Note 9 Brightness Issue

[giasone777]

When I checked out the Note 9 in Bestbuy it was obvious that the screen was both brighter and sharper than my iPhone X screen. I then went and bought the phone in Anonymous Store (Canada) since they had the best deal. When I got the phone home I noticed the brightness of the iPhone X was greater than that of the Note 9. Just to make sure I hadn't changed any settings I did a factory reset of the phone, but the brightness didn't change even after setting everything to its maximum settings. I then took my phone into bestbuy and saw the one on display was significantly brighter than mine. I then took it into several other stores and mine was always dimmer. I then took the Note 9 back to the anonymous store and saw the same thing with the one on display, it was brighter than mine. I asked the store worker to swap it out for me and he refused. I then asked for a refund, he said ok where's the box, I then went to my car and got the box and got to see another store worker who told me he is not surprised that the phones being sold are not the same as the ones on display. He told me the Samsung phones were not reliable where as the Apple Phones on display are the same as the actual phone being sold and are reliable. I was stunned, to think that this was being done. Now I cannot vouch for what he said because I only got to try the phone that I had bought, but not good if this is the case. I just want to warn people that they need to make sure the phone you get matches the specs that are advertised. The Note 9 specs for its screen should make it way brighter than the iPhone X and not the other way round as was with my experience. Buyer beware. I have posted this because I could not find anyone else who has written about it.

 

[Rwboyer]

That's totally inaccurate. Samsung will replace it themselves. Screw that store.

 

[giasone777]

Exactly what is inaccurate about what I said?

 

[rushmore]

Exactly what is inaccurate about what I said?

What the B.B. person said, not you. Person was talking junk.

 

[donm527]

Do you have Auto Brightness set on your display as well as Adaptive Display set to punch up the colors? Could be the lighting in the store could push up the brightness beyond manual max if Auto is set.

Exactly what is inaccurate about what I said?

 

[Kp98005]

Do you have Auto Brightness set on your display as well as Adaptive Display set to punch up the colors? Could be the lighting in the store could push up the brightness beyond manual max if Auto is set.

That's odd. I have iPhone x hate the brightness from day 1. Love it on the N9. Set to auto then I sometimes adjust as needed. Was at best buy Vancouver and they seemed very unprofessional to me. I fact it didn't seem like a real best buy....was odd. I just purchased in Seattle.

 

[L0n3N1nja]

If you had the Note 9 set to max brightness instead of on auto that was the problem. Samsung screens get significantly brighter on auto when the phones in a bright environment than it will when manually setting the phone to max.


Also most Best Buy employees are tech illiterate idiots. The one you dealt with was also clearly biased towards Apple and talking out his ***. I sold phones for Verizon for 4 years, the Samsung phone on display and the one sold to the customer are the same exact hardware.

 

[woutwout]

The Best Buy note would have been in retail mode, which includes maximum brightness and saturation. Brighter than you would be able to set yourself! All about making that screen pop as much as possible

 

[giasone777]

I didn't buy it from Best Buy, I tried every setting which didn't make a difference. The phone I had had a dimmer display that the one on display which is why they would not exchange it. Retail mode does not make the screen brighter. The store worker explained to me that retail mode has no effect on brightness.

 

[TurdRon_FergusonBurgundy]

That's totally inaccurate. Samsung will replace it themselves. Screw that store.

Yeah, with a refurbished device lol. Only chance the OP would have a chance to get a brand new phone is if there is no refurbished stock yet due to the phone being so new. If this exact issue were to come up a month or two from now, OP would most certainly get a refurbished phone despite experiencing the issue a few days after buying the phone brand new. OP did the right thing, return for refund and if they really want the phone purchase again there or elsewhere.

 

[Rwboyer]

Exactly what is inaccurate about what I said?

"phones being sold are not the same as the ones on display." That's complete bs, they're stupid.

This is likely due to heating issues. I have had my hands on multiple Note 9s at the same time and have ran benchmarks with all devices with mirrored settings. Never were all of the devices the same brightness regardless of brightness settings and no, they were NOT on adaptive brightness. This is caused by heat issues. Your phone will turn down brightness if your phone is hotter. I compared all devices and dim devices had higher temperatures and this fluctuated often. Maybe your device is defective and you will NOT get a refurb unless your carrier is garbage. I know with verizon you get a brand new phone unless its an insurance claim and i wouldnt accept a refurb for a manufacture fault.

 

[giasone777]

Ok if they weren't all the same why didn't they just give me another phone? Instead they preferred to give me a refund, how does this make sense? A vendor preferring to lose the business rather than just swapping it out for another one, since this is what I originally asked for.

 

[bandofbrothers2112]

Ok if they weren't all the same why didn't they just give me another phone? Instead they preferred to give me a refund, how does this make sense? A vendor preferring to lose the business rather than just swapping it out for another one, since this is what I originally asked for.

Because they could decline a swap due to their own reasoning that the phone wasn't defective but have to abide by their own T&C's of any cooling off period to provide a refund if requested by the customer.

I would have taken the refund and then bought another.

 

[TurdRon_FergusonBurgundy]

Because they could decline a swap due to their own reasoning that the phone wasn't defective but have to abide by their own T&C's of any cooling off period to provide a refund if requested by the customer.

I would have taken the refund and then bought another.

Exactly what I would have done too.

 

[anon(20964)]

Because they could decline a swap due to their own reasoning that the phone wasn't defective but have to abide by their own T&C's of any cooling off period to provide a refund if requested by the customer.

I would have taken the refund and then bought another.

Exactly what I would have done too.

#METOO

 

[phusebox]

I find the screen on auto mostly too bright, I set it to 30% myself (and auto on). I hate that in bright light it maxes out and locks the manual adjustment...

 

[giasone777]

The sales guy in the store advised me not to get another Samsung and to stick with Apple because of the quality issues they were having with the S9. He said a lot of them coming back faulty. FYI - I had the S7 and S8 with no issues, other than Samsung using cheap glass on the back of the S8 and it being scratched too easily. With Apple my experience is no issues with any of the iPhones.

 

[phusebox]

The sales guy in the store advised me not to get another Samsung and to stick with Apple because of the quality issues they were having with the S9. He said a lot of them coming back faulty. FYI - I had the S7 and S8 with no issues, other than Samsung using cheap glass on the back of the S8 and it being scratched too easily. With Apple my experience is no issues with any of the iPhones.

I've had an S2, S3, S4, S7 and Note 4. All have been away for repairs more than once. Mainboard, camera and screen. None were due to drops or damage inflicted by me.

And yet I still bougth a Note 9... stupid me.

 

[bassplayrguy]

I didn't buy it from Best Buy, I tried every setting which didn't make a difference. The phone I had had a dimmer display that the one on display which is why they would not exchange it. Retail mode does not make the screen brighter. The store worker explained to me that retail mode has no effect on brightness.

Did you put your phone in performance mode? It bumps the brightness level by 10% it says. Ppl that sell phones typically know nothing about phones.

 

[anon(20964)]

Ppl that sell phones typically know nothing about phones.

Lol... same can be said about ppl that buy phones. Especially the iPhone pushers among us.