more and more porous from the constant strain, compounding the issue and possibly damaging the motherboard.

 

[Broken LG G3]

LG completed the repair, for the 2nd time. Repair sheet says "Defect: HDMI failure, Repair Results: HDMI". This is ridiculous.

Just got it. Flickered and faded to black as soon as I turned it on. Sending it back to LG for the THIRD TIME!!!! I even hand wrote a note and included it with the phone that said, "Please check/replace the motherboard. The LCD is fine".

If you have this problem, cut your losses and buy a new phone. LG either can't or won't do anything about this. I'm done with LG. Period.