help - note 5 black screen / green flicker

[aapold]

I have had a verizon note 5 for about 5 months. I love the phone, apart from problem I am having with it recently.

The screen goes black and nothing shows on screen. Sometimes the LED is red, sometimes it is blue, sometimes it is off, and sometimes the back/home buttons light up and sometimes not, but the screen stays black. It still responds to texts, phone calls and can even do things like get the camera to open with double clicking the home button, not that I can see it, but while the screen was working i set the flash to on, so if I tap where I know the camera button to be the flash lights up and it takes a picture which I am able to later view.

Basically it takes a lot of messing with it to get the screen back before it seemingly at random suddenly lights up and comes back. Sometimes plugging in a power chord snaps it out of it, sometimes now. Sometimes while hitting the home button and stuff I see the entire screen flicker on a lime green color, sometimes it does this several times but does not recover. It has taken me up to 15 minutes before I get the screen to come back on, then it is fine for awhile.

Searching on the internet I have seen numerous remedies for this t hat say to do the down volume/power button to get it to reboot. This does not work, I mean it does that but the screen stays off sometimes even in that mode (sometimes not). I tried wiping the cache numerous times with no resolution and finally at wits end I did a factory restore, only to have the problem occur the next time it locked, and ten minutes later I finally got the screen on again. And sometimes it will go several hours with no trouble at all. but ever time it locks it is an adventure...

I have turned off the setting to keep the screen off in a dark place thinking maybe the proximity sensor was messed up. I have used an app to test the proximity sensor and it seems fine, always detects when an object is close. Sometimes when I remove the back case from the phone it snaps out of it, i have a unicorn beetle pro supcase so I am loathe to remove it, but even that is not 100%.

I fear this may be a hardware issue. To top it off, I have one scratch on the lower part of the screen running from left to right (the reason I am now using the supcase), this happened months before this issue started so I don't think they are related, but it certainly is a factor in m ability to warranty replace the device as I fear they will not do so with the scratch on the screen.

In all the guides I have read I haven't heard anyone describe this green flickr, again it isn't every time it does this but usually when I struggle to get it to wake up it will do it a few times.

any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated...

 

[underway99]

This certainly sounds like a hardware problem. They have replaced devices for me that had some fairly nasty screen damage from normal kid use. So long as the screen is just scratched and not otherwise cracked or damaged, they don't care about the display. I'd be calling Big Red for a replacement.

 

[Gayle Lynn]

I had what sounds solar but with an S7 last spring... was also unusually / unbearable hot.

It was less than a week old too.

I'd think it's not something you can fix and to take it in.

 

[aapold]

Well due to the Crack even though they think it has nothing to do with the issue, they won't replace the phone. They were familiar with the issue and green flicker, said it's an issue with Samsung sometimes. Still they won't warranty replace due to the screen damage.

Or they will but will then charge me a $300 fee because it is damaged. The guy recommended replacing the glass and then calling in the warranty repair.

I called a local store which wanted $330 to do it. Said they can't do the glass without the digitizer. Another outfit said same thing though a tad cheaper at $225.

I am thinking I would rather just pay the fee than pay someone to do a repair which would hopefully be done well enough to avoid the second fee.

But still don't like either option. May just see how often this occurs and try to deal with it.

 

[underway99]

If the screen is cracked and not just scratched, then they'll wash their hands of it.

You might contact Samsung. They may do the warranty repair while they have your device for the digitizer assembly.

 

[aapold]

A weird update. I had started using a Supcase Unicorn Beetle Pro case just before the issue started, to prevent anything else from happening to the screen. This is a very snug case which includes a screen protector. There is a top piece, plastic bumper with screen protector, then a hard plastic grippy case that goes over that on the back. It is not an easy case to remove, takes a bit of effort.

However, invariably when this issue occurs, I have now found if I remove the back piece... again taking a bit of work... the problem clears up almost immediately and the screen comes back on. Sometimes if I put the back on the phone again the problem immediately recurs, though not every time. And on occasion it doesn't immediately snap out of it but even then it is no more than 5-10 seconds before it is back.

