yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Nexus 7 General] rhirons:
Same here

Hello all, first post on the site.

I'm having the same issue. The only time it happens is when:

It's dark

The brightness is set to auto or 25% or less

Happens on any app and homescreen

However if I use a brightness app and set it so 30% or higher it's fine. I also use an app for reading called screen filter which dims the screen lower than the stock 0%. The weird this is, when I set the brightness to 30% then enable screen filter to dim the screen, I get no flicker at all. Might be a short term solution for some until a update is released or google annouce a hardware issue and recall the units.
[Nexus 7 General] WeepingWombat:
Same here

16 GB from Play Store.

Backlight level fluctuates when WiFi is active and brightness is low. App does not matter, neither does turning auto-brightness on or off.

In addition, the screen is raised above the metal bevel on the left and has some give. will try to fix it (i think there was a post somewhere with instructions on tightening the screws)

My gut feel it is NOT a software issue (I wish it were), which means I have to get an RMA.

left a message on Play Store yesterday morning, waiting for reply
[Nexus 7 General] terrydandan:
screen flicker

Hi all,

This is also my first post, I've been having the same issues as everyone else with the screen flicker issue and I've just tried rhirons quick fix above and it has seemed to work so far, I've not noticed anymore flickering in any apps especially chrome when on a heavy white background.

I will update if the issue arises again.

Thanks mate!
[Nexus 7 General] rhirons:
Just out of curiosity.........

Has everyone rooted their device or are you just running standard? Just curious in case it might be an issue with root (as daft as it may sound)
[Nexus 7 General] dezixn:
I noticed screen flickering last night as well. I was reading a book on my Nexus 7 in the dark and had it on auto brightness. The screen was probably at its lowest brightness setting. It flickered maybe once per page so every 3-5 minutes. And the flickering was barely noticeable, at first I thought I was crazy but then I figured it was probably a slight flicker. It was like when a house's central AC kicks on and the lights flicker for a barely noticeable millisecond.
[Nexus 7 General] dow_jones:
New member and new N7 owner, 16GB bought from Office Depot, running 4.1.1 non rooted and I noticed my screen flickering last night on Chrome.
[Nexus 7 General] pzmosquito:
same problem here too with wifi turned on, so annoying !! thinking about returning mine within 14 days (office depot)
[Nexus 7 General] WeepingWombat:
mine is unrooted, running 4.1.1
[Nexus 7 General] adrianblack:
Yep, used my N7 more this morning while in bed -- and again no flicker. It was very dark in my room so auto brightness had the display on minimum -- was doing a lot of reading of blogs and no flicker. Battery was less than 25% still.....

I will see if the flicker comes back when I charge my battery up but it was super noticeable two days ago.

People with flicker, run your battery down and see if it still happens? That's the only change on my tablet.

- Stock, 16gb, retail
[Nexus 7 General] nated86:
Screen Flicker issues

Same problem as others have mentioned. Wondering if I should just send it back and wait for the IPad mini.
[Nexus 7 General] Shaquiel Harris:
With low battery nothing happens.. No matter what movie I watch that crazy flicker doesn't come on.. YouTube or nothing..
[Nexus 7 General] aidanbree:
didn't notice any issue until I used it in the dark for the first time tonight.....doh...
[Nexus 7 General] qwerty123321:
Alright so I returned the first Nexus 7 I got and bought a second one..and guess what it also has this bull**** screen flicker problem..

FFS google fix this **** arleady
[Nexus 7 General] egorre:
I noticed mine was flickering too. but it's not really noticeable unless you're in a dark room.
[Nexus 7 General] Nascar Dog:
Here is a pretty good "temporary" fix:

Turn off Auto-Brightness

Set your brightness to 35% or higher

Install the free Screen Filter app from Google Play

Screen Filter

Use Screen Filter to lower the brightness as necessary.

This gets rid of the pulsing backlight that occurs when WiFi is enabled and processing.

Disabling WiFi also gets rid of the flicker ... Are you listening Google???

---------- Post added at 04:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:46 PM ----------

Just discovered why I was having trouble installing APK's on my Nexus 7 with Screen Filter enabled.

From the app comments:

"Finally I discovered why I couldn't press the Install button in order to install an app from its apk. We must disable Screen Filter before pressing the Install button! This app is great, but this issue must be told to users while it is not fixed."

So other than this little glitch, Screen Filter works well. :D

---------- Post added at 05:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:55 PM ----------

Dropping your brightness below 30% triggers it.

Most people crank the brightness up so they don't ever see this problem.
[Nexus 7 General] qwerty123321:
Still, This is something Google should admit of their faulty software and fix this crap.. I have yet to see Google release any sort of statements acknowledging of this fact after the products been released for liek a week now..

I shouldn't have to rely on 3rd party app just to get the tablet function normally..
[Nexus 7 General] rhirons:
Already mentioned that several posts ago. It does seem to work but announcement of the issue needs to be made by google. I doubt its a software issue as 2 of my friends are not having the same issue.
[Nexus 7 General] droopdude:
I have installed lux dash and it seems to dramatically reduced the problem. It might still be flickering but and am not entirely sure and it could just be my eyes.
[Nexus 7 General] qwerty123321:
What makes you think it is hardware related?

It must be software since the above mention temporary fix DOES indeed suppress the issue. If it was hardware no software would be able to fix it.

But neverthless, it has been roughly a week since the release and I feel that it is Google's responsibility to keep their customers informed on the issue. They could at least tell us whether it is a faulty device and need to be replaced or if it will be fixed in a future update..

Terrible PR Google.

---------- Post added at 04:31 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:13 AM ----------

Just tried lux autobrightnesss, it does not fix the issue. One way to see if screen flicker is by going to Google Map. It's really easy to tell
[Nexus 7 General] rhirons:
If it was a bug with the software every nexus user would be reporting the same issue. Hardware would be more plausible as not every unit would be affected. 4 people in my work have them too and none are getting this issue.

Also try the app screen filter if the other one didn't work for you. The reason it works is it doesn't actually reduce the brightness using the built-in brightness level. When the screen filter is on, the capacitive back,home and task manager buttons are still at full brightness.
[Nexus 7 General] sinatosk:
Not true

When the nexus s came out... there were self rebooting problems only some experienced. Got fixed at software level

At the moment I'm not sure if its hardware of software
[Nexus 7 General] rhirons:
Well that's kind of reassuring. I'm hoping it's going to be software. I don't want to risk sending mines back for a replacement then finding out he new one does the same.
[Nexus 7 General] aweskelo:
I have it also. Low level brightness only. Haven't noticed at high brightness unless I am playing with the auto bright level. I am hoping its software level. :(
[Nexus 7 General] SilverXZ:
Same Problem. Everyone spam Google so they release a statement.
[Nexus 7 General] qwerty123321:
Anyone know of a way to contact Google?

I'm seriously annoyed at the situation..

I bought 2 tablets and both have this god damn flickering crap yet google hasn't said a damn thing about any of the Nexus 7 issues..(

---------- Post added at 04:26 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:21 AM ----------

Still, you said it yourself, the Screen Filter app uses a different way to reduce brightness unlike the built-in brightness and that seems to work so there must be a work around or software fix for the problem..
[Nexus 7 General] Nascar Dog:
My flicker has stopped!

OK this is wierd.

My Nexus 7 has had the annoying flicker for the last two days and now it seems to be gone.

I didn't change anything.

Battery is at 52%

No screen filter applied

Brightness set to 0%

WiFi is on

Viewing web pages with lots of white and the screen has no flicker at all.

I am glad it has no flicker now but would sure like to know what fixed it...

Funny thing is, I just placed an order for another one at Best Buy and Future Shop today and was checking the order status this evening and that is when I realized there was no more flickering that was so obvious before.

The flicker was there this morning and I have not installed or changed anything.

The only thing I did different was leave the tablet on all afternoon in sleep mode with WiFi turned off.

I usually shut it down because it boots up so quickly but decided to let it sleep today.

I will experiment with shutting it down and powering it up to see if the flicker returns.............

Sad to report the flicker has returned after shutting down and powering back up.

So, it appears a temporary fix is to disable WiFi and let it sleep for a few hours.

Maybe that is why several users are not seeing the problem because they don't shut it down, they just let it sleep.

Will experiment more tomorrow after letting it sleep over night.

An update on my testing:

I turned off WiFi and let it sleep for 10 minutes and the crazy flicker is still present.

Will let it sleep overnight and see how it is tomorrow AM.

This flicker is the only real complaint I have about this neat little tablet.

Sure hope Google can fix it.

Another update on my testing - 7-24-2012:

I left my Nexus 7 (16G) with WiFi disabled and in sleep mode for 7 hours but unfortunately the screen flicker is still present.

I don't know what caused my flicker to go away last night but I am unable to recreate the event.

The flicker was definitely gone until I restarted the tablet.

Too bad because the tablet is so much more usable when it is not pulsing the back-light to the tune of the WiFi signal.

I am picking up another Nexus 7 (16GB) at Best Buy today and will see if it has the problem.
[Nexus 7 General] qwerty123321:
Try using Google Map, it is very noticeable on Google Map as it flickers literally every second..
[Nexus 7 General] Nascar Dog:
I can see the flicker very well when viewing this forum page because it has so much white space.

All I need to do is hit the refresh and the light show begins.

An update on my testing:

I turned off WiFi and let it sleep for 10 minutes and the crazy flicker is still present. :(

Will let it sleep overnight and see how it is tomorrow AM.

This flicker is the only real complaint I have about this neat little tablet.

Sure hope Google can fix it.
[Nexus 7 General] potentiality:
Screen Filter Bands

Sorry to say the screen bands with subtle colors if you attempt the screen filter workaround. So its useless other than for things with lots of contrast.

Have Android Authority or other addressed yet in podcasts? I really think this is all units or at least the 16gb model and those that claim not don't know what they are looking for or haven't set up the same settings to reproduce. Those that have friends that claim not, ask to borrow theirs to confirm for yourself.

It very well may be hardware from what is described here . Exchanging won't do you any good until Asus updates the hardware that could take a few weeks. If so, will this mean we will have to create a class action lawsuit for those who miss the RMA deadline?
[Nexus 7 General] slimdizzy:
8gb play store owner here. Just replying to add another user to this issue.
[Nexus 7 General] Nascar Dog:
Update on screen flicker

I left my Nexus 7 (16G) with WiFi disabled and in sleep mode for 7 hours but unfortunately the screen flicker is still present. :mad:

I don't know what caused my flicker to go away last night but I am unable to recreate the event.

The flicker was definitely gone until I restarted the tablet.

Too bad because the tablet is so much more usable when it is not pulsing the back-light to the tune of the WiFi signal.

I am picking up another Nexus 7 (16GB) at Best Buy today and will see if it has the problem.
[Nexus 7 General] khaytsus:
I hadn't noticed this until I was in the dark reading news apps last night outside and had the backlight initially on auto. I thought the sensor detection heuristics were screwy and kept going up and down, so I turned off auto and the problem continued. I bumped up the light just a tad and the problem mostly went away but I still noticed it every so often. A little higher and it went away, but was too bright when reading black-on-white text.. This seems to be aligning with other posts, but figured I'd say "me too".

Didn't think about it last night, but tonight I'll try "Dimmer" or some other app and see if it still flickers with the backlight up highish but the "screen darker".

Dimmer makes colors darker, on AMOLED it actually lowers overall power and light output, but on regular LCD screens the backlight stays as bright as you have it set. I'm curious if it's the backlight (I suspect so) or if it's an LCD thing. Either way I doubt it's a hardware problem.

My guess: The LEDs for the backlighting need some tweaking in software. LEDs must have a constant voltage, and have to have a certain current to run, therefore they can only get a certain low output when constantly on. So to get lower effective output, LEDs are pulsed at some reasonably high frequency (40Hz, some good flashlights are up towards 140Hz) and I suspect this is what needs tweaking.
[Nexus 7 General] Nascar Dog:
So, the real question here is, How do we contact Google to let them know this is a real problem?

If we all contact them then they will at least have to look into the problem.

I found this number on http://support.google.com/nexus

855-836-3987 - Option #2

Calling now....

Update: Got an answer from Google Tech Support

OK, I talked to Google tech support and they said it is a known problem.

He said there is a fix for it and I got all excited until I heard what the fix is.

The fix is to reset your tablet to factory fresh.

I have already tried that and no change.

I even downloaded and applied the image from https://developers.google.com/android/nexus/images

and that did not help.

I unlocked it, rooted it, reset it, locked it and no change.

He then said if that does not work, the tablet needs to be replaced.

They are aware of the problem and there is a newer hardware build that fixes this problem.

He was all ready to send me a new one until I told him I was from Canada and purchased it at Staples.ca.

That tells me this is a hardware problem!!!

So, I guess the only way you are going to get this flicker problem fixed is to replace it with a newer build.

What we need to do is look at the numbers on our box labels and figure out what builds are having the problem.
[Nexus 7 General] Cryingmoose:
another one here, 16gig Canadian region from Futureshop
[Nexus 7 General] tevinwade:
I too have problems with the screen flickering issues in low back light. The problem disappears when I turn WiFi off. I'll make a video soon.
[Nexus 7 General] Nascar Dog:
Not necessary. Known problem confirmed with Google Tech Support today. Just get it replaced or return it and wait for the next rev to ship.

See http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=29248133&postcount=143
[Nexus 7 General] qwerty123321:
So I gotta retunrn this tablet for the second time and wait for a 3/red one ? This ****s ridiculous j
[Nexus 7 General] kenyee:
I think the flicker seems worse initially because you're browsing the Play market and adding apps to your tablet.

All of this is related to wifi and possibly writing to SD card simultaneously. Someone on Android Central said he was able to reproduce it by using an ftp app to pull stuff onto the tablet.

Later on, it doesn't need as much wifi data access unless you stream video, but if it streams to memory, it's probably not as noticable.

FWIW, I posted on AsusUSA's facebook page and they just said get another one instead of believing it's a power circuit wifi droop issue :p

Anyways, 2 for 2 on tablets that exhibit this issue for me. Exchanging it won't make a difference IMHO...needs either a software workaround (possibly slow down wifi data transfer) or ideally extra capacitors on the backlight's power circuit to smooth out the power droop from wifi usage...
[Nexus 7 General] Nascar Dog:
Welcome to the Early Adopter club. :o

I am a sucker for this kinda stuff.

I kind of expect there to be issues and enjoy finding them.
[Nexus 7 General] kenyee:
Did the Google support guy say what the CSSN of the newer build is???

I'm fairly certain it's a hardware bug too...getting my 3rd one and I'll bet it flickers too :p
[Nexus 7 General] Nascar Dog:
No, he just said there are newer builds that address this issue.

It will be up to us to figure out from the box labels what builds are faulty and which ones work.

I am going to pick another one up now and will report the info on the box label.

Would be nice if others can share the info on their box labels as well.
[Nexus 7 General] igjoe:
What box info do we need? I took a pic of mine before I returned my flickering 16gb version. I'm waiting to buy another one until I can confirm there's a way to tell it's a new non-flickering version.
[Nexus 7 General] adamhlj:
I don't know if this has anything to do with the issue, but in Google books there is another auto brightness feature that is selected to on by default. I turned it off and the flickering at the lowest setting in the tablet display settings seems to have gone away for me.
[Nexus 7 General] igjoe:
Is your book completely downloaded? The flickering seems to appear when data is transferring over WiFi.
[Nexus 7 General] Nascar Dog:
Mine has a label on both ends.

One is English and the other is French

On the English one there is a Customer P/N a P/N and a Check Number.

Lets see if those are the same for all users.

On the one I just picked up at Best Buy in Canada:

Customer P/N = NEXUS7 ASUS - 1B16 - CB

P/N = AB NEXUS7 ASUS 18/T3DL/16/1G/Y

Check Number 0747

Update

So far no flicker on this new one. Doing the same things I did on the other one that flickers bad.

One difference is they changed the initial start up screens a bit. Now after entering your gmail account info it asks for a credit card before giving you the $25.00 Play Store credit.

My old one automatically applied the credit and sent me an e-mail confirming this. No credit card info required.

New Discovery

If you have a very strong WiFi signal (All bars lit up) the Nexus 7 will not flicker.

That is why the flicker went away on my Nexus 7 last night. I was sitting in a strong signal location.

When I went upstairs I had a weaker signal and that is when the flicker was noticeable again.

Today at work, I connected my newest Nexus 7 to my WiFi hotspot on my BlackBerry Bold 9900 which has a nice strong signal and that is why I thought I had a fixed one.

When I changed my WiFi to a weak network and only had 1 bar, the flicker was present.