The back case does cover the power and volume buttons but I am pretty sure it isn't pressing them inadvertently. It has doors over various ports, but the ambient light sensor and proximity detector are handled through cutouts in the front piece which I am not removing. When the screen is on I can do various tests with apps that check the sensors and they all seem fine, but obviously cannot run the app to test when the screen isn't responding.

I suppose I could go back to my older less protective case, though that would be a bummer, I really like the unicorn beetle case and given what happened I do want it more protected. Has anyone ever heard of a case causing an issue like this? I assume it doesn't in all cases, maybe a combination of something with my phone and the case?

 

[Gayle Lynn]

I was using Spigen Neo Hybrid Galaxy S7 Case with Flexible Inner Protection and Reinforced Hard Bumper Frame for Samsung Galaxy S7 2016 - Gunmetal https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01B1I6J0...ag=hawk-future-20&ascsubtag=UUacUvbUpU5635786

And strongly convinced led to inability to cool and caused over heating, which resulted in failure to function.

 

[underway99]

A weird update. I had started using a Supcase Unicorn Beetle Pro case just before the issue started...

I suppose I could go back to my older less protective case, though that would be a bummer, I really like the unicorn beetle case and given what happened I do want it more protected. Has anyone ever heard of a case causing an issue like this? I assume it doesn't in all cases, maybe a combination of something with my phone and the case?

While it's possible that pressure from the case could be causing the things you describe, it's still more likely that you have a physical issue with the hardware. The pressure from the case could simply be making it worse. The way that the Supcase goes onto the phone, the pressure on the display that comes from installing the back actually comes from the front part which is pulled very tight against the display assembly. I have the same case and an Otterbox Commuter for both my Note 5 and my S7 Edge. The Supcase is a much tighter fit, but I don't have any display issues with either device. At some point, you're going to want to have that phone repaired.

 

[aapold]

I have a feeling you are right, but this at least buys me some time to be able to arrange for that.

 

[d1nman]

Kind of sounds like a screen issue, but your case could be putting enough pressure on it to cause the screen to go in and out.

I manage a phone repair store, have fixed a handful of note 5 displays. It's also the phone I use daily. It's not that terrible of a job, but the display assembly is painfully expensive. You would more than likely need the LCD display assembly with the glass digitizer already fused to it, going by how you've described the issue. Doing a glass only repair on one of these is suicide. These screens are unbelievably delicate.

Do you have a scratch, or a crack in the glass? If it is indeed a crack, it could be the cause as well. I have seen the most minor of cracks cause LCD issues, especially on Androids with large displays.

 

[aapold]

I took it to an Office Maxx (which are Office Depot) and they told me they couldn't replace the screen (even with digitizer) at all, it wasn't even in their system which was a surprise to the guy who tried to pull it up.

I'm back in my old otterbox commuter case for now mulling options. It's too bad as I really like the unicorn beetle. I've tried to go back to it a few times and it almost seems okay for awhile but eventually it just kills the screen too often. A few times it has even done it while I am using it, everything gets kind of green ghost shifted and sometimes it keeps that for a few seconds.

On occasion I've been able to resolve it by applying pressure as if to "bend" the phone away from me but I think that is probably a bad thing. I'm guessing there is a short somewhere and when the contact gets made things go bad.

 

[underway99]

I'd have to agree that intentionally flexing your phone is bad.

If you're not sure that you want to have the phone repaired by Samsung, I'd probably start carrying it with just a TPU case. There's no pressure on the display, and the lightweight case will protect the sides and back from pocket scratches and such.

Maybe you could ask Big Red if they'd sell you a CPO replacement? I've had them replace a damaged phone with a pre-owned model. It'll probably cost not much more than Samsung repair, and you'd likely have to pay upfront, but then you'd get a working phone (which typically looks brand new) and a new warranty through VZW. You'd have to call them and ask though. Their web site (and chat associate) doesn't typically show much on the pre-owned, but they can sometimes find stock if you ask over the phone.