I connected my old Nexus 7 to my BlackBerry WiFi hotspot and the flicker was gone.

So, that tells me the WiFi chip in the Nexus 7 is a cheap piece of crapolla. :mad:

Here is the new setup screen:

This is new, used to just give the $25.00 credit automatically, now you need to provide a Credit Card before getting the $25.00
[Nexus 7 General] igjoe:
deleted
[Nexus 7 General] Nascar Dog:
New Discovery

If you have a very strong WiFi signal (All bars lit up) the Nexus 7 will not flicker.

That is why the flicker went away on my Nexus 7 last night. I was sitting in a strong signal location.

When I went upstairs I had a weaker signal and that is when the flicker was noticeable again.

Today at work, I connected my newest Nexus 7 to my WiFi hotspot on my BlackBerry Bold 9900 which has a nice strong signal and that is why I thought I had a fixed one.

When I changed my WiFi to a weak network and only had 1 bar, the flicker was present.

I connected my old Nexus 7 (that had the flicker problem) to my BlackBerry WiFi hotspot and the flicker was gone.

So, that tells me the WiFi chip in the Nexus 7 is a cheap piece of crapolla. :mad:

Can someone with the flicker problem confirm that they do not have a strong WiFi signal when it is flickering?
[Nexus 7 General] kenyee:
Yep...I reported this on the Android Central forums last week.

I think the wifi chip has to transmit stronger when there's a weak signal so it sucks more juice, which causes a droop in the backlight power circuit, then a surge as power comes back to it...the weaker the signal, the bigger the droop. That's why I think they can do a workaround that would weaken wifi performance by having it transmit at lower power or lower speed. The real fix is more caps on the power circuit for the backlight though...

p.s., and when Google was replacing tablets w/ the washed out screens, they asked for the last 3 digits of the CSSN number on the box. It's some sort of batch number....my last 4 digits are 0x101a and it still has the flicker issue...
[Nexus 7 General] Nascar Dog:
Thank-you for the confirmation that I am not loosing my mind after all this testing.

I found your post in the other forum. Funny to see the process of figuring out the problem...

http://forums.androidcentral.com/google-nexus-7-tablet-forum/190176-screen-flicker-2.html#post1989544

Thank god for the generous return policy at Best Buy.

Guess I better get a wifi extender for my upstairs. :laugh:
[Nexus 7 General] potentiality:
Thank you for your work NASCAR. However we still need an official response from Google. We also need the Android sites to admit this.

Steps to reproduce for ALL tablets.

1. Weak WiFi signal.

2. Backlight dimmed to under 30%.

3. A program that constantly accesses the net. Such as Google Maps.

All Nexus 7 units will experience this issue. There is no fix until a newer hardware revision is made. Again, that will take a few weeks. Screwing us over with limited RMA timeline.
[Nexus 7 General] Cryingmoose:
Mine has it(futureshop 16gig) and I got a friend(play store 16gig) to try this, and he said it caused the flickering. Of course now he's pissed that he knows about this. "Ignorance is bliss"
[Nexus 7 General] khaytsus:
FML..

I noticed it reading news, and wifi was (presumably) idle. I'll try tonight with wifi off, idle, busy, etc, and post numbers.. I got mine at Staples last Saturday, not exactly sure which version of Android it came with but it almost immediately wanted to update once it was on wifi.
[Nexus 7 General] potentiality:
Hmm I get it even without Net on though it does seem to happen more with internet accessing programs.. However play books doesn't suffer at all?? Maybe because the white background you can't see it??! Maybe it is indeed software?
[Nexus 7 General] Nascar Dog:
More bad news for the Nexus 7 display

The Google Nexus 7 Display Stumbles and Falls Short
[Nexus 7 General] Cryingmoose:
I called Google and told them about mu "screen flickering, screen raised on left side, and touch not always registering" the tech-girl said "That is a very common, uh, not very common just a known hardware error".

So back to futureshop it goes...
[Nexus 7 General] kenyee:
Apps still do stuff in the background even if you're not using them. Because of this, you'll see an occasional flicker...

You see it the most easily w/ a white background...

And FWIW, I think the screen watching the Transformers movie looks great. Using screen test apps, you can see that the whites/blacks are crushed (last 10 values) so there's room for improvement if there's a LUT in the Tegra3 chip